engineering

Easton Middle School to Host Massachusetts STEM Week Professional Development Training

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 7, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Easton Middle School to Host Massachusetts STEM Week Professional Development Training

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to share that approximately 120 educators will attend a professional development Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) training at Easton Middle School this June.

On Monday, June 17, and Tuesday, June 18, at Easton Middle School, approximately 70 Easton educators and 50 others from nearby communities will attend an i2 Learning training in preparation for the second annual Massachusetts STEM week this October.

The first Massachusetts STEM Week was held in October 2018 in an effort by the Baker-Polito Administration to support middle school students’ interest in STEM education.

i2 Learning is an organization that works to offer students hands-on, immersive STEM learning opportunities by providing professional development, project materials and online support to schools, free of charge. The organization’s services are funded entirely by donations from corporations, local foundations and other organizations including Vertex, Mathworks, State Street, Lynch Foundation, Shah Family Foundation, Boston Foundation and the Massachusetts Life Science Center.

“We’re thrilled to be offering this professional development opportunity to educators from Easton and neighboring communities,” Superintendent Cabral said. “STEM week is a wonderful opportunity for schools to really submerge students in STEM topics and projects, and i2 Learning’s programming and assistance will really bring this October’s events to the next level.”

Educators at the June training will review the engineering design process and project-based learning principles. They will then take on the role of their students and participate in the activities their classes will be tasked with this fall.

“Our staff is looking forward to this opportunity, and the exciting STEM lessons our students will be engaging in this fall,” Superintendent Cabral said. “Thank you to i2 Learning for providing us with the resources and support to give our students a STEM week experience that will fully submerge them in these topics.”

This summer, i2Learning will offer 12-15 workshops and train upwards of 700 Massachusetts educators for this year’s STEM week.

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Medway Middle School Students Win Award for Designing Adaptive Children’s Toy

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Medway Public Schools
Armand Pires, Superintendent
45 Holliston St.
Medway, MA 02053

 

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 7, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Medway Middle School Students Win Award for Designing Adaptive Children’s Toy

MEDWAY –Superintendent Armand Pires is pleased to share that a group of Medway Middle School students won an award this Tuesday for an adaptive toy they designed for the annual Project Lead the Way Children’s Hospital Design Showcase.

Seventh grade students Kelsea Anderson, Lily Bariteau, Ellie Copeland, Caitlin MacNeil, Emma Reardon and Bella Vallieres were among 110 students from 16 Massachusetts schools that attended Mass STEM Hub’s second annual design showcase for Project Lead the Way on Tuesday, June 4, at the Merck Research Laboratories in Boston.

Student groups were challenged to design, test and build an adaptive toy for a child with cerebral palsy for the showcase using their knowledge of the engineering design process, critical measurement and mathematical modeling, computer-aided design and cerebral palsy. Students learned about these concepts in a Design and Modeling Project Lead the Way (PLTW) unit earlier this school year.

At the showcase, students presented their projects to doctors and patients of the cerebral palsy unit of Boston Children’s Hosptial. Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Children’s Hospital CEO Sandra Fenwick also attended the showcase and met with students in the competition.

“This showcase was such a wonderful opportunity for our students to challenge themselves,” Superintendent Pires said. “They created incredibly thoughtful, useful projects, and it’s so exciting to see them using the knowledge they gained this school year to create something meaningful.”

Anderson, Copeland, Reardon and Vallieres were awarded the Practitioners’ Pick award at the showcase, which is given to the project with the most real-world promise at the competition each year. The four students built a multi-functional fidget contraption for the competition, which they designed to support cognitive, sensory and physical therapy for children ages one through 12 with cerebral palsy. The toy features matching, spinning, listening and drawing games for patients to play independently or with an occupational therapist. These features of the toy were designed to engage the cerebral palsy patient’s imagination and senses while strengthening eye-hand coordination.

MacNeil and Bariteau partnered to build a “Toys for Kids Fruit Matcher” toy for the showcase as well, which tasks the patient with matching a soft, squishy “fruit” to a cup the same color as that fruit. MacNeil and Bariteau designed the toy to provide cognitive, physical and sensory therapy to children with cerebral palsy during occupational therapy, and to help patients stretch their finger and hand muscles.

“Project Lead the Way has done a wonderful job of engaging our students and making them excited to learn about STEM topics,” said Medway Middle School Principal Craig Juelis. “This showcase gave students an opportunity to see first-hand how the topics they’re learning about in class can be applied to help others and make an impact in the world, and that’s truly incredible. Congratulations to each of these students on a job well done.”

Project Lead The Way is an initiative of Mass STEM Hub, an organization providing access to and support for premier STEM programming. Project Lead The Way aims to make STEM part of students’ regular school day. The program offers K-12 curriculum in engineering, computer science, and biomedical science that engages students in problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration and communication.

