On Tuesday, Nov 13th, 170 Alpine Union 4th graders assembled at the Shadow Hills Elementary School sports fields for Punkin' Chunkin' following captivating classroom instruction on the history, math and physics of the trebuchet - the Medieval siege engine.

 Students built 18 trebuchets each from 6' tall to 12' tall.  They practiced teamwork while learning wood handling, hardware and the use of hand tools – for the assembly of 100 different parts.  After lunch, the students put their knowledge and handiwork to the test by launching pumpkins, golf balls, and softballs down the playing fields.  It was a contest of effort, distance, and accuracy.

 Punkin' Chunkin' is an AEF collaboration in partnership with Intellicept (makers of Skatestoppers), the Kiwanis Club of Alpine, the Alpine Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Alpine Barons Market.

 It is a program of math, physics and engineering only offered at Alpine Union schools. 

Along with AEF's Wheel of Experts, ReadyBreak Camps, JMMS Robotics-Engineering and Dual Language Immersion, these are the reasons why Alpine Union is the Destination District of the East County.