Tag Archives: Phifer Middle School
Seventh Graders At Phifer Create Their Own Reading Lamps
Senior research engineer, Aron Rubin, came to inspire Mrs. Tracey McSweeney’s middle school robotics class for a third year in a row. As Aron explains it, his mission is to break the perception that engineering is the domain of special people but accessible to all.
Mr. Rubin preceded the student lesson with teacher in-service day, introducing Computer Aided Design (CAD), power drill use, large scale brazing, and small scale soldering. Then, together with both Mrs. McSweeney and Mr. Gilbride, Aron was able to have all 100 students drill, solder, and assemble their own clip on reading lamps.
This was another successful outreach; the project enabled the students to feel empowered as they engineered their own clip on desk lamp. Language arts teacher, Mrs. Howe, expressed that the students loved using their student-made clip on lamps in her class as they read their independent reading books! She went on to say that one student commented, “I can’t wait to go home and read in the dark, using my book light!”
The staff at Phifer Middle School cannot thank Aron enough for taking two days off of work to volunteer his time and expertise to spark interest in engineering and technology for our students.
The Lamp Making Process
Aron started each class by discussing the importance of engineering and learning how to make things on your own including electronics. Mr. Rubin explained how it is expected for things not to work the first time and used the example of the many trials it took for Thomas Edison to create a properly functioning light bulb filament. This is an important lesson for middle school students to learn; they need to learn how to transform all the stumbles along the way into growth opportunities. If they can master that skill, they will be our future scientists, engineers and more! Instilling in students the desire to not give up and perform multiple trials of experiments in order to test their hypothesis is not only a good middle school science skill but is also an important life lesson.
Aron launched the lesson by giving a soldering overview and describing the four stations to the students. Students were divided up into three groups to cycle through the stations led by Mr. Rubin, Mrs. McSweeney, Mr. Gilbride, and substitute teacher, Ms. Factor. Science coach Jonathan Nguyen and principal Thomas Honeyman also made a guest appearance during one of the lessons and helped lead a station.
Mrs. McSweeney’s station consisted of having the students drill the hole in the back end of a clothespin to receive the neck of the lamp. The clothespin was secured in a vice. Copper wires were bent into a “L” shape to form the neck of the reading lamp and was inserted into the hole the students drilled. At the first assembly station, copper conductive tape was wrapped around the back of the clothespin. This conductive tape would later make contact with a three volt battery to power the LED light.
Aron and Mr. Gilbride led the soldering station. First, the students soldered on the negative wire of the LED lights onto the copper tape, forming a negative battery terminal. The students then soldered the positive LED wire to a small copper square, forming the positive battery terminal. A student, along with substitute teacher, Mrs. Factor, led an assembly station of the lamp using a three volt battery.
Students then inserted a non-adhesive positive copper terminal. After the terminals are soldered to the LED wires, students went to the battery station, “sandwiching” the battery between the two terminals and compressed it with a piece of electrical tape.
The students came away with improved confidence for making things from scratch and were given an exciting introduction to drilling and soldering. Additionally, Mr. Honeyman led a special quadcopter station to reward students who successfully created their lamps early! Students loved seeing their principal experiment with the quadcopter and learn how to fly it with them!
It was absolutely a great learning experience for all! This project enabled the students to feel empowered as they engineered their own clip on desk lamp!
Responsible Use Of Technology Lecture On November 7
Howard M. Phifer Middle School is hosting a special program on Monday, Nov. 7, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Middle Schoolers Build Their Own LED Circuits
By Tracey McSweeney, Seventh Grade Robotics Teacher
Aron Rubin, an engineer at Lockheed Martin, recently came to the seventh grade robotics class at Phifer Middle School for the latest in a series of visits to build student excitement for engineering and programming. Each lesson has been a more ambitious attempt to amaze and inspire the students.
Phifer Middle School Supports Soldiers Serving Abroad
During the third week of December 2015, students at Phifer Middle School completed Christmas Cards to send to soldiers in Afghanistan. Students picked up cards during lunch, completed them with a brief note or poem, and then returned them to the Phifer School Store at the end of the week. In all, there were about 200 cards mailed!
The kids wrote impressive messages that showed their support for the military, and compassion for the soldiers being away from their families. The cards were sent to Bagram Air Base, the largest military base in Afghanistan which houses soldiers from all military branches.
Phifer Middle School is hoping to send cards out again next December, doubling the number of cards completed.
Congratulations To Phifer Students Destined For Greatness
Howard M. Phifer Middle School recently recognized students “destined for greatness” during the month for September. Congratulations to seventh graders Natalina Nunez, Joshua Nsubuga, Oreoluwayimika Adebanjo, Roselyne Grullon, Rudeltry Madera, Muluh Amaah Achina Tahngwa, George Johnson, and Hailie Kinsler; as well as eighth graders Amanda Lezcano, Giovanni Martinez, Naomi Pierce, Savion Morales, Solimar Frias, Bruno Martinez-Alameda, Delany Martinez, Jefferson Orozco.
Phifer “24 Game” Math Tourney Winners
Phifer Middle School conducted its annual “24 Game” math tournaments, where several students showcased their amazing mental math skills. The seventh grade finalists were Nancy Nguyen, first place; Yesenia Rivera, second place; Angