Newcomb Academy PTSA and NAF News
February 26, 2026
Hey Spartans! 💙💛
Newcomb’s 2026 STEAM Event, hosted by our PTSA and co-sponsored by NAF, was a true celebration of the incredible talents and passions of our Spartans, the dedication of our families and community, and the unwavering support of our outstanding teachers. It was an inspiring evening and an exceptionally fun experience for over 500 participants, family members and friends who attended!
Our Spartan Scientists proudly showcased their brilliance as they presented experiments, collections, discovery projects, engineering designs, and demonstrations. Their curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for science filled the gym, sparking wonder and igniting a sense of discovery in everyone who stopped by their displays.
Our Spartan Artists transformed the entire north corridor into a stunning gallery of creativity. Sculptures, paintings, drawings, sketches, photography, musical compositions, films, and other imaginative works lined the walls and filled tables. Every piece reflected the passion and expression of our students, and visitors could truly feel the creativity radiating throughout the space.
Our Middle School Robotics teams amazed guests as they demonstrated their robot car washes, showcased their creations, and held exciting scrimmages. Their engineering, mathematical, and problem-solving skills were on full display. Members of the Middle School Drone Soccer team also wowed the crowd with their flying and scoring demonstrations, inspiring younger Spartans to explore the world of robotics and technology.
Our wonderful librarian hosted a STEAM-inspired book fair, encouraging students to dive deeper into the scientific, technological, engineering, artistic, and mathematical interests that make STEAM so exciting.
Adding to the fun, our amazing 8th- and 5th-grade families ran a fantastic snack shack and offered pre-orders for promotional gifts as promotion season approaches.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to every student who shared their work, every teacher who encouraged and supported their students, every volunteer who gave their time, and every family who came out to celebrate. Events like this are only possible because of the dedication, creativity, and generosity of our entire Newcomb community. Your enthusiasm and support help create opportunities for our Spartans to explore their passions, share their talents, and inspire one another.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this event such a spectacular success. Together, you made this a night of discovery, creativity, and Spartan pride that we won’t soon forget.
Hello Newcomb families!
Thank you to everyone who attended Saturday's STEAM Expo. I'm still riding a high of positive emotions, feeling grateful to our 86 participants (up from 67 last year) and their families for supporting this extracurricular event. I have immediate thanks for John Angelo, the chair of the Art Share side of our event, who envisioned this event last year and pushed us to be even better this year. And for my co-chairs Amber and Andrew, and our many many volunteers outlined below. But let's get to the wrap-up...
BEST DISCOVERY PROJECTS
Heidi Heusser (8), who presented a data-based review of American religious beliefs and how they contrast with other industrialized nations.
Addie Chukuka (7), who researched how humans associate thoughts and emotions with different colors, especially within a cultural context.
Karina Kurauchi (6), who wrote a thorough report on weather patterns in southern California, and the fundamental forces affecting them.
Allison Short (6), who presented the origins of sonic booms caused by hypersonic jet planes.
Willa Serviss (5), whose passion for the environment drove her research into pollution and its effects on living organisms.
BEST ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECTS
Austen Tran (6), who researched historical and modern ways to harness water to generate power, and built her own hydro-electrical generator.
CW Wicker (5), who used 3D CAD software and a PETG filament printer to design and improve a magnetic handlebar holder for his dad's truck, to keep bicycles from falling over without an expensive bicycle rack.
BEST EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS
Olivia Enjem (6), who adjusted the amounts of each ingredient used in baking a classic cake, in order to determine which contributes most to a cake's firmness.
Britt Wallhausser (5), who tested the effectiveness of various materials in filtering dirty water.
Kendrick Baldridge (4), who measured the water consumption of his personal shower habits, and used that data to advocate for home water conservation.
Myles Mendoza (4), who tested the effectiveness of different bulkhead configurations aboard large passenger ships, motivated by uncertainty about the Titanic's bulkheads and their failure to stabilize the ship after its famous accident.
