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It’s time to register…
It’s free! It’s easy! It’s time to register for the Fairchild Challenge! Just fill out the registration form (under “Forms”) and mail it, e-mail it or fax it in and you’ll be registered for the...
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Flyers for posting
If you look under the “Challenge Flyers” heading up top, you will find flyers suitable for posting on a bulletin board to make your students aware of the Fairchild Challenge at Phipps. Hope that helps...
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Middle Schools on the Radio!!
For the 4th year running, the Saturday Light Brigade radio show will feature interviews with Fairchild Challenge at Phipps middle school winners. On the air since 1978, The Saturday Light Brigade is a...
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Rubric for Challenge #1 is posted!
Challenge #1 rubrics are now posted. See: Challenges in Depth, Challenge #1 under “Additional information.” In fact we will be posting the rubrics for each of the challenges here on the blog....
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Challenge #1 deadline: Oct. 24th
How will the teens and tweens survive 24 hours without their phones (among other things)? We can’t wait to find out when the entries roll in on Friday, October 24th. The deadline is 5 p.m. However,...
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Challenges align with PA Academic Standards
If you’d like to see how each challenge aligns with the Pennsylvania Academic Standards, just go to the category above that says “High School info” or “Middle School info.” You’ll find it posted there.
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Over 1200 students go UNPLUGGED and live to tell the tale!
Yes, amazing as it may seem, 822 middle school students and more than 400 high school students in our area did the “You, Unplugged” Challenge and survived with some difficulty and many epiphanies!...
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Middle School Students Detach from Phones for 24 hours
,…and discovered that you can talk to people face to face or take a walk with your friends in a park or play an instrument. All kinds of possibilities were revealed, as well as the concept of saving...
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Middle School “Go Outside” Poems Inspired by Nature
And the winners of Challenge 1B are: 1st Place: Elsa Tonkinwise, The Ellis School 2nd Place: Maggie Shissler, St. Sylvester School 3rd Place: Laura Schwendeman, Carson Middle School Special Merit...
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Teens shun social media and write about it!!
Over 400 high school students participated in Challenge #1 and gave up technology for 24 hours. Their essays were insighful on both, personal and global, levels. And here are the winners: 1st Place:...
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Radio stars emerge on November 22nd
Top winners of the middle school Challenges “You, Unplugged” and “Go Outside” poems have been invited to appear live on the long-running family-friendly radio program, The Saturday Light Brigade, on...
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Next Challenge: People and produce
As humans, our lives are entwined with vegetables and fruits and grains. They keep us alive and healthy. How do you visualize people’s relationship to edible plants? For Challenge #3, you get to...
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Deck the Halls with Plants and Pollinators
From all of us here at Phipps, we hope your holidays are wonderful. We also hope the winter vacation will give you a chance to get started on Challenge #3. Step 1: Research plants that live here in...
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Photos by middle schoolers depict the relationship between people and edible...
We saw pumpkins growing, children happily gulping down a variety of fruits and vegetables and mint going from garden to teapot. Those were among the images taken by our middle school Fairchild...
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Challenge #2 High School Winners Announced
One way that humans interact with plants is through the food they produce for us. Challenge #2 photographs by high school students revealed this relationship in creative and original ways Thanks to...
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HS students create exquisite plant/pollinator drawings!
Click to view slideshow. The detail! The beauty! The competition! It was intense and the judges, all botanical artists along with the assistant curator from the Hunt Botanical Library at CMU, were...
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Very challenging: High School Challenge #4 seeks the newest...
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…NO! It’s super climate scientist, making the world safe from the ravages of global warming! But for real, there are current scientists and past scientists who have...
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MS Eco-Scientist Skit or Mini-Musical due in mid-March
Do we have a challenge for you! Decide on a scientist who has dedicated his or her life’s work to an environmental issue, turn that scientist into a superhero and have him or her be the star of an...
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Middle School Artists Show Off their Skills: Challenge #3
Here are the winners for Challenge #3: Plant and Pollinator pair drawings. The judges were amazed at the skill level demonstrated by the middle school artists. Congratulations to all! Each of the...
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Environmental Action Challenge suggestions
If you’re not sure how to approach the final challenge of the year, the Environmental Action Challenge, you can find some suggestions here (or just look under the “About” column above). You’re...
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