Middle Schoolers in Austin Texas Engage Creatively with the Colors of the Ocean
Under the mentorship and direction of Carol Reese (see credits at the bottom of this page), students at West Ridge Middle School engaged creatively with the subject of Blue Holes in different parts of the world. They created artwork, interactive games, presentations and wrote poetry as well as stories. Scroll down to enjoy a sampling of the students’ creations.
ILLUSTRATED SHORT STORY
by Rachel Anand and Tau Manifesto Robotics Team

Ocean Art
In a Shipwreck Under the Sea
by Adin “Jojo” Apewokin and Pablo Schwarze
ART
by Emily Reichel, Abigail Ma and Katherine Cao




by Beatrice Fordham


POETRY

CREDITS

Carol Reese, a veteran teacher of the gifted in the Eanes Independent School District in Austin, Texas, encourages students to use critical and creative thinking skills as they explore and attempt to contribute solutions to global issues. She sponsors activities such as Future City Engineering, Destination Imagination, Model UN, and the Student Stock Market Game, and is thrilled to be a part of the Media for Change project, raising awareness about ocean resources on our planet.
Students from West Ridge Middle School, Austin, Texas
Eleanor Yan is an 11-year old 6th grader at West Ridge Middle School, Austin, Texas. She likes artwork, whether it be pencil sketch, animation, or digital. She is also quite fond of the Periodic Table and mathematics.
Asna Omar is a bright student at West Ridge Middle School in Austin, Texas, and is 12 years old. She has loved art and music since childhood, and loves putting her work out into the world.
Ishaan and Maahi Ganguly are siblings and ABCD’s who lived in Austin, TX. Ishaan loves franchises, video games, writing, comics, manga, chess, cricket, and friends. Maahi loves Bharatanatyam, (Indian classical dance), art, friends, and girl scouts.
Arya Shah is a student at West Ridge Middle School and is very passionate about environmental causes. In her free time she likes to write stories, read, and hang out with friends!
Noah Thomas is a student at West Ridge Middle School in Austin, Texas and is 12 years old. He loves playing soccer, playing video games, and reading.
Aditi Toom is a 7th grade student at West Ridge Middle School in Austin Texas, and is 12 years old. She likes writing books, playing volleyball, and playing musical instruments like the piano and clarinet.
Pablo Schwarze is a student at west ridge middle school in Austin Texas and is 11 years old. He loves sports especially soccer and mountain biking and currently plays the viola he also likes saving animals. He loves to spend time with his family and be outdoors.
Maanya Hebbar is a 7th grade student at West Ridge Middle School in Austin, Texas, and is 12 years old. She loves swimming and music. In fact, she plays three instruments (the piano, violin and organ). She also likes writing essays and poems about fascinating topics. One interesting fact about her is that she wrote an essay about space that was chosen to be read by astronauts who flew into space on the SpaceX Launch to ISS.
Aarna Srini is a student in Austin, Texas, and is 13 years old. She likes to read and play with her brother.
Shristi H is a 4th grade student in Austin Texas and is 9 years old. She loves slime, crocheting, science and singing. She loves working on projects that conserve the earth and has created her own beeswax crayons.
Grace Hall is a student at Westridge Middle School in Austin, Texas and is 11 years old. She loves dance, playing the piano and working towards creative ways to improve our environment.
Katherine Cao is a seventh grader at West Ridge Middle School in Austin, Texas. She has a brother, 2 dogs, and a turtle. Katherine likes to draw and crochet, and she also loves chocolate. She really wants to learn more about oceans, too.
Abigail Ma is a 6th grader at West Ridge Middle School In Austin, and she enjoys drawing and reading. She also likes animals and has some fish as pets.
Adin “Jojo” Apewokin is a sixth grader at West Ridge Middle School. He enjoys soccer and fc mobile, and is good at math.”
Emily Reichel is a sixth grader at West Ridge Middle School. She loves all animals. (Especially ocean animals).
Rachel Anand and the Tau Manifesto Robotics Team
Tau Manifesto is a robotics team made up of 8th and 9th graders from Austin, Texas. The team is involved in various aspects of robotics, including designing and building the robot, programming it, and driving it during competitions using controllers. We also focus on outreach to share our passion for robotics with the community and inspire others to get involved. Together, they are learning, growing, and working to push the boundaries of innovation in robotics.