Want to know what our students work on throughout the year? Then join us on Thursday June 16 at T.C. Williams HS between 9 am and 12 pm for our end-of-year capstone symposium. Student groups will be presenting their year-long capstone projects for which they have identified a local problem and created a solution. In addition to capstone groups, students from STEM on the Potomac will speak about their partnership with Jefferson Houston Elementary School and the SNAME students will present about their competition and show off their completed boat!

Presentation topics, room location, and time are shown below:

Please contact Jennifer Ushe for more information or if you plan to attend.

A main component of the STEM 10 program is a year-long capstone project where students identify a problem and work with a mentor to create a solution. This year, students Brielle, Catherine, and Sydnie have worked to implement a hydroponic farm at T.C. Williams High School. These students researched and found that there is a lack of availability of affordable, organic produce in Alexandria, Virginia. With the guidance of their mentor, Doug Seidler, chair and professor of interior design at Marymount University, the team set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for their hydroponic system; T.C. Williams High School King St. Campus will implement the system in the Fall 2016.

Brielle, Catherine, and Sydnie have worked hard during the school year. In April, they had the opportunity to meet Jane Goodall and share their work with the environmental activist. They can be seen here holding their signed copy of Jane Goodall’s book, In The Shadow of Man. 

Help a good cause and donate here!

Join the Nu Xi Zeta Helping Alexandria Virginia Excel (H.A.V.E.) Foundation at STEMs to Success, a technology workshop for teens aged 13-19. The goal of this event is to help teens develop technology skills for college and beyond. It will consist of two 90-minute interactive workshops including career planning and job outlooks for each industry.

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Saturday, June 4, 2016

Nannie J Lee Memorial Recreation Center 1108 Jefferson St.

Alexandria, VA 22314

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• 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM Registration
• 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
• Opening Remarks 10:30 AM- 12:00 PM
• Technology Session 1 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
• Lunch 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
• Technology Session 2 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
• Wrap up/Closing Remarks Opening remarks by Dr. Karl Reid, Executive Director of the National Society of Black Engineers

The event is free and open to the general public. Lunch will be provided by event sponsor, Domino’s Pizza.

Registration required – Register HERE

Teens choose from the following technology sessions:

Technology Session 1

• Pathways to the Heart of Health Careers, presented by Dr. Lekeisha Terrell
• 3-2-1 Blast Off! Rocketry Workshop, presented by Get into STEM, LLC
• Renewable Energy
• Digital Photography: DSLR, Traditional Point & Shoot Cameras, Lenses, Modes and More!, presented by members of the Best Buy Geek Squad
• The Ultimate Gamer! Inside Video Gaming, presented by members of the Best Buy Geek Squad

Technology Session 2

• 3-2-1 Blast Off! Rocketry Workshop, presented by Get into STEM, LLC
• Weather 101
• Attack of the Drones, presented by members of the Best Buy Geek Squad
• Computer Networking and Internet Connectivity, presented by members of the Best Buy Geek Squad

On Wednesday May 4 the STEM on the Potomac group and forty fifth grade students from Jefferson Houston Elementary school, took a Potomac River Boat tour to learn more about Alexandria’s local waterway. The group, led by English teacher Emmet Rosenfeld, spent the day identifying different features of the river and discussing history and environmental issues; documenting their observations at several predetermined locations. The boat tour was the culminating activity of a year-long capstone project during which several groups of STEM 10 students created and delivered river-related lessons to Jefferson Houston students.

STEM on the Potomac is held in collaboration with the Trust for the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

“The Trust for the George Washington Memorial Parkway (Trust) is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization with the primary function to work with individuals, corporations, and foundations that further park stewardship through philanthropic efforts. The Trust will work with and support the GWMP, the 6th most visited park unit in the United States, by creating effective fundraising programs that support high-priority resource protection and education.”

STEM on the Potomac will continue this summer with rising middle school students through George Washington Middle School’s summer school sessions. Please contact
Emmet Rosenfeld for more information.

 

 

 

Congratulations to the five members of the SNAME Boat Design Competition for coming in 3rd out of 41 teams across Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Sophomore STEM students Isabel Sparks, Sabrina Melendez, Kirsten Emblom, Mohammed Mohammed, and Yonael Tekleberhan along with robotics teacher, John Hammons, spent the weekend in Newport News competing with the top four boats. The Titans finished first in the math calculations and third overall in their first year as a team. Congratulations to the students and Mr. Hammons for all of their hard work! 

On Friday April 15, Dr. Jane Goodall visited T.C. Williams to speak to over 900 students, including the STEM 10 Academy. Prior to speaking to the student body, Dr. Goodall met with several small groups of students who are currently working on Roots and Shoots projects. Brielle Quarles and Catherine Mellette spoke with Dr. Goodall about their solution for Alexandria’s food desert problem; by creating a hydroponic system the group hopes to make healthy food available and affordable to all Alexandria City residents. Charlotte Carey discussed her group’s idea to teach elementary students the process of composting. Both of these projects will support Dr. Goodall’s vision of promoting a sustainable earth through community involvement.

