SOUTHWICK – The Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional (STGR) School Committee is mulling the addition of a summer program for students currently in grades K-5.
Teacher Beth Grady, who focuses on STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) said an outside company would provide the curriculum, all materials, and pay STGR teachers to teach the one-week Camp Invention.
“Students would learn hands-on and teachers would be trained,” said Grady.
Camp Invention was created by the National Inventors Hall of Fame and brings STEM enrichment to school districts. The program Grady suggested is Camp Invention Epic, which includes experiments using a robotic cricket – a Crickobot – fueled by a solar cell.
Students will create eight-legged, motorized spiders and are challenged to use physics to cross a puddle and build a larger-than-life set of musical wings. Crickobot merges STEM concepts and real-world challenges to introduce children to a whole new world.
Grady said the cost is $245 per child for the five-day program that lasts 6.5 hours each day. Students would bring their own bag lunch and snack each day.
Superintendent John Barry said he thinks the program is a great idea.
“I have been looking for a summer program for a while,” he said.
Grady said the minimum number of students required is 35, with a maximum of 160. The number of teachers needed would depend on the students.
“If there are 60 students, we’d need four teachers and a director,” said Grady, adding that she would serve as director.
There would also be counselor-in-training opportunities for middle school students and leadership roles for high school students.
The Committee is set to vote on the program during a future meeting.
