On April 20, the Everett High School Robotics Club and Capital Area K12 Online school showcased their accomplishments in the STEM field at the regular Lansing Board of Education Meeting.
The students from the Everett High School Robotics Club said that this was the first time they had received four awards of Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology in the season’s FIRST® Robotics Competition.
The Everett High School Robotics Club was selected as the backup team for the playoffs, after they defeated the team from Mason High School. Trustee Guillermo Z. López went and watched the game and would like to help the students as much as possible.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for the next competition and I hope that we support them as much as we can,” said López.
Maureen McDiarmid, the science teacher of Capital Area K12 Online, and her STEM team are attempting to build houses by using insulation materials and utilizing 3D printing technology after some students expressed that their houses were too cold or too hot to live in during their communication with her.
McDiarmid stated that she plans to participate in Samsung’s “Solve for Tomorrow” competition. Her and her students’ project has already won a total of $14,500 in prize money, including the state finalist award, to be used to pay for science materials. She said that the students will also learn a lot during the process and what they are doing is not just limited to that. They tried to design an application that could monitor energy and help students connect with Consumers Energy.
“They’re going to learn how to design 3D homes and program Arduino sensors that they put inside their homes and then heat lamps on it and check for humidity and temperature,” said Lee. “We are currently working on electric cars and solar cars, and can figure out how we understand our carbon footprint.”
Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said that student attendance in high school has improved and will continue to maintain a close partnership with Capital Area Transportation Authority to ensure that students can always find a way home after participating in after-school activities.
“I know the community has a dutifully questioning eye and we are really proud of CATA,” said Shuldiner. “We want to help defray the costs of gas cards so we certainly look forward to next year where the gas cards will continue to exist.”