M20 Summit Brings Together Local Schools for First Ever Collaborative STEM Project
Marlborough’s high schools come together for the first time ever to take part in a local STEM Summit.
Marlborough, MA, June 01, 2019 --(PR.com)-- For the first time ever, students from Marlborough’s three high schools; Marlborough High School (MHS), Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (AMSA), and Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School (Assabet), came together to work on a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) project.
The M20 Summit, the Marlborough STEM Council’s first collaboration event held at Assabet and MHS today, saw three teams of six students, two from each participating school, come together in a non-competitive environment to research and solve a problem under the topic "Space Habitation." Focusing primarily on biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, each team discussed how their members could survive on Mars and put together a plan to address the psychological and physical effects of being in space, as well as ways to manage food, water and energy supply. The teams presented their solutions in front of volunteer judges from Marlborough corporations, including Boston Scientific, Boston Biomedical Associates and Viasat.
In February, the schools joined forces to form the Marlborough STEM Council in collaboration with the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), MassHire Career Centers and local life science and biotech businesses. The council’s goal is to create working relationships between the schools’ STEM programs allowing students to cross-collaborate and benefit from the variety of resources available at each institution. The group also aims to give students exposure to local STEM companies and the kind of jobs they offer.
Mark Vital, community outreach manager at AMSA, who has been heading up the Marlborough STEM Council, said the organization’s first event was a big and important step for Marlborough’s school systems.
“Graduating from Marlborough High, living and teaching in town, I knew that all three high schools were excellent. Yet, it always puzzled me why the schools didn’t collaborate more,” said Vital. “We, the Marlborough STEM Council, needed to change the mindset of the decision-makers here in Marlborough, and, today, we were able to show them how things will be, going forward. If we can do a better job of teaching our students by developing partnerships between the schools, then we must do it now.”
“The inaugural M20 event surpassed all our expectations. We couldn't be more excited and prouder of how the students from AMSA, Assabet, and Marlborough High collaborated and worked together as a team,” said Assabet Director of Academics, Rob McCann. “It was awesome to see these future STEM leaders research, problem-solve, and present their understanding of Space Habitation. This is what these three great schools are capable of doing together.”
“I am very happy to see students from all three Marlborough schools coming together to collaborate and innovate,” said Mayor Arthur Vigeant, who attended the final project presentations and gave a brief speech. “I want to congratulate the students on their hard work for this challenging STEM project, and I wish them continued success in their future studies.”
“Marlborough has strong school systems, with a multitude of opportunities for our local students to learn and advance in the careers of the future,” said MEDC executive director, Meredith Harris. “For the past year, we, at MEDC, have been working with our schools to highlight and promote these opportunities, and it is exciting to see them all collaborating to advance knowledge and share resources and expertise for the benefit of their students.”
U.S. News and World Report currently ranks AMSA as the second Best High School in Massachusetts and 107th in the U.S. In 2017, Niche.com ranked both AMSA and MPS among its Top 100 Best High Schools in Massachusetts. In 2018, Niche.com also placed AMSA among the 100 Best High Schools for STEM in the U.S.
The students who participated in today’s M20 Summit are Tim Moore (Assabet), James Kallio (Assabet), Nicole Barakian (Assabet), Matthew Murphy (Assabet), Justin DuPont (Assabet), Audrey Nadar (Assabet), Rachel Jackson (AMSA), Roma Taronto (AMSA), Jules Hogan (AMSA), Jesse Hogan (AMSA), Brendan LaBarre (AMSA), and Aiden Marceau (AMSA), Luis De Leon (MHS), Roey Chen (MHS), Matt Hudzikiewicz (MHS), Andrea Lopez Santos (MHS), Ana Polesello Marroni (MHS), and Ryan Pearl (MHS).
High resolution images of the M20 Summit are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1siIWrAfuSjC2Tgini6ch9_vz7_jk_BLl?usp=sharing
The M20 Summit, the Marlborough STEM Council’s first collaboration event held at Assabet and MHS today, saw three teams of six students, two from each participating school, come together in a non-competitive environment to research and solve a problem under the topic "Space Habitation." Focusing primarily on biotechnology and advanced manufacturing, each team discussed how their members could survive on Mars and put together a plan to address the psychological and physical effects of being in space, as well as ways to manage food, water and energy supply. The teams presented their solutions in front of volunteer judges from Marlborough corporations, including Boston Scientific, Boston Biomedical Associates and Viasat.
In February, the schools joined forces to form the Marlborough STEM Council in collaboration with the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), MassHire Career Centers and local life science and biotech businesses. The council’s goal is to create working relationships between the schools’ STEM programs allowing students to cross-collaborate and benefit from the variety of resources available at each institution. The group also aims to give students exposure to local STEM companies and the kind of jobs they offer.
Mark Vital, community outreach manager at AMSA, who has been heading up the Marlborough STEM Council, said the organization’s first event was a big and important step for Marlborough’s school systems.
“Graduating from Marlborough High, living and teaching in town, I knew that all three high schools were excellent. Yet, it always puzzled me why the schools didn’t collaborate more,” said Vital. “We, the Marlborough STEM Council, needed to change the mindset of the decision-makers here in Marlborough, and, today, we were able to show them how things will be, going forward. If we can do a better job of teaching our students by developing partnerships between the schools, then we must do it now.”
“The inaugural M20 event surpassed all our expectations. We couldn't be more excited and prouder of how the students from AMSA, Assabet, and Marlborough High collaborated and worked together as a team,” said Assabet Director of Academics, Rob McCann. “It was awesome to see these future STEM leaders research, problem-solve, and present their understanding of Space Habitation. This is what these three great schools are capable of doing together.”
“I am very happy to see students from all three Marlborough schools coming together to collaborate and innovate,” said Mayor Arthur Vigeant, who attended the final project presentations and gave a brief speech. “I want to congratulate the students on their hard work for this challenging STEM project, and I wish them continued success in their future studies.”
“Marlborough has strong school systems, with a multitude of opportunities for our local students to learn and advance in the careers of the future,” said MEDC executive director, Meredith Harris. “For the past year, we, at MEDC, have been working with our schools to highlight and promote these opportunities, and it is exciting to see them all collaborating to advance knowledge and share resources and expertise for the benefit of their students.”
U.S. News and World Report currently ranks AMSA as the second Best High School in Massachusetts and 107th in the U.S. In 2017, Niche.com ranked both AMSA and MPS among its Top 100 Best High Schools in Massachusetts. In 2018, Niche.com also placed AMSA among the 100 Best High Schools for STEM in the U.S.
The students who participated in today’s M20 Summit are Tim Moore (Assabet), James Kallio (Assabet), Nicole Barakian (Assabet), Matthew Murphy (Assabet), Justin DuPont (Assabet), Audrey Nadar (Assabet), Rachel Jackson (AMSA), Roma Taronto (AMSA), Jules Hogan (AMSA), Jesse Hogan (AMSA), Brendan LaBarre (AMSA), and Aiden Marceau (AMSA), Luis De Leon (MHS), Roey Chen (MHS), Matt Hudzikiewicz (MHS), Andrea Lopez Santos (MHS), Ana Polesello Marroni (MHS), and Ryan Pearl (MHS).
High resolution images of the M20 Summit are available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1siIWrAfuSjC2Tgini6ch9_vz7_jk_BLl?usp=sharing
Contact
Marlborough Economic Development Corporation
Lora Markova
508-229-2010
http://marlboroughedc.com
Lora Markova
508-229-2010
http://marlboroughedc.com
Contact
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