Third Grade Students Reflect on Martin Luther King's "I have a dream."

Christina Kim, Lower school assistant teacher in the third grade made a powerful video portrait of students' reflections on King's I Have a Dream speech and their own hopes for their futures. Click here to see the video.

 

GA Robotics Students Recognized at VEX Competition

The Upper School VEX Robotics Team wins Skills Award and more at Norristown Nothing But Net VEX Qualifier. Students teams will be moving onto the next round in  2016 Pennsylvania State Championship - East - HS and Western PA VEX State Championship.

Diane Goldstein, upper school physics and engineering teacher introduced robotics and rocketry courses into the GA curriculum.  She reports "If you look at the attached link - you will see we won our first seven matches - which put us as the number one seed going into the finals rounds. We made it through to the semi-finals out of 25 teams!  Justin Wong and Gavin Rees were the robotics drivers and programmers today helping GA to secure a bid for the State Championships.

Click here to view the specifics.  attached link for more specifics.




 

Middle School Students Learn History through Media Production

“Meet the Press” Featuring Leaders from the Progressive Movement

Students made a series of recorded news panels each featuring a host and three guests that discussed central themes of the Progressive Movement in American History. Researching character backgrounds to share historically accurate views, preparing a script that serves as a guideline for debate, and practice at public speaking and improvisation were all part of the process. Using iMovie students recorded and produced final "episodes" as podcasts or videos.

Robot C Coding Language Powers Vex Competion Robot

Students in the US Vex Robotics program have been busy designing and testing their prototype for this years Vex competitions.  Their robot collects and throws balls, powered by Robot C a specialized coding language for robotics applications. Diane Goldstein, US Engineering and physics teacher has been working with Matt Frank in the Technology Department, along with faculty Bill Kingsbury  and Mike Rheam to develop the Vex student team. Competitions are upcoming so check back here for more information on the GA Vex Robotics team.

Squishy Curcuits: A KTK Engineering Project

In the most recent KTK session, kindergarten and Upper School students gathered in the Beard Center for Innovation’s Maker Space to build “Squishy Circuits.” “Squishy Circuits” were developed at the Playful Learning Lab at the University of St. Thomas. The objective is to allow kids to create circuits and explore electronics using play dough. Commercial play dough contains salt that allows it to conduct electricity, and thus be part of the circuit.

The kindergarten students designed a play dough insect that could ride on top the vibrating buzzer, then connected the circuit, and delighted in watching their bug buzz around. “By combining a little bit of art, science and technology, building ‘Squishy Circuits’ helps these young learners understand how electrical connections work,” explained Mrs. Martin, Lower School Science Specialist and faculty advisor of KTK.

Alumni Spotlight: Katelyn Koons

As a senior at Johns Hopkins University, Germantown Academy alumna Katelyn Koons '12 has plenty of experience with the design process of bringing a product to life. Koons is majoring in both Mechanical Engineering and Applied Math, and while home on winter break she recently presented her senior Mechanical Engineering design project to GA’s Honor Engineering course in the makerspace of the Beard Center for Innovation.

Koons and her college teammates are currently making a prosthetic ankle with an infinitely adjustable heel height for female veterans who want to wear high heel shoes between 0-4 inches.
"We had a fall design day where we presented in front of seven judges who are part of the American Society for Mechanical Engineering and we had to show our final prototype and where we're going to take it; how we're going to test it and what sort of adjustments we might make in the future," said Koons, who will finish her innovative product with her teammates during the second semester.
During the course of her presentation, Koons offered important insight into the design process and encouraged students to battle through any frustration they might feel at times during the prototyping stages of a project.

"Just build," she said. "Who cares if it fails? You’ll find another way." Koons also noted how important it is to have experience working in groups before college, and she’s certainly excited for students at GA who have the opportunity to practice teamwork and go through the design thinking process on a regular basis. "I think that's great,” noted Koons in regards to GA’s design thinking and project-based learning initiatives. "It's a lot to go from reading everything in a textbook, having everything all in theory, and going from that to building something that works. I think it's a very good idea to have a lot of projects."

After graduation, Koons has plans to complete a one-year post baccalaureate premedical program at Thomas Jefferson University and then plans to attend medical school. (posted on Today at GA)

MS Students Test Solar Ovens in The Academic Courtyard