Primary school tops in competition focused on serious topic: Suicide

PENDLETON — It’s an issue that hit home for a group of fifth- and sixth-graders at Pendleton Elementary School-Intermediate.
That’s why 12 of the 13 PES-I students participating in the Indiana Future Problem Solving program this year chose suicide awareness and prevention for their state project.
It could also help explain why the team placed first in its division in the school’s first year in the program.
“There were a few suicide attempts at our school,” sixth-grader Ethan Tannas said. “We thought maybe we should do something to help stop that from happening again.”
Cindy Rhinehart, PES-I school counselor and one of four coaches for the team, said students came together late last year to start the project, and in a couple of months — among other things — chose the topic, researched it, and created an interactive website that will be a valuable resource for the community.
“To say that we were shocked to win state is probably, I don’t know, the understatement of the year,” Rhinehart said.
Future Problem Solving Program International is a non-profit organization affiliated with Indiana Association of School Principals, which runs the state contest.
According to the international group’s website, thousands of students from around the world participate each year in pursuit of its mission: “To develop the ability of young people globally to design and achieve positive futures through problem solving using critical and creative thinking.”
PES-I’s first-place finish at state earns it a spot in international competition planned for early June; like the state event, the international competition was originally to take place in person but now is set to take place virtually because of COVID-19.
Rhinehart said students completed the state project by working hard, including a full day during spring break, to get the submission turned in by a deadline that had been moved up a month to March 16 because of the pandemic.
PES-I students chose to compete in a division — Community Problem Solving — that allowed them to choose their own topic.
Rhinehart said students were motivated by the topic because it’s real to them, and the project offers them a way to deal with the issue — and regain a sense of control that can be lost during a traumatic event.
“They chose the topic because we had two deaths by suicide at the high school this year,” as well as five attempts by students at PES-I, Rhinehart said.
“They wanted to talk about it, and they wanted people to know that there is help out there,” she said. “They are highly affected by it, especially in a town as small as Pendleton. They’re affected by it in a variety of ways.
“Most kids naturally want to help others, and when they can’t, they feel a loss of control.”
In addition to the website, students created flyers and lanyards with inspirational messages.
Sixth-grader Adrienne Anderson came up with the idea her peers ended up choosing for the project.
“I thought, ‘What’s going on in our community, what are problems that my family has talked about that need to be addressed?’” she said.
Suicide came to mind, she said, because it’s “a pretty big issue” among her friends and fellow students, but one that doesn’t seem to register with adults until it’s too late.
“I feel a lot of grown-ups feel like it’s not kind of for real,” she said, and they often don’t address it “until there’s a completion.”
Factoring in attempts and serious contemplation, “I feel like there probably is a lot more going on than we know,” she said.
While the website hasn’t gone live yet because of COVID-19 school closures, there are plans for it to be operational after schools reopen and there’s a chance to explain the site to students and how it works.
The website offers information in text, graphic and video forms, and includes buttons and links for help through a hotline, counselor-monitored peer-to-peer chats and direct contact to a counselor.
Arin Anderson, Adrienne’s mom, is a parent sponsor and helped organize the students into groups to work on various components of the project.
She said she built the structure of the website, but the students did all work on content and messaging — which is probably a big part of the reason for its success.
“There are not a lot of resources out there that speak to kids in their age group, that speak to them in their language,” she said. The site conveys that “this is here, this is real, this is now and this is how we’re responding to it.”
In state results, judges shared constructive criticism but ultimately much praise.
“I love that you’ve done your research and identified concerns,” read a comment from one judge. “Wow! That website is amazing! Great job producing it and incorporating vital content onto it. Once you update the links, it will (be) extremely robust!”
“Good luck and thank you for exploring this topic,” read comments from another judge. “Please don’t stop — this is needed and will benefit others.”
The group has been working on the project, as everything must be submitted for the international competition by May 22.
There will be judging — including phone calls to students — and winners are expected to be announced June 9.
No matter how they finish, there are no plans to stop developing and maintaining the website, Rhinehart and Arin Anderson said.
The project is set up to be multi-year, and “most of our sixth-graders (who participated and move to the middle school next year) have said they want to continue to remain involved with it in one way or another,” Rhinehart said.
Adrienne Anderson said she plans to be involved as a middle school student next year.
Arin Anderson said more will be added to the website — such as additional videos — as work cut short by COVID-19 is completed by students in the future.
Tannas said he and other students in the group plan to keep working on the project, adding their voices to the discussion, so their peers know there’s always a better option than ending their lives.
It’s an effort worth making, he said, recalling that after one incident at school, “they brought in counselors to try and talk to us — it still happened a few times after that.”

Future Problem Solving state results

SCENARIO WRITING
Senior
State champion: “Little Pink Capsules,” by Ella Neely, Burris Laboratory School
State Runner-Up: “Hadson County De-Extinction Zoo,” by Sophia Taylor, Burris Laboratory School
Junior
State champion: “Restricted,” by Jessica Littleford, Burris Laboratory School
State Runner-Up: “Curiosity Against the Unknown,” by Alexis Horgash, Hal E. Clark Middle School
Third place: “The Megalodon Nightmare,” by Ally Henrich, Queen of All Saints School
Fourth place: “SnapNap,” by Georgia Berg, Burris Laboratory School
Fifth place (tie): “2071 Peacetime,” by Ellie Blackmer, Burris Laboratory School
“Medicated Dream,” by Amya Scott, Hal E. Clark Middle School
Sixth place: “Morph Me 2056,” by Ben Kaminsky, Hal E. Clark Middle School
Seventh place: “A Christmas Miracle,” by Nico Piunti, Hal E. Clark Middle School
Eighth place (tie): “Au Revoir Babes,” by Jada Parks, Hal E. Clark Middle School
“Wishes and Jellyfishes,” by Amelia Dominik, Hal E. Clark Middle School
Ninth place: “Poverty,” by Summer Grimler, Hal E. Clark Middle School
10th place: “Traveling Many Miles,” by Isabella McQuillan, Hal E. Clark Middle School
COMMUNITY PROBLEM SOLVING
Elementary
State champion: Suicide Awareness and Prevention, Pendleton Elementary
State Runner-Up: Recycling Rebels, Allisonville Elementary
Third place: Neighborhood Knights, Allisonville Elementary
Fourth place: Gun Gremlins, Allisonville Elementary
Fifth place: Erase the Vape, Allisonville Elementary
Sixth place: Keep Our Community Clean, New Haven Intermediate
GLOBAL ISSUES PROBLEM SOLVING
Elementary
State champion: Evansville Day School
State runner-Up: Croninger Elementary School
Third place: Springs Valley Elementary School 1
Fourth place: Springs Valley Elementary School 3
Fifth place: Springs Valley Elementary School 2
Junior
State champion: Burris Laboratory School
State runner-Up: Madison Junior High School
Third place: LaPorte Middle School 1
Fourth place: LaPorte Middle School 2
Senior
State champion: Zionsville High School 1
State Runner-Up:
Burris Laboratory School 1
Third place: Center Grove High School
Fourth place: Zionsville High School 2
Fifth place: Burris Laboratory School 2
Sixth place: LaPorte High School