At STA, there are a series of clubs that can appeal to each student. One of these clubs is the STEM Club. The STEM Club focuses on four main topics: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These four topics can help introduce students to a career they may want to pursue in the future. STA introduces students to the four branches of STEM in an event called STEAMS Week. In STEAMS Week there are 4 main events that took place from November 6th to November 9th, this year being: NASA’s WEBB Galaxy Art Competition, Fire Truck Egg Drop, Airplane Challenge, Fresh Start Garden Prayer & Workshop.
NASA’s Webb Galaxy Art Competition
This year’s STEAMS Week added two new events, one of them being the NASA’s Webb Galax Art Competition. The main goal of the competition was to create a realistic representation of images that could come from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which all the students had succeeded in. This particular competition was held in room 202, with assistance from Dr. Spanich and Ms. Maradiaga. Before the competition began, each student was given a plastic bag in order to avoid any spillage on their uniforms. As the competition began, an image from the JWST was posted onto the smart board which allowed the students to get inspiration on how they would paint their projects. Each student was given a variety of different colors of paint, a paint palette, and multiple paint brushes used for different purposes. When it came down to judging who had the best painting, it proved to be difficult to just choose one winner. Because of this, Ms. Maradiaga decided that there would be two winners, Jesus Guzman and Isabella Fortich.
Fire Truck Egg Drop
On November 7th in the gym parking lot, a fire truck came to STA to help with the demonstration for that day. This had been done with the cooperation from the local fire department and help from Dr. Spanich. During this event, the fireman explained the effects and what would happen if they had dropped an egg from the ladder of the firetruck. After talking with Dr. Spanich, it had been decided that it would be better to drop a water bottle instead of an egg. Although the purpose of the demonstration was to see at what height an egg would crack, it could still be demonstrated with water bottles, even though it would not show the same effects. As the firemen raised the ladder to drop the water bottles, each student got to see what would happen. After the demonstration, all the students were allowed to go near the firetruck and take photos next to it with the firemen.
Paper Airplane Challenge
In the 400s hallway after school, Dr. Spanich helped moderate the paper airplane challenge. This challenge consisted of three main events, where each event consisted of three teams. The first activity was to make three paper airplanes and to launch them towards a target layed on the ground. Before each event, every team had an opportunity to practice before the event started. As the first event began, each team had gotten a feel for the event and were ready. Each team launched their paper airplanes, with the result being team 1 getting the most points. The next activity consisted of using the same paper airplanes, but now launching it to see how far they would go. The plane with the furthest distance traveled, the more points they will earn. As each team went, there was a clear winner, being team 3. The third and final activity consisted of launching the same three paper airplanes, but now one member of each team had to hold up a large bag to catch the planes. As expected, it had proven to be very difficult with teams two and three earning 0 points, although very close. In contrast, team 1 had earned 10 points in total. As a result of team 1 winning, a tie breaker had formed. The tie breaker, being between team one and three, was a repetition of the 2nd activity with the furthest traveled distance with one plane being the winner. As both teams prepared and went, a winner had been decided. The team being team three who were declared as the winners of the event, with each member earning gift bags.
Fresh Start Garden Prayer & Workshop
After school by the Butterfly Garden, Dr. Spanich and Ms. Lauretta helped conduct the fourth and final event. This event first began with students, led by Father Pham, saying a prayer
for all the conflicts around the world. After that, the students formed several groups, of up to five, to find different types of plants scattered around the school. To prove that the group had found that specific plant, they must have taken a photo of the plant and to not pick it out, which would harm the plant. After each group returned to the garden, everyone was told to help make seed balls, which they were later allowed to bring home. Seed balls are balls made up of seeds for the intention of keeping the seeds safe until it is the right time for them to germinate.
