Throughout Peachtree Corners and Gwinnett County, teachers and students are using some of the latest advances in technology to enhance the learning process.

“As you can imagine, there are numerous course offerings and classroom opportunities that include use of and learning about technology,” said Tricia Kennedy, executive director of Instructional Development and Support at Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS). “Just like it permeates society, it permeates education.”

However, teachers and administrators are quick to point out that technology is, after all, just one of the tools necessary for a well-rounded education.

“We want to use the tools, not have them using us,” said Dr. Paul Cable, Greater Atlanta Christian educator. “It’s so easy to get that backward. Technology is not an end in itself, but a means, and we try to use it that way.”

Balancing technological opportunities with classroom interaction is a challenge that area schools are successfully meeting with great results.

This article first appeared in print in our October / November 2019 edition

Gwinnett County Public Schools

In recent years, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) has seen a lot of increased interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based courses.

“Many of our schools are now certified by the state of Georgia as STEM schools because of the quality and array of courses and extracurricular offerings in these areas,” said Tricia Kennedy, GCPS executive director of Instructional Development and Support. “All of our elementary schools now have Robotics programs. Middle and high school students have the opportunity to take courses leading to a career pathway in computer science.”

Kennedy said that online courses have become a part of the norm across the country. Teachers are able to provide effective instructional activities online, and there are opportunities for students to communicate and collaborate with teachers and classmates.

“We have a safe and secure environment for these interactions—our eCLASS C&I course pages,” she said. With online offerings, students can access learning resources from anywhere at any time.

“But we also believe face to face interaction with teachers is very important,” Kennedy explained. “Online learning does require a certain skill set for students, and their ability to work independently. Just like for adults, some students are not as comfortable with that model.”

GCPS is constantly adding resources and supports for students and teachers. “Some of our newer science materials give students the opportunity to participate in real problem-solving through simulations,” she continued.

There are 3-D printers in many of the schools, where students learn programming to solve problems and actually make physical objects. Science classes are equipped with probe-ware so students can collect and analyze data in real-time.

“Technology is used to enhance our students’ learning. It has not taken the place of teachers or the need for students to be actively engaged in class,” Kennedy said. “But technology in school can connect our students to information and opportunities that were not possible in the past . . .just as it does for all of us at work and home.” ■

Paul Duke STEM High School

As a newly opened technology school, Paul Duke STEM High School is equipped with the technology to support its courses in Engineering, Mechatronics, Graphic Arts, Digital Arts, Information Technology and Television and Film Production.

Principal Dr. Jonathon Wetherington explained that each student has their own passions and interests that drive them. “Some of the new classes that students are excited about our Principles and Concepts of Animation, Introduction to Cybersecurity, Game Design and AP Computer Science.” In addition, the Television and Film classes are always among the most requested, he noted.

“Courses that allow students to create, problem solve and apply their talents are why Paul Duke STEM was created, so it’s great to expand our offerings and engage our students with these technology-focused courses,” Dr. Wetherington said. “As a technology-focused school, we leverage digital instruction each and every day because our goal is to have students learning through and with technology.”

All classes are taught digitally on Fridays with the opportunity for face-to-face support. “Our only purely digital classes are offered through dual enrollment with our collegiate partners,” he said.

One of those classes is a new exclusive Cyber Security Program partnership with Mercer University and the FBI Atlanta Field Office that allows students to earn college credit in two foundational cybersecurity courses at Mercer while also engaging in case study learning with the FBI.

Another new option for students is Introduction to Mechatronics, which provides an introductory look at becoming an Electronics Technician or a Mechatronics Engineer.

“Digital learning is not a magic bullet,” Dr. Wetherington said. “It requires a great deal of effort to deliver effectively, and our teachers work diligently to design effective and engaging lessons.”
He added that as students get their academic content digitally, they need to learn time management, independence and self-discipline. “It’s exciting to be able to help students develop these valuable skills at such a young age.” ■

Norcross High School

Students at Norcross High School (NHS) are interested in a number of new opportunities available to them, according to NHS principal Will Bishop.

For example, a newly added Graphic Design class is taught by Mr. Miller who worked in the graphic design field and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to his classroom. In Music Technology, students can utilize a state-of-the-art music lab to create original pieces in a variety of music genres.

“Walking into the lab you may find a student laying down tracks on a Mac or hammering out a drumbeat on a drum pad,” Bishop said.

NHS has begun a partnership with Gwinnett Online Campus to open a Gwinnett Online Center on its campus. “This will be most helpful to students who want to accelerate their learning, need to catch up on coursework or want to take a class that’s not currently offered at NHS,” Bishop explained.

In addition, several students are taking a Georgia Tech class in Advanced Calculus while sitting in an NHS Media Center conference room. Through a Polycom system, the students can hear, see and speak with the professor leading the classroom as if they were on the Georgia Tech campus.

Bishop said that NHS is excited about some new technology the school has received to support its Career Technical Education classes. Students in Engineering classes are now designing and producing prototypes of their own designs using a 3D printer and laser engraver.

“Of course, the most exciting opportunities for our teachers and students is always about the next big advances in technology,” he said, adding that the introduction of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality will dramatically alter the learning experience for teachers and students.

“Some of our teachers are utilizing VR sets to visit far off historical settings without ever leaving the classroom,” Bishop said. “A student can put on a VR set and experience holding a heart in their hand or a visit to the Louvre.” ■

Wesleyan School

Wesleyan School is a one-to-one school, meaning one device to one child. In Kindergarten through 4th grade, one iPad is provided for each student. Each 5th through 12th-grade student is provided a touchscreen enabled Windows-based laptop.

“Wesleyan has always seen the value of and invested in technology as an important tool for learning,” said Brian Morgan, Wesleyan’s Chief Operating Officer. “In recent years, and thanks to the generosity of a donor, the school has expanded and improved its data center and network capabilities.”

“With technology infrastructure in place, our next goal is for technology to support students transitioning from consumers of content to creators of content,” said Jewel Anderson, Instructional Technologist and STEM teacher.

When technology in the classroom is to create, it can become cross-curricular. For example, fine arts students can draw creations on paper and use the school’s Epilog Legend Laser Machine to transform their creations into 3D art. In other classes, students use technology to apply art to the business world.

“By incorporating interactive technology resources, we’re able to take students’ ideas from concept to creation to completion. Every student has the potential to be a maker,” said Heather Niemann, Middle School Art teacher.

There are more ways technology is used efficiently at Wesleyan, too. Modern and classical language students complete performance-based assessments using their tablets to record themselves, then submit the recordings for assessment and feedback on their language speaking skills.

Sixth-grade robotics students recently worked on a group project; they created their own superheroes, designed scenarios using a coordinate plane map and programmed their EV3 robot to perform tasks and solve a real-world problem.

Wesleyan science teachers use student tablets, modeling programs and 3D printers to lead students through creation of new creatures and organisms. “The beauty of students using the 3D printers is that it reinforces the value of planning ahead and trial and error,” Anderson said. “When a student designs a structure and it isn’t structurally sound, the replica from the printer allows them to find that out.” ■

Greater Atlanta Christian

At Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC), every 4th to 12th-grade student has a school issued MacBook, while younger students have access to IPads and MacBooks for targeted learning projects.

GAC educator Mandy Richey explained that it’s important for students to practice 21st-century skills. “All school levels of GAC teach students how to use technology in a responsible way. Students are using technology to reinforce, research, record and create.”

Technology is infused in the curriculum at age-appropriate levels. Students learn to program as early as Elementary School, continuing in Middle School with MakerSpace, a fully equipped workshop, and ending with AP Computer Science and Robotics in High School.

Middle and High School students create new products using one of five 3D printers. The technology-focused courses include Computer Science, App Development, Web Design and Robotics. There are also robotics teams from Elementary to High School.

However, Rhonda Helms, Lower School Principal, said, “We emphasize that technology is just a tool…a resource. It is not our curriculum.”

GAC resources include Ethos School, the virtual school created by GAC that offers over 50 courses to more than 200 students across the U.S. and around the world. Ethos courses ensure rich, inquisitive dialogue among students, who can choose from over 50 courses.

“With online teaching, I learned how important human contact is,” said Dr. Paul Cable, a member of the GAC Ethos School faculty. “People are formed by example and love; they aren’t formed by forum posts. That’s what I love about what GAC’s Ethos School is doing through all of the points of contact with kids. It’s about forming people, not just dumping information on them and testing them on it.”

Chancellor Dr. David Fincher said that the GAC community thrives on relationships above all. “Students respond and achieve greater heights out of their deep personal links with caring and superb teachers. Designed well, technology learning can make those ties between students and teachers even deeper and more life-changing, not less.” ■

Cornerstone Christian Academy

“Technology has transformed the way Cornerstone teaches young students,” said Melissa Dill, Lower School Principal at Cornerstone Christian Academy. The school recently purchased Lego WeDo engineering sets for grades 2 through 4. “The hands-on STEM activities combine engineering, computer programming and collaboration and are a nice segue way to programming in the middle school robotics and technology classes.”

Dill said that students as young as kindergarteners begin coding robots with an innovative, screen-free product called Ozobot. “These bots encourage critical thinking as students use different colors to direct a small bot on a page. Their faces come alive when they realize that they can control a robot by simply drawing lines of different colors,” she said.

