During the week of June 6-10, Class VI students participated in the fourth annual Nerdy Derby. Students spent two days carrying out five mini-investigations to determine the forces and variables that affect the speed of a vehicle on a race track. Next, they spent the rest of the week designing their own cars to race in the Nerdy Derby competitions, which take place on a 9 foot tall, 45 foot long undulating track. 

Students received an allowance of the event's paper currency, called Derby Dollars, and were asked to budget their materials purchases throughout the week. Students earned Derby Dollars by documenting their progress on the class blog, analyzing their data, and showing good clean-up practices. This year's class also showed great entrepreneurial spirit with several students opening pop-up "consulting shops" where they charged their peers for various car-related services such as sanding, drilling, and wheel and axel tuning. 

On Friday, the rest of the Upper Middle School joined us for the Nerdy Derby competitions for Slowest Car, Queen of the Hill, and Fastest Car. There were also two new events this year: a special Up The Hill exhibition and several chariot races run by Class VIII Latin Students. After the races, Class VI debriefed about the experience, sharing advice and major take-aways that will be passed on to next year's Class VI students. It was a great display of learning and excitement. In the end, the winning teams were: 

Fastest Car - Elle LaP., Romilly G., Sabrina T.
Slowest Car - Amanda G. and Sarah U.
Queen of the Hill - Ella V. and Charlotte M.-E.
Best in Show - Julia T. and Erin C.