"SCIENCE STAR (HONORABLE MENTION) AWARDS
The judges also wanted to acknowledge these students for their submissions. These projects weren't strictly "better" than others, they only showed something notable that the judges wanted to particularly celebrate. We are seriously impressed by every student who participated, and hope you will continue to support their scientific curiosity and dedication to learning.
Canon Anderson (3)
Beau Angulo (3)
Olivia Bellinghiere (8)
Piper Bernardo (3)
Rowan Bolszo (3)
Mars Cabebe (3)
Bryce Cardenas (8)
Colleen DeVeny (2)
Ignacio Herraiz (6)
Amelia Farthing (K)
Dominic Kast (2)
Dahlia Kawamoto (TK)
Isaiah Kawamoto (3)
Grant Lawler (3)
Natalia Lopez (1)
Elizabeth Manson (5)
Riley Price (K)
Ada Terrell (3)
Auryn Tran (1)
Nolan Walkowski (6)
VOLUNTEER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I think we have the best volunteer group of any Newcomb event, and I will fight the other event chairs to defend that claim .
Huge thanks to:
My co- and associate chairs: Amber DeVeny, Andrew Manson, and Jaclyn Terrell.
Our team of judges. HOW COOL IS IT that these parents volunteered their time to give every student a chance to present their work to invested listeners? Ally Bernardo, Samantha Covey, Spring Cooke, Amber DeVeny, Molly Enjem, Colleen Farthing, Natasha Jones, Lorin Lawler, Angela Lee, Andrew Manson, Jaclyn Terrell, Teresa Thyden, and Erin Waldren.
Set-up crew: Amber DeVeny (+family), Leia Eldridge (+family), Lorin Lawler, Andrew Manson, and one more family whose names I forgot-I'm-so-sorry-please-forgive-me .
Check-in table: Leia Eldridge, Christine Manson.
Clean-up crew: Amber DeVeny, Logan DeVeny, Leia Eldridge, Danny Lampson Opstad, Lorin Lawler, Andrew Manson, Jeff Price, Jaclyn Terrell.
RAFFLES
OK, now we're excited! I used wheelofnames.com to pick winners for the following two raffles. If you're really bored, you can watch the videos linked below to watch the drawing in action.
The first is for kids who completed my "Measure your own Pi" challenge at the science fair. In celebration of Pi Day, the challenge was to measure the circumference (*around*) of a circle, then measure its diameter (*across*), and divide to get an estimate of pi. I donated the prize of a $25 gift card to Polly's Pies in Los Alamitos to buy a pi(e) of your own. Our winner is.... Dale Eldrige!
The second raffle is for a number of STEM prizes donated by PTSA. All participants who completed their project earned one ticket, and a second ticket was given to each student who attended our after-school consulting times in February, as advertised on social media and in our weekly updates. We have a variety of prizes that appeal to different age groups, so rather than pick specific winners for each prize, we will draw names and then let the winners choose their prize in the order the names were drawn. We'll reach out over text or email to let you know when it's your child's turn to pick.
PRIZES
LEGO 21355 The Evolution of STEM set (advertised as 18+, which just means it's a tricky build that will need adult help occasionally)
"Galaxy" slime cups
Gemstone "excavation" kit
Electric circuit learning kit
Hydroponic seedling growing kit
FM radio kit (requires some soldering)
12-in-1 magnet science game kit
Lava lamp
William Wallhausser
Rowan Bolszo
Britt Wallhausser
Charlie Lawler
Noah Nguyen
Natalia Lopez
Ava Meadows
Canon Anderson
Addie Chukuka
Mars Cabebe
Until next year....
Yours in science,
Neal Terrell (computer science), Amber DeVeny (forensic science), and Andrew Manson (social science)
Hello Newcomb families!