During her school-wide talk, Dr. Goodall discussed her childhood, her work with chimpanzees and her role as an activist. Following the talk, Dr. Goodall and principal Dr. Jesse Dingle planted a tree in front of the school to commemorate her historical visit.

We are very grateful for the opportunity and know that our students were inspired!

Congratulations to Mr. Hammons and his five SNAME Boat Design Competition winners; Isabel Sparks, Sabrina Melendez, Yonael Tekleberhan, Mohammed Mohammed, and Kirsten Emblom. This is the first year of the Titans team! The Titans boat is currently being built by the Apprentice School of Newport News Shipbuilding in preparation for race day on Saturday April 30 during which four teams will be competing.

 

You can read more about the SNAME Boat Design Challenge here.

Congratulations to the Titans Robotics team for coming in second out of forty teams in the Greater DC District in FIRST Robotics. This is only the second year of the Titans Robotics team, which consists of 21 current and former STEM students. After the qualification rounds, the Titans ranked 3rd and were also part of the 3rd ranked alliance (of which the Titans were captains!). Titans Robotics made it to the both the quarter- and semi-finals, losing in the finals. The team will be competing at the district championships at The University of Maryland, April 7-9.

Because of the second-place finish, the Titans are now ranked fourth in the Chesapeake Region, which consists of over 100 teams. Congratulations and good luck to the team!

 

Over the next few weeks, students will be meeting with their counselors to sign up for their 2016-2017 classes. Students should review the brief overview of class offerings prior to meeting with their counselor. The electives options for both rising sophomores and juniors are shown in the table below and can also be found in the ACPS Program of Studies on pages 34-35.  For more information about the options for STEM 10 and 11, please contact Jennifer Ushe or Mike Cohen.

Rising Sophomores: Students will sign up for the following core classes (note that there may be a few exceptions):

• English 10 Honors

• Chemistry Honors

• Math: Geometry, Algebra II, or Pre-Calculus

• AP or Honors World

• STEM Elective (shown below)

• STEM Explorations II

Rising Juniors: Because of the diversity of classes we offer at T.C. students will choose their own core classes as well as one of seven electives (shown below). In addition, students will enroll in STEM Explorations III, which we are in the process of developing. Although not required, it is highly recommended that students take Economics and Personal Finance online to allow for an additional elective.

 

The STEM 10 Academy wishes everyone a happy new year! We are excited for 2016 and looking forward to the many events and work we have planned for the remainder of the year. First, we want to take a look at our year so far and highlight our wonderful students!

Field Trips and Events

We‘ve had some great field trips this school year and more to come in 2016. STEM 10 attended The Careers in Transportation field trip at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in October. Here they learned about career options in the military, local government, and construction. Many students (and teachers) took advantage of operating the heavy machinery!

In November, we were lucky to take a field trip to the The Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum and view The Martian in IMAX-3D. After reading the book in class, students were able to compare the story told to the one portrayed on the big screen. Everyone had a great time! 

In preparation of reading Sherlock Holmes, STEM hosted the National Law Enforcement Museum and took part in their Traveling Forensic Science Lab. Students learned about the process of crime scene investigation and worked to solve a mock crime!

 

STEM Opportunities

Several of our students took advantage of local STEM activities including Code Day DC and JAMTECH. Code Day DC was a 24-hour coding event where students stayed up all night coding! At the end of the event, students were judged on a game they created. On November 21, STEM 10 students visited The Patent and Trademark Office for JAMTECH 12 learning how to build and code a video game with volunteers from Carney, Inc, George Mason University, and Little Arms Studio. You may recognize some faces on the JAMTECH website!

Capstone Projects

Our students have been working diligently on their capstone projects; researching, setting deadlines, and meeting with their mentors.

Mr. Rosenfeld’s STEM X class has visited Jefferson Houston twice to present STEM-related lessons to the fifth grade classes.

On December 16, three of our students, Grace Pattarini, Kevin Munson, and Bryce Cook visited the fourth annual Bike Hack Night at the 1776 building in Crystal City. At this event, these students were able to network and learn about technology-related apps and products to inspire their capstone project.

Read more about these capstone projects in our Student Highlights section of the website.

We’d also like to say a special thank you to all of our mentors! Students have already met their mentors and have been given excellent guidance. Visit our mentor page for more information about the capstone projects and mentor assignments.

X-STEM Symposium Donors Choose

Last but not least, we are excited to announce that we have received funding for the X-STEM Symposium in April! We will be taking all STEM 10 students to hear from a variety of speakers in STEM fields.

Here’s to another great year in the STEM 10 Academy!