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At Wellesley High, you can’t have too many robotics clubs

January 9, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

When Wellesley High School junior Rachel White gave us a heads up about a robotics club she launched this past spring with fellow student Ethan Chen, I was surprised that the school didn’t already have one. White quickly clarified for me that indeed the school already had a robotics club that participates in Botball competition—but the new club focuses on FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition.

“An [FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)] robot presented us with a really exciting opportunity to design, build, and code a 125-pound robot,” says White, who has compiled an impressive range of robotics knowledge via classes at Wellesley High and Wellesley Middle School, participation in the Botball club, and five years of robotics summer camp.

The FIRST club, which started with six students in May, now has 27 members. So the appetite for more opportunities in this field are apparent.

“We were inspired to create an accessible and equitable team to increase the diversity of students in STEM activities, and open it to all no matter their background or experience with robotics,” says White, who notes that only 10%-20% of the students in her engineering and computer science classes/clubs are girls. The Wellesley Robotics Team (WRT) is 50% girls.

White and other students are urging Wellesley High’s administration to add a robotics course that goes beyond the Botball and Lego Mindstorm topics included in existing courses. Who knows, maybe that will inspire even more robotics and STEM clubs in the future at the school.

Wellesley Robotics Team
Photos courtesy of Wellesley Robotics Team

 

Building the robot

The Wellesley Robotics Team has been designing, building, and coding a prototype robot since October that White says “we have fun driving around!”

While you can choose to take part in many tasks in the FRC game, Wellesley’s team has focused on one:  shooting a 7-inch ball into an 8-foot-high goal. The competition will take place virtually in January and February.

Wellesley Robotics Team

The Wellesley club has been meeting on Zoom for the past seven months, White says,  to learn about the robot control board, electrical wiring, Java programming, CAD (Computer Aided Design), mechanical design, tool safety, and material use.

Building the robot in person has been more challenging, though they’ve been fortunate to have access to a team member’s garage, which has been outfitted as a shop.

“We meet in person several days a week so that no more than six people at a time are in our build space due to our COVID protocols,” White says. “With only six people in at a time, it can be hard to make progress, but we are persevering and pushing forward with our work.”

Club cofounders White and Chen also have plenty of other activities to keep them occupied. White’s a student representative to the School Committee and a WHS Student Congress member, while Chen is a swim team captain, co-leader of the New Student Ambassadors, and a member of the Keynote singers. 

Among the club’s mentors is Brian Kelly, who teaches robotics at Wellesley Middle School, but parents also help out a lot, as do mentors from FRC teams around the state. The Wellesley Robotics Team is always looking for mentors to help with coding, CAD, and mechanical design/build tasks.  

Kelly says it’s been a pleasure to mentor the club members given that most were in one or more of his classes during their time at the middle school. “It is a hard working, focused, and enthusiastic group who has taken on quite a challenge, not the least of which is organizing a workspace and schedule to maintain as safe an environment as possible during this pandemic,” he says.

“They are getting tremendous support from parents and I have been impressed by the forward thinking on the part of both students and parents, in the sense that they are very much focused, not only on their particular challenges for this team, this season, but also on the teams that will likely follow,” Kelly says.

The club members and parents are “building a foundation for students and the parents who will also find themselves inspired and engaged by the challenges of building a robot that actually does what one wants it to do. It ain’t easy…,” he says.

FIRST robotics teams are sponsor funded, and Wellesley’s team (Team Ultraviolet #8765) thanks MathWorks, Eliassen Group, NASA, FIRST, and Lowe’s for their support. Anyone interested in sponsoring or learning more about the nonprofit can email [email protected] or check out its website.


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Filed Under: STEM, Wellesley High School

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Wellesley camps & programs 2020 — find a great summer experience

July 18, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

iCode of WellesleyThe Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps & Programs page lists over 75 camps and programs in Wellesley and beyond. It’s time to sign your child up for a great summer experience. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, drama, or nature, the perfect camp is out there for them.

