Jan 23

Youth Hand in Hand Tutoring Project

With the reduction in activities last spring due to COVID-19, CHS/MST Magnet Junior Sunny Wang and several of his friends founded a nonprofit organization, Youth Hand in Hand, as a way to provide free educational opportunities to younger students through online learning. Using a completely student-led platform where all the teachers are high school students, they offer Zoom classes across a wide range of subjects, such as mathematics, biology, physics, and programming. Extracurricular subjects are offered as well, such as music theory, music production, and cartooning. They also recently created a tutoring program where students can sign up for individual one on one sessions with the teachers.

It started off as a small project, but with the high demand throughout the summer, the organization rapidly grew, at one point having around twenty teachers and several hundred students. Currently, despite school being in session, classes are still going strong, with many focusing on their school related subjects.

If any of you are interested in teaching a class or tutoring some younger students, feel free to contact Sunny at youthhandinhand@gmail.com or take a look at the Youth Hand in Hand website.

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2021/01/youth-hand-in-hand-tutoring-project/

Jan 22

MST 2021 Admissions Timeline

Please see below for important dates and events in the 2021 CHS MST Magnet admissions cycle. All admissions portal items are open as of 1/22/21, including the student initiated request for recommendations and application.

Please keep in mind that there is no preference given to early submissions, so take your time and compose a quality admissions packet.

Begin your review of the process and the admissions timeline here: MST Admissions Portal

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2021/01/mst-2021-admissions-timeline/

Jan 19

Inspiring Girls Program – Tuition Free!

Inspiring Girls Exhibitions offers tuition free in-person and virtual expeditions for high school girls (ages 16-17) to empower them to lead and succeed through science, art, and outdoor exploration. Their expeditions are led by professional women scientists, artists, and wilderness guides. Throughout each expedition, the team engages in scientific and artistic inquiry about the environment around them. In small groups, participants design and conduct scientific projects, which they present to the public on the last full day of their expeditions.

CHS/MST grad Odessa Thompson (’20), currently attending Cornell University, participated in the Girls on Ice Alaska exhibition in the summer leading up to her senior year. She had a transformative experience on the exhibition. I asked her for her opinion on the program and experience, and here’s what she said:

“I found myself up on a glacier in Alaska the summer before my senior year. Somehow I was chosen for a 12-day tuition-free summer program specifically for high school girls curious about science, art, and their physical environment. It was so perfectly attuned to my interests, I originally thought it was a scam. Yet in July, I traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, and hiked up Gulkana Glacier. Our team studied the climate and weather patterns, I climbed down into a crevasse to measure the sediment layers, and we painted the ice with watercolors at night. The environment was incredible not only because of the glacial views, but also because I was constantly being surrounded by a team of women determined to help us grow and aspire for more. It was an unparalleled experience and I learned so much, not just about glaciology, but also about who I was and who I wanted to be.”

Read all about their tuition free programs and offering here: Inspiring Girls Exhibitions

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2021/01/inspiring-girls-program-tuition-free/

Dec 15

2021 Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)

Greetings, Magnetos! The MIT (Yes, that MIT) Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) is a rigorous, world-class STEM program for motivated high school student . This four-week virtual program teaches STEM skills through project-based, workshop-style courses.

The Beaver Works Summer Institute is pleased to announce that they will have 13 virtual program offerings for summer 2021.  To begin the process of pre-qualifying to apply for the summer institute, students will work through a series of pre-requisite self-paced units.  Participation and performance in the online curriculum during the winter (starting in late January or early February) will be one of the metrics used to determine acceptance into the 4-week program being held in July 2021, which will be taught over the summer at a higher level and will address more research-oriented technologies, techniques, tools, and applications.

We’ve had quite a few Magnetos and other CHS students over the last few years take advantage of the MIT BWSI, which is a pretty remarkable experience from what I can gather.  Spend a month over the summer working with MIT professors and motivated students from all over the U.S. doing super cool science stuff?  Sounds like a winner to me.  Anyone interested? If so and you’re serious about doing the pre-req mods over the winter and applying to BWSI for the summer, I’d be happy to recommend you, which is what they’ve asked me to do (be the point of contact for you and this program …).  So if that’s you, send Mr. Greene an email to let him know you’re interested.

Short Pamphlet … Long Pamphlet

Requirements/Info:

  • They are rising seniors attending high school in US or US citizen abroad
  • They have demonstrated technical ability (evidenced by recommendations from school officials, test scores, coursework, grades, and extracurricular activities)
  • They have completed the lessons in the online tutorial for their desired project
  • Online course starts February 2021 (prerequisite in order to apply to the July program)
  • Virtual BWSI runs July 5 – August 1 2021
  • To get more information: https://beaverworks.ll.mit.edu/CMS/bw/BWSI

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/12/2021-beaver-works-summer-institute-bwsi/

Dec 14

MST Senior Internship Showcase

Since our MST Seniors are unable to present to you in person due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in place for our community, we have instead asked each one of them to produce a short video discussing their research and what they learned through their culminating internship projects.

