“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin.
Adam Storey, who has taught at Ligonier Valley Middle School for 13 years, has found a great way to involve his students. The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) classes he teaches engages students in hands-on projects that require critical reasoning skills to determine solutions to problems. About five years ago, Storey organized a group of 6th graders who showed an above-average interest and ability in the STEM fields. He formed ‘The Ligonier Valley Engineering Group’, meeting and working closely with these students on projects for various STEM competitions.
Four years ago, the Ligonier Valley School District started adding STEM classes to their curriculum after the start of a nationwide education initiative in the sciences. According to the U.S. Department of Education, "in a world that’s becoming increasingly complex, where success is driven not only by what you know, but by what you can do with what you know, it’s more important than ever for our youth to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and make sense of information."
The special group that Mr. Storey founded grows each year, and the original members are now entering 11th grade. The students have participated in a variety of competitions over the years, including the Future City Competition run regionally by the Carnegie Science Center, STEM Design Challenges at St. Vincent College, Wind Turbine Competitions at Valley School of Ligonier, and the Technology Student Association's ‘Tests of Engineering Aptitude in Mathematics and Science’, or TEAMS.
This is the group's third year participating in TEAMS, and each year some or all of the students have qualified to attend the national competition after competing at the state level. The competition has three different components - a research essay, a presentation on the topic, and a problem-solving and design challenge. Last year one of the teams that participated came in second in the nation, and their presentation component took first place! The topic for the win was a hypothetical village in Bangladesh that discovered arsenic in their water source. The team had to find ways to encourage the town not to drink their well water, and devise a plan to find them an alternative source. (Can you see now why encouraging our youth to be involved in programs like this is invaluable?) Eva Shearer, who is going to be a sophomore at LVHS in the fall, was part of this winning team, and this will be her third TEAMS competition. She says that these competitions and the school's STEM classes have improved her problem-solving and public speaking skills tremendously. She likes Mr. Storey's STEM classes because "he does different things with each class during the year, so when you talk with your friends about what they're doing, it's something totally different. We've learned all about computer coding and electricity. We've programmed 'Pi', the school's robot. We've done reports on famous scientists. Everything we do has a real-world application."
This year the LV Engineering Group is fielding three teams, one in the middle school division and two in the 9th- and 10th-grade division. The competition is being hosted in Atlanta, GA this year, June 22nd - 25th. (The previous two host cities were Orlando, FL, and Nashville, TN.) Attending the competition comes at a cost, with registration fees, travel expenses, lodging, etc. This year, they need to raise at least $11,000 to cover the basic expenses of the trip. To date they have raised close to $6,500 through grants, donations, and fundraisers. They have a GoFundMe page for accepting donations (http://gofundme.com/lvengineering/) and they’re also accepting direct donations by check made out to "Ligonier Valley Middle School" with "LV Engineering" in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to: Ligonier Valley Middle School, c/o Adam Storey, 536 Bell Street, Ligonier, PA 15658.
They have the following fundraisers coming up:
Darlington Inn Benefit Buffet & Basket Raffle: THIS SUNDAY, June 10, 4-7PM. Reservations are requested, and there are 3 seating times - 4 o'clock, 5 o'clock, and 6 o'clock. The cost is $20, which includes all-you-can-eat dinner and dessert and soft drinks. There will also be live music, a 50/50 drawing, a basket raffle, and a door prize. Reservations can be made by calling 724-238-7831.
Mr. Toppins Benefit Night: Wednesday, June 13, 5-9PM. 20% of all sales that evening will go to the group. Stop out for some FroYo and help them reach their fundraising goal! Mr. Toppins is located in the Aldi shopping plaza on Route 30 West in Latrobe.
Any business that would like to sponsor their group will be placed on their team T-Shirt. $100 donors will be written in text, $500+ donors will get their company logo on their shirt.
This year the team will present on how they'd fix a traffic problem in a major US city. They'll show ways they can reduce idling, which will in turn have a positive effect on the environment. The TEAMS Competition is an experience that will improve these kids’ self-confidence and spark an interest in the creative solution-planning that engineers use in real-world situations. This is a GREAT cause, so please support the LV Engineering Group’s fundraising efforts! What better way to invest in this town’s future than this? These middle and high schoolers, with Adam Storey and other LVSD educators as their guide, will go on to do great things.
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