Cyber Girls Dominating Cyber World

The inaugural members of the Cyber Warrior Princess Club

By Julia Doyle

The Cyber Warrior Princess Club gives girls a new look on computers. When it comes to cybersecurity, they are your girls. So boot up and get ready, it’s time to go through cyberspace.

Cyber Warrior Princesses is a brand new club, which just started this year, and it was introduced at the open house. Some of the topics students explore include things like how to stay safe on the internet and that not all hacking is bad. 

Rebbeca Onuskanich is the volunteer who is teaching the Cyber Warrior Princess Club every Wednesday afternoon. When asked why she wanted to start the club, Rebecca explained, "I want to get more girls more interested in Cybersecurity. With females representing only 11% of  Cybersecruity positions, its important that we expose females to this field at a young age!" 

The program is also geared towards career exploration. As Rebecca explained, "this club will have a huge impact! We currently have a pipeline issue in that there are over 209,000 open [Cybersecurity] positions in the US, and colleges and universities are just now providing a degrees in Cybersecurity. This leaves us with a tremendous shortage of qualified and trained individuals. When this happens, the best way to immediately fix the problem is through training."

Rebecca describes a promising future for students who go into Cybersecurity, claiming that, "with the appropriate training and certifications, high school students could get a job in Cybersecurity upon graduation and then go to college while working."

When you go online, you may think that whatever you post or do can be deleted, and that's not true. When you put something online you can't take it back. Someone can take a screenshot or forward it to someone else before you can do anything. Some parents have software installed on your computer, so they see what you websites you looked at and what you said at the end of the month, even if you delete it. 

Another lesson the club teaches students is that when they make a post on the internet, anyone, anywhere can see it. Most people wouldn't go up to a stranger and say “here is my address, my phone number, my school and pretty much all my personal information,” so why do they do it on the internet? This is what the Cyber Warrior Princess Club teaches students about. They show you what it is okay to post, what's not okay, and more.    

You might be surprised to hear not all hacking is bad. I’ll explain why. When you hear the word “hacking,” most people think of a person behind a computer screen stealing money online, hacking a game to win, or taking your information, but that's only one definition. Have you ever thought of yourself as hacking in everyday life? For example, when you take a shortcut through a maze, that's hacking, only in a different way. When somebody takes data for money without permission that is black hat hacking. That means that they steal stuff to sell or get into things they are not supposed to do. When people hack things to test security when they are hired by that company, they are white hat hackers. They are looking for ways to make the data more secure.

Students in the club are excited about what they're learning. When I asked Eve what she could expect to do in the club, she said she wants to "learn about hacking." Another student, Chrys, explained that she hopes to go into Cybersecurity after she graduates, so this club is right up her alley!

One thing is clear, and that's that the Cyber Warrior Princess club teaches girls important lessons about technology and staying safe online while exposing them to exciting future career opportunities.

Ohio Needs Voters

11th Grade Government students working on their informercial projects

By Maya Quale

It’s that time of the year again: Americans head to the polls and make one of the most important decisions we, as citizens, make. To help aid Ohio voters’ decisions, the students of Ms. Durkee’s 11^th grade Government class are creating infomercials and logistic videos to help give Ohio voters all of the information they need to vote in the 2016 and future elections. 

 

Each group creates an infomercial and logistics video. For the logistics video each group has chosen an issue to give general info about and the candidates' platforms on an issue. The infomercial topics are healthcare, gun control, college education, general education, families and children, social security, and environment. In the video are statistics, the candidate’s opinion on the topic, and how their plan will affect Ohio if they become president. 

11^th grade student, Chloe Johnson says, “I believe the infomercial will help viewers understand more about the candidates' policies. Especially since we’re not being biased, by adding information about each candidate. We also include logistics to let the viewers know where and when to vote.” Ms. Campbell, Biology and Anatomy and Physiology teacher, says, “I think it’s great to expose young people to politics, so that they can be informed citizens when they get the opportunity to vote.”