For those who visited Newcomb's 2nd Annual STEAM Celebration, it was an inspiring afternoon of Science Projects, Artworks, and Robotics… with the spotlight squarely on the students! Over 225 science projects and artworks were featured. On the art side, the north hall, adjacent to the gymnasium, was transformed into a grand gallery featuring works made specifically for ART SHARE and works made just for REFLECTIONS. In addition, Ms. Romero's galleries enthralled at the east end of the hall.
Visit our photo album for a few event images.
Students participating in Art Share were given the option to have our art panel review their work and present each with a score. Works scoring 92 points or more received OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS. Works scoring 85-91 points received an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. And works scoring 75-84 received an AWARD OF MERIT.
Scores were calculated based upon six criteria: 1) Originality, 2) Technical Merit, 3) Color Value, 4) Composition, 5) Presentation, and 6) Emotional Response.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
- Hunter Nguyen, 1st Grade, Summer Snowy (Watercolor on art paper - 9x12)
- Ezra Cooke, 3rd Grade, Man with the Mustache (Coloring pencils, crayons, and pencil on paper - 16x20)
- Beau Mealey , 5th Grade, Sea Creatures (Paper, pencil, and markers - 14x12)
- Audria Misa, 7th Grade, All of Me (Colored pencils, markers, pencil, sharpie, thin black marker, and erasers - 11x14)
- Amélie Angelo Neumann, 8th Grade, At Least I Have a Heart (Acrylic paint, air dry clay, canvas - 24x30, plus sculpture)
- Kalliope Argyros, 8th Grade, Seeing Stars (Alcohol markers, colored pencils, pens - 8.5x11)
- Sofia Podkorytova, 8th Grade, Frosty Morning (Paint, colored pencils on art paper - 8.5x8)
AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
- Charlie Lawler, Kindergarten, Skyrow Sity (Mixed media (wood, paint, wire, etc) - 13x10.5x11)
- Hunter Nguyen, 1st Grade, Bug Forest (Watercolor on art paper - 12x18)
- Colleen DeVeny, 2nd Grade, Dream Big (colored pencils on cardstock, picture - 8.5x11)
- Nora Vuletich, 3rd Grade, Wugglebumps (Felt with thread, buttons, and plush stuffing - Multiple pieces: measuring 3x5 to 7x9)
- Clarke Antonoff, 4th Grade, Your Inner Color (colored pencils and pencil on art paper - 8x11)
- Avery Azurin, 5th Grade, It’s her (Posca paint markers and pencil)
- Payton DeVeny, 5th Grade, Tiny Turtle (Clay, hot glue, paint - Palm size)
- Reese Thompson , 5th Grade, The Sunset (Oil paint on canvas - 9x12)
- Mikayla Garrison, 8th Grade, Self Portrait
- Sofia Podkorytova, 8th Grade, untitled
SHOUT OUT TO OUR TEAM OF VOLUNTEERS
Set Up: Frank Neumann, Amélie Angelo Neumann, Amber Deveny, Declan Deveny, Logan Deveny, Lorin Lawler, Lisa Snowiss, Colleen Farthing, Sandra Hege, Leia Eldridge, and the numerous Scholarship Students who volunteered for credit-hours
Art Reviewers: Claudio Garzón, Joyce Levinson, Dylan Stewart
Faculty Consultants: Ms. Romero and Mr. Shade
LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR…
I have GREATLY enjoyed resurrecting Newcomb's REFLECTIONS art exhibition and introducing the ART SHARE portion of Newcomb's STEAM Celebration. Now it's time to pass the reins to a new team. My daughter, Amélie, moves from 8th grade on to High School next fall! FORTUNATELY, we have two amazing volunteers stepping up to carry on: Lorin Lawler and Spring Cooke. THANK YOU BOTH!! I look forward to coming to next year's exhibition!
And to all the Newcomb Creatives who shared their talents: THANK YOU for bringing your talent and passion to our exhibitions. YOU ROCKED IT!
Keep on Creating!
John Angelo
