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!

We Have Chemistry: Mrs. Kancler & DRSS Students

By Hiba Ahmad

Mrs. Kancler has been a teacher for the past seven years, and has been working here at STEM as a chemistry teacher for the past two years. She first decided to join this school because she “…like(d) the atmosphere. I was looking for a place where I could use different teaching strategies, and this seemed to be a good fit.” At the Dayton Regional STEM School, teachers have a lot of flexibility with how they teach. Every teacher seems to have a different approach to the same lesson, and it works for students. It’s nice to be able to experience different kinds of teaching, and it adds something interesting to every class. 

As a student in Mrs. Kancler’s class, I can vouch for her teaching style. Whenever we begin a new unit, she has a PowerPoint ready for us to take notes on, and several practice problems. While this may seem boring, she makes it interesting by cracking a joke every now and then, and conversing normally with students. Mrs. Kancler also makes sure that everyone understands what we are learning before we move on, walking around the classroom and answering all questions to the best of her ability. A student in her class explains that, “I really like her. I think that she takes time to make sure that everyone understands the concepts, and that’s helpful from a teacher.”

About the school, Mrs. Kancler had only positive things to offer. “I like the fact that the teachers have more freedom in how they present material - it’s not as structured. I like the open atmosphere between students, and I think it’s a very accepting culture, which is what I prefer. And I really like the PBL (Project Based Learning) style of learning.” 

DRSS Class of 2016 by the Numbers

The Dayton Regional STEM School is graduating 60 Seniors on Saturday, May 28, and they are pretty impressive. The students represent four counties in the Miami Valley area: Greene, Montgomery, Miami, and Warren, and 16 different school districts.

Eight of the Academic Top Ten Students in the Class of 2016 (from left to right): Justin This, Carter Jordan Anders Sondergaard, Nathan Keefer, Ben French, Maria Burks, Shari Gordnier, and Cheyenne Benson. Not pictured: Vidur Prasad and Eric Towe.

Here's a breakdown of their post-graduation plans:

• 56 will be attending a two- or four-year college/university
• 21 will attend Wright State University
• Four will attend the University of Dayton
• 41 of our students will attending college in Ohio
• 12 of our students will be attending colleges out of state:  Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, Florida, Kansas and Conneticut
• Two students received Military Academy Appointments (US Naval Academy and the US Coast Guard)
• Two other students will be joining the US Armed Forces
• One student will be entering the work force

Out of the 56 students going on to college, 43 will be going into STEM fields of study.

And perhaps most impressively, the total scholarship dollars that have been awarded to DRSS students to date amounts to $4,191,489... that's $69,858.15 per student!

Congratulations Class of 2016, we know you'll go on to do Great Things!

DRSS Economics Podcast Project Continues

By Fatima Boumahchad

Here at the Dayton regional STEM School, students are required to take at least one semester of economics during their 11^th grade year. Knowing about the economy and the factors that impact it is very beneficial for each person to understand. In this class, there are a variety of activities and projects done to ensure we understand the topic at hand. One of these projects that the 11^th graders are currently working on is a podcast on the minimum wage.

In this podcast, students are to choose whether or not they believe the minimum wage should be raised and the impact it would have on the economy. They discuss what impact it will have on taxes, GDP, retail sales, unemployment, and inflation. Students also had to interview someone who could offer a perspective on the minimum wage to incorporate into their podcast.  

Mr. Nunez gives a group feedback on the podcast they have been working on.

When I went to Mr. Nunez to ask him about why he had students complete this podcast his response was: “It gives them a creative outlet to showcase research they have done on a specific and current economic issue that is going to be relevant to them very soon.”  

All the skills we have obtained from this class have really provided us with a wider perspective on the economy and how we change it every day. This class has also provided us with skills to prepare us for our future, thus making it a class we will never forget. 

You can find the podcasts at http://drsseconpodcasts.blogspot.com/ and subscribe to them on iTunes here.

Students Head to China for Annual Summer Bridge Program

By Bri Perkins 

During the summer of 2016, students in ninth grade to twelfth grade will again have the opportunity to travel to China for the 2016 Chinese Bridge Summer Camp for American High School Students. 

DRSS students and other students in the Summer Bridge program in 2013

This camp lasts two weeks. During this time, students will participate in different activities such as papercutting, calligraphy, brush painting, martial arts, friendly basketball matches, international student get-togethers, and host family experiences. While doing these activities, students will also be traveling to different sites around Beijing and Dalian. 

This camp is hosted by Hanban, which is the Confucius Institute Headquarters in China, along with other Confucius Institutes in the United States. The purpose of the trip is to improve the understanding of the Chinese culture and language to American high school students. It is also meant to strengthen the friendships between the youth of both China and the United States. Maya Quale, a student who is attending the summer camp this year says, “I am most excited to eat authentic Chinese food, along with seeing China’s historic landmarks.” 

