Research indicates that girls are self-selecting out of subjects like math and sciences at a young age due to a lack of confidence, making them less likely to pursue later careers in STEAM. At Trafalgar, we aim to foster the opposite trend through meaningful and deliberate learning opportunities. Beginning as early as Grade 4, students are exploring coding as part of the curriculum where they are strengthening their knowledge and application of math, science, creativity, problem solving and communications.
On May 4 and 5 a group of upper school students travelled to St. John’s, Newfoundland to compete in the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Robotics competition. The in-person competition is part of 46 regional events that take place across the U.S. and around the world.
MATE’s mission is to inspire and challenge students to learn and creatively apply STEM skills to solving real-world problems in a way that strengthens their critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship and innovation. The MATE Robotics Team has worked alongside science faculty, Mr. Spessot and Mr. Lyew for over six months prototyping and testing their robot as they work toward developing computer programming, engineering and other skills.
Months of hard work and perseverance paid off as Where’s Waldo achieved the following awards:
- 3rd place for ROV Product Demonstration;
- 2nd place for Engineering Presentation; and
- Best Team Spirit!
At Trafalgar, just as in the real world, science and technology are not independent from everyday life and can be applied across disciplines. With programs specifically designed to advance these interdisciplinary skills and model this thinking, each girl can aspire to be a future leader in STEM.