NHS Group Takes First Place In Web Design

By Laurie Borst

On May 13, Newtown High School’s IT Leadership Academy (ITLA) attended the CT Innovation Challenge at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Twenty schools from around the state competed in seven categories. NHS won Outstanding Web Design for the second year in a row.

The students on the team are AJ Mormando, Melissa King, David King, Jonathan Graham, Joe Lenzen, and Alex Lubinsky. Kristin Violette is their teacher. Steve Wilmarth of Education Connection advises them also.

The CT Innovation Challenge is sponsored by the Connecticut Career Choices program, the Connecticut Office for Workforce Competitiveness, and Education Connection. The challenge brings together school groups and local businesspeople. NHS students worked with mentors from IBM in Southbury.

This year’s challenge was to identify a problem and come up with solutions that would improve health, democracy, or quality of life. Requirements included creating a business white paper, a marketing strategy, a company website, and an exhibition booth. Students created a mock company including name, slogan, logo, and job descriptions. They performed patent searches. The students created marketing materials. Their solution had to incorporate three IT components: networks, devices, and services.

The problem chosen by the Newtown team focused on the problems faced by new bands. Finding members and getting their music heard can be difficult. The NHS group created a company called mediagrüppe with the slogan “…This is what Unity Sounds like…”

Their website, BandScape.net, allows listeners to hear music and comment on what they hear. Bands can publicize tours or advertise for new members. Mediagrüppe has already signed two area bands: The Receiving End of Sirens from Massachusetts and The Smash Up from New York.

“Music is its own language,” said David King, “Anyone can participate.”

The NHS group, consisting of ten members, began meeting last October. One of the challenges for the group was the loss of several members, two of whom graduated early. The biggest blow was the loss of their web designer. This required the remaining members to pick up the ball and finish the project.

Ms Violette said, “I’m amazed how the team picked up the pieces. It’s important to have this kind of program in the school. Students gain skills not learned in other classes.”

Students cited brainstorming, collaborating with others, being a team member, and asking questions as skills they learned through this process.

“At the beginning, we were confused with no direction,” Joe Lenzen said. “We struggled to find a direction and the group came together.”

AJ Mormando offered, “The mentors criticized our ideas, shot things down. They taught us how to make things better.”

Steve Wilmarth, program manager, said, “We need to be more aggressive about finding mentors to support innovation, thinking outside the box. It’s a learning process for the program managers, too. A growth path has occurred that works both ways. There are people in the research community who want to mentor. This program helps with understanding how to bring the groups together.”