Posted: Thursday, December 20, 2012 7:55
pm
Farrah Duffany | 0 comments
Department head Justin Mirante said he plans to use the
$7,260 to buy five VEX Robotics classroom kits for the students.
The kit is a robotics design system that gives students
the chance to use their skills in engineering, math, science, and technology. It enables students outside the
robotics team to build robots in class. There are motors, batteries, control
panels and more that students will learn how to use with the tools inside the
classroom kit.
The purchase is to “get robotics resources integrated
into our curriculum,” Mirante said.
The new kits will be used in multiple courses in the
department, including computer engineering, introduction to engineering, and
introduction to technology. Women in Science and Engineering and
The Technology and Engineering Club will also reap the benefit of the
equipment.
The grant was formed to honor the memory of Jennifer
Hawk-Petit and her daughters Hayley and Michaela, who were murdered during a
home invasion in 2007.
Roland Petit, an administrative assistant for the
foundation, said the committee was happy to award the grant to the high school.
“Knowing that Jennifer was a nurse and Hayley was going
into science to be a doctor,” Petit said, “that fit right into the mission of
the girls and supporting what they loved. It fit right in with the program at
About seven different grants are awarded each year to
“foster the education of young people, especially women in the sciences; to
improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses; and to support efforts
to protect and help those affected by violence,” according to the Petit Family
Foundation website.
Mirante said that with the new kits, students will be
able to learn more in the areas of energy and power transfer, teamwork, computer
programming, statics, and kinematics.
“This robotics platform is a great way to get students
interested in the interdisciplinary nature of technology,” Mirante said.
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