The Academy for Science and Design Hosted its Second SPARK Conference Day of the School Year

The Academy for Science and Design Charter School, the state’s top-performing public school and largest STEM-specialty school serving students in grades 6-12 , hosted its second SPARK conference day of the school year on Wednesday, December 16, 2015. SPARK Conferences (Symposium Promoting Advancement of Real-World Knowledge) are intended to expose our students to various STEM careers, relevant topics and issues in the realm of science and technology, as well as cultivate their unique interests and talents.

Presenters at SPARK include various members of the ASD school community such as faculty, students, and parents; in addition, SPARK presenters come from local community organizations, some are individuals from higher educational institutions, while others are innovators within the corporate sphere. These presenters believe it is critical to enlighten and inspire our young leaders of tomorrow through exposure to experiences, ideas, and challenges that will help them to become creative and energetic leaders. Individuals who give their time to this conference series are shaping New Hampshire’s future in the realm of science and technology. Presentations at SPARK can be in any format necessary - workshops, labs, lectures, round-table discussions, panel-discussions, etc.

SPARK presenters were impressed by the enthusiasm and depth of knowledge of ASD’s student body. Popular sessions presented by members of the community included “Science at -321 Degrees” (Rita McCabe and Arthur Keefe, Sub Zero Ice Cream), “North Face - The Story of a Plastic Bottle” (Ray Dube, Ray Dube - Sustainability Manager for Coca Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England), “United States Marines In The Pacific Theater, Wwii” (Nicholas Efstathiou, Author), “Managing Stress through Yoga” (Kathy MacKinnon, owner of Traditional Yoga with Kathy MacKinnon), “The Sport of Fencing” (Christopher Pullo, Seacoast Fencing), “Introduction to Ham Radio” (John Keslo, Nashua Area Radio Club), “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” (New Hampshire Fish and Game), “Sculpting Your Word Memory” (Michele Siegmann, Creative Learning Solutions), “Scramjet Engines And The X-51A” (Tom Fortin, Pratt & Whitney) and many more.

All of the students got to choose which sessions they attended, and this SPARK day offered a variety of fascinating topic to explore, including: Stained Glass & Geometry, Early Rock ‘n’ Roll and Racism, Arm Knitting, European Espionage in World War II, Transforming Business With Information Technology, Bodhrans and Bouzoukis: A History of Irish Music, Quantum Computers: Promise and Challenges, Tech Meets Art - Interactive Sculpture, Graffiti With Gimp, Idea to Product, Leadership Principals by Starship Captains, Why a Greyhound Can Run 45 MPH and You Can’t.

All 351 students in grades 6-8 participated in an Hour of Code which were organized by ASD teachers Madge Smith, Michelle Kavanagh and Rebecca LaCourse and were run by high school students who volunteered to run these sessions (Jack Michaud, Nik Bair, Brin Harper, Blake Bormuth, Evan Loconto, Michael Lai, Ben Frothingham, Colin Goldberg, Brian Apple, Gillian Doyle, Lindsey Koczalka, Jared O’Connell, Louis Vinton, Ben Super, Ben Nichols-Farquhar, Stephan Lensky, Nathaniel Yaakov, Dillon Morse, Dexter Czuba, Connor Tess, Akash Shaji, Spencer Smith, Kurtis Duggan, Liam Bewley, Jared Wood, Mika Usman, Olivia Bennet, Jhansi Raja, Keith Valin and Connie Nino).

In addition to the above sessions, upper class students, along with an adult advisor, had an opportunity to be SPARK presenters. These student-run sessions included: “So You Think You can Dance?” (Maya Yaakov), “Strategic Card Games” (Andrew Frischknecht, Cade Ferraras, Gabriel Halpern-Wight), “Chromatography Holiday Cards” (Aasha Krishnan), “Talking With Your Hands” (Julia Kurek), “Bizarre Maps: A History of Western Cartography” (Niklaus Bair), “Introduction to DJing” (Jack Michaud), and “Introduction to Jewelry Making” (Talia Shirley).

ASD has a stewardship requirement of 150 service hours in order for students to graduate. All of our students excel at helping others in the community, but the students who ran a SPARK session took the opportunity to share their knowledge with fellow students while also volunteering to help the school offer a larger variety of sessions. Stewardship supports the theory that the future leaders, when left on their own, will indeed act as responsible stewards of their environment, and it is also about community service. Through various volunteer experiences, students gain a deeper sense of themselves, their abilities and gifts, the needs of strangers (and in this case, fellow students), and their connectedness to the larger world.

The Academy for Science and Design is actively seeking to partner with local companies and businesses for student-centered things such as internships in STEM fields for our students, financial donations, and/or presenters for our school for the SPARK Conferences. Financial donations can be an outright financial contribution in the amount of your choice, or can consist of underwriting costs for installing a specific facility technology or program. The Academy for Science and Design has two more SPARK Conferences scheduled this year, and presenters from the community are always welcome. More information can be found on our website at www.asdnh.org or email Amy.Bewley@asdnh.org.