Kidsburgh Pittsburgh also interviewed Joe, Parv, and Anish about the app and their experience at the conference. Joe said,“ Truly it’ s an honor … It’ s a great feeling to know there are so many people who care about us and our local area, but also about the country and our world and they’ re trying to make it a better place.” https:// www. facebook. com / KidsburghPgh /
On Friday, October 14, South Fayette Intermediate and Elementary School students took part in an exciting day of making
( www. remakelearning. org) and experimenting at the Pittsburgh Maker Faire. Held at Buhl Community Park, Nova Place, and the Children’ s Museum of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Maker Faire is an annual community-based learning event designed to inspire children and adults alike to be designers, tinkerers, and makers.
The Faire included technology, art, robotics, fashion, 3D printing, home energy monitoring, green technology game systems, and more, and lasted the entire weekend. While the event was open to everyone on Saturday and Sunday, Friday’ s session was designated as Education Day, with more than 1,200 students from across the region visiting to experience STEAM and Maker opportunities happening in Western Pennsylvania.
The District brought two student groups to present at this event. Samantha Bozzer, 4th grade teacher, and her student team made up of Ryan Pirain, Harshitha Lingam, and Mahika Shetty, hosted an activity called“ How can drones be helpful?” At their table, participants participated in a rescue simulation to move land drones through an obstacle course in order to save victims from a burning building and other dangers. Students provided opportunities for participants to use the drones they had previously programmed, learn how the programming language worked, and operate a drone in“ free flight” mode.
Melissa Unger, K-2 STEAM teacher, and a few second graders hosted an activity table focused on circuitry and computer programming.“ We used Scratch programming code and Lego WeDo robots to make Lego Spin Art Machines,” explained second grader Jude Kwiatek.
Students taught visitors how to set up their machines and combine art and technology to create intricate designs. In addition to programming, the second graders also walked participants through building their own circuits using conductive dough and LED lights.
Unger said,“ The Maker Faire was an exciting opportunity for our students to share what they are learning with others, and also to see what students at other schools are working on.”
It was an inspiring day for both the students and the teachers. In addition to the student teams, several classrooms from the Intermediate School, including Scott Sundgren’ s class, Elizabeth Poluszejko’ s class, and Sarah Manly’ s class also traveled to the Maker Faire.
The South Fayette Township School District is continuing its trailblazing efforts through enhanced instructional practices and by embedding technology integration into the curriculum. As part of the regional REMAKE LEARNING www. remakelearning. org effort; Carnegie Science Center Pathways to Learning Partnership; Digital Promise: League of Innovative Schools www. digitalpromise. org; AIU 3 STEAM( Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics); Arts Education Collaborative( AEC) and Carnegie Mellon University( CMU) opportunities— and as grateful recipients of The Sprout Fund and The Grable Foundation grants— the District continues to foster and forge partnerships that benefit children and educators on a regional and national level. Ongoing embedded and integrated professional development collaborations remain essential to advancing programs.
Please join us for the District’ s fall / winter athletics and arts programs. The calendar is available online at www. southfayette. org. If any community resident or family would like a hard copy calendar for home use and did not already receive one, please pick one up at the District’ s Central Office located in the Stadium Complex.
On behalf of the entire District, and to borrow from Thoreau’ s words, we are perpetually thankful for the partnerships that benefit our students and staff, and especially for the community’ s support of our children and schools.
outh Fayette
SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
All the best,
Dr. Bille P. Rondinelli Superintendent of Schools
South Fayette | Winter 2016 | icmags. com 49