Students prepare to release their vehicles at the starting line.

The Class V students are currently involved in designing and building model solar cars as part of a national engineering competition called the Junior Solar Sprint. This program was started in 1990 by the United States Department of Energy as a way to encourage young people to explore the field of engineering as well as environmentally friendly alternative energy sources.

Here at Nobles, the students learn the basic scientific principles relating to Newton's laws of motion, work, energy, and simple machines. They also gain first-hand experience with the Design process of Engineering as they build prototypes and test out their ideas.

Students work cooperatively in teams of two or three and solve a multitude of problems each step of the way toward their goal of creating a reliable, solar powered car that successfully completes the 20 meter race course. The top seven teams in the categories of speed, creativity, craftsmanship, and technical merit will compete against other top cars from Boston area middle schools in the Eastern Massachusetts Regional Race held at M.I.T.

This race is organized every year by The Boston Area Solar Energy Association (B.A.S.E.A.) and information about this race and the Northeast Regional race can be found on their website.

Your mission is to plan your dream trip around the world! There are a few requirements and restrictions, but where you go, what you do once you are there, and how long you stay are all up to you.

You must touch down on six of the seven continents (you can hit all seven if you'd like!). You can choose to not visit North America or Antarctica, but you must visit the other five.

While you are encouraged to travel through more than one country per continent, the entire trip can be no longer than 40 days in duration (and no shorter than 21 days). There are some pieces of this project which will require you to suspend your disbelief -- for instance, you would not limit your travel to 40 days if you were really going to see the world!

Fun: One of the most important goals in doing this project is for you to have FUN! Take ownership, travel to places which intrigue you or hold some special meaning for you. Go off the beaten track once and awhile -- perhaps instead of seeing the museums and monuments you might decide to hike to the highest peak or take an eco-tour through a rainforest. Be creative -- this is YOUR trip around the world!

Class V students conduct a rigorous research paper project in the spring in their Civics classes. Each student is given a set of three or four supreme court cases all dealing with the same issue. Some issues include affirmative action, the death penalty, hate crimes, reproductive rights, teaching evolution in schools, and free speech.

Students begin by researching each case, using print and electronic sources, to find the basic facts of the cases, how each reached the Supreme Court, the arguments made in front of the high court, and the Supreme Court's decision. They fully explore the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions written by the justices.

After clearly articulating the facts, students step back and look at their findings as a whole to determine the evolution of the court's thinking over time. This project helps students to learn and hone various research, time management, organization and writing skills.

All members of Class V take part in a poetry project which requires students' finding a poem they enjoyed, recording their reading of it and then making an iMovie which fits with the content of the poem. The final part, collecting images from a variety of online sources, putting them into a logical sequence and editing the sound to fit the images, takes approximately four classes. On the final day, students see what their classmates have created.

The value of the project lies in its requiring students to master a number of skills. Initially, the process teaches students something about selection of poems and then how best to read them for emphasis and proper effect. They have to locate a poem of interest, search the Internet for visual sources, establish a thorough bibliography of those sources, learn how to use iMovie, and edit the final piece into a coherent and applicable product.

Click here to see Who Am I? Project examples from Nobles Middle Schoolers.

For the fall Who Am I? project, Class VI students create a short (60-90 second) presentation about themselves. After delving into genealogy, family history, and various modes of self-expression through art, writing, and storytelling, students choose a theme and create a storyboard and a script. They then use iMovie software to record the audio, select and arrange photos, maps, and other visuals to complement the audio, and finally choose background music and add titles and transitions. The finished pieces are as wonderfully eclectic as the students themselves! Students enjoy themselves while creating something unique and personal, and also learn important skills that will enable them to be knowledgeable consumers and producers of multimedia.