Middle School Math/Technology teacher Terri Childers said that 6th-grade students have a Technology elective. “The focus is on learning ways to effectively navigate the internet when researching a topic.” Students also work in two web-based programming apps, Snap and Scratch. Both are block programming apps that can be used to program robots.

“Our 7th and 8th grade students take a technology course that focuses on programming. Programming languages and apps like Robot C, Python and Construct 3 are all part of the curriculum,” Childers said. Construct 3 is a web-based video game creation application and has been a big hit with students. “Having access to free software that allows students to make video games from scratch that track scores, play background music and have animated characters is a valuable tool for learning,” she said.

The entire middle school is a Google Education school, and most middle school classes have digital textbooks that a student can access with a username and password. “Our students keep classwork organized through Google Drive,” Childers said.

The system allows students to easily share work with teachers and collaborate with peers. Since their accounts aren’t tied to any single device, students can access their accounts from anywhere on any device with internet access. ■

Peachtree Corners is home to extraordinary families and schools which are nurturing bright, talented and community-minded young people. We sent out requests for nominations of students who find the time to make the world a better place despite their busy school schedules.

Not surprisingly, we were flooded with responses. So in addition to our “20 Under 20” selection, we’re including a list of “Up and Coming” teens who are making positive differences in peoples’ lives.

Cem and Alp Altikulac

“Cem and Alp volunteer their time through countless service projects and fundraisers to support autism awareness,” wrote Carolyn Tully, a volunteer coordinator who works with the brothers. “They serve as peer models, demonstrating the skills that teenagers and young adults with autism need to be successful in the community and play pivotal roles in motivating and mentoring. … Even in their busy lives as teenagers they have canceled plans with friends or returned from trips early to uphold their commitments to those in need.”

 Cem, who’s 18 and a freshman at Georgia State University, and Alp, who’s 16 and a junior at Norcross High School, work with teens on the spectrum to master life skills such as how to manage a shopping trip or how to play a videogame.

“There was one kid who was 14 and I was teaching him to play [the videogame system] Wii because his mom wanted him to play Wii to connect with his brother, like other siblings, which is a natural skill for any other 14-year-olds,” Alp wrote. “But for him, it took two months of hard work and one broken TV screen to learn to play one simple Wii game. This memory always reminds me how we take everything for granted which we should not.”

Cem recounted teaching a teen who was on the spectrum how to go shopping. “We started with Walmart to teach him to shop for his basic needs and wants. The skills we planned to teach were reading off a list, finding the right aisle, identifying different brands, finding the price and paying at the cashier. He had a lot of difficulty to perform any of the skills at first, but after weeks of repetition of going to Walmart … he can go shopping for any groceries and find it in the store without much hesitation now. This memory gave me a warm heart because I impacted another person’s life who sometimes doesn’t get the same opportunities as me.”

Aubrey DeAugustinis

Aubrey DeAugustinis, a 17-year-old senior at Wesleyan School, serves on the Teen Council at Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities and was named Top Fundraiser for the Teen Council in 2018. She also interned with the organization in the summer of 2018, supporting the marketing, finance and management services departments. Aubrey has worked with another Wesleyan student, her cousin Lizzy Stainback, to lead after-school enrichment classes, where lower school students learned about Ronald McDonald Charities.

“In our Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Enrichment club, we got the opportunity to visit one of the houses and take a tour,” Aubrey recalled. “I loved seeing the faces of the kids in this club as we entered the house that they had been learning about all year. We had taught them about the mission of ARMHC and done various service projects, but it was so special to see the mission in action.”

At Wesleyan, Aubrey has participated in high school theater productions, as a varsity cheerleader, on the prom committee and she has served as a Wesleyan student ambassador working with prospective families. In ninth and 10th grade, she served on Wesleyan’s honor council. She also has volunteered to play with lower school students before school every other Wednesday morning and will take part in a mission trip to Guatemala this spring.

Aubrey has been awarded the bronze medal on the National Spanish Exam and was awarded the Female Overall Achievement Award at Wesleyan in both ninth and 10th grades.

Braden Thorne

Wesleyan School senior Braden Thorne has excelled in school as a National Merit Semifinalist and member of the National Honor Society and in the community as an Eagle Scout. Also, Braden, who’s 18, and a friend recently pitched an online retail business concept to Atlanta Tech Village, a startup community in Midtown, and they will be launching the concept in the coming months.

At school, Braden is a member of the National Honor Society, has won two National French Exam awards and is a member of the math team. He is a member of the Wesleyan marching band, where he is serving as the drum major for the second year; has participated in multiple productions in the Wesleyan theater department; is a member of the high school chapel band; serves as a student government representative; and serves as a Wesleyan student ambassador working with prospective families considering Wesleyan each year.

This spring, Braden will serve on a Wesleyan mission trip to Costa Rica.

For his Eagle Scout project, he organized construction of two picnic tables at the trail by Tech Lake Park. “It was such an awesome experience to lead nearly a dozen other scouts in the construction and installation process,” he recalled. “I was so humbled to see many others jump in and unify with the common goal to serve the community.”

Camille Hollier

Camille Hollier is passionate about art and service. A student at Greater Atlanta Christian School for 13 years, the 17-year-old Camille recently won a Scholastic Art Silver Key National Award and is creating an AP Art portfolio called “Unexpected” to show everyday objects in unusual ways to demonstrate the people shouldn’t be judged on appearances.

She also is planning her third mission trip to Honduras through Honduras Outreach Incorporated, which addresses the physical and spiritual needs of the residents in order to have a long-term effect on the lives of people in that country.

“I can honestly say that one of the most memorable experiences of my life has been the opportunity to serve the Honduran people in their community,” Camille wrote. “This has impacted me on so many levels that it’s difficult to even put into words. Graciousness, kindness, gratefulness, dedication and love were just a few of the things I observed and experienced while there.

“Understanding the impact this has had on me makes me cognizant of the fact that there’s always a place where I can and must help and serve others—whether it’s down the road in Peachtree Corners or halfway around the world.”

Charlotte Burts

Charlotte Burts, who’s 17 and a junior at Norcross High School, plays violin, rides horses, serves as a vice president of the Spanish Honor Society, is a member of the school color guard and is working on her Gold Award through Girl Scouts. She is an active member of Simpsonwood United Methodist Church and has taken part in five weeks of mission trips.

“One of my most memorable moments was when I had the opportunity to help Peachtree Corners Baptist Church and the Norcross Co-op with the Merry Market,” Charlotte recalled. “This program allows countless underprivileged families to give their children a nice Christmas free of charge. Many of these families do not primarily speak English, so it was also an amazing experience to be able to use Spanish to do something good for my community. This allowed me to contribute in ways that I normally wouldn’t be able to and see the kind of impact I had on the lives of others.”

According to Cathy Loew, a parent volunteer with Norcross High band, she always noticed the same girl helping at band events. “She helped at the band registration table, she helped with food at band camp, she helped with the uniforms. She seemed to be everywhere and happy!

“My daughter was new to color guard and she informed me that the girl was Charlotte Burts. When I asked if she was always so helpful, my daughter replied, “Yes, she helps me all the time in guard.” As the season progressed, my daughter informed me Charlotte continued to help the freshman and was always positive and affirming. Charlotte is exactly the type of person who will make the world a better place.”

Cimone Jefferson

At age 17, Norcross High senior Cimone Jefferson already has seen success in business. She founded and owns a skin-care product business (GloKit)—featuring a line of natural body scrubs—that came in First Runner Up in the inaugural 3DE program’s Business Creation Simulation.

According to Cimone, her most memorable moment so far has been creating the skin-care business in her 3DE business class at Norcross High School. “This opportunity has helped me uplift young ladies to be confident so that they can feel they can accomplish anything they put their mind to,” she said. “This brings me great pride in helping my community!”

In her junior year, Cimone was appointed Vice President of Media Coordination for the Future Business Leaders of America. She attended the National Student Leadership Conference for Business and Entrepreneurship at Yale University in the Summer of 2019. At the conference, she pitched an idea that won the award for best usage for technology.

Also in 2019, Cimone was named Norcross High’s Homecoming Queen. Active in cheerleading throughout high school, she acted as Cheer Captain and earned a spot as an All-American Cheerleader all four years and represented Norcross High at the Disney World Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Cimone has also served as a Junior Coach for the Freshman Cheer Squad since her sophomore year.

“Cimone has been a terrific ambassador for Norcross High School (and Peachtree Corners) and will continue to do so in the future,” Norcross Business Education teacher Twoey Hosch wrote.

Elle Dougherty

Elle Dougherty has been curious about the ocean since she was little. She has other interests—competitive swimming, the Norcross High Band band’s color guard and Girl Scouts among them—but she has been so committed to ocean conservation that during a family vacation to the beach she spent time working at the Jekyll Island Turtle Sanctuary.

The 16-year-old now volunteers regularly at the Georgia Aquarium, and she was chosen to work summer and fall internships there. Elle’s favorite experience at the aquarium, she said, involved a family with young daughters.

“It was a quiet morning, so not many guests were in the building. I was in Ocean Voyager, the largest exhibit, with the whale sharks, … and a family of four came through. … The family was awestruck, which made me smile because I feel the same way every time I see it. …I began to talk to [the] daughters, who told me that they were interested in sharks and had never seen whale sharks up close before. They quickly began asking me questions about all of the animals and about the aquarium itself.

