By Emily Drooby
A buzzer kicked off a fierce competition on Thursday at St. Patrick Catholic Academy in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Students raced the clock and competed with their classmates for the highest score in the fourth annual STEM Olympics.
STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, has become a beloved part of the curriculum at schools across the nation.
“In order to get kids interested in science and technology and math, stuff that they’re not really interested in on a daily basis, we try to apply things they do like basketball, and building, and exercising,” explained Paige Grupico, the school’s STEM teacher.
During the competition, students used their heart rate before and after exercising, to work on their math skills.
They tested their engineering skills by building towers out of cards, and they even texted out geometry thorough basketball.
The event was fun, but at the end it was still a competition. Team number two was crowned the champions.
“This is my first STEM Olympics. I just transferred and it’s just an amazing feeling,” said Luka Puglisi-Scandone from the first-place team.
The Catholic Schools Week Event was fun and informative, but it also reinforced other important skills.
“We highlight leadership so to be a leader you have to work with other people, so that’s why teambuilding is so important, and of course as part of our values and our faith, we want to get along with everyone,” explained the school’s principal, Kathleen Curatolo.
This is just another way which St. Patrick is helping their students succeed.
“Our test scores are through the roof in every area throughout the Diocese as well as in our own local school district so we are very, very proud of our outstanding achievement here at St. Patrick,” explained their pastor, Father Gerard Sauer.