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Hull Memorial Middle School Receives Grant from Lowe’s to Create Makerspace

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Hull Public Schools
Michael F. Devine, Superintendent
180 Harborview Road
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Hull Memorial Middle School Receives Grant from Lowe’s to Create Makerspace

Memorial Middle School recently received a $5,000 Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant to create a makerspace. Back row, left to right: Dillon Simpson-Sliney, Kaelyn Burke, Brandon Sullivan, Hailey Putnam-Resnick, Oliver Szabo and Meghan McDonald. Second row, left to right: Emma Driscoll, Tallula Clancy, Aalina Colon-Silverman and Marie Marois. Front row: Max Day. (Courtesy Photo Hull Public Schools)

HULL — Students at Memorial Middle School will soon have a new place to explore their creativity thanks to a $5,000 Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant.

Hull middle school is one of 545 schools across the U.S. to receive one of the awards for improvement projects. The funding will be used to create a makerspace — an area where students can gather to create, invent, tinker and discover new ideas using a variety of tools and materials.

The makerspace will enhance the school’s engineering/technology courses by adding two wifi-enabled 3D printers that will meet Massachusetts science frameworks. The makerspace will be installed in the engineering-technology suite for the start of the 2019-2020 school year.

“The Lowe’s Toolbox for Education program delivers on Lowe’s commitment to improve the educational environment for students across the country,” said Maureen Ausura, chairwoman of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation. “We’re honored to work with Memorial Middle School to support the needs of our local students, teachers and families.”

The Hull Parent Teacher Organization presented the grant to the school and engineering/technology teacher Brandon Sullivan on May 16.

“Receiving this grant is an example of the partnership between the PTO, Lowe’s and the Hull Public Schools to expand our engineering program and provide unique learning opportunities at the middle school,” said Hull PTO Co-President Amy Hyde. “New technology purchased with the grant money will give students another opportunity to write computer code, learn about the engineering design process, and in doing so, utilize the latest technology.”

Since its inception in 2006, Lowe’s Toolbox for Education has provided nearly $45 million in grants to more than 10,000 schools, benefiting more than 6 million schoolchildren. Grants are available to U.S. public schools for a wide range of improvement projects. Schools may be eligible to receive Toolbox grants up to $100,000. For more information, visit ToolboxForEducation.com.

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King Philip Students Earn Liberal Arts and STEM Graduation Distinctions

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King Philip Regional School District
Paul Zinni, Superintendent
18 King Street
Norfolk, MA 02056

For Immediate Release

Friday, May 17, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

King Philip Students Earn Liberal Arts and STEM Graduation Distinctions

WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that 11 seniors at King Philip Regional High School have earned Graduation Distinctions in liberal arts and in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

King Philip High School’s two Graduation Distinction programs were launched in 2016 in an effort to provide students the opportunity to work on long-term projects of their choosing and conduct research in either the liberal arts or in STEM. The projects are required to have a community service component, and students in the program must also present their work and findings to teachers and administrators for review.

Achievement of each distinction will be noted on the students’ school transcripts, and a liberal arts or STEM Graduation Distinctions program description will be included in the school profile that is sent to colleges.

Students that earned the liberal arts distinction completed a specific program of classes throughout their high school careers including four years of English, two years of U.S. history, world history, and five credits in a liberal arts elective such as world language or art.

To earn the STEM distinction, students were required to take four years of science and mathematics classes, as well as five additional elective credits in science.

Both distinctions required students to develop a project under the guidance of an adviser that reflected the “real world” applications available through the liberal arts or STEM. Students worked on their projects for a year or more.

On Friday, May 10, students presented their projects to a faculty panel.

“These 11 students have worked incredibly hard not only in the classroom, but outside of school to apply these concepts in real life contexts,” Superintendent Zinni said. “They have fully earned these distinctions, and have completed a comprehensive course of study over their high school careers in these fields.”

Students that earned the liberal arts distinction include Jessie Kornfeld, of Norfolk; Jimmy Dumont, of Plainville; Ethan Ball, of Norfolk; and Max Armour, of Norfolk.

Kornfeld used graphic design experience she had gained from an internship to generate publicity for an art department fundraiser for her project. Dumont wrote an article that was published in the town pages of a local newspaper about the efficacy of service dogs. Ball developed a computer game and tested it on gamers. Armour gave out brochures about opioid addiction and awareness at a Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) walk.

Students that earned the STEM distinction include Ally Wood, of Norfolk; Caroline Robertson, of Norfolk; George ElMassih, of Wrentham; Justin Willson, of Wrentham; Olivia Atkins, of Norfolk; Maria Fabiano, of Wrentham; and Nikita Murli, of Plainville.

Wood gave a presentation at the Norfolk Grange about colony collapse disorder in bees. Robertson gave a lesson to King Philip health classes about cell phone addiction. ElMassih taught a computer coding class to middle school students. Willson conducted an experiment to test the efficacy of engineered materials on reducing zebra mussel attachment to pipes, and his research is also going to be published in the Journal of Emerging Investigators. Atkins presented research from her Rhode Island summer fellowship. Fabiano worked to increase awareness about physical therapy. Murli gave a lesson to King Philip health classes about the overuse of antibiotic medicines.

“Congratulations to each of these students for earning these remarkable distinctions and creating such thoughtful, well-researched projects,” said King Philip High School Principal Lisa Mobley. “These distinctions encourage students to take their studies one step further by making a real-life impact, and each of them found a way to share their findings in a meaningful way.”

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