“One question that I vividly remember was when the youngest one asked me how big they get. When I told her that they could get to be about 13 times her height she was shocked. … I love being able to give people unique experiences as well as provide interesting information and awareness about the oceans.”

Evan Johnson

As drum major of the Norcross High School band, Evan Johnson does more than merely keep the beat, according to Jen Elliott Ehrhardt, a neighbor and friend who calls herself “Evan’s other mother.”

“His legacy to the marching band transcends the podium,” she wrote. “Evan promotes inclusion, leadership, and connection by living it. He praises band members for taking initiative, solving problems, and elevating standards. ‘We’re creating future leaders today,’ he explained of the culture he’s establishing. Evan’s vision for excellence extends beyond his immediate experience to future marching bands at Norcross.”

The 17-year-old senior’s leadership extends beyond the band. “As junior class president, then student body president, Evan’s platform has been inclusion,” Ehrhardt wrote. “Anyone can be kind, and Evan makes compassion cool.

“Scouting offered another context to prioritize engagement and giving back, Ehrhardt wrote. Evan honored servicemen and servicewomen, as well as first responders, through a letter-writing campaign culminating in his Eagle Scout ranking earlier this year. “Evan’s detailed list of activities and accolades spans two pages and is so extensive, I’m not sure when he slept,” she wrote. “But here is his essential message: ‘You belong.’ ‘You matter.’ ‘Let’s help.’ …

“I asked Evan why he’s spent so many hours volunteering. ‘Two reasons,’ he explained. ‘First, I love to help people. It’s a huge passion of mine. I’ve been given so much, and I want to improve other people’s lives. And second, I want people to feel like they matter. I belong to a family—biologically, community-based, and culturally. I want others to experience that belonging, too—it’s life-changing.’”

One of Evan’s memorable moments happened at a fun activity called Reverse Trick or Treating hosted by the Norcross High Student Council, he said. “We visit an elderly home in our community to give them candy and chat. As we were leaving the home this year, an elderly woman pulled me aside and thanked me profusely, telling me how this event made her entire week. It brought me joy to know that we were able to bring them a bit of happiness. I strive in everything that I do to make the lives of those around me better.”

Georgia Whitmer

Georgia Whitmer’s teachers rave about her. The Norcross High School senior draws high marks from her mentor on a summer research project as a NASA intern, who praised her “outgoing and confident personality” and predicted the 17-year-old will be successful “through her work ethic and willingness to learn and contribute.” Her physics teacher calls her one of the Top 10 students he’s taught in a 30-year career that has included about 3,500 students.

“I am excited about her future and hope to see her destination in 10 years because she will make an impact wherever that is,” Jonathan Crymes, her International Baccalaureate Physics Higher Level 2 teacher wrote. “Her grasp of physics is extraordinary and difficult problems prove little challenge for her work ethic. But she does not get by on just her mind. She works hard and she works tirelessly, and she is self-motivated and self-reliant. Her future focus is laser tight and she will put forth whatever effort is required to get her there. I’ve never said this before: she’s the perfect student.”

Georgia is active outside the classroom, too. She is on the community swim team, made the USA Swimming Southeastern Sectionals when she was 12, tutors other students voluntarily, is president of a service club called Dumbledore’s Army and participates in Technology Student Association Projects, Crymes wrote.

“My goal is to encourage others to go after their dreams and aspirations,” Georgia said. “I do this through leadership. As president of the Technology Students Association at Norcross High School, I help others to go after their goals in technology. Dumbledore’s Army gives others the opportunity to develop their own ideas about the world by offering them unbiased information.”

Her internship project, titled The Urban Green Space: A Habitat for Mosquito Breeding All Across the United States, incorporated NASA satellite imagery, GLOBE land cover and mosquito habitat data and her citizen science data observations, wrote Cassie Soeffing, her mentor on the project. “We were impressed with her timely completion of assignments, thoughtful and articulate analysis of the comparative study assignments, collaborative nature during this virtual project and her final project presentation,” Soeffing wrote.

Heather Flanagan

Heather Flanagan helps younger girls find joy through dance. The 17-year-old Norcross High School junior helps host free weekly after-school ballet classes for first graders at Beaver Ridge Elementary who might not be able to take dance instruction otherwise. “At the end of the school year,” writes Cheryl Flanagan, Heather’s mother, “they join in a recital with Perimeter Ballet to perform a dance and show off their brand-new ballerina costumes.”

Heather says one of her favorite memories of the program was the day of the recital, when the young girls performed for an audience of several hundred people.

“One of the girls started to cry right before she went on stage, so one of my co leaders took the time to kneel next to her, give her a hug, and encourage her until she was ready to go on stage,” Heather said. “She went on to dance beautifully. The smiles on all of the girls’ faces, after they finished the dance, were so joyful. I love being a part of something that brings that kind of joy to people.”

Dance isn’t her only interest, her mom says. Heather’s also active at church, is an officer in two clubs at Norcross High, started a ballet exercise class for her peers, and is writing a book.

Kaitlyn Williams

After researching food insecurity, Kaitlyn Williams proposed that her school, Greater Atlanta Christian School, could find an outlet to donate excess food from lunch to those in need. She and a group were tasked with making the idea a reality, which required school and food services administrative approval, health department criteria and transportation options.       Since formally launching and partnering with Food for Thought/Second Helpings in August 2017, GAC has continued to donate surplus food every week to the metro Atlanta area.

The 18-year-old senior has contributed to her community in other ways, too. She organized a candy drive for orphans in the Ukraine, has tutored elementary age students who speak English as a second language and has been a team member for mission trips to Guatemala and Ecuador.

During the past two summers, Kaitlyn was a volunteer coach at Tavani Soccer Camp, a camp she attended when she was younger and where she shares her passion for the game with younger players. “I not only loved to coach the kids during the summer,” she said. “but when I see the kids during the fall season and they say, “Hey Coach Kaitlyn!” then I know I have made an impact on them.”

Kate Fuhr

Kate Fuhr started figure skating at age 8. After a year and a half, she switched to ice hockey.

Now, at age 14, the Cornerstone Christian Academy eighth grader has been a member of the Atlanta Fire Ice Hockey Developmental Team for the past three years. She is one of only a handful of girls in the organization, and one of only three girls playing at “14 and under” Bantam level at the Cooler in Alpharetta. Kate is also starting her second year on the Junior Atlanta Thrashers, the Women’s Travel Ice Hockey Team.

“I’ve been part of the coed ice hockey team for three years,” Kate said, “and one thing that I’ve learned from Cornerstone Christian is how to get out of my comfort zone and make new friends.”

She’s interested in music, too. She has studied piano for five years, taken voice lessons for the past year and started playing the guitar and writing songs this past summer. She’s been a member of the Cornerstone Chapel Band for four years and a member of the Cornerstone chorus for two.

“I learned the importance of service from my parents, grandparents and other influential people in my life,” Kate said. “When trying to recall a memorable moment of service, the people around me stand out more than any one event. I think about one very special teacher at Cornerstone Christian Academy, Mrs. Katie Trapani.”

Unfortunately, Mrs. Trapani passed away in 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. “She took us to the Ronald McDonald House, an organization that was very dear to her,” Kate remembered. “I learned first-hand what an impact we, even as kids, had on the lives of families supporting seriously ill children in the hospital.”

Kate said that she has been blessed with the chance to fill a number of leadership and servant roles in both school and church. “I see being of service to others as a privilege and try to get involved and give back whenever I have the opportunity.”

Lizzy Stainback

Lizzy Stainback, a senior at Wesleyan School, serves as president of the school’s chorus leadership committee, takes part in the high school chapel band and has participated in plays and musicals with the school’s Wolf Players.

Her interest in music continues off-campus, too. The 17-year-old recently volunteered as a counselor with Camp CreARTive at the George Center for Music Therapy. And every week, Lizzy volunteers with the Salvation Army Church in Lawrenceville as an assistant choir director. She works with children aged 6 to 12.

“As I started working at the Salvation Army, I didn’t know what to think,” she recalled. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be accepted by the kids and parents as I was a late addition in their chorus season. I was pleasantly surprised as I was welcomed with open arms, literally.

“Every Thursday after a long drive to Lawrenceville, I’m greeted with glowing smiles from 30 kids all shouting ‘Miss Lizzy! Miss Lizzy! I missed you.’ They are always interested in the events of my life and the cool things I’ve learned in school. I only hope that I bring as much joy to their lives as they bring to mine, and I’ve made as much of an impact on their lives as they’ve made on mine.”

And her community and school activities extend beyond music. She’s a member of the National Honor Society, the Teen Council and serves as a board student leader with Atlanta Ronald McDonald Charities.

Melina Jackson

Melina Jackson’s father suffered with Parkinson’s disease for many years before he passed away when she was 10 years old. As a fifth grader, she decided to take action to honor her father’s memory.

The first year, Melina’s goal was to raise awareness about Parkinson’s. She arranged for a representative from the PD Gladiators, a Norcross foundation that helps people cope with the disease, to speak to students at her school on April 11, 2018, World Parkinson’s Day. Students were offered an “out-of-uniform” day if they wore Parkinson’s colors, grey and blue.

Melina surveyed the students to find out what worked best. She then arranged for a school-wide Parkinson’s awareness event called “Pancakes for Parkinson’s.” She also arranged presentations so students could learn about Parkinson’s and what they could do to help friends or family who are suffering from a serious disease.

