New to the Middle School this year is the HUB of Imagination – a technology rich environment that encourages creativity on a number of fronts . On hand in the HUB are not only computers , but virtual reality headsets , video cameras and green screen , NAO robots and a vinyl cutter and heat press .

So far this year , the HUB has been used to complete and present research for Health class , virtual tours of Paris for 8th grade French students , election prediction mapping , t-shirt design and production , and programming projects for the NAO robots . Students at PTMS also took part in a week long effort around coding as part of National Computer Science week .

Teachers Brian Griffin and Stephanie Van Balen planned the week of events for students to use their homeroom and study lab time to explore computer programing . A team of students were trained as “ Leaders

4th Grade Derby Cars of Coding ” to help their peers through the

daily activities . Overall , the effort gave more than 700 students the opportunity to try their hand at coding during the event .

“ Our students learned so many skills from the programming lessons – problem solving being perhaps the most important ,” said Principal Adam Sikorski . “ No matter what field they pursue down the road , it is an invaluable skill .”

The effort to infuse the curriculum with STEM learning begins with our youngest students in the District . STEM projects were given a jumpstart last year when the District received the Project Lead the Way Grant . The grant funds provided teacher training and modules for use in the classroom that build student knowledge in the areas of computer science , biomedical science and engineering . The hands on classroom projects not only teach problem solving and critical thinking , but collaboration and creativity as well .

“ The biggest benefit we see from the kits at the elementary level is student engagement ,” said Michael Fisher , Assistant to the Superintendent for Curriculum , Instruction and Assessment . At each grade level the kits supplement lessons that were already taking place , with the added dimension of learning cooperation and problem solving .

The elementary kits and STEM lessons typically take on real life problems and challenge the students to create a solution . After learning about the structure and function of the human body , kindergarten students are presented with a problem of designing and building a cast for a young girl who broke her arm on the playground . Following a unit studying properties of matter , including insulators and conductors , 2nd grade students are asked to create a way to keep ice pops cool during a soccer game without the use of a cooler . In 5th grade , they take on the role of roller coaster designers when they study energy storage and transformations .

“ The cooperation they learn and the ability to brain-storm solutions and work through issues that arise is the real lesson ,” added Fisher .

“ These are the skills we all need ,” said Dr . Murphy . “ You have to be able to work with people . We are preparing these students for jobs that don ’ t even exist yet , but we know that these skills will be critical .”

Peters Township High School junior Shruthi Shivkumar will breathe a little easier this school year now that her college exams are behind her . While most students take the exams multiple times to increase their chances of getting into the college of their choice , in Shruthi ’ s case the first time was the charm . The talented PTHS student earned perfect scores on both the SAT exam and the ACT exam on her first try .

She has also been recognized as a second place winner in the 2017 Creative Minds Essay Contest from Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth . Shruthi ’ s creative essay that centers on the scientific topic of epigenetics will be published and she will receive an Amazon Gift Card for her efforts .

A complete list of District events , as well as more details on the items listed above can be found on the District website at www . ptsd . k12 . pa . us

Photo courtesy of The Almanac

PETERS TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS

Peters Township | February / March 2017 | icmags . com 75