Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) are foundational to any formal education. The skills learned in a STEM classroom can be applied to every part of life, be it academic or otherwise.
At Admiral Farragut Academy, where engineering is a signature program, students from Kindergarten through 12th grade have the opportunity to learn valuable skills and find passions in areas that they may not have known existed — and that may not exist for years.
On Thursday and Friday, September 17th and 18th, the Engineering and Naval Science classes held a Cardboard Regatta. For over two weeks, the Engineering and Naval Science classes worked on designing vessels using concepts they learned in both classes. The tools they had to make the boats included cardboard, clear packing tape, duct tape, string, paint, and decorations. Students employed the engineering design process and their understanding of boat terminology and nomenclature to design a vessel that would carry them across Farragut’s pool.
Julia LoRusso ’24 with one of the Montana Masks made by her and her mom Lower School STEM Teacher Shannon LoRusso.
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to expand globally, the supply chain for masks and face shields continues to be stressed. Lower School STEM Teacher Shannon LoRusso quickly found a way to help by using a 3D printer to print Montana Masks and Face Shields for hospital use. Before Admiral Farragut Academy closed, she took the 3D printer from the Lower School STEM Lab home and the school provided her materials such as the computer and numerous rolls of PLA filament.
Recently, Mrs. LoRusso’s 7th grade STEM class had their competition for their Survival Project Robots. They had high school Principles of Engineering students judge their robots. The winners are Karolina Kutova and Koen Thill.
Saturday, January 26th, the Farragut Astros and the Galactic Narwhals LEGO Robotics teams competed in a qualifying tournament.
During the first semester of the 2018-2019 school year, Mrs. LoRusso’s Lower School STEM classes have been learning through all sorts of fun activities.
On Tuesday January 17th, Mrs. Shannon LoRusso’s 7th grade VEX Robotics class had their competition for their Survival Project Robots. They had Officer Mike and Officer Erik from Critical Intervention Services judge their robots. The winners were Austin Gay and Brian Magenheimer.
Coding is becoming an important job skill on par with being bilingual. As many as 7 million job openings in 2016 were in positions that required coding skills. And here at Farragut, 4th graders, Isabella Reynolds and Allister Nasr, are the first students out of the 4th and 5th grade to complete Computer Science Fundamentals Coding Course 2 on code.org. Although students only started working on this course in August, Isabella and Alister have now moved on to Course 3.
The Lower School STEM program added a MakerBot 3D printer this school year. The printer is similar to the one in use by the Upper School STEM program. The printer has given the students greater opportunities to see their vision come to life. Read more
This past summer, George Dyche ‘16 — whose parents are engineers for ExxonMobil — spent a majority of his summer working alongside petroleum engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and geoscientists. That was not necessarily a normal activity for teenagers, but for George, it was a head start on his future. Read more