Swellesley’s Summer Camps & Programs page is sponsored by iCode of Wellesley. iCode’s interactive programs for kids ages 6 – 18 are going on now. On-site and online programs available.

Please be aware that of the camps and programs listed, some are going forward, some have substantially re-worked their offerings, while others have canceled for 2020.

Contact Deborah to update your summer listing, or for advertising on Swellesley. Camp parents and guardians: Please let camps know that you found them here, if you did…thanks.

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Filed Under: Entertainment, Kids, STEM, Technology

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From egg drops to Scratch: Kickstarting STEM love among kids

May 28, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Wellesley High School students who offer classes to elementary school students through Kickstart STEM are a techie lot well equipped to teach remotely, as they’ve done for free during the school shutdown forced by COVID-19. But they’d much rather be teaching in person.
Gael Hyppolite, who started the program in Spring of 2018 with classmates Andrew Dunbar and Tristan Martello, loves having kids compete with each other to engage with science technology engineering & math (STEM). He describes the scramble instigated among kids during the last day of a 2019 summer workshop in which they were tasked with building the best possible parachute for an egg using recycled materials.
“We had all our materials placed in two large boxes at the front of the room, but instead of distributing them amongst the groups we told each kid to remain seated until we began the timer,” he says. “Of course, it was chaos the moment we started the timer, with all the kids fighting like animals to get their hands on the materials they needed.”
kickstart
Kickstart STEM in action

 

Hyppolite and his crew (also including Aditya Acharya) converted Kickstart STEM into a business last November and offer classes in general STEM as well as programming languages Scratch and Python via Wellesley Rec for $50 per 6-week program. They and other students have been teaching about 60 kids per season. Scratch, because of its simplicity, has been most popular as a programming introduction.

“We wanted to share our love for STEM and provide kids with our own perspectives on why these fields are so great,” Hyppolite says of Kickstart STEM’s origins.

New online courses are now being offered via Wellesley Rec for small groups to ensure interactivity. When registering, note activity #s: STEM is 322997, Scratch is 322999, and Python is 322998.

More:  Wellesley School Committee presents update on Remote Learning 2.0

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Filed Under: Education, STEM, Wellesley High School

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Wellesley schools news: School Committee agenda; jazz band gold; youth service award deadline; coronavirus (COVID-19) resources

March 10, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Our regular round-up of the latest Wellesley, Mass., school news.

Interested in underwriting our Wellesley Schools roundup? Here’s how to Advertise and/or Donate to support our independent journalism venture

POSTPONED: Wellesley Creates coding event

This year’s Wellesley Creates event (formally known as the CreateAthon) will be held on March 28 from 9:30 am to 4 pm at Wellesley High School. This is a coding event for middle and high school students living or going to school in Wellesley, though no programming experience is required to participate.

The event, which is free,  is held with support from the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF).

In the morning, participants will watch short videos in which members of the Wellesley community (such as local business owners) describe problems which an app could solve. Next, participants will attend four different workshops taught by professionals from Quickbase, a Cambridge-based coding platform, along with Wellesley High School students. These hands-on workshops introduce participants to essential concepts behind programming, such as ideation and coding through the use of MIT App Inventor.

After lunch, students will break into pre-set teams of four and work with a mentor to code their app and create a poster that outlines the app. Teams will then present their ideas to judges and compete for prizes. Last year some of the apps created were a door security app for WMS and a stress-free alternative to PowerSchool.

