Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski watches as Highland Elementary students play a game designed by WHS engineering students during Friday’s STEM Week carnival.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — Westfield students, from pre-K to high school, celebrated science, technology, engineering and math during this year’s STEM Week in Massachusetts from Oct. 19–23.
This year’s theme was “STEM starts now,” focusing on learners of all ages and highlighting that STEM education and careers are happening in Massachusetts right now.
“Westfield Public Schools takes this week to celebrate the STEM-related opportunities students have in our schools every day,” said Assistant Curriculum Director Lindsey Ayers.
“Central to this foundation is our comprehensive Project Lead The Way pre-K-12 Pathway, which delivers hands-on, problem-based learning experiences to students across all grade levels. From our youngest learners exploring early engineering concepts to high schoolers tackling advanced computer science and engineering coursework, PLTW empowers Westfield students to think critically, collaborate, and solve real-world challenges,” Ayers said.
The week began at the annual PLTW Fall Conference in Framingham on Oct. 19. PLTW educators from Westfield schools attended the conference to participate in professional development and to collaborate on STEM curricula.
At the event, Renee Sweeney, PLTW teacher at Westfield High School, received the PLTW Community Teacher of the Year Award for her dedication to applied learning and all she does for her students and the school as a whole through her lead teacher role, Ayers said.
On Oct. 21, Sweeney and WHS science teacher Jon Rymasz brought high school students taking “Principles of Engineering” and “Computer Integrated Manufacturing” to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the MassMakes Innovation Challenge, an annual STEM Week competition that brings together high school students from across central and Western Massachusetts to tackle real-world engineering and advanced manufacturing problems.
That same day, Westfield High School senior Giovanni Santaniello was one of 12 students statewide invited to present at the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair State House Day in Boston. At the fair, Santaniello shared his independent science fair research project with state leaders, including state Sen. John Velis, highlighting the rigor, ingenuity and real-world value of scientific inquiry.
The project, which received the highest score from the judges at last year’s WHS science fair and went on to compete at the state level, was titled “Mycoremediation — utilizing pleurotus ostreatus var. Columbinus [oyster mushrooms] to degrade plastic.”
“We need a way to degrade plastic while benefiting something else,” Santaniello said at last winter’s presentation. For the project, he grew oyster mushrooms in hay — a challenge in itself — to see whether the mushrooms would break down plastics into monomers. Based on positive results, Santaniello recommended growing mushrooms in landfills.
The State House showcase brought together top student researchers to demonstrate the profound impact hands-on science and engineering programs have on student growth, academic rigor and career readiness.
On Thursday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 23, Westfield Technical Academy and Westfield High School PLTW engineering students brought carnival games they designed to an audience of preschool and kindergarten students to test.
WTA students walked to Westfield River Elementary on Thursday, and WHS engineering students went by bus to Highland Elementary on Friday for the preschool carnivals, which were held outdoors.
Ayers said schools across the district also set aside a 20-minute session focused on visual math problem-solving, where the entire school stopped what they were doing and jumped right into ST Math puzzles all at once. JiJi, the penguin mascot, may have been spotted visiting classrooms to celebrate.
“We are deeply grateful to our dedicated Westfield teachers, whose passion, hard work, and creativity inspire our students and bring these engaging STEM experiences to life every day,” said Ayers.
