robotics Archives - Page 2 of 2

Catholic schools preparing to open

Posted on July 30, 2021July 30, 2021 by Bob Reddy

Lesson plans are being drawn up and classrooms and being decorated as work is ongoing to ensure everything is ready for the start of the 2021-2022 Academic Year in Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools.

Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocese Superintendent of Catholic Education, said that enrollment is up across the 15 Catholic schools in the Diocese and that several initiatives are moving forward to engage students to not only grow academically but, more importantly, spiritually.

In a July 23, 2021 letter to parents and guardians Bishop Frank J. Dewane and Father Belmonte announced the 2021-2022 Academic Year for Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools will start on time and will continue to provide Christ-centered education in-person, five days a week.

The letter also stressed that the priority remains to provide a safe and healthy environment for all students and employees.

Guidelines for the 2021-2021 school year include:

Prayers for the continued wellbeing of all students, as well as faculty and staff.
Masks for students, staff, and volunteers are optional but indeed highly encouraged.
It is understood that changes to these guidelines may be made at any time. The Diocese of Venice Department of Education will continue to monitor guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other experts.
Vaccinations for Covid-19 are not mandated.
Social distancing protocols will not be required.

“The Diocese of Venice Department of Catholic Education strongly encourages families to continue following recommended preventative measures to reduce the spread of the virus and stay healthy,” the letter from the Bishop and Father Belmonte continued. “Let us be united in prayer for the safety and wellbeing of our students.”

The letter included gratitude to parents and guardians, as well as students, faculty, staff and volunteers, for the success of the 2020-2021 Academic Year. Additional gratitude was expressed for the patience and understanding of all as planning for the new school year progressed.

Meanwhile, Diocesan Catholic schools continue to be at the forefront in education with a curriculum that is STREAM-based (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math). This initiative has been a priority for many years and highlights religion as a dimension which help students have a superior academic experience rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Father Belmonte stressed that the primary function of all Diocesan Catholic schools is to introduce the world to its Savior. This is being accomplished through the development of a strong Catholic culture at each school.

To further the STREAM aspect of Catholic education, Father Belmonte said the previously announced initiative involving robots, in a partnership with FIRST® (“For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), is moving forward and will be integrated into each school and at every grade level.

All Diocesan schools were provided with age-appropriate kits and robots to compete at the highest levels of competition through FIRST®. These kits use LEGO products, such as Duplo blocks for the youngest students, and more traditional blocks for older students. Each progressive kit increases with difficulty and broadens the concepts learned in earlier years. Older students will build robots for competitions.

Keeping in line with the effort to build a strong Catholic culture, the initiative incorporates Catholic values and virtues through the Diocesan curriculum called, “The Gifts of Christ: Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Affability, Fortitude, Humility, and Prudence.”

This partnership with FIRST® was made possible through the generosity and vision of Bishop Dewane who made the initial investment of some 500 robots and other resources to the schools. “It is all about investing in our students because they are our mission and we want them to succeed; to become the leaders, the professionals, the faith witnesses of tomorrow,” Bishop Dewane said during the March announcement of the initiative.

The earlier cited growth in enrollment is directly related to the robot initiative. Parents of newly enrolled students have cited the visionary aspect of the program, with its Faith component, as a key factor in their decision to choose a Diocese Catholic school.

In addition to the robotics, Diocese Catholic schools will continue to build their devotion to St. Joseph, as part of the ongoing “Year of St. Joseph.” This will be accomplished through an initiative planned to begin in October which will include bringing prayer and devotion to the home.

Meanwhile, the different schools continue to work hard in preparing classrooms and other facilities to be ready for the return on students the week of Aug. 9. Among that work included the upgrade of facilities including fencing, landscaping, roofing, renovated classrooms and much more.

To learn more about Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools, please visit https://dioceseofvenice.org/offices/offices-departments/catholicschools/.

STREAM initiative has big roll out

Posted on March 18, 2021 by Bob Reddy

The Diocese of Venice is uniformly strengthening STREAM education in 15 Diocesan Catholics Schools through investment in a partnership with FIRST®, a global robotics community, “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” placing students ahead of the curve in primary fields while continuing to promote core Catholic virtues.

This initiative came about under the direction of Bishop Frank J. Dewane who said the investment is a means to an end, an upping of the skills taught at each Diocesan Catholic school.

“It is all about investing in our students because they are our mission and we want them to succeed; to become the leaders, the professionals, the faith witnesses of tomorrow,” Bishop Dewane added. “This will develop our students into who they are becoming as men and women of God; and therefore, who they will become ethical scientists, ethical business people, ethical engineers and all of that has to be built upon a base of Faith.”

A gift of 500 robots and curricular resources were presented by Bishop Dewane to Diocesan Catholic Schools on March 10, 2021 in the Zazarino Center of St. Martha Catholic School and St. Mary Academy in Sarasota. Present in support of the announcement were Catholic school principals and numerous priests. Greg Harrell, a Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School alum, who is an engineer and designs bridges, praised the Diocesan initiative and said “You had me at robots!”

Bishop Dewane explained that he understands the students of today and tomorrow need to be rigorously challenged through STREAM – Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math. As an educational leader, the Bishop is making a long-term investment in student success through his pledge to provide all Diocesan Catholic schools with age-appropriate kits and robots to compete at the highest levels of competition through FIRST® while integrating Catholic values and virtues through the Diocesan curriculum called, “The Gifts of Christ: Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Affability, Fortitude, Humility, and Prudence.”

