Eighteen incredible year long projects announced with forty-four 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade research fellows. Look over the list, and contact Ellen Cavanaugh at medialab@badenacademy.org with ideas you may have for resources and mentors. Fellows meet once a week for support in their passion based project then log long hours after school working to bring it to fruition.
Baden Dreams
Kadie Belic (4), Owen Bonino (3), Brian Curry (4), and Arielle Schmude (5) will continue and build upon the Kadiesouvenir’s website from last year. They have renamed it Baden Dreams and have begun to learn the Weebly website creation tools to advertise the cups, tees, and merchandise available for sale. A new scanner in the lab makes it easier than ever to scan and digitize photos of student’s art and place that artwork on everything from posters to iPad covers. Profits are being used to raise money to bring Dream Flight Adventures to our Media Lab.
Baden Academy Naturalists
Erin Cheek (4), Bryant Ainsbury (4) and Alysa Armstrong (4) will expand Erin’s work last year to established Baden Academy as a Monarch Way Station by creating an after school environmental club. They will be working with Sr. Lyn Szymkiewicz, CSJ (the Environmental Engineer who directs the grounds and Eco Projects on the Sisters of St. Joseph Campus), Patricia Cheek and Fern Hollow Nature Center to create dynamic, interesting and environmentally meaningful projects. The Fellows will organize the after school club, set its goals, create a website with resources, and help lead classroom and after school activities.
Don’t Smoke!
Ava Coups (5), mourning the loss of a grandmother to lung cancer caused by second-hand smoke, is writing a book that inspires young people not to begin (or to quit) smoking. More than 250,000 new kids become smokers in our country every year, and many begin in middle school.
Activities to do with Younger Siblings and Classmates
Kamryn Vilscek (4) loves working with her younger sister. She is creating a set of activity plans for older brother and sisters, school mentors, and babysitters to pull from that are creative, fun, and an opportunity to learn together.
Chess Club
Skylar Reese (5) is starting the Baden Academy Chess Club. Look for announcements soon for a parent information evening. Learners will have an opportunity to gather at lunch and after school to hone their strategy and chess skills. Will competitions be in the future?
Saving the Little Blue Penguins of North Sydney Harbor
Gavin Phillips (5) is writing his second book about penguins. His success promoting Saving a Galapagos Penguin Family has inspired him to continue his research. This year, he will study the blue penguins of Australia (sometimes called fairy penguins) and create another wonderful tale of kids involved in protecting this threatened species.
Cruelty Free Cosmetics Workshop
Did you know that using animals to test cosmetic and household products is still allowed in the United States? Veronica Judt (5) sadly ran across pictures of hamsters and rabbits who had been disfigured and harmed as she researched her Hamster Fun Facts book published last year. When she learned the makeup she was allowed to put on for a special wedding she attended was made by a company that hurt animals testing their products, she got mad. Veronica is putting together a workshop on makeup for middle school girls that includes information on how to find cruelty free products.
Music Festival
Jacqueline Paul (5) and Ava Valent (4) are creating a local music festival, one that celebrates the talent the inspires our students and teachers and raises funds for some much needed resources for our school.
Baden Academy TV
Eli Lishack (5), Caleb Knox (5), Aleenia Reich (3), and Jaylee Duncan (3) are the First News anchors for the Baden Academy TV. Their brief morning news show will include short video clips and live reports of classroom and school activities. These will include teacher updates, interviews, weather, announcements, late breaking news, and Media Lab and Calliope accomplishments.
Kitty Whisperers
Jadyn Perza (5) and Miriam Whitacre (5) will continue to make webisodes for their Youtube channel, The Kitty Whisperers, and advocate for the ethical treatment and adoption of cats. Their documentary film on the Colony Cat Program of the Washington County Humane Society will premiere at the Duquesne University Law Conference on Animal Ethics in November.
MinecraftEDU
Casey (5) and Arielle (4) Reynolds and Matthew Scheib (5) have a mission to bring MinecraftEdu into the classrooms of Baden Academy. Their research includes networking with teachers all over the world who are using this popular game to teach lessons in social studies, science, math, and language arts.
Baden Academy Nerd Battalion
Courtney Webster (5) and Elise Propst (4) are back empowering Baden Academy learners in the school to use technology safely and wisely. They will be asking teachers to select a student from each classroom to join their campaign and become computer specialists for the school.
All School Music Video
Alexis Watt (5) and Jadyn Elliott (5) are collaborating with Mrs. Abadilla as she composes the song to serve for our next all-school video.
Rube Goldberg Machine
Kate (5) and Evan (3) Houy, together with Nathaniel Curry (4), are creating an encased and educational Rube Goldberg machine (a chain reaction contraption) for the hallway outside the media lab.
RFID and Barcode Security
Owen Rossi-Keen will be learning about the technology behind RFID (Radio Frequency Identifiers) and Barcodes. Immediately, his knowledge will be put to use by creating an inventory and security system for the equipment in our media lab. Knowing Owen, the project will reach far wider by the time the year is up.
Recycling Buds
Aaron (5) and Aubrey (5) Shanor and Damon Snyder (4) have formed a team to start a recycling program in our school, including composting in the lunchroom.
Robotics Project
Aidan Ford Sloppy (3), Jacob Weber (4), Julia Fawcett (3) and Timothy Snyder (5) are working to create an inventory of Mindstorm 1.0 parts donated by the Girl Scouts. They will be building six taskbots with the parts and teaching our 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about gear ratios and motor control later in the year. What they are most excited about is the chance to build together a robot for the Imagination Celebration.
Programming a Baden Academy Mobile App
Logan Hammond (5), Rylee Kumer (3), Glorian McDaniel (4), James (5) and Will (3) Ritchie, will be learning the MIT App Inventor software and using it to creating a mobile app for Baden Academy Charter School.