The logistics video gives Ohio voters basic information about how to vote, when to vote, where to vote, what third parties are, what a swing state is and why Ohio is one of them, and what the Electoral College is. All groups have come up with very creative ways to film their videos: stop motion, animation, presentations, whiteboard filming, etc. One group is doing a Lego stop-motion animation video. Another is using a Prezi presentation to film using Screencastomatic.

Be sure to catch their videos on Ms. Durkee’s YouTube channel October 19th, and join us at DRSS as we watch the final Presidential Debate. The students' commercials will be playing before and after the debate watch party. 

You can register here if you plan to attend the Debate Watch Party on October 19!

Humans of DRSS - Chloe Johnson

Chloe Johnson, a junior at DRSS, is the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper, The STEM Inquirer

By Bri Perkins

Chloe Johnson has been a familiar face around DRSS for the past five years. She first started DRSS in the year of 2012, when she was beginning seventh grade. Since starting, she has received a 4.0 GPA all through her middle school and high school career. Not only that, but she does many other activities outside of school. “I participate in basketball, volunteer at Victoria Theatre, and volunteer at my church. At Victoria Theatre, I am a teen usher, which means I help seat guests, take tickets, greet guests, or help in the elevator. There are certain plays I usher at, and it happens at least once a month. Most of the time, I volunteer at my church during the summer at the Vacation Bible School.” Chloe has been playing basketball since she was eleven years old. She currently plays on the Fairborn’s girls’ varsity team.

Chloe also does extracurricular activities inside of school, such as Newsroom. In newsroom, she is the Editor-in-Chief for The STEM Inquirer, the student newspaper. What this means is that she has the final say on every story, the final product of the website, and oversees every section to make sure everything is running smoothly. This is not a simple task. She works hard every day to create agendas for each role to do, while also completing her role, because not only is she Editor-in-Chief, she is managing editor for the opinion section. This means is she not only gives the final say on all stories, but also gives detailed feedback to any opinionative story. Most wouldn’t be up for the job, but Chloe is. She handles everything calmly and efficiently.

When asked about school she responded with, “I love school. My biggest pet peeve is not having a routine. That is why my mom always put me in summer camps because I love having order. I love having a set way of doing tasks, so I never get confused. That is what school provides for me. It gives me a routine and order.” When asked about her favorite subject in school, she responded with, “I am liberal-arts minded. I like language arts classes or history classes. Currently, I am taking psychology, which I enjoy.” So, on top of volunteering and playing basketball after school, running newsroom during school, and earning a 4.0 GPA, Chloe also takes a psychology college course through Sinclair. When asked how she balances it all, she gave this response, “There is no method to my madness. I mean meditation and prayer really help me balance everything in my life. I usually meditate before school, and I pray all the time. These two things help me to relax and focus on everything I need to do during the day.”

Chloe was then asked about her future. “I would love to be a broadcasting journalist on the Today Show or Good Morning America. On the other hand, I would love to work in Washington D.C. as a spokesperson or secretary to a highly-qualified leader. I would love to major in any of these including: journalism, communications, political science, or public relations.” For just being 16 years old, Chloe has got a very strong head on her shoulders.

Science Olympiad Seeking Coaches

By Apurva Makote

DRSS, 9/23/16 - Science Olympiad is starting once again at DRSS this year. According to the kids on the team last year it was a blast, but, what is Science Olympiad and what do its members do?

Science Olympiad is a competition that has 23 events. Each of the events is based on a certain category of science. The goal of The National Science Olympiad Committee is to help kids develop an interest in science. During the practices here at DRSS students get put in groups of 2-4 students, and then they practice various activities based on 2-3 events that they chose.

This year the events that kids from DRSS will be choosing from and participating in are:
Anatomy & Physiology, Bottle Rocket, Crime Busters, Disease Detectives, Planet, Ecology, Experimental Design, Fast Facts, Food Science, Hovercraft, Invasive Species, Meteorology, Microbe Mission, Mission Possible, Optics, Reach for the Stars, Road Scholar, Rocks and Minerals, Scrambler, Towers, Wind Power, Wright Stuff, and Write It/Do It.

