Oak Knoll teachers, students lead educational workshop at Rutgers

NEW BRUNSWICK – Four students from the Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, with the assistance of two of their teachers, took up educational reins by leading a workshop at the Rutgers University’s Summer Science Program last week.

Rising Oak Knoll sophomores Anne Donohue ‘18, Nia Sylva ‘18, Juli Porto ’18 and Christina Nguyen ‘18, assisted by Upper School computer science teachers Camille Burke and Joan Mruk, led a workshop on computer science for middle school students last week on the Rutgers George H. Cook Campus.

The idea is that the students, dubbed “ambassadors in training,” will go forward and teach computer science to disadvantaged students from urban areas throughout the state of New Jersey.

The workshop, which focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, allowed Oak Knoll students to utilize leadership skills and put lessons learned in their freshman introductory computer class into action, Mruk said.

“They eagerly volunteered to help with this workshop and were able to provide support and guidance to the students,” Mruk said. “They were role models for the ambassadors in training.”

Ambassadors will pass along what they learned from Oak Knoll students onto their classmates in middle school through after-school programs in their respective communities, Mruk explained.

The all-day workshop, which assisted approximately 60 ambassadors, included puzzles designed to illustrate the fact that computing is really all about problem solving.

Oak Knoll students also instructed the ambassadors to use programming skills to control a robot and build a game controller.

The workshop is part an annual Rutgers program in conjunction with corporate sponsors and local 4H.

Ambassadors were selected based on teacher recommendations and an extensive application process that included essay writing and interviews with local 4H staff, according to a university press release.

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child is an independent, Catholic school, coeducational in elementary school from kindergarten through grade six; and all-girls in middle and high school from grades seven through 12. There is no religious affiliation associated with our summer programs. For more information about Oak Knoll, please visit www.oakknoll.org or call 908-522-8109.