This school year, the 12-year-old seventh grader at Cornerstone Christian Academy plans to build on that, continuing to raise awareness, not just at school, but in the community, and possibly add some fundraising for Parkinson’s Research.

“The most memorable moment that I have of serving in my community was seeing how I had influenced my classmates,” Melina wrote. “After discussing with my school about different ways people could raise awareness to less-talked-about diseases such as Parkinson’s, a few of my close friends hosted a fundraiser for the disease at a local park. This encouraged me and my drive towards my goal for Parkinson’s because it showed me that what I had provided to the people around me was positive and impactful. That was 100 percent a moment in my life where I felt like I had done something and it meant, and still means, a lot to me.

Her work has impressed people around her, including Helen West, a teacher at Cornerstone Christian Academy. “If you spend any time at all talking with Melina, you will immediately be impressed by her poise and intelligence,” West wrote. “Although she has experienced great grief, she has demonstrated great initiative and maturity, far beyond her years.”

Myra Wu

Although she’s just 11 years old, Myra Wu has built quite a resume. She’s an A student at Pinckneyville Middle School, performs on piano and French horn, and competes in the swimming pool and on the tennis court.

“Myra’s drive and ambition to compete individually and with her teammates is outstanding,” family friend Tanya Ayers wrote. “Her dedication during the school year and through summer vacation shows her passion and drive is unwavering as she sacrifices her time to practice and help others.”

Myra, who started playing tennis at age 5, according to robotics coach Hayley Hanson, ranks 35^th in the G12 USTA Georgia standings.

She recently volunteered to be a ball girl at a Special Pops Tennis tournament, a competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. “It was great to help those with disabilities play the sport that I love—tennis,” Myra said. “Seeing their smiles made the experience well worth it.”

Nadia Jones

Nadia Jones is passionate about helping and encouraging others. The Norcross High School student has collected blankets, hats and gloves for the charity Hosea Feed the Hungry. She’s collected new and gently worn shoes for recycling and provided Socks 4 Seniors. She led a coat and toy drive with donations going to Norcross Cooperative Ministry.

She started a Girl UP Club in her middle school to build self-esteem, fight against bullying and encourage girls to be great. At 16, Nadia has been a Girl Scout for 11 years and now is serving a two-year internship with Girl Scout USA. She has committed hours to working on G.I.R.L. 2020, a conference expected to bring thousands of girls and their supporters to Orlando, Fla. next year for inspiration and to encourage their empowerment.

Bernina Jones, her mother, says Nadia said has been sharing her Christian faith with others in the local community and in downtown Atlanta through prayer, play and by spending many Saturdays visiting neighborhoods to deliver fresh bread and pray for strangers. She’s also sung carols at homes for senior citizens.

“A moment I will never forget is visiting a senior citizens home while on Christmas break,” Nadia wrote. “The holidays can be a difficult time of year for many, so to lighten the hearts of senior citizens in the community, who often don’t get to see their families, I visited them. It was an amazing time of fellowship and in those few moments, I shared smiles, laughs and prayers with many people who often didn’t get to experience them. As a small gift for the seniors, I gave them new fuzzy socks and I will never forget the bright smiles and a few teary-eyed responses of the people who received them.

“That glimpse of joy sparked from giving back to a community that so willingly embraced me is an incomparable experience that I will carry with me as I continue to faithfully serve my community. You never know how much of a change you can make in the world until you understand that just a little bit of service has the potential to change the lives of people around you forever.”

Riley Keller

Riley Keller, a 17-year-old junior at Wesleyan School, plays varsity softball, basketball and lacrosse. She has played on two state championship softball teams and has been a counselor at Wesleyan summer camps for her three sports.

But ask her favorite memory and she recalls a birthday snow cone that led to an off-the-cuff effort to help people in need.

Her story goes something like this: “My parents rented a snow-cone machine for my birthday. It wasn’t due back until after the weekend, so we gave out free snow cones to kids in our neighborhood. All of the kids could have purchased a snow cone, but it was amazing how much joy it brought to people that we gave them away for free.

“This sparked the idea to give away snow cones in exchange for canned goods to stock the summer shelves at the Norcross Co-op. The number of Peachtree Corners families that participated in our Cans-4-Cones over the years is unknown, but there were a lot of smiles and we collected hundreds of pounds of food from a simple snow cone.”

That wasn’t her first charity effort. Through the National Charity League—which she has served as president, vice president of programs, attendance coordinator and chair of the Caring for a Cause event committee and other committees—she has worked with various philanthropies.

Riley is a member of Wesleyan’s Omicron Service Team, where she and other students serve organizations throughout the community, and she has been involved with mission trips to Alabama, Tennessee, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Riley also volunteered with Hope Heals Summer Camp to support families affected by disabilities.

“I have worked with Children Restoration Network over the past 10 years. We have collected, sorted and distributed school supplies, Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas presents to some of Atlanta’s most vulnerable children and teens,” she wrote. “I love that I’m doing work for children and families in my community and it reminds me of how fortunate I am, but also that learning, giving and expressing gratitude are three essentials to life.”

Savannah Whitmer

Savannah Whitmer, a 17-year-old Norcross High School senior, is an award-winning member of the Technology Student Association, captains the school swim team and is percussion section leader in the Norcross High School Band. “Savannah’s work ethic and care for her peers makes her a standout from those around her,” Assistant Band Director and Percussion Director Corey Fair said.

She also is a Harry Potter fan. With her mother, Marilyn Whitmer, and her twin sister, Georgia, Savannah helped create the Harry Potter Garden at Peachtree Elementary School, which was inspired by the magical books that have attracted millions of readers. “Savannah and her sister designed and laid out a plan for the garden, including creative scenes based on details from the books to keep students interested,” Fair wrote.

“They relied on community members for donation of materials: Many people gave fence posts for bordering, used Realtor signs that could be painted and displayed, an old owl figurine to add a magical element to the garden. To know that Savannah was one of the masterminds behind this amazing service project shows her passion for education and for people.”

Savannah herself says she’s proudest of her work with the school marching band. “These past four years I have learned how to be a strong leader for my peers,” she wrote. “I had the privilege of being the one to make them smile when they were feeling down and to watch them grow into leaders themselves. Together we are a family, strong and unbreakable. I’m proud of all that we have accomplished together. But the amount that I’ve helped the band grow could never compare to how much they have helped me grow.”

Smit Patel

Lee Conger, local school technology coordinator at Paul Duke STEM High School, recalled the first time he met Smit Patel. Smit, then a sophomore, was interested in drones.

“Smit walked into my office, introduced himself with a firm handshake and a steady gaze, and asked if I was helping to launch a program [at Paul Duke] focused on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). I told him I was … After speaking with Smit for just a few minutes, I found out he was heavily involved in JROTC and the Technology Student Association, and he served in a leadership role in both of those organizations. I realized how passionate and knowledgeable he was about UAVs, so I told him that if he attended Paul Duke STEM, I would love him to become a student leader.”

Smit took a flyer on the new STEM school. Now, as a senior, Smit has become one of the leaders of his class, Conger says.

“He is one of only 11 students participating in the joint cybersecurity venture between Mercer University and the FBI. In addition to being on the First Robotics team, Smit has been a student leader on the team which provides free aerial photography to schools in Gwinnett County Public Schools. He also led the team responsible for the unique drone ribbon-cutting ceremony at Curiosity Lab of Peachtree Corners last month.”

Smit plans on attending college and then the Air Force where he can use his knowledge of UAVs and robotics to serve his country. “It’s important to me to help other people. The drone club has helped us—me and my classmates—to begin to realize the opportunities that drones have for us,” Smit said. “I’d like to pursue a career in drone technology, most likely in the Air Force where I could fly drones on missions to assist and protect troops. The club has also been able to help two fellow students who are looking to start their own drone business.”

Conger said that when he thinks of students who will make Peachtree Corners proud, “Smit Patel is certainly at the top of my list.”

Trey Dixon

Trey Dixon sets the bar high for himself. The 18-year-old Greater Atlanta Christian School senior is a runner who helped lead the school’s team to the state meet. He’s a musician who plays piano and guitar. He shoots photographs of campus activities and helps devise sets and lighting designs for school events.

Trey also leads worship on Sunday mornings, tutors underclassmen and runs extra laps to encourage younger runners.

“One of my most memorable moments giving back to the community was through running the Peachtree Corners’ “Light Up the Corners” race along with my entire family,” he said. “I have run the race every year for the last three years, but I especially enjoyed this year because I was able to bring my friends to run the race with me and it supports a great cause right within our community.”

The ED Hour is back with an exciting episode with computer science teacher from Paul Duke STEM High School, Beckie Fischer. Beckie recently got accepted into an elite program to take a behind the scenes look at the programs at NASA. She’s here, along with our hosts Rico Figliolini and Alan Kaplan, to share everything she learned about this exciting program and how it works into her teaching.

Resources:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/stem/educators/index.html

There are some really neat lessons you can do in your classroom that help you bring home what it is that, you know, the space missions are all about… We basically just did a lot of hands on interactive activities with the NASA engineers to help us bring it home to our students, so that they understand it better.

