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Pentucket’s Bagnall Elementary School Hosts 2019 STEM Week Activities

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Pentucket Regional School District
Superintendent Justin Bartholomew
22 Main Street
West Newbury, MA 01985

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019

Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Pentucket’s Bagnall Elementary School Hosts 2019 STEM Week Activities

GROVELAND — Principal Emily Puteri is pleased to announce that Bagnall Elementary School students are participating in a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workshops this week as part of a statewide initiative to promote learning in each field. 

Bagnall Elementary School is participating in Massachusetts’ second annual STEM Week this week, an effort started by the Baker-Polito Administration to support students’ interest in STEM education. 

“STEM Week is a wonderful opportunity to spark excitement and curiosity among our students about the incredible array of fascinating, challenging STEM fields out there,” Principal Puteri said. “Our students are excited about the opportunities they’ll have this week to learn about a range of topics, many of which have to do with sustainability and the environment.”

STEM Week activities at Bagnall Elementary School were organized by Brooke Welch, Pentucket Regional School District’s Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) coordinator. The week’s activities are being funded by a STEM Week grant from the Merrimack College Northeast STEM Network, a group that helps connect educators and supports schools as they organize their annual STEM Week activities. 

“Each activity we’ve planned for this week encourages our students to hypothesize about possible solutions, test their ideas, learn more about these topics, use their creativity and discuss possible solutions,” Welch said. “Students will also collaborate and will gain an understanding of how these topics — from the importance of reducing trash waste to removing microplastics from water — have a tremendous impact on the world they live in.”

Leading up to this week, kindergarten through second grade students at the school have been learning about food waste, composting, recycling and reducing their “foodprint.” Third through fifth grade students have been learning about novel energy solutions, unintended consequences and prototyping a way for the school to use a cleaner energy source. Sixth grade students have been studying the impact of microplastics on the environment, animals and the human body.

Over the course of this week, the school will host five workshops to support student learning and interest in various STEM topics. On Tuesday, students in kindergarten through second grade learned about trash and waste, upcycling and sustainability through an interactive “Children’s Museum” operated by educators in the small gymnasium at the school. 

On Wednesday, third and fourth grade students took part in two workshops. In one program, students learned about the impacts of an oil spill and acted as environmental engineers to test different methods for effectively cleaning up an oil spill. In the second workshop, students visited the school’s makerspace and brainstorm how to make their school more sustainable and environmentally friendly. 

Fifth and sixth grade students will also take part in two workshops on Thursday. In one workshop, students will learn about the amount of plastic that has been disposed of in the ocean, and will design and build a filter to remove pieces of plastic from an ocean model. They will also discuss possible solutions to reduce and remove plastic from the ocean. In the second workshop, students will gather in the school’s makerspace to create a procedure to remove plastic microbeads from a provided commercial personal care product, such as a facial cleanser or body wash. 

The school’s STEM Week events will culminate in a school-wide presentation on revision energy on Friday by Elizabeth Rose, an advocate and Groveland resident who builds ecobrick structures in Guatemala for school children to show students alternative ways to build houses and structures from Plastic bottles and bags, known as ecobricks.

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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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Medway’s Burke-Memorial Elementary Holds STEM Saturday Event for Girls

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

 

For Immediate Release

Friday, April 5, 2019

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

Medway’s Burke-Memorial Elementary Holds STEM Saturday Event for Girls

MEDWAY — Burke-Memorial Elementary School Principal Amanda Luizzi is pleased to share that female students recently had a chance to explore a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields and topics.

On Saturday, March 23, approximately 150 girls in grades two through six attended the fourth annual STEM Saturday for Girls at Burke-Memorial Elementary School. The free event was sponsored by Exelon Generation.

At the beginning of the event, students were encouraged to explore an array of science projects completed by female middle school students before moving on to participate in a series of workshops. These included a coding activity using a “bee-bot” robot made to look like a cartoon bee, tide-pool adaptations, chemistry lab, “squishy circuits” activity where students learned the principles of open and closed circuits, and an overview of the anatomy of a flounder.

“The goal of this event to show girls from a young age that they can pursue careers and interests in these subject areas,” Principal Luizzi said. “It’s all about challenging the gender stereotypes that have kept women away from these fields for generations and introducing students to female role models in STEM fields.”

A group of local STEM professionals and educators in the field also spoke to students during a panel at the event. Panelists included Sinead Bergeron, a seventh grade student at Medway Middle School and member of the Sense and Sound robotics team; Ceramic Engineer Susan Rozak; Electrical Engineer Jenn Forsyth; Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science senior Marissa Langille; Medway High School junior and aspiring doctor Amanda Heafey; and Medway High School junior Olivia Dennehy, an officer of the school’s Women in STEM club and member of the Girls Who Code club.

Several middle and high school girls volunteered at the event, sharing their knowledge and acting as role models to younger students. Members of Women in STEM (WiSTEM) club at Medway High School conducted a workshop that included a series of five short hands-on experiments, the Sound and Sense Robotics team conducted a demonstration at the start of the event, and 10 middle school student volunteers helped set up the event and assisted younger students during workshops.

Approximately 24 faculty also volunteered to support the event. The event is organization annually by a STEM Saturday for Girls Committee, which is co-chaired by Annie Colamaria and Mary Evans.

“Each year, STEM Saturday is full of excitement, fun and exploration,” Principal Luizzi said. “Thank you to all of the faculty, students, parents and community volunteers who took time to celebrate women in STEM and support our students, and for Exelon Generation for supporting us in this initiative as well.”

 

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