This week's pep rally was all about celebrating STEM sports
STEM sports!
This week’s high school pep rally was all about sports at STEM and spotlighting our teams. The rally included demonstrations with soccer, basketball, volleyball and even some dodgeball.
We love our sports teams at STEM and our new gym serves as an excellent home and training area for many of them.
National STEM Day at STEM
This week we celebrated a special day.
National STEM Day happens every year on November 8th to encourage kids to explore their interests in science, technology, engineering, arts and math careers. Nationwide efforts are underway to attract and train young workers through registered apprenticeship programs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in STEM occupations is projected to grow at twice the rate (10.8%) of overall employment (5.3%) through 2031.
At STEM School Highlands Ranch, we celebrate this day everyday in our classrooms!
STEM student achieves rare feat with Boy Scout Merit Badges
What a feat!
STEM student Zain Kazazean is a scout with Troop 870, Highlands Ranch. Last week he completed all 138 merit badges BSA offers. This is a rare feat as there are only 544 confirmed scouts that have ever earned all the merit badges since 1910.
He is finishing his Eagle Scout project and is on the path to complete his project for Sedalia Elementary School next month.
Only 21 merit badges are required to become an Eagle Scout, but he was passionate about completing them all. His journey took him to many states and different countries. He had incredible experiences including:
-Over 120 documented hours of service
-Shadowing a doctor in Kenya
-Interviewing the President of Harvard about his scouting experience
-Kayaking the Poudre, backpacking, mountain biking and other high adventures
-Educational experience and career exposure from water treatment, surveying, medicine, computer science, forestry, truck transportation, engineering, assisting in a veterinarian’s surgery for a canine surgery
-Hobby exposure of coin collecting, chess, pets, art, reading, sailing, scuba, ham radio, etc.
Congrats to Zain for tackling an incredible feat and doing it all before age 14!
BEST team receiving media attention for award-winning operating room simulation
What a creation!
STEM’s BEST Robotics team is attracting media attention with their award-winning operating room simulation exhibit. This week, the team set up the entire display for the Highlands Ranch Herald, which is doing a story about it.
It took the team about two months to create the operating room, which was funded through a generous donation from UCHealth. Inside the room, visitors can simulate a nanobot performing various surgical tasks on a patient. The nanobot travels through vessels and arteries to perform life-saving surgical applications. There is also a hands-on display within the exhibit that shows what the surgical tasks were like prior to the nanotech (far more risky in the past, similar to the game ‘Operation’).
During competitions, the team’s robot is in the field, traveling along the same path as the arteries and vessels, requiring delicate maneuvers along the way. The team’s creation won several awards this past weekend in the local competition, including first place overall. The team will then be showcasing the operating room and nanobot at the upcoming Regional Competition.
Congratulations to our BEST team and we look forward to seeing the article from the Highlands Ranch Herald!
STEM 6th grader displays invention at Parker Science Night
All about science!
STEM 6th grader Anirudh Rao was invited to Parker Science Night at the Pace Center. It was a chance for Anirudh to showcase “Revere”, the early tornado warning detection system that he invented earlier this year.
Many visitors took interest in Anirudh’s invention and loved hearing about how it works. “Revere” is a drone that is sent up into the skies during inclement weather and is able to hear the sounds that a tornado makes as it is forming, allowing for earlier warnings to be sent out to people below.
Recap of STEM's 2023 Prospective Spartan Showcase
In case you missed it, check out just some of the highlights from our Prospective Spartan Showcase! We had a great turnout of families who took interest in what STEM has to offer. The evening was filled with tours, food trucks, robot demonstrations, athletics, music and much more.
If you are interested in STEM and enrolling your child for the 2024-2025 school year, you still have time! Open enrollment is now through December 1st. You can begin the process here:
We invite you to begin your STEM journey today!