T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R S T . L U K E ’ S S C H O O L

Welcome to 377 The Magazine for St. Luke’s School. Our mission is to bring you newperspectives on life and learning on the Hilltop through the lens of a particular topic.In this issue, we celebrate curiosity. The indicates that you can find out moreabout that specific story at www.stlukesct.org.

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“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” –Albert Einstein

Curiosity is the engine that drives a lifetime of learning. When we say we foster aculture of curiosity at St. Luke’s, it means we entice our students with opportunitiesto dive into the unknown. We want them to break things and fix them; imagine them,design them, and make them.

In an era when technology has created a hands-off society—we encourage kids to behands-on. We want them to try things. We expect them to fail, and try again. To quoteScience Chair Michael Mitchell: “A culture of inquiry, regardless of the academicsubject, says it’s good to be curious, it’s good to try, and it’s okay to mess up so longas you learn from it.”

As you will see in these pages, we are creating our own Maker Movement on theHilltop. From art classes to STEM Scholars, students are enjoying the freedom to explore, tinker, and determine how things work. Teachers report “amazement” atwhat students, given the chance, will create using their knowledge and imagination.

We dedicate this issue of 377 to the curious mind. At St. Luke’s, it is a most preciousresource.

Mark Davis, Head of School

Using the LEGOS® Intro to Simple Machines system, our fifthgraders work as young scientists, engineers, and designers. Science teacher, Susan Bralower explains: “They start with simplemachines, which they eventually combine into more complex machines. Students work in pairs and collaborate with othergroups. They learn about cause and effect, how to make predictions and draw conclusions. They also learn how to design and redesign—a key part of the scientific process. They do all this while having fun, which is what science should be.”

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Assistant Head of Middle School and science teacher, Mark Chuhta, calls his class Make: “The whole curriculum is about exploring creativity. We use small electronic pieces called Little Bits to build prototypes. Kids build everything from a mailbox that lights up when you have mail, to a Brother-ProofDoor that buzzes at sibling intruders. Now I have kids who want to program, so I bought an Arduino open-source microprocessor.They’ve taken apart a remote control car and plan to turn it into a robot using the microprocessor and traditional code.”

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In early winter, SLS ceramics students began a hands-on project that taps engineering and aesthetic abilities. The birdhouse project begins when students are asked to sketch out their visions for a birdhouse. Art teacher Sean Lynch explains: “Before touching theclay, students need to plan where the entrance would be, the angle of the roof, and what architectural details they wish to include.Then they bring their sketch to life in 3D. There is always a bit of mystery involved, and things inevitably go wrong. Students have tomake alterations and find a way to make their birdhouses work.”

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Thanks to a generous SLS family, our students have a MakerBot 3D printer. Students use modeling software to capturetheir imagination, and the printer allows them to explore their design tangibly. St. Luke’s senior, Tyler Gabriele (pictured), uses the MakerBot for the required engineering curriculum and for sheer pleasure: “I’ve designed a two-sided peanut butter jar and a four-color marker. I was able to print these objects and turn them into fully functioning products. I can turn any image in my head into a real physical shape or design. I love spending free periods printing whatever I designed the previous night.”

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“STEM is like a training camp for key skills like encouraging curiosity and patience, and makingfriends with failure.”

Yale Professor Ainissa Ramirez, Author of Save Our Science: How to Inspire a New Generation of Scientists

“Being a STEM scholar has provided me withthe opportunity to participate in some seriousresearch early on in my educational career,something that I will be able to build upon incollege and beyond.”Steven Gerasimoff, STEM Scholar

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KNOWLEDGE STEMs from Curiosity

Now in its second year, the STEMScholars Program has three senior students selected for strong academicbackgrounds and ambitious researchproposals. Aidan Stone is studyingMusic & Memory. His advisor is science teacher Adriana Andrade.Kathleen (K.C.) Kelly and StevenGerasimoff are working jointly on exploration of Cellulosic EthanolProduction. Their advisor is scienceteacher Alec Lebris.

Aidan Stone:Music & Memory

377: What made you want to research music?AS: Music has been an important partof my life for as long as I can remem-ber. We always have music playing inthe background at home–mostly classical, but a variety of other genresas well. I started playing the pianowhen I was in kindergarten, and Istarted singing in grade school. Musicmakes me happy; it relaxes me and

Freedom and responsibility abound in St. Luke’s Scholars Programs. Whether Classical,Global, or STEM (science, technology, engineering,and mathematics), SLS Scholars take on a challenging year of independent study and research.While every scholar has a faculty mentor, theproject concept, execution, and delivery of resultsrest squarely on each student’s shoulders.

motivates me. Surprisingly, musicalso helps me to concentrate. Becausemusic holds such power in my life, I became interested in researchingspecifically how music affects us neurologically–how does music make us feel the way we feel?

377: Is being a STEM Scholar difficult?AS: The most challenging part hasbeen working on my own. I am prettygood at working independently, butbeing responsible for every detail ofsuch a large project has been tough at times. Having a good advisor,

someone to bounce ideas off of, has reallyhelped. Dr. Raymond (SLS ConsultingPsychologist) was also very helpful withmy research.

377: How would you sum up your STEM Scholar experience?AS: The most rewarding part of my project has been having the opportunityto combine two things that I am passionate about: music and science. I am happy to be a STEM Scholar because it is such an honor. I also reallyappreciate the opportunity to design and execute a research project. I am sure the experience will be very helpfulin college.