Please take a moment to peruse the interest based playlists below to see and hear what you have made possible through your continued support of the Math, Science, and Technology Magnet program at CHS.

Congratulations, Seniors!

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/12/mst-senior-internship-showcase/

Oct 28

Clark County Food Bank Service Night

This past Tuesday would’ve been one of our MST group’s annual “nights of service” where we would have gone as a group (staff, students, and families …) to the  Clark County Food Bank and help repack donated food for distribution to local families.  Sadly, we were unable to keep this appointment due to Covid restrictions, but the need for help in our community is still there. In lieu of the time you would’ve donated, consider visiting their site and learning about their programs and how to support our county’s most vulnerable citizens. There are people hurting out there.  Clark County Food Bank

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/10/clark-county-food-bank-service-night/

Oct 05

Young Women in Bio Web Panel 10/7/20

This cool opportunity for a free, virtual web panel just in (from CHS/MST grad Sophie Shoemaker, class of 2015). The event is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. PDT

Considering pursuing a STEM major in college? Join us for a panel of renowned research scientists who will talk about their diverse trajectories to science and what they’re doing now: Dr. Rochelle Buffenstein, Dr. Amoolya Singh, Dr. Magdalena Lopez, and Dr. Ellie Karlsson.

Registration is open through tomorrow via this link: https://www.womeninbio.org/event/SFYWIB10720 

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/10/young-women-in-bio-web-panel-10-7-20/

Sep 29

NCSSS Virtual College Fair

As a member of the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools, Camas High School and the  CHS MST Magnet program are pleased to invite our students and their parents to the first NCSSS Virtual College Fair 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

Invited NCSSS Member colleges include, but are not limited to:

• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Olin College of Engineering
• Case Western Reserve University
• Columbia University
• Kansas State University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Northwestern University
• Randolph College
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville
• St. Louis College of Pharmacy
• Smith College
• Syracuse University
• University of Miami

Students who visit at least four colleges and collect a code word from each school will be entered into a raffle for a $50 Amazon gift card.

Please register HERE by Friday, October 16.

Any questions may be directed to NCSSS Membership Director, Beth Hartgen.

Here’s the flyer: NCSSS Virtual College Fair

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/09/ncsss-virtual-college-fair/

Sep 24

MIT Beaverworks Fall Zoom Institutes for Girls

Our friends at MIT (yes, that MIT …) are hosting a series of Saturday institutes for girls interested in learning about robotics, cyber security, and programming. Check it out:

Who/What: High school female students in grades 9-11 interested in learning about 1 of 3 opportunities (see the PDFs  below for details on each)! Beginners encouraged! No coding experience needed. FYI: You can only participate in one of the choices. 
When: Saturdays 11am-2pm (EST) – 10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7, 11/14, 11/21, 12/5, 12/12 or 12/19 (last two dates depend on your choice of institute).
Where: Virtually, through Zoom!

Access the registration info through the PDFs below OR on their website: Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) High School Fall Program for Girls

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/09/mit-beaverworks-fall-zoom-institutes-for-girls/

Sep 20

Caltech STEMchats Speaker Series

2019 CHS/MST grad Abigail Jiang, currently studying at Caltech, reached out to us with this exciting opportunity. Registration required. Check it out:

If you’re interested in learning about STEM research, physics, international journeys in science, or want the opportunity to connect with a professor from a top STEM school in the country, please join us! On Friday, Sept 25th, from 5-6:30 pm PDT/8-9:30 pm EDT, Professor Joseph Falson of Caltech will be discussing “What is fundamental research and how is it important?” on Zoom. RSVP & more details here: http://bit.ly/stemchats-ss

Joseph Falson is a Professor of Materials Science at Caltech. In this Speaker Series seminar, Prof. Falson will discuss the importance of fundamental scientific research, and how it differs from applied sciences and research. He will also chat about his research in materials science and physics, as well as his international journey in STEM and higher education from Australia, to Japan, to Germany, and finally to the US. There will be an interactive live Q&A where attendees can ask Prof. Falson questions, and this event is open to students from any background!

This event is hosted by STEMchats Speaker Series. Learn more and RSVP here: http://bit.ly/stemchats-ss

Permanent link to this article: https://chsmstmagnet.com/2020/09/caltech-stemchats-speaker-series/