These kits use LEGO products, such as Duplo blocks for the youngest students, and more traditional blocks for older students. Each progressive kit increases with difficulty and broadens the concepts learned in earlier years. By middle and high school levels, students will be building competition robots.

Students from PK-3 through Grade 12 will join others worldwide for age-appropriate learning, designing, and building robots of all sizes while offering young people a chance to proudly dream of working as true leaders in science and technology fields. Through teamwork and competition, students gain self-confidence and valuable, real-world skills that can open pathways for all types of career choices in STREAM.

The March 10 presentation included a press conference and demonstration of robots by students from St. Martha and St. Mary. The students showed Bishop Dewane how they use a computer to program a small robot through an obstacle course while doing various tasks. The younger students shared different projects they worked on in the days leading up to the event. Each student expressed to the Bishop how exciting it is to work with the robots and blocks all while learning many skills.

St. Martha and St. Mary joined St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School in Port Charlotte, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers and St. Andrew Catholic School in Cape Coral in being part of the pilot introduction for the robotics program.

While robots are a major part of the FIRST® program, it is just a tool that expands upon the idea of project-based learning and cognitive thought processes, helping to develop skills such as leadership, communication, complex problem solving, teamwork and creativity. All of this is being done with an added dimension of our Catholic Faith which remains the first job of all Diocesan schools.

“Every student attending Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools from this point forward will have this curriculum and these activities on a daily basis,” said Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Education. “We are the only Diocese in full partnership with FIRST, and the K-12 program combines to position our students to learn lessons and develop the skills necessary to be leaders of the future.”

Jennifer Falestiny, Diocesan Curriculum Specialist, who helped to facilitate the partnership between the Diocese and FIRST®, said schools will begin integrating the program for the final quarter of the 2021 academic year. The balance of schools and teachers will be introduced to the project in June for implementation in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Diocese partners to broaden STREAM curriculum

Posted on January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 by Bob Reddy

A major investment in the students at Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools today will have lasting benefits that go beyond the classroom.

This initiative to benefit Diocesan Catholic Schools came about through a unique partnership with FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), the leading robotics competition in the world. The Diocese is an official partner in the program that engage all students from kindergarten through high school in exciting, mentor-based, research and robotics programs, which encourage students to become science and technology leaders, and well-rounded contributors to society.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane has backed the effort to introduce this new, comprehensive STREAM (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and mathematics) initiative. The forward-thinking effort will enhance the existing STREAM curriculum of the 15 Diocesan schools, placing students ahead of the curve in primary fields while continuing to promote core Catholic virtues.

“This is an example of looking to the future and positioning our Diocesan schools, and more importantly, our students, for success,” Bishop Dewane said. “This program has a strong science, math and engineering component, but it enhances everything we are already doing that distinguishes Diocesan Catholic schools from others in the region.”

The commitment to the program is seen through the initial investment in equipment, fast-tracking the effort into all schools to ensure they are ready to start implementation for all students by the start of the 2021-2022 Academic Year.

“Every student going through Diocese of Venice Catholic schools from this point forward will have this curriculum and these activities as part of his/her regular experience,” Explained Father John Belmonte, SJ, Diocesan Superintendent of Catholic Education. “This program will be integrated into all aspects of education, not just the existing STREAM efforts in the schools.”

The Diocese is one of only 25 nationwide partners and is unique nationally in that the Diocese program includes a strong religious component, something Bishop Dewane stressed.

“We are not only teaching science and technology but building into this the basic foundations of Catholic Faith in action,” Father Belmonte said.

While FIRST robotics core values are discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun, the Diocese team created C.H.R.I.S.T. Gifts – Catholic Habits and Responses in School and Teams. These gifts are truth, beauty, goodness, humility, fortitude, prudence and affability.

“This is not as an add-on, but it enhances existing FIRST concepts to fit them into the Diocesan program,” Father Belmonte added. “We have aligned this program with the Florida Catholic Conference, creating a unique opportunity to teach children and teachers about Catholic virtues in education. Students will learn about these virtues both intellectually and in practice.”

Jennifer Falestiny, Diocesan Curriculum Specialist, who helped to facilitate the partnership between the Diocese and FIRST, said five pilot schools (which already have strong STREAM programs) will begin integrating the FIRST program for the final quarter of the 2021 Academic Year. The balance of all schools and teachers will be introduced to the project in June for implementation in the fall.

“This will be integrated in varying capacities into all schools by the fall, with full implementation within five years,” Falestiny said. “The FIRST program teaches students a new way of thinking that will be foundational when determining how to express their ideas. Students will develop their agility, knowledge and experience in the use of different technologies, preparing them for the future. This cultivates a group of innovative thinkers and problem solvers. This is a new way to learn in the context of Faith.”

In the classroom, students will be introduced to age-appropriate program kits which are the tools to teach the curriculum. These kits use LEGO products, such as Duplo blocks for the youngest students, and more traditional blocks for older students. Each progressive kit increases with difficulty and broadens the concepts learned in earlier years. By middle and high school levels, schools will be building competition robots.

The FIRST program is designed to be plugged into a school at any grade, Falestiny said. This means new participants, either in the first year of the initiative or new to Diocesan schools, will already have the foundational concepts that are appropriate for their grade level. “Once entered, they will catapult because they will have added enrichment and enhanced equipment, tools and activities.”

While robots are a major part of the FIRST program, it is just a tool that expands upon the idea of project-based learning and cognitive thought processes, helping to develop skills such as leadership, communication, complex problem solving, teamwork and creativity. All of this with an added dimension of Faith.

In the coming months, more information will be shared about the partnership between the Diocese of Venice Catholic Schools and FIRST.