Embracing Experiential
Learning
PAGE 3
100 Steps Closer to a Degree
PAGES 4 - 7
Good Vibrations: An Orchestra
Built on Empathy
PAGES 8 - 9
Parking Lot Showdown:
Students Race Food Trucks to
Raise Money
PAGES 10 - 13
Finding Evidence for
Engagement
PAGES 14 - 15
Where Empathy Meets
Engineering
PAGES 16-18
Storage Wars: Students Explore
STEM through Container Design
PAGE 19
Submit Your Story
2
It’s summer, and the break provides a natural pause to reflect on our
schools’ progress: What approaches are working? What needs to be
updated? And perhaps most importantly, which lessons will stick
with students, even after a three-month vacation?
In this issue, we’re looking at AOPS educators equipping students
with lifelong skills through hands-on experience. These students are
thinking creatively. They’re collaborating with peers. And they’re
gaining practical know-how that can be carried beyond
the classroom.
For example, Archbishop Wood High School students are researching
serial killers and analyzing crime scenes to see how science
empowers real-life forensics breakthroughs.
An orchestra program at Ss. John Neumann and Maria Goretti
High School is giving participants a rare chance to master classical
instruments, helping the diverse group find common ground.
And Saint Maximilian Kolbe School is challenging its students to
design, build, and race miniature food trucks, raising real money for
an important cause.
As you read these stories, feel free to jot down ideas to test in your
own school or classroom in the upcoming year. As AOPS students are
learning, sometimes the best way to approach a new lesson is to roll
up your sleeves and try it for yourself.