Beckie Fischer

Rico: [00:00:30] Hi everyone. This is Rico Figliolini host of Peachtree Corners Life, but we have the Ed Hour today and I’m with host Alan Kaplan and it’s, yeah, there’s a, there’s a seven-second delay on this thing, but we’re here. Yes. Gotta love it. So by way of introduction, we are in a technology hub here in the city of Peachtree Corners, and we’re actually doing this podcast from Atlanta Tech Park in the city of Peachtree Corners at Tech Park Atlanta. It’s actually along the road of the autonomous vehicle track that’s known as Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners. It’s a place that we have this, this area is 5g, Sprint 5g compatible now throughout this whole tech park, and that’s the reason why this will be a hub for autonomous vehicles and smart city work through this live living lab. Because self-driving cars can come through this place where people are crossing roads, where there’s streetlights, where everything is an active real-life community.  So look out for those, those autonomous vehicles. But we’re working out of this podcast room here, and I appreciate Atlanta Tech Park for providing this to us. Alan, tell us a little bit about the Ed Hour. 

Alan: [00:01:40] Sure. Rico, it’s great to be back with you here on the Ed Hour. Excited that for those of you rejoining us, and if you’re viewing our show here for the first time, the purpose of the Ed Hour is to open the doors of our schools to the community so that the community can see the wonderful things that are happening there. The accomplishments of our teachers, the great things our students are doing, and the wonderful things happening in our schools every day. So glad to be able to bring this back. 

Rico: [00:02:07] We have a special guest today too. A teacher from Paul Duke STEM high school. She’s a computer science teacher. She had a great experience during the summer. We’ll let her explain that. But this is one of the reasons why she’s here because it ties in so well to Paul Duke STEM high school. So Becky Fisher, I appreciate you coming on the show. 

Becki: [00:02:25] Thank you. I was, looking online one day cause I’m very interested in getting a Raspberry PI lab going at my school and I was trying to find some ways that, we could, do like a coding club with Raspberry PIs. So I found out that they had this competition with Raspberry PIs on the space station actually, but the competition is only eligible in some countries in Europe. So I was really disappointed that I wasn’t able to get involved with that. But they actually do experiments and they run code on these Raspberry PIs on the space station the students do. So in looking into this further, I just on a limb it was, you know, close to the deadline to apply for this. I just said, let me just try this out and let me apply for this NASA experience. And about two weeks later I was accepted and I was just like beside myself because apparently there was over 500 applicants and they take 50 each summer. So, being a computer science teacher, this was kind of newly opened up to computer science teachers. It’s, usually, a lot of more science teachers that are doing it because they learn about all the ways that the science field is, being used in NASA. but they’re are opening up more to the math majors and computer science. And so I got accepted and I was able to bring back a lot to all the fields at my school. And I actually have some stuff to share with some of the other teachers. 

Alan: [00:03:48] Awesome. Well Becki, so we’re here to learn about your experience there. First we’d like to learn a little bit more about you, and leading up to this. So you’re a computer science teacher at Paul Duke, can you tell us a little bit how you got involved in your, your background in computer science before being at Paul Duke, and just kind of share that with us? 

Becki: [00:04:04] I’ve always been, really good with math and logic and, I wanted to go into computers. I originally went into the Navy out of high school. And I wanted to go into the computer field, but it just wasn’t a high need field at the time. It wasn’t, highly sought after. So, I had to go in and, you know, as an undesignated job. But eventually I got out and I went back to school and got a degree in computer science, and I was a programmer for a while. I ended up becoming a teacher later in life at age 33. I got into teaching through the alternative program to teach mathematics. I taught math for 11 years. And a couple years ago Dr Weatherington, the principal at Paul Duke, reached out to me and said he needed a computer science teacher and I was over the moon excited about that to be able to teach computer science full time. It was a

great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. So here I am. I love it at Paul Duke.

Rico: [00:05:03] It’s amazing. Jonathan’s been able to get quite a few teachers over that are really, really good. And I think students really are making good use of that. 

Alan: [00:05:13] In fact, Jonathan was our first guest on the Ed Hour, so we’re glad to be able to kick it off with him. Glad to continue to discuss with the great things that are happening at Paul Duke. 

Rico: [00:05:23] Yeah. So how many, so you’re teaching computer science right now. Which for those people that, what does that mean? You’re Teaching computer programming? What are you teaching? 

Becki: [00:05:31] There are so many fields. We have actually, five teachers at our school that are certified in computer science education. And that is the certification that’s kind of fairly new to Georgia. And so they’re, they’re hard to find. But we have, that’s one of our main focuses. So we have several pathways. We have cybersecurity, we have a game design. we have, I teach the AP computer science pathway. So my students are learning mostly the programming. We would like to offer web development and, internet of things, which is, you know, it goes right along with the automated cars. I also run a vex robotics club after school. I’m the sponsor for the vex robotics. But we have, there’s so much potential as the school grows because right now it’s about, you know, the demand as far as how many students are interested in taking the classes, then we will offer them. But you know, with the small number of upper level kids at the time, we don’t have all the offerings, but I expect that we will be able to offer all the fields of computer science. 

Rico: [00:06:36] And when you’re talking about programming I’m just curious, what type of programming, which languages are you teaching?

Becki: [00:06:40] So, there’s two different AP computer science classes. One is just a general knowledge. They just have to understand the logic and we teach it with Scratch first. And then we’d go into some Java and we have an intro class where we use Scratch and Python. The third level, AP computer science class is all Java, they’re programming in Java from day one, every single day in class. So there’s actually two levels of AP computer science now. 

Rico: [00:07:08] Do you see kids coming, continuing on to school after that like a higher level? Do you see the kids wanting to, maybe. It may be too early, but get certified in programming and language and then move in right into the field? 

Becki: [00:07:21] I do. I think we’ve got some kids that are really capable of taking it to that level. And I mean, you know, we haven’t had any graduating class yet, so it’s hard to say. And the higher level AP computer science class, the one that’s the Java, there’s only 14 students in there. And, I think only 10 of those are seniors. But, they all seem like they’re very eager to go into computer. Some of them are into the robotics as well, but robotics involves programming too. It, you know, involves all the engineering, the physics and programming. So, these kids are definitely going somewhere with computer science and some way or STEM in general. 

Alan: [00:07:56] Yeah. Now y’all are also, I believe, teaching cyber security as well. Can you talk a little bit about that at Paul Duke?

Becki: [00:08:03] Yes, we have a computer cybersecurity pathway and, Phillip PD is teaching that pathway. It’s, definitely had a big interest this year. There was four sections of it because the students were very eager to do it. They also have a competition, Cyber Patriots. They compete to try to find all the vulnerabilities in a system, like all different systems, Linux, Windows, Server. These kids are learning how to safeguard networks and, the operating systems, making sure that, you know, the users have the strong passwords and just all the things that they need to know about. Keeping a system secure and we have a whole cyber security lab that is in the works. And the kids, the students will be able to actually try to keep a, a virtual system secure with, like they have like a secure, like the home security system set up in there and they’ll be able to make sure that, that all those pieces are not vulnerable to attacks. 

Rico: [00:09:05] Real life, real life applications. 

Becki: [00:09:07] Yes. There’s a real big interest for that.

We also have a select few students that are seniors this year that are taking courses with Mercer university and…

Rico: [00:09:18] That’s right, the FBI I think?

Becki: [00:09:19] Yes along with the FBI. And they’re getting two college credits this year by working with Mercer and that’s about as much as I can tell you about that, but I know that they are doing that on Fridays. Pretty tough, pretty nervous. 

Rico: [00:09:33] You guys also have, Paul Duke also has 3D printers. I’m sure that lots of program that goes into that as well. 

Becki: [00:09:38] Yes. We have, oh gosh, we have lots. We have laser cutters and, lots of printing capabilities. A lot of this equipment is still, you know, in the process of learning how to use it and getting students trained on how to use it. But we definitely have the capabilities to produce a lot of things for the community. 

Alan: [00:09:58] Have you all had any corporate sponsorships or partnerships with some of these programs, either cybersecurity or any others, or is that something you’re? 

Becki: [00:10:06] I’m not aware of that right now. 

Alan: [00:10:08] It does sound like a good opportunity though, for corporations involved in this field. With like cybersecurity, to be able to engage as the FBI has, you know, our young minds. 

Rico: [00:10:18] There are all sorts of companies. You have Simply Safe out there selling home safety security systems. Could be, should be a sponsor of a STEM school, a program that, that helps protect from hacking. All sorts of IOT type stuff. 

Alan: [00:10:32] So for any of you listening that are maybe what percent of those companies maybe spread the word there. Because you know, this is the future of your industries being trained here at Paul Duke high schools. So, we’d love to see more of this partnerships come into the school. 

Becki: [00:10:47] Our students also are required to do internships their senior year. So if any of those companies are looking for, you know, to get some students out there and get trained and get some of that requirement that they need from our school, we would love that too.

Rico: [00:11:01] And I think the way that’s being handled is that they’re being interviewed. So they’re not just, corporations can actually interview students to see if they match up with their programs and stuff. Is the way I thought it was being done.

Becki: [00:11:13] I’m not sure.

Rico: [00:11:15] So, but so you’ve been, you know, science is a big thing for you, right? Are your kids into that too, by the way? Just curious. 

Becki: [00:11:23] My, I have a son that’s 25 and he is a computer programmer. He graduated from Georgia Southern and he was hired by AT&T right out of college. He actually did internships the two summers before he graduated. So yeah, it’s definitely a field that is, is hot. I mean, programming and cybersecurity both are highly sought after. I also have a daughter that’s a senior. She’s in my programming class and she’s really, really good at it. But she wants to do early education. So yeah, you’ve got to let your kids do what they want. 

