CROSS-CURRICULUM CREATIVITY
Max Machado ’ 22 was the inaugural iSTEAM Expo ’ s Student Speaker . Machado plans to study Mechanical Engineering at Princeton University and hopes to one day work with Boeing .
LEFT : Students showcased several of their robots during the inaugural iSTEAM Expo .
“ Creating a strong Computer Science department has been long overdue and a much-needed component for our high school students ,” Antoniou stated in an interview about the new courses .
At the inaugural iSTEAM Expo on May 4th , Mario Caraballo stated that “ the goal [ of the Cybersecurity course ] is not just a hack , but also to know what to do , how to protect personal data , and defend against cyber attacks .”
Fordham Prep is working to bring on a Computer Science department chair to help expand course offerings to include Advanced Robotics in the near future .
INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM
E ven outside of coursework , students are finding ways to connect with peers that share similar interests . Co-curriculars such as FP3D ( 3D Printing Club ), the eSports Club , Robotics Club , Sports Analytics Club , and the Cybersecurity Club have become popular with students very quickly . Caraballo stated that over 50 students collectively participate in the aforementioned clubs each cycle .
Max Machado ’ 22 , president of FP3D during the 2021 – 22 school year , remembers how small the club was when it first started out .
“ We ’ ve gone from a club with no members and [ in 2022 ] we are almost 20 members strong ,” he said during his speech at the iSTEAM Expo . “ We have a lot of projects we ’ re working on ,” he continued , pointing to his club ’ s exhibit showcasing a drone they were building . “ I ’ ve also been a part of the robotics club , building the robots and programming and it ’ s been a lot of fun ,” he added .
In the Prep ’ s Sports Analytics Club students went back in time to review former basketball player Charles “ Buck ” Williams ’ career on the New Jersey Nets , Portland Trail Blazers , and New York Knicks . The club used Excel and Basketball-Reference . com to compile the majority of their stats from which they made bar graphs and a slideshow to showcase and compare data . Their main goal was to prove that Williams is deserving of a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame .
“ He played way before I was born , so I really didn ’ t know much about him because he wasn ’ t that flashy player that everybody likes ,” said Shane Daughtry ’ 22 , president of the Sports Analytics Club for the 2021 – 22 school year . Williams didn ’ t do “ flashy dunks or threes and things like that ,” Daughtry noted .
The experience led Daughtry to discover his love for statistics , which he will study in the fall at the University of Pennsylvania .
“ The Sports Analytics Club is great because it builds our own little small community inside Fordham Prep ,” he said . “ It ’ s great doing things that you love with other people . Hopefully what we ’ re doing is making a difference ,” he added .
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Under the direction of Dr . Raymond Gonzalez from the Science Department and with help from St . John ’ s University , Fordham Prep ’ s Sports Analytics Club created a summative portfolio arguing the case for former basketball player Buck Williams ’ nomination to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame .
Mario Caraballo , iSTEAM Co-Coordinator
THEIR MAIN GOAL WAS TO PROVE THAT WILLIAMS IS DESERVING OF A SPOT IN THE NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME .
SUMMER 2022 VOLUME 42 , ISSUE 3
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