Steven Gerasimoff and Kathleen Kelly: Cellulosic Ethanol Production

377: When looking at alternative energies, why cellulosic ethanol?SG: Cellulosic ethanol has enormous potential in the energy market, but thereis currently not enough supporting research to validate it as an alternativefuel source. In the near future, cellulosicethanol could possibly become a solutionto the world energy crisis; and having a part, no matter how small, in that istruly exciting.

KK: I picked research around CellulosicEthanol Production because it solves a world problem that interests me a lot.Our fuel supplies are running out, andthis is a solution to that problem. It is also much cleaner and better for the environment than the fuel we use today.

377: What has been your biggest challenge and best reward?KK: The most challenging part of thishas been understanding the conceptsthat we’re working with. Some of theideas behind what we are doing are complicated, and it took me a littlewhile to understand how it all worked.The most rewarding part has been running our first couple of experimentsand seeing results that really makesense. I feel like I’m learning something beyond the normal curriculum.

SG: Learning “how” the experimentruns, or “how” the reaction occurs hasbeen relatively easy to comprehend.

Understanding “why” our results do or don’t reflect our predictions, and their significance, is the real challenge in our research.

Conducting research independently has taught me to always look deeperinto the problem at hand, the data, or the results, to get a clearer andmore detailed picture of my work.Having the freedom to experiment allows me to approach a problem with several strategies and from multiple angles, and to solve it withoriginal methods, hands-on research,and critical thinking: skills required in the 21st century.

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You walk up to your car, and it unlocks and starts. You step up tothe cash register at Starbucks, andyour latte is paid for sans chargecards, money, or identification. You sit down at your computer, and it logs you in. You walk away,and it locks down. Welcome to thenew normal as envisioned by tech entrepreneur Kurt Collins, co-founder of Enole. Collins is a pioneer in mobile user identification technology and just may redefine how we interactwith technology (and our coffee).

Center for Leadership Director,Jim Foley, met Collins at a TED(Technology, Entertainment, andDesign) conference and convincedhim to bring his brilliance to theHilltop. Collins spoke with a packedroom of Upper School students during a Lunch & Lead. He sharedhis adventures in tech startups,his pride in being a lifelong “geek,”and his certainty that failures are as valuable as successes.

A point of pride for Collins is the Hidden Genius Project, an initiative providing technologymentorship for young black men.During his visit, he spoke to St. Luke’s Multicultural StudentUnion and the Black Student Alliance. Collins also managed to squeeze in stints as a guest computer teacher as well as a littlebreak-dancing during his

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presentation to the seventh andeighth grade students, who apparently glommed onto Collins’past membership in a dance crew.

Throughout his stay at SLS, Collinsspread the magic of “doing whatyou love” but made clear that passion is no substitute for “working incredibly hard.” In thewords of St. Luke’s Senior AlexRobertson: “St. Luke’s was honored to have such a multi-talented entrepreneur provide expertise in such a wide range of areas. Afterall, Mr. Collins is the exact kind of person the Center for Leadershipwants to see in our student body: a true leader.”

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377 caught up with St. Luke’s alumnus Brandon Fulljames, with the help of math and computer science teacher, Jeff Kress.We asked Brandon what he’s been up to...

“I work as a programmer at Solutions Thru Software International.We make the Department of Motor Vehicles testing software for a dozen or so states in the United States and multiple provinces inCanada. I’m involved in investigating new technology for usegoing forward and products to tie into our current line. Being the’go to guy’ for all the shiny new toys in the world is rewarding.

“SLS was incredibly supportive in letting me explore the wideworld of programming. Every class I took gave me a new avenueto investigate, and any time I asked if I could try something I wasgiven the go-ahead. Even when I got a little over-ambitious, itturned into a learning experience.”

Noteworthy: Brandon’s mom, Gaye (“Gracie”), is also an SLS Alum!

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Science teacher Adriana Andrade’s students have been exploringthe most remarkable machine ever made: the human body.“I asked students to research and present the most important muscles used in their favorite sports activity. I’ve been amazed by what they created. There are some beautiful, detailed drawings.The kids are so proud, and some even want to frame their work.They responded to this project because it’s so relevant for them.Most students are either athletes or very active. They want to fully understand how their bodies work.”

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Last fall, the Center for Leadership (CFL) and the SLS Science Department took St. Luke’s first field trip to the World MakerFaire. Held on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science in Queens, the faire is an annual highlight and mecca of theMaker Movement. CFL Director Jim Foley says: “This is a movement we want to tap at St. Luke’s. The maker attitude and energy drive interest in programs like STEM and foster scientific thinking in general.”

Science Chair Michael Mitchell agrees: “Scientific thinking applies across the curriculum and throughout life. We want students to be curious and adventurous. Programs like the Rube Goldberg Challenge, the Egg Drop, the Gardening Program, Exploravision, and Flight Day are meant to inspire all students, not just future scientists.”

St. Luke’s has started its own Maker Movement right here on the Hilltop, and there’s no telling how far we can go. TheSchool recently began a campaign to raise funds for a new science wing and hopes to also have a “fab lab” with amplespace for tinkering and invention. “Our science curriculum is already strong,” commented Foley. “The new spaces will takeSLS and our students to a whole new level, and signal our community’s commitment to science and imagination. It will be St. Luke’s tribute to curiosity.”

On the front cover: A St. Luke’s rite of passage, the egg drop is an annual eighth grade challenge. Pictured: Eighth grade students, Hunter Libman and Georgia Nelson.

On the back cover: Assistant Head of Middle School and science teacher, Mark Chuhta.

Let us know what you think at communications@stlukesct.org.

377 Editor: Nancy TroegerProduction Director: Jane AhrensPhotography Director: Desirée SmockDesign: Peapod Design3/2013/#7/Curiosity

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