North Gwinnett News

Hull Middle School and Jones Middle School students are participating in the Georgia Water Tower Competition, an annual event that encourages them to apply their engineering skills. The competition involves designing and building functional water towers, with a focus on understanding water infrastructure and sustainability. Successful participants from this local stage will move on to the state finals scheduled for April.

Tricia Sung, a teacher at Jones Middle School and sponsor of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics Club, emphasized the educational value of the competition. “Students engage in hands-on learning by collaborating on an engineering design project that fosters creativity and innovation,” Sung stated. She highlighted how students use recycled materials to invent solutions aimed at environmental protection. Sung added that middle schoolers play a crucial role in environmental conservation through their creative efforts.

At Hull Middle School, students are also taking up the challenge of creating functional water towers. David Schoenrock, an 8th-grade teacher specializing in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and co-sponsor of the school's Green Team, noted the enjoyable aspect of learning through this competition. “Students enjoy using the engineering design process to build and problem solve," Schoenrock explained. He mentioned that it offers students a chance to apply learned skills to real-world projects while competing for recognition and prize money.

The competition emphasizes creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving as students from both schools prepare to present their designs with hopes of advancing to represent their schools at the state level.