DERRY — Local high school students took honors in the ThinkQuest International 2008 Global Website Building Competition.
Two teams of Pinkerton Academy students competed in the ThinkQuest challenge, to work in teams and create innovative Web sites to share with their peers around the world.
ThinkQuest, a program of the Oracle Education Foundation, this year included 972 teams from 60 countries, with winning entries coming from students in Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Egypt, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
Web site topics included mathematics, promoting tolerance, and even how to prevent bullying.
Pinkerton hosted two ThinkQuest teams, working for months to create a Web site to share with the world. Along the way, students learned teamwork, and how to to share, research, write, and use technology.
Students ages 9 to 19 can participate in the contest, with teachers acting as coaches. Pinkerton teacher James Poirier coached two teams from the school.
One Pinkerton team took a second place for "Hash That?!," a site devoted to cryptography. Students Laura Valez and Erika Nicks worked with students from England and India to create the site.
Students reported on the ThinkQuest Web site that despite living across different time zones, they always found ways to communicate and collaborate effectively. Weekly online chats helped the team keep going together and to stay well informed of the contest progress.
Another Pinkerton team included students Pat McArthur, Dan King, and Joe Grande, but did not place in the top five.
As a winning school, Pinkerton receives $1,000, a laptop, and team members have a chance to attend ThinkQuest Live in September in California.
ThinkQuest is in its 14th year in 2008. Visit online for information at www.thinkquest.org.