 “If you really like science then this is something you might like to do.” says Sidney Jones (an 8th grader), “At the competition we got to have fun and I’m really excited to start it again this year.”
For Science Olympiad this year DRSS is looking for people that would like to volunteers as coaches. Coaches do not need to have any background knowledge on the specific event of Science Olympiad. They are there to help guide children and keep them on task. If you might be interested in coaching, you can contact Mr. Sears (andrew.sears@wright.edu) or Ms. Lydy (britnee.lydy@wright.edu).

Science Olympiad is a place where you can have fun and also learn about science. If that sounds like it's up your alley, Science Olympiad just might be your thing!

Builders Club Begins at DRSS

Builders Club Officers were sworn in last week. Officers include: President Sian Hernit, Treasurer Garret Shaw, VP Ellie Sawyer, and Secretary Saarah Brock

By Katie Jones

9/15/16 KETTERING - For the first time in DRSS history, middle school students are able to join Builders Club—an organization sponsored by the local Kiwanis club for middle school students. It focuses on building character and developing leadership through service. Builders Club was started because last year's DRSS Key Club saw a need for the middle school students to participate in service projects and volunteer. As a result, they had a committee who researched and did the planning needed to start Builders Club for this year.

When asked about what Builders Club will do in the future, Mrs. Curran, the club advisor, said, "We will do at least one volunteering project where we go out into the community and roll up our sleeves to help a local organization. We will also plan and run one fundraiser here at STEM to support either a school or local charity." In addition, she added that Key Club and Builders Club will "definitely support one another's activities and projects, plus collaborate on a project or two this year."

Builders Club officers were sworn in this week by the local chapter of Kiwanis International.

Some things Builders Club has already done includes choosing officers and brainstorming what projects they will do this year. And, on September 12, all members of Builders Club were inducted by local Kiwanis members.  

Definitely an interesting new club, its upcoming achievements and projects will be something to see!

Students Experience The Real World for 2016 9th Grade Job Shadow Day

Wednesday, August 31st was the 2016 9th Grade Job Shadow Day at DRSS. On this day, students traveled to over 50 different locations across the Miami Valley and beyond to learn a bit more about their dream jobs.

Job Shadow Day at DRSS happens twice a year; once for 9th graders in first semester, and again for 10th graders in the second. As part of the DRSS Career Exploration Model, students began their search for job shadow locations all the way back in 8th grade. Many of them successfully landed a shadow location, while others were aided by the DRSS administration in nailing down their final job shadow site.

This year, students traveled to more sites than ever before! The Dayton Regional STEM School would like to thank all of the many organizations who hosted our students.

Click on the image to expand and see all of our partners!

This experience is such an important part of the DRSS Career Exploration model because it provides students with a taste of what working in their dream jobs is like on a day-to-day basis. While we were unable to get to all locations, we were able to get pictures of many of the organizations who hosted our students. Take a look at some of their experiences below!

Many thanks to Premier Health for hosting so many of our students for job shadow day today! We had six students interested in various health care jobs and they brought in multiple guests to speak to the students from throughout Miami Valley Hospital.

Dennis Perkins shadowed at Vantage, an encapsulation company in Englewood . His shadow mentor, Eric Towers, was giving him a tour of the plant when we caught up with him!

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We found Dalin Shively eating breakfast with Chef Louie and his team before getting ready to serve lunch at the Dayton Cooks! program. Dalin is interested in the culinary arts and was happy to see what it's like to work in a kitchen setting feeding lots of people at once!

We caught up with Jordan Young as he was learning how to change the bedding for the Live Animal Department's Green and Black Poison Dart Frogs, a species of frog they have that comes from South America. Mark Mazzei was his mentor and had a full workday planned for him!

Sydney Boman had a blast at Brown and Bills Architects. We caught up with her as one of her mentors, Shathra, was showing her how to use their AutoCAD program.

Trenton and Pierce had a blast at Lunarline learning about the cyber security work they do!

Caven Stanley shadowed at Carl's Body Shop and they put him to work helping replace a car window! Caven loves all things cars and was excited for the opportunity to work in an auto shop!