The 2016 Chinese Bridge Summer Camp for American High School Students is a unique experience for those who have been learning Chinese and are ready to immerse themselves into the Chinese Culture. 

Have a great time, everyone!

Saying Goodbye to Three DRSS Veterans

By Hiba Ahmad

This year, we happily welcomed many new faces to our team, and now we sadly say goodbye to a few teachers who have been with us for quite a few years now. Mr. Lydy, Ms. Tash, and Ms. Whitman-Allen are unfortunately moving on, and while we hope for the best for their future, we can’t help but wish they could stay! When asked about their times here, they seemed to all agree that STEM is a unique environment where they felt they had grown.

Ms. Tash

Ms. Tash stated that “My time here has been amazing. I’ve loved working here… and I’ve grown as a professional, and I really really enjoy the students at this school,” She smiled as she spoke, no doubt remembering the good times she had. Her fondest memories of the school are of the healthy living project, the cancer PSA projects, the school trip to Italy, and an incident with a duck during fitness one day. Ms. Tash says she will especially miss the students who she says “…are really motivated. They’re polite and respectful, and we can focus just on learning. I will miss the students the most. I think that our students here are one of a kind, and I just am going to miss them. I’m going to miss the questions that they ask, I’m going to miss their attitudes, which are always very positive.” We’re definitely going to miss you too! 

Mr. Lydy

Mr. Lydy only had positive things to share about the school as well, “It’s [my time at STEM] been great. It’s been really nice, every year has been a little different, so it’s nice because you know, one of the questions a lot of people ask is ‘don’t you get tired of teaching the same thing over and over again?’ but it hasn’t been the same for the last eight years.” He isn’t quite sure what he’s going to miss the most about the school, but he did state that his fondest memories were “…getting to do the projects during STEMmersion.” Stemmersion won’t be the same without you, Mr. Lydy!

Ms. Whitman-Allen

Ms. Whitman-Allen is the third veteran teacher who is leaving us this year, and while she’s excited for her new job, she is thankful for the opportunities she has had, as well as the staff. “I’ve had a lot of really incredible opportunities here, and mostly I valued the experience of working with the staff here because they’re extremely dedicated beyond what normal teaching staff are.” On what she’ll miss the most, she says: “Teaching can be pretty stressful and it’s such a relief to be surrounded by people who take it as seriously as you, and who find humor and joy in a really stressful job, so I will really miss my team of teachers, and also just the administrative team that provides a lot of support.” 

She takes a moment to think about her favorite memory, “It’s hard to pick one memory when there have been so many!” But she eventually recalls when she created a video in her first year of teaching at this school, where teachers danced in the background as students talked about the school. “We made that video of all the teachers dancing behind students when they didn’t know. And the last day of school when we played it for them in the cafeteria, they had no idea what was coming because the whole thing was a big surprise that was pretty hilarious. It was hilarious and also really touching because you could tell the students actually appreciated it and thought it was genuinely funny, they weren’t just laughing at us, we were all laughing together and it was pretty great.” We hope you can make more happy memories and awesome videos as you continue with your life!

We wish the best for our teachers, and we hope you all succeed in your new jobs!

World A’Fair Wonder

By: Marc Ayala

Are you interested in experiencing the cultures and foods of the Dayton area? If so, then this year go visit the Dayton World A’Fair. The Dayton World A’Fair, hosted by Dayton International Festival, Inc. and sponsored by Soin International, is the largest event in downtown Dayton.  With over 30,000 visitors last year, it is expected for its 47^th year to be an even greater success than before.

Opening ceremony for the 2015 World A'Fair

The World A’Fair will be held on May 20^th to May 22^nd at the Dayton Convention Center on Fifth Street. Tickets are on sale and cost $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens, and $4 for youth at the door. Parking fees are not included. The festival begins on Friday May, 20^th at 5:00 p.m. with the opening parade and flag ceremony. Then, visitors can walk around the festival to enjoy the food, dance, merchandise, and music of the 31 countries and ethnic groups represented.

Anjali Phadke, a sophomore at DRSS, has volunteered at the India club booth since she was five. “The World A’Fair has given me the ability to experience new culture which I would have never learned about,” she says. Anjali will attend World A’Fair again this year to represent India.

If you decide to attend, I definitely suggest watching the Kenya Safari Acrobats. Every year they perform amazing acrobatic tricks that leave you wondering, “How?” One of my favorite tricks is when they balance upside-down on top of stacked chairs and continue to add more.

Another fun activity that kids can participate in is passport stamping. When they arrive, visitors are given a passport that has questions about the culture or history of a represented country. They can go to each booth and if the question is answered correctly, get a stamp in their passport. After completing the passport, they can be entered into a drawing for a chance to win prizes.

For more information on the Dayton World A’Fair, visit their website at www.aworldafair.org.