018 creatathon
The 2018 event

(Information provided by Sarah Tong and Christina Wu, marketing chairs)


Last School Committee meeting before Town Election: March 10

School Committee Meeting

Tuesday, March 10, 6:30pm, JulianiRoom, TownHall, 525WashingtonStreet

6:30 PM – ​Call to Order

6:31 PM – ​Public Comment

6:35 PM – ​Recognitions

6:40 PM – ​Reports

●School Committee

●Superintendent

●Student Advisory

7:00 PM – ​Consent Agenda

● Approval of Minutes: 2/6 and 2/11 Open Sessions, 2/25 Open & Executive Sessions

● Gifts Acceptance

7:05 PM – ​Action/Discussion Items​ 7:05 pm Kiwanis Gift

7:10 pm 2018-19 Nursing Activities Report

7:30 pm SWAC Update

7:50 pm Mid-Year Goals Reports

●District

●Superintendent

8:05 pm Sustainable Building Guidelines

8:20 pm Update on Student Opportunity Act Planning

8:40 pm ES Minutes: Review for Release

8:45 pm HHU Discussion

9:15 PM – ​Public Comment

9:20 PM – ​Adjourn


Gold medal for Wellesley High 2:00 Jazz Band

From WHS Band Director Steve Scott:

I’m thrilled to announce that the WHS 2:00 Jazz Band earned a Gold Medal at Tuesday’s Massachusetts Association for Jazz Educators (MAJE) Festival at Reading Memorial High School. Russell Hornung (trumpet), Alex Feinberg (drums) and Connor McDonald (trombone) were chosen by our judges for Outstanding Musicianship Awards. They performed selections by Miles Davis, Benny Carter and Cole Porter. At the festival, the band got a fantastic clinic with Nathan Jorgensen, jazz and saxophone professor at UNH. The 2:00 Jazz Band will once again advance to the MAJE State Finals at Oliver Ames HS in Easton on March 21. I could not be more proud of these outstanding students.

WHS 2:00 Jazz Band
WHS 2:00 Jazz Band

 


Centennial Youth Service Award application deadline is March 31

The Wellesley Service League’s annual Centennial Youth Service Award application deadline is March 31st. An eligible applicant should be a Wellesley resident or a student at Wellesley High School, completing their senior year in high school, who has demonstrated unusual dedication and selflessness in a volunteer capacity. How to apply for the Wellesley Centennial Youth Service Award.

Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) central

coronavirus imageLinks to official Town of Wellesley coronavirus resources, plus Massachusetts Department of Public Health, CDC, Babson, Wellesley College, plus our past related posts. Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates.


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Filed Under: STEM, Wellesley High School, Wellesley Middle School

Summer Camp Spotlight: Edge on Science at Regis College in Weston, Massachusetts

March 6, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

SPONSORED POST: Calling all budding scientists and engineers!  Edge on Science is bringing summer STEM fun to Regis College, in Weston, Massachusetts. They believe in a project-based approach to applied science and engineering, one that taps into your child’s intrinsic curiosity. Lead instructors are engineers, scientists or scholars, and their aim is to encourage and challenge. With a child-to-instructor and assistant ratio of 7:1 or less, kids get plenty of support, as they work in teams to build individual and group projects.

Edge on Science
Catapult Engineering, Edge on Science

“My greater education was from summer enrichment,

because it took me to another level.”
— Connell Cloyd, M.Ed.

Summer programs like this allow your child to further explore a particular interest, or to try something new, all while having fun! They learn how to use tools, drawings, computer applications, and scientific instruments to make their projects come to life. Here are a few of the ways kids can create, test, and discover, with Edge on Science:

Bridge Building: In the classroom, kids design, build, and load test a take-home, model truss bridge. Outside, they team-build four different bridges, including a suspension type.

Catapult Engineering: We think this parent explanation sums it up best: “Catapult Engineering is non-stop, hands-on physics fun with a medieval flair.” Outside, teams build two trebuchets!

Drone and Code: Learn how to code instructions for a drone. Deal with basic laws of motion. Let STEM take flight!

Super Science Sampler: Kids get to explore many branches of applied science and engineering through fun experimentation, demonstrations, games and challenges.