Alan: [00:11:55] It’s still a family business for you, right? 

Becki: [00:11:57] She says she’ll probably still do like some afterschool coding to kind of get the early kids, which I think is important. I mean, kids need to learn the logic of programming at an early age. I think kindergartners can learn how to start coding and just understanding the, the problem solving process of it. And, you know, as she got into teaching the early kids and, you know, I think actually in Georgia, they’re trying to push it from K through 12. To have it, part of their curriculum to learn some of the standards of computer science. Not just programming, but just being technology savvy. Understanding how to work your way on computer and understand how to keep it safe. 

Rico: [00:12:34] And there’s also another thing they’re doing too, instead of language being

French or German or Spanish, they’re talking about putting computer language as a language.

Becki: [00:12:43] It is and that’s actually what my daughter is doing. That’s her foreign language.

Rico: [00:12:47] Is that her foreign language? Because I mean, really. Do we need someone learning, you know, speaking French. If they could do, take the same credit for doing computer programming. I mean, if that’s what they want, right? 

Alan: [00:12:58] And you know, my fourth grader at at Peachtree elementary, he’s on robotics team there and he’s on another team that assists with technology in the school.

It’s called the SWAT team. Students working at technology or something like that. And so I’m glad to see that at the elementary school level, they’re doing more today than even two years ago in terms of engaging kids in technology into robotics and…

Rico: [00:13:24] Even doing like, I mean, they’re doing PowerPoint presentations where you didn’t see that until like the end of middle school and high school.They’re doing that in elementary school. 

Alan: [00:13:31] My son just showed me one last night. Son, how do you do this?

Rico: [00:13:34] This is funny, and then Photoshop. I mean, it’s amazing. It’s shifted down the learning way more at, it’s such a small age.

Alan: [00:13:47] Well you know, Becky, so let’s maybe get into your experience here over at NASA. It sounds like an amazing opportunity. it sounds like it was a very selective program with just 10% of the applicants getting accepted. And as you and I were chatting a little bit earlier, I believe you said traditionally, applicants for this program came out of Texas, primarily in there.

There was very few of, any from, from Georgia. So kind of tell us a little bit more about, ultimately, how you have the edge there to, to get in. And then what your experiences were once, once you got there.

Becki: [00:14:20] Yeah. I definitely would like to see more teachers from Georgia to apply for next year because it is absolutely incredible. They treated us, pretty much like royalty. I mean, I’m not going to lie, it was exhausting because we were busy from the moment we got there from Sunday at lunchtime until Friday night. It was nonstop. I went to bed tired every night, had to get up early the next morning. But we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner provided every day. We had really nice dinners. It was a grant so, the hotel was paid for. The whole experience was paid for, but being from Georgia I just had to get my flight paid for. It was, it was way more than I ever expected when I got to meet some of the most incredible people that were involved in the Apollo 11. And I got to meet Fred Hayes. He was one of the astronauts on the famous Apollo 13 that almost didn’t make it. He was amazing. And, one of the men that was one of the engineers for all the Apollo missions. Just giving us his take on the behind the scenes and what it took to make those flights successful. We got to talk with lots of engineers from NASA and they showed us. We did a lot of cute lessons that it’s not the right thing, but there are some really neat lessons you can do in your classroom that help you bring home what it is that, you know, the space missions are all about. You know, how we are sending robots to Mars and how we can take pictures of Mars and determine if there is, like water and if there’s wind. And just by the, just by the images we were able to decide, you know, was this a volcanic situation? Was this wind that caused this? We also did this really fun activity, which one of our science teachers at my school was doing just recently. We had to design these, little packages basically, like if you’re trying to land a robot on Mars, but you had to build something with just the right weight and design so that we could fly a drone and lay it in a particular location. Because when we send those robots to Mars, we want it to go on a certain location, you know, you gotta land it safely. You want it in this particular spot because there’s different, you know, places that we want to explore. So in our activity, we not only had to design this package that would land safely, but then we had to fly the drone and landed in that spot, which I find those drones was not my thing. I definitely had to pass that onto my partner, but filling was fruitful. We basically just did a lot of hands on interactive activities with the NASA engineers to just help us bring it home to our students so that they understand it better. And I’m definitely happy to share. I have all the lesson plans that we got for the weekend. Then sharing with some of our science teachers, and then there’s also the computer science that goes in with it. As far as, we did Makey Makey, these little devices that you can have interactive touch and it can, you know, identify parts of something like parts of a body or whatever. So, just really neat little activities to bring home, but mostly being behind the scenes. Being at Johnson space center, being in the mission control and watching the, space station live while sitting with people. We, in the past, apparently they would take them to the old Apollo mission control and they would actually get to do that, but because this was our 50th anniversary, they were remodeling it to look like it used to. Never get to go to the mission control that they use for the Apollo missions. I was kind of sad by that, but it was also neat that that was the reason that they were doing it.

Alan: [00:18:27] So what of, what you learned there in addition to the lessons. What, what surprised you or something that you didn’t know, about NASA or something that occurred?

Becki: [00:18:38] I really never thought that going to Mars was really something that was happening. I just, I honestly thought that was a joke that we’re trying to get to Mars, but we really are, we are really trying to. You get tomorrow. I was, I’m really surprised by that. I learned about a lot of the strategies that they’re looking at and how they’re gonna put a station that’s going to revolve around the moon and then that’s going to refueling and everything, how long it’s going to take to get there. And, it was really fascinating. And that, you know, I learned about all the different, robots that have been placed on Mars and why they’re there. 

Alan: [00:19:17] In fact, I think just a, I think it was yesterday I saw a news article where they had oxygen levels that were unexpected on Mars. There were some tests that they had gotten back and there was a spike in oxygen levels where they didn’t expect to, to see.

Rico: [00:19:32] The different landers have different missions too. So some of them dig, like the last one, I think they sent, I should say dug into the soil to be able to take samples. But, so every mission has a different, different mission to be able do different science to be able to do that.

Alan: [00:19:49] And I think that according to the article said, the Curiosity Rover that found unexplained oxygen on Mars. So hopefully we’ll explain it, so the mystery continues and hopefully in our lifetime and the fact that you get an indication of in our life.

Rico: [00:20:03] If Elon Musk has any, we’re going to be able to, you know, go there. And about five years, he said he’s already planning a tourism mission to the moon within a year. So, I mean, we need more people like Elon Musk. 

Alan: [00:20:19] From being there what’s your perspective? Either one of us being, someone being on the moon in our lifetime or being on Mars. 

Becki: [00:20:26] Apparently we are going back to the moon in 2024

Rico: [00:20:32] I think that’s the, yeah, that’s the goal, 2024. This is what Donald Trump said, set as the mission for NASA program.

Becki: [00:20:40] I heard it from some of the engineers at NASA that 2024 is our goal to get back to the moon and they actually, I saw the, it’s called the Orianne that they’ve designed and it’s going to be a capsule, very similar to. what they used to use. I guess in Apollo missions. Yeah. It’s a pyramid, but roundish but, it’s going to go in, went back in the ocean young, so like the old way. But it’s, they have a replica of one in the museum that we went to, basically the museum that we went to has all the parts of the international space center. In there, not put together exactly like the space station, but they have replicates of each compartment so that the astronauts can train and get a feel for what it’s like. And, so there was the Orianne, which I guess is how you say, ORION I may be saying it wrong, but. 

Rico: [00:21:35] I think you’re right, Orianne or Orion. 

Becki: [00:21:41] Right. So yeah, I’m not good with my pronunciations here, but that’s the model that they are designing that’s going to get back to the moon. 

Alan: [00:21:51] Did they indicate when they thought we would have a man or woman on Mars?

Becki: [00:21:56] On Mars. I don’t remember hearing an actual…

Rico: [00:22:00] I think NASA’s mission right now is to get to the moon first, use the gateway, which is like the space station that orbits the moon, get them to land on the moon, and then eventually hop tomorrows, which is what, six, a period of six or eight months travel. To Mars is what it does in deep space. So away from my magnetic system of the earth. So you’re, you could be shot blasted with solar, wind from the sun, and all sorts of nasty stuff going on. but again, if Elon Musk had his way, we’d be there in about six years and, and to the moon, we’d have like the old, take the rockets from the 50 Sci-fi movies and just landed on the moon like that and take it back off. That’s what he wants to do with this star ship.

Alan: [00:22:46] So, back to our students at Paul. Do among our other schools in particular, our STEM schools. It’ll be, you know, then maybe that generation that in their lifetime sees the reality of today’s dreams. So being on Mars.

Rico: [00:23:00] With everything going on, I mean, when you spoke to the, like the astronauts, right? The, the guys that have been out there, every time I hear an interview from one of them, or I read one of the books from one of the guys, forget the guy that does the guitar thing. Was he there? He’s a funny, you got to see some of the YouTube videos for what’s his name or can’t recall his name right now. He had some really great insights. 

Becki: [00:23:29] He was the engineer for the Apollo Missions.

Rico: [00:23:35] There’s so many talented people that you would not think, you know, when people stereotype these engineers as white shirted people, but you know, the, the white shirt, white guy maybe being the, yes, that was good, I think. but there’s so many talented people is such a diversity of, of people, that work for the space program. But did they share any insight with you that things that they, that, you know, you might not have realized up in space?

