Tag Archives: STEM academy

Check Out What These Incredible Kids Accomplished!

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Monday Morning

We had 18 members at our Monday meeting along with 11 guests.  Joining us as guests were the seven Odyssey of the Mind team members, their coach, Archie Barribeau and three parents.  Gary Ring thanked all the members that donated books for the Grief Relief Raffle Basket.  The Human & Spiritual Aims Committee was able to actually put together three baskets due to our member’s generosity.  “Happy Bucks” were offered by Dawn Scannell for her wedding anniversary and the end of tax season being in sight, Pete Vercouteren for being glad to be back and Bonnie Baerwald for her birthday and also a great vacation that she and Lisa had in Florida.  Gary Miller was the 50/50 Raffle winner on Monday and he drew the Six of Diamonds, a non-winner.  Next week’s drawing will have 41 cards, including seven pay cards, and a pot of at least $128.

STEM Academy, Odyssey of the Mind

Fond du Lac STEM’s Odyssey of the Mind team was awarded the Ranatra Fusca Creativity Award in Madison on March 21 and invited to the World Finals at Michigan State University. The team concluded months of hard work and dedication by becoming Wisconsin’s latest Ranatra winners for their solution of the problem, “Pandora’s Box.” The team won the overall solution by receiving 187 out of a total 200 points and also won the style category by scoring a perfect 50 points.

The six-month process included the team researching Greek mythology, scientific principles, special effects, different types of communication, music history, figurative language and stage techniques. The team also developed creative problem-solving strategies, a script, and building plans. In addition, students operated power tools safely and integrated art and music into their solution. Students then combined all their acquired knowledge and skills to create the eight-minute production.

The students will represent Fond du Lac and the state of Wisconsin at Michigan State University in East Lansing on May 19 through May 23. At the World Finals, they will compete against students from over 33 countries.

Archie Barribeau is the faculty leader for this team and truly believes in these kids.

STEM Academy Reports Progress & Success

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Monday Morning

We had a nice turnout of 18 members and eight guests at Monday’s meeting back at the Retlaw Hotel. Joining us were our guest speaker, Steve Peterson along with three students of the FDL STEM Academy and four of their parents. Bonnie Baerwald announced that the Club Satellite meeting on July 3rd will be BackYard Bar & Grill at 12:15PM. Everyone’s welcome to attend. Charlene reminded everyone that our Annual Summer Picnic is this week Wednesday. Glen Treml had a “Happy Buck” for another grandchild on the way in November. John Cooper was the 50/50 Raffle drawing winner. John drew the Nine of Spades so he wasn’t a winner. The drawing on July 7th will have 19 cards with five pay cards and a pot of at least $456. In a second drawing Vickie Goldapske and Sharon Kollman each won a Walleye Weekend Miller Lite Polo. Congrats to all the winners.

Fond du Lac STEM Academy – Steve Peterson

Steve Peterson, CEO of Mid-States Aluminum, joined us on Monday as a representative of the Board of the FDL STEM Academy/Institute.

The Fond du Lac STEM Academy is the result of a partnership established between the Mercury Marine Corporation and the Fond du Lac School District. This partnership is far more than the traditional concept of a corporate partnership in which a the company provides resources for the school but has little actual involvement in the operations of the school. The mission for the Fond du Lac STEM Academy as stated in the charter grant application is: To develop innovative, passionate learners by providing a rigorous and challenging project-based curriculum grounded in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Our goal is to encourage ingenuity and creativity using real-world, hands on experiences. All students will develop strong team skills including collaboration, critical thinking, and flexibility, along with individual skills of self-reflection, persistence, pride, and resiliency. These skill sets will create future, highly employable citizens, armed with the 21st-century tools necessary for local, national, and global marketplaces.The STEM Academy is located at Franklin School and has a capacity of 100 students, with 80 students enrolled for the 2014-15 school starting in September. The STEM Academy includes grades 3, 4 and 5.

The STEM Institute started in 2013 and is also housed at Franklin School. The Institute has capacity for 150 students and has an enrollment of 100 students for the 2014-15 school year. The STEM Institute covers grades 6, 7 and 8. While there is nothing currently in place to continue this STEM concept at the High School level, the STEM advisory board is looking for ways to continue this learning philosophy at that level.

The three students that came along on Monday morning each gave a brief testimonial on why they like STEM and what some of their experiences have been.

STEM Academy Team Plans Trip to Iowa

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Monday Morning

We had 19 members at Monday’s meeting back at the Retlaw Hotel along with five speakers and guest Lois Towne. Joining us was Archie Barribeau along with three of his Odyssey of the Mind students and one of their Moms. Bonnie Baerwald announced that the Children’s Museum is looking for a couple of volunteers to help with a Garden Project with young children from 10:00AM – 1:00PM this Saturday. Let Bonnie know if you can help. Bonnie also announced a Wild Goose Trail Clean Up on Saturday, May 10th. We’ll start with breakfast at Pump N Pantry starting at 7:15AM and meet at the trail head about 8:00AM. “Happy Bucks” were offered by Charlene Pettit for someone turning her lost iPhone in to Verizon, Pete Vercouteren for a good mission trip to Biloxi and Del Waldschmidt for a successful Brewers start to the season. Del also was the 50/50 Raffle winner but he drew the three of Spades, not a winner. Next week’s 50/50 Raffle drawing will have 25 cards with five pay cards and a pot of at least $364.

Odyssey of the Mind Team – STEM Academy

Many hours of hard work have paid off as the STEM Academy‘s Odyssey of the Mind (OM) team earned an invitation to the World Finals at Iowa State University. The team of Mason McGrath, Miles Dennis, Sophie Schmidt, Jared Ott, Eleanor Sitter, Allison Riley, and Alexis Lord became Wisconsin Odyssey of the Mind State Champions on March 22 in Madison by placing first in Division I with their solution for the problem, “The Not-So-Haunted House.”

Students prepared for the competition by studying science, math, art, and the language arts to develop an eight-minute solution to the problem. The five-month process included the OM team researching special effects, learning about communication, researching music, studying language, practicing creative problem solving, writing a play, and creating building plans. In addition, students learned how to operate power tools safely. Students then combined all their acquired knowledge and skills to create a production.

The students will represent Fond du Lac and the state of Wisconsin at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa on May 26-31.