STEM Program: Edge on Science
LOCATION: Regis College campus, Weston, Massachusetts & other locations in Newton, Beverly and Manchester
PHONE: (315) 773-5673
EMAIL HERE

 

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Filed Under: Kids, STEM

Summer camp listings — we’ve got over 50 in Wellesley and beyond

March 5, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

LINX Camps, WellesleyIt’s time to sign your child up for the summer camp experience of a lifetime. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, or nature, there’s a camp out there for them. The Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps page is now updated with over 50 camps in Wellesley and beyond. Thanks to LINX Camps, our Camps Page sponsor, for their swell support. LINX Camps’ mission is to provide the best day camp experience for each member of every family.

Check out other great camps like Charles River Creative Arts Program, Dana Hall Girls Summer Leadership Program, Dedham Country Day Camp, Fay Summer, Gymnastics Express, iCode, Club Kidville, LINX, Summer at Riverbend, Tenacre Day Camp, Wellesley Theatre Project, and more.

Want to advertise YOUR summer camp? Contact us at [email protected]

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Filed Under: Education, Entertainment, Kids, Outdoors, STEM, Technology

Overcoming inertia to attend Wellesley’s Isaac Newton exhibit

September 18, 2019 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Temps reached into the 80s Saturday, making for a beautiful day. Mrs. Swellesley was off hiking in western Mass with friends. I was laying low, resting my legs in advance of a sure-to-grueling 5K road race.

OK, I guess I’ll actually pop over to the Babson College pop-up exhibit of Sir Isaac Newton artifacts that I signed up for back in July. How boring can it be?

As it turns out, not boring at all.

Sure, as I assembled in the lobby of the Sorenson Center I realized my worst fears. Asked by a visiting curator from the Huntington Library in California what drew us to this exhibit, the majority of the group responded that they were engineering grads from Olin College. A Wellesley College instructor also was in the mix. Then there was me, a lowly wordsmith looking for a touch of enlightenment.

While I know my basic Newtonian facts, such as the Big 3 laws and that he didn’t discover gravity by getting bonked on the head by an apple, I didn’t quite appreciate the extent to which he was one of those Ben Franklin types who was the best at seemingly everything he did. That he was doing STEM before there was STEM.

Not only was this down-to-earth 17th- and 18th-century figure a great mathematician and scientist, but the Master of the Mint, an alchemy enthusiast, and “the most learned religious scholar of his time,” according to Huntington’s Joel Klein, an alchemy expert himself. Newton’s religious research, including his own blasphemous beliefs, mainly came to light after his death, when collectors like Babson acquired his works at auction.

“No problem was too big for Newton,” Klein asserted.

Babson Newton exhibit

Because this exhibit was so small, featuring about a dozen items enclosed in 4 cases borrowed from Harvard, attendees were  forced to zero in on what was before them. It reminded me of The Raconteurs show I’d just attended at the House of Blues, where attendees were required to lock their phones in pouches to compel them to stare at Jack White and his band mates for 90 minutes instead of holding up and checking their phones during the show.

On display at Babson from Sept. 20-22 was just a sampling of the massive Newton collection assembled by Grace Babson, first wife of college founder Roger Babson. Roger Babson was known to have a fascination with Newton’s laws, applying them to business, as well as with the concept of anti-gravity.

Babson Newton exhibit
Huntington Library curator Joel Klein, talking alchemy

 

The Newton exhibit, set in a black box theatre, included an original edition of Principia, THE math book, with Newton’s hand-scrawled notes in the margins. Also on display were very old coins, at least one of which was clipped, or cut off around the edges. Schemers did this to sell off the silver and still use the coin for its own value. Though they did so at the risk of being burned, hung or drawn and quartered. Such ploys were high crimes at the time, Klein said.

A cryptic Newton sketch related to his efforts to discover the philosopher’s stone, which in theory could turn base metals into silver or gold, also made for interesting viewing. Especially after Klein noted Newton’s focus on the substance antimony, and something about the “menstrual blood of a sordid whore.”

I didn’t see that coming.

Nor did I foresee myself reserving a book called Newton and the Counterfeiter from the library after my visit. But I did.

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Filed Under: Babson College, History, STEM, Uncategorized

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