Becki: [00:24:02] And, well, there was one engineer that believes that we are going to be able to, find a cure for cancer in space in our lifetime. I don’t know how that’s exactly happening, but with some of the tests and stuff that they’re doing up there, they believe that they will.

Being able to find a cure for cancer in our lifetime. Yeah, there, there’s so much information. Like I was blown away with the things that, that I learned that I honestly had no, no idea that was actually going on with NASA. You know, I just thought we were just exploring space, but, and then I, you know, learned about the twin, that went up in space and then they compare the two brothers. Can’t remember his name but a lot of the teachers that were there had already heard about it. Unfortunately I have not, but now I’ve been watching that Mars series on Netflix starting to learn more about it now. It’s very interesting.

Alan: [00:25:00] Kind of the impact to the body.

Becki: [00:25:02] And apparently his DNA actually changed. Like it was…

Rico: [00:25:09] It’s almost like evolution, right? It was evolving to be able to stay in space. 

Becki: [00:25:13] Eventually it went back to normal after a while, but when we first came home. So they’re interesting. The things that they learned from that.

Rico: [00:25:22] He got taller too, but then it shrunk when he arrived. After a few weeks, he shrunk, we was shrinking. 

Alan: [00:25:26] I’m shrinking but that’s just getting older.

Rico: [00:25:29] Don’t we all.

Becki: [00:25:32] You know, I didn’t realize that being up in space all that time without the gravity, that when you come back, you can’t even walk. You know, that they just pretty much have to carry you off your ship until you can get yourself.

Rico: [00:25:46] And even clothes, because of the weightlessness, when you’re back on earth, you’re feeling the fabric rubbing against the skin is supposed to be really more sensitive to that type of thing.

Alan: [00:25:59] But the whole evolution piece, that’s interesting, right? I think a thousand years from now, right? When, when living elsewhere besides earth is reality, whether it be the moon or Mars or wherever else that, the DNA can change in that short period of time, it actually evolves when you’re living. Your whole life. 

Rico: [00:26:14] So, so imagine you go to Mars, you’re a colonist. Yeah. They have 15 years, and then you come back. Are you a Martian? Does your DNA change? You know, how does that work? So, so what did you tell your kids? I mean, were you able to share some of that stuff with them? How, how does that?

Becki: [00:26:31] They, you know, some of them were like, Oh wow, that’s cool, but I don’t think that they, Realize the, impact that it really has to be able to go there and to be behind the scenes with all. So, yeah, I didn’t quite get the enthusiasm from the kids as much as I do for most of the adults that come out that I was going on the rest of us geeks. 

Rico: [00:26:49] So, but were you able to then apply maybe some of the stuff that you learned? I mean, you, you apply to in different things.

Becki: [00:27:00] So a lot of the stuff that we learn is really geared more towards the sciences, the physics, and the chemistry. And, Yeah. And some engineering classes. So I have shared that stuff. I have a teacher who teaches the earth, or she teaches environmental science. And, I

was able to share with her the whole lesson plan with, being able to identify the images from Mars and matching up what type of, you know. Whether weather or you know, whatever might have caused it, land formations. And of course the physics teacher, she was like asking me, she’s like, so we’re doing this thing about Mars. Is there something that you learned and on like, Oh my God, she got to do these drones. Then you have a whole drones team and they go and compete. So one of the guys that’s really good with flying the drones is helping her out with, you know, flying the drones for little pieces that they’re building and, you know, trying to get it on the target. There are definitely some more things that I would like to implement in my class. Probably more next semester. as far as, my computer science class because the Makey Makey, the more hands on programming, I, you know, the, maybe I’m the sponsor for the Vex robotics and we also have a first robotics team as well. When I went to the museum with the ISS and there, they have a whole section with, replicas of the robots and stuff. And, the kid that was given us a tour was a 20 year old kid who was on our first robotics team when he was in high school and he’s just interning there. He was so young, I was like, you’re really right out of high school, aren’t you? And then, he, I said, did you do robotics in high school? Cause he was like, so in today’s, and he’s like, yeah, I did first robotics and they actually have a first robotics, set up inside the ISS museum. But he has one of his robots in there on display. It’s something that he won a first place prize when he was in high school.

Like a little spider bot. So it was neat to talk to this kid who was, you know, just 20 years old, still in college and interning there. And in the NASA tour. I also met somebody at the, the neutral buoyancy lab who was also in, fresh, like in his young 20s or whatever. And I was asking him and, he’s a scuba diver and so I’m scuba diver certified. My husband, he is for like 20 years. And so I went and secretly got certified a couple of, or three years ago so that we could do it together. So when we went to the neutral buoyancy lab, I was like, Oh, this is so cool. Cause she didn’t have all these, like for every astronaut, they have to have five scuba divers assigned to each astronaut that gets down there to keep them, you know, just to make sure that, I don’t know, just whatever they have to do to me and, but to even just put the astronauts in there because the suit itself weighs. So much, which is something I didn’t realize either. They have to have a crane to put them down into the water and then they’re, they have like a replica of this international space center in that big pool. So that was, something that I found interesting that, you know, you could just go in there as a scuba diver and, be helping the astronauts. My daughter also has, she’s 17, and she got certified along with me too, so it’s like go to NASA help the astronauts. Yeah. 

Alan: [00:30:11] I’m going to go home today and tell my a nine year old son here that’s in robotics now. So see you, you stay with this. You can be that intern over at NASA or, or something else.

Becki: [00:30:22] I also found out that there were teachers who had done this program and then they ended up, getting hired to go work there. There’s, there’s one teacher that was giving us a tour he had done a program. Before and then being and not interested in. Yeah. He applied and now he’s working.

Alan: [00:30:39] And then I think we talked about this earlier. I think there’s a, you know, one of the graduates of Norcross high school, works for space X.

Rico: [00:30:42] Worked for space X. Yeah. She was on the marching band. I think we did a

story on some of, where are these kids from? The marching band and that’s where she went to space X

Alan: [00:30:56] You know, and, and I would even say no to any of the students that should happen on this podcast. You know, kind of listen to what’s being, what you’re hearing today because you’re sitting in a classroom at high school now, whether it’s all new from Norcross or another high school, and, this is you, potentially just a few years. It should, you want to go that path. So it’s certainly within your, your reach and your grasp. And it sounds like and did Paul Duke, and, and, and the other schools. There’s the tools there to educate for tomorrow’s workforce, to be able to go in that direction, if that’s what interests. 

Rico: [00:31:27] I mean, with, with the things that Becky has been sharing with us today, I mean, drones, robotics, programming, all that stuff goes into that. Right? And then you’re talking about, Forget about the biodiversity. Well, the things that go into taking us to the moon and even taking us tomorrow is how, how physically your body can be traumatized in a, in a journey like that. And so biology and medicine, it’s all well part and parcel. You don’t have to be a, a, an astronaut or a rocket scientist. Did you know that the state of Georgia actually has a spaceport in Campton County, but that they’ve tried to, they have a budget there and we have some sort of, I guess the state has some sort of space Bureau or something, but, but Campton County is trying to be the space port of Georgia. It’s located near the County. And they want to be able to get rockets shooting off there. So can you imagine, I mean, every state wants to be able to have their own space port and their own space technology.

Becki: [00:32:24] Dieticians, you know, horticulture, all that. We have to be able to grow plants and grow our own food. If we’re going to be out there for a long time. 

Rico: [00:32:36] And even like you said before, if we’re going to find the cure to cancer or how are they going to do that without a biologist or chemist or a physician, being up there. That’s why the crew tends to be a variety of people, right? Military physicians, biologists, teachers think we had to teach a couple of teachers up there at one point. So would you maybe be a teacher going up there? It’s exciting.

Becki: [00:33:06] I would think it’s exciting up there, but a lot of behind the scenes down here.

Rico: [00:33:12] Did they talk? Did they talk about what they expect? Students, what type of students they would like to see? 

Becki: [00:33:18] They want a variety. I mean, they want all kinds of, I mean, so many skillsets that are involved in the whole thing. I mean, it’s, it’s all about our way of life. I mean, know how we survive it. It takes everything. I had a, there was a slide that I saw recently that was looking at, and it had all the different job fields that are needed, and it’s just so many that you wouldn’t even expect that NASA needs, the list is endless.

Rico: [00:33:46] Really, so it’s not just scientists. It’s amazing. What, you know, what you actually did according to this, you did some augmented reality too. I was going to ask you about that. How was that?

Becki: [00:33:59] Oh yes, I forgot. That was one of my favorite things. We actually, they have this simulated lab where, you’re trying to, it’s called mission to man and mission to Mars, and it’s almost like an escape room kind of situation where everybody has a role. And I was in charge of the robots support. That’s the one I picked and we had to switch. So I was, at first, I was in the command center and I was having to give directions to the people who were operating the robots on the ship. but she had the people that were, you know, testing this or that. And, we had these manuals that we had to follow and if something happened, we had to look in the manual to see, you know, how to handle that situation. And everything was critical. It was timely. It was tense. It was intense. But, It was fun and it was like a nice little escape room. Then we had to switch and the ones who were in the command center ended up on the ship. And then, you know, we switched roles. And so I got to try to operate these robotic arms to try to do these little test tubes cause there is these things that I can’t, you know, you have to use the robotic arms because you can’t, you have to keep that environment clean. So you’re having these controls to get these test tubes and do this and that. And it was not easy. And they’re giving us instructions on what to do. And I’m like, oh, okay. Well, how am I going to get this to work? And, but it was fun. It was just, it was such a neat team building activity. Yeah, that was probably my favorite part. And I, I’ve got, I’ve done a lot of researching on how to do different escape rooms, like digitally and physically and I, when I have the time, I want to put one together for my own students too.

Rico: [00:35:40] Try to bring it home, then. That would be cool. I’ve been in a couple of escape rooms and they don’t sound fun until you actually get into them. And then you realize how fun.

Becki: [00:35:49] That’s just a plain digital one, like a website, digital breakout, and that was pretty successful. But I’ve bought some lockboxes and different types of locks, and I’m like the invisible paint and the fluorescent lights. So I really would like to try to make my own escape room.

Alan: [00:36:06] One of the best ways to help make sure a child’s learning is to capture their imagination. And an interest. It sounds like, that the enthusiasm that you gained from being there really translated back to your classroom, to your students. 

Becki: [00:36:25] Yeah. 

Alan: [00:36:26] So what’s, what’s next for you? What, what new experience for you, or is there an opportunity to stay engaged either through some type of programming, with NASA? Is there any opportunity to, 

Becki: [00:36:37] They do have an alumni, that I can apply for. I think they get Florida for the alumni one. But this past summer I did get to do two weeks of professional development here at home. And then I did a professional development in Houston with NASA, and I also did a professional development with Stanford university. So my summer was really busy this last summer, so promised my husband the end. Plus I got married, we had two vacations, and I got married. It was a really, really busy summer. It was great and it was fun and I learned so much. But this next summer. I think I want to take a break. But I would love to see other teachers apply for it and see more representation from Georgia. So, the application is currently open. We could probably kind of show a link to the 2020….

Rico: [00:37:25] I can put it into the show notes

Becki: [00:37:29] So, and I believe the deadline is March 2nd. So you apply for the 2020 summer if other teachers are interested.

Rico: [00:37:36] Plenty of time, and for those adults that would like to go, or the teenage kids or even middle school kids, there’s something called space camp in Florida, in the Orlando based a NASA program. So you can go there for a weekend sleepover and it’s run by NASA. It’s actually, I’m sorry, in Huntsville, Alabama at their facilities. 

Alan: [00:37:58] Actually, my son and I were there. For I think just a weekend with, with Cub

Scouts. So it was a great opportunity, but nothing, nothing like what you had the experience. You are really behind the scenes. We were just kind of there with the scamp and we got to experience, there was well beyond answering the question of how astronauts got to the restroom in space. 

Rico: [00:38:22] That’s a fun question to ask.

Alan: [00:38:33] There’s the one question they’re asking 

Rico: [00:38:35] It’s a potty question, everyone wants to hear a potty question.

Alan: [00:38:37] It’s always the question. But you had so much more insight. into what’s going on there. So for example, you know, the food production, how did they make the food and what goes into that?

Becki: [00:38:46] Yes, they also, when we went to the food lab, they talked about how they have to try to spice it up because the food is so flavorless and the Astronauts they really want some more flavor.

Alan: [00:39:01] See there’s, there’s another job. I would volunteer to be a food taster.

Rico: [00:39:11] No nut allergies please. 

Alan: [00:39:13] So it, you know, I think a great benefit, again, as you being at it come back in addition, what you shared to be able to share these stories with your students to really engage them and get them interested in, in the subject areas that you teach that are directly related to your experience. Any feedback from your students or what, when you brought this back to your, to your students, what, what were their reactions in, in what we saw, what you shared? 

Becki: [00:39:39] I think our students at Paul Duke STEM are just, they’re so eager to learn so much. They get, they go above and beyond whenever we show them something, they take it. And, they have done some amazing stuff. I have a, I’m trying to build a Raspberry PI lab and, I have some kids that come in after school. I actually had a girl that wanted to take one home today.

Alan: [00:40:05] Explain what a Raspberry PI is

Becki: [00:40:07] Sorry, I forgot about that. Okay. So Raspberry PI is a small. $35, computer. It’s, all the operating system in store. I just want a tiny little SIM card and, but it can operate on its own. So if you want to program some internet of things or like a, animatronic or. Something that you want mechanical, for lights or anything that you want to do standalone, but you don’t want to have to have a whole computer hooked up to it. You can program with the Raspberry PI, all kinds of sensors. You have cameras and lights and motion. so the students are coming to the lab and learning how they can program it to respond to either a button press or a motion sensor, you know, make the buzzer go off. This is something that is by. I recently got a scanner and a fingerprint scanner, so we’re going to learn how to program the fingerprint scanner. But there’s so many capabilities with the Raspberry PI itself because it’s just a tiny little computer that you can, connect to internet of things. Do you have like a project that doesn’t have to have a whole computer with it? And it’s relatively inexpensive. So, my kids are pretty much, my students are learning what they can do with this Raspberry PI and just trying different DIY is that they find on the internet. We recently put together a, Google. What do you call it? Like a Google assistant? Yeah. It’s like a little cardboard more, but it’s got the Raspberry PI inside. It’s got a little microphone and speaker and you say, Hey, Google. And it responds just like a Google system. So they actually put this together, made it.

And so the girl that wanted to take it home, she took that home today so she could continue playing with it over the Thanksgiving break. but these kids are coming up with some amazing stuff. We have this, Grinch production happening, I, I feel heard about. 

Rico: [00:41:59] Yes. 

Becki: [00:42:00] We have our mechatronics, that is working with the, dancing theater to, make it. Honestly, I haven’t seen all the behind the scenes yet, but, it’s going to be fascinating, just the, the capabilities that we have to explore with things the equipment that we have.

To be able to make things and create and, just go beyond where you apply their creativity and expertise.

Alan: [00:42:25] And that’s going to be incorporated into the production?

Becki: [00:42:27] Yes. The Grinch will have some… 

Rico: [00:42:30] Technical, technical surprises. 

Alan: [00:42:33] No, but it’s, it’s great. So, so, but I love that because here you have maybe the kids that would be your, just towards the arts, but we’re in a STEM school. So it’s logical that there should be a strong technology component, even in the arts, which you wouldn’t typically find. So that’s…

Becki: [00:42:50] It’s amazing now with technology is the capability of arts that you can do with technology. It, it takes the arts to a whole new level now where you don’t have to just have somebody who’s really good at their hands if they just have their creative mind. The technology assistance is, is unbelievable.

Rico: [00:43:08] And it all goes down to scientists like DaVinci, like Steve jobs. I mean, if you don’t know nature, if you don’t know art, it’s kind of hard to bring that science to the right place, right to the use. 

Becki: [00:43:23] So it’s kind of neat that right now my students are doing drawings and animations and Java, they’re having to do shapes and color. You know, just be able to use the geometry aspect and, understand how to do the RGB colors and manipulate the shapes and how to program them to move around the screen. 

Rico: [00:43:44] Cause that’s the beginning, the beginning of the game map, you know, at some point, you know, programming that stuff like that. We’ve reached the end of our time. this has been fun though. It’s learning all this stuff.

Alan: [00:43:57] It’s been out of this world.

Rico: [00:43:58] And that, and I liked that Raspberry PI. I thought we were talking about real pie at some point. But, this, this was cool doing this. You know, I appreciate you coming out Becki.

Becki: [00:44:09] Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Alan: [00:44:11] And, and again, we’re, we’re just glad to know that you’re in our schools, and not sitting just behind a computer somewhere or a company that you’re actually sitting at your desk in our schools is giving our children the tools to be the future. So certainly grateful for that.

Rico: [00:44:29] And it’s been good to see you, Alan. Been awhile. Glad we were able to do the show.

Alan: [00:44:35] Absolutely. So we have some other good plans for guests coming up. 

Rico: [00:44:38] We’ll be doing those on a regular basis. At least once a month. And Alan has some things going on in his life with his kids and stuff. And we’ll be interviewing you actually on Peachtree Corners Life at some point. So we answered a question at that point. So, Look forward to, I should say, look forward to Peachtree corners magazine. That’s going to be coming out. It’s hitting the post office Friday, so it’ll be in homes this weekend and through next week. The cover story is 20 under 20 we asked for nominations of kids that people felt should get recognition for a variety of reasons. And we got 35 plus nominations, I believe in. We picked 20. It was tough to pick those 20. We have photo shoots and stuff. We have stories about them. So that’s the, a page pullout in the center of the magazine that’s coming we also have several other stories in there, some good strong features. So pick up the publication. If you don’t, you should get it in the mail. Every household in the city of Peachtree Corners gets that magazine in the mailbox, but you’ll find it at places like Ingle’s, Dunkin donuts, restaurants, in town center, in a variety of other places, library and stuff. Every school gets it.

So look for that. We are launching a new, a giveaway too, which just so then people know this can go to living in PeachtreeCorners.com on the 25th and you’ll see the weekend staycation giveaway, thousand dollars in prizes to stay at home. Well, stay in the city of Peachtree corners anyway and enjoy dinner. Maybe a suite at the Hilton, breakfast at First Watch, dinner at Grace 1720 there’s a variety of, of, of prizes. So yes, look for that.

Alan: [00:46:12] Well again thank you. Thank you. Thanks Rico. Great to, great to be back with it.

Rico: [00:46:16] Same here. See you guys.

Alan: [00:46:17] Take care.