St. Mary School is proud to call the 85th participant in the world-famous dog sled competition, the Iditarod, an alumna. Miriam Osredkar,…
Video Call from Alaska
St. Mary School is proud to call the 85th participant in the world-famous dog sled competition, the Iditarod, an alumna. Miriam Osredkar, daughter of Tony and Patricia of Chardon, will begin her journey to Nome, Alaska, on March 5 racing a team of 16 Alaskan huskies owned by her mentor Joar Ulsom, of Team Racing Beringia.
St. Mary School staff and students have been tracking Miriam’s journey since the announcement came that she would be racing. At the same time, Mrs. Teri Merkle’s third-grade class happened to be reading fiction books about dog sled racing and an instant connection was made.
Miriam agreed to take time away from her busy preparations to speak with the third-graders live via Skype last week. The day of the call, temperatures in Chardon were colder than those from Miriam’s training grounds in Alaska. She commented that the dogs were getting hot. The videoconference was broadcast on the class Activeboard and students were able to ask questions as they viewed Miriam’s camp, dogs and sled.
Miriam shared the background she has in dog sled racing and how she come to qualify as an entrant in the Iditarod. She shared that many styles of dog sled racing exist, but the Iditarod would be considered a marathon. Miriam shared her experiences with other races, but said her favorite was a race in Russia that she described as “amazing.” Through student questions, the class learned that 87 teams will compete this year and she is not yet sure what her racer number will be, however, interested parties can track the race on Iditarod.com.
The students were most excited to learn about the dogs on the team and came to find that Miriam will be racing with 16 dogs total with names including Tarzan and twins Dodge and Viper.
Miriam said, “the easy part is getting the dogs to start racing, but the hard part is getting them to stop.”
She then showed students where the brakes were located on her sled and how they work to help stop the dogs. Many racers use a ski pole in one of their hands while racing, but Miriam said she prefers to have both hands on the sled at all times because falling off can be a real problem while racing. There are many challenges that the racers face outside of the cold conditions. Miriam highlighted that moose follow many of the same paths that the racers do, leaving behind them large hoof prints that can trip up dogs and cause injury.
A final question from student Olivia Goetz highlighted one other challenge racers face when training.
She asked Miriam, “How many friends do you have up there?”
With a laugh, Miriam replied, “The mushing community is very small, so you don’t have much of a social life if you are a musher.”
In addition to the physical and emotional challenges to the race, the financial commitment is also large. Miriam estimated the cost to be approximately $30,000 total. She is seeking help to defray the costs of booties for the dogs feet ($3,000), the cost of the entrance fee ($3,000), the cost of quality meat and dog food used in the race ($2,000), transportation for the dogs to and from Nome to Anchorage after completion of the race ($1,500 to $2,000) and various miscellaneous race supplies (hand warmers, glove liners, dog ointments and lineaments).
To help, visit her GoFundMe page at: https://www.gofundme.com/qjckq264.
St. Mary School students will be watching closely as one of their own takes on the challenge of the Iditarod and wishing her the best of luck.
Science Fair
On Jan. 30, St. Mary School held its annual science fair. The science fair is a tradition for seventh- and eighth-grade students each year and involves many hours of work and dedication to their individual topics.
The students were challenged to examine the world around them over their summer vacation by science teacher Amber Yeager and create three questions based on their observations. Each student then individually researched topics, wrote out materials lists, created a procedure and performed an experiment. Students then gathered evidence and formulated a conclusion.
This year, topics ranged from: “I Have 99 Problems & Microbeads Are 1” and “Tasteful Tongues.” Each project was judged by volunteers from outside the school and from various science backgrounds.
St. Mary would like to thank the following judges who volunteered their time and expertise: Kathy Antaloga, Joel Firem, Melissa Vandergriff, Dr.Solomon, Dr. Rosace, Dr. Schneider, Mirko Antaloga, Alan DeSantis, Amy Firem, Theresa Burling, Dr. Martin, Joe Schultz, Gilbert Reiling, TomBurke, Dr. Turbett and Melissa Richardson.
Congratulations to the following students who will have the opportunity to move on and compete at Walsh Jesuit High School: Mary McCauley, Taylor Slish, Katie Suszynski, Max Buzogany, Harmond Richardson, Luke Rowan, Ben McIlroy, Baileigh Eppich, Terry Finger, Ellie Faber, Melanie Schaefer, Grayce Young, Nathan Lah, Cody Svoboda, Theresa Schneider, Nick Balogh, David Berman, Anthony Virgo, Megan Duffy, Thomas Fowle, Molly Passow, Kaylie Malloy, Daniel Duffy and Loreali Glover.
This year, St. Mary School was recognized as a Thomas Edison STEM Award winning school, one of few schools in the state.
