After winning the middle school state-qualifying competition held at Atascocita Middle School in February, TSA sponsor and Hoffman CTE teacher,Richard Houdek and two of his Technology Student Association Club members, Sirrianda Mbianda andBobiana Hill headed to Waco April 9th through the 11th to represent Hoffman Middle School at TSA State Competition. Sirrianda and Bobiana competed in the teams events, Problem Solving, Junior Solar Sprint and Tech Bowl. Team Bobiana and Sirrianda achieved a high enough score on the preliminary exam to gain entry into the aural speed rounds of the Tech Bowl. Hoffman’s team won the first heat, but were bested in the second round. Hoffman’s team also competed in the Junior Solar Sprint, an event in part funded by the US Army Educational Outreach Program. The Hoffman car faced come hiccups on the track, but was able to hold on to finish all of the rounds. While not placing, in the top five, the girls had a great time and a wonderful learning opportunity. During the problem solving event, the Hoffman team was given a time limit to design a device that would automatically sort a series of different sized balls into sets of the same size… another wonderful learning experience. Sirrianda competed in the individual entry event, Rockets, placing 1st in the student designed rocket contest, beating out every other student in her area in the entire state of Texas. The girls hard work and dedication was noticed by many of the contest attendees and leaders and sponsor, Mr. Houdek commented that he lost count of how many times he was complimented on their behavior and attitude. This is the first Hoffman team competing in state competition and Hoffman is excited and proud to have done so well.