Skyler and TaVion had a great time helping out at the K12Gallery & Tejas during their job shadow day!

Niels had a blast at Catapult Creative learning about the work they do and the tools they use to help tell the stories of their clients!

Sarah O'Connor completed her job shadowing experience with Andrew Bogle at the University of Dayton Research Institute. She's seen here operating a robotic arm in the UD Mumma Radar Laboratory.

Sarah shadowed at Wright State University, where she had the opportunity to check out Diggs Laboratory and see the work that goes on in the Environmental Sciences Department with Dr. John Stiremann III.

Virginia shadowed Dr. Rouhana and learned about the work he does in the Wright State University Biology Labs.

Molly King shadowed at the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and had a great time learning about the business side of DCDC. She's seen here interviewing Michelle VanHuss as part of her job shadow experience assignment.

Engineering Company CH2M hosted Andrew and Lizzie for their job shadow experience, and they had a great time learning about what it's like to be an engineer!

Carly Rohrbach is excited to be shadowing at the Victoria Theatre Association!

Dylan Morter was shadowing at Emerson in Dayton. He had a great experience shadowing one of his dad's co-workers, but his dad also had time to take a picture or too with him as well!

Kylie Woolum shadowed graphic artists Amanda and Kade at Awards of Excellence today and learned a little about website coding, Photoshop, and engraving. She even got to create her own design and turn it into a vinyl sticker during her experience!

Katherine Kadish, Michael Wood, Anthony Walls, Trinity Minus and Connor McQueen traveled with their mentor, Mike Wood, to visit with Katherine Kadish at her office. There, they saw how Zoomtext helps her access to email and the Internet thanks to the company's assistive software.

Ethan Bolt tackled a pretty ambitious project during his internship experience at Diversified Engineering Concepts on his shadow experience, starting with a flip-flop circuit that would drive a digital input on an industrial PLC while displaying the count on an industrial HMI. Many thanks to his mentor, Bill Naylor, for providing such an awesome experience for Ethan!

Thank you to all of our shadow locations and mentors for the amazing experiences you provided to our students! If you would like to see additional pictures, please visit our Facebook album.

To learn more about becoming a job shadow mentor for our students, please visit the Student Job Shadow Program page on our website and sign up! If you have additional pictures to share from hosting a student, please email them to arch.grieve@wright.edu.

DRSS Goes to China!

Friday, July 29, 2016

DRSS students James Lauricella, Kayla Cindric, Maya Quale, Anjali Phadke, Devin Wade, Aidan Schubert, and Brianna Perkins traveled to China this year through the Confucius Institute's Summer Bridge Program.

BEIJING - It is fairly well known that the Dayton Regional STEM School requires all of its students to learn Chinese. What may be less well known, however, is that DRSS students have participated in Hanban's Chinese Summer Bridge Camp program for the past six years, a program sponsored by the Confucius Institute at Miami University. 

This year was no different, and students James Lauricella, Kayla Cindric, Maya Quale, Anjali Phadke, Devin Wade, Aidan Schubert, and Brianna Perkins are wrapping up the experience with a visit to Beijing, China. Before that, the students were in Dalian, a city in Liaoning Province, where they attended a summer camp at Liaoning University. At the camp, students experienced some amazing opportunities, such as volunteering alongside Chinese students, engaging in cultural and athletic events, attending lectures on Chinese history, language, and culture, and seeing many local cultural sites.

The trip may be ending soon, but the experience is ratcheting up as the students visited the Forbidden City in Beijing yesterday, which served as the seat of power during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The entire Summer Bridge Program in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing.

The trip is organized each year at DRSS by Lily Chen, who describes the experience as an amazing opportunity for the students to experience Chinese culture firsthand. Mrs. Chen would like to thank Mrs. Zao, the director of the Confucius Institute at Miami, and Ms. Liying Cui, the program manager for the trip, for making this opportunity possible for DRSS students.

The students will return on July 31st with some amazing memories and experiences to share. Visit our album on Facebook to see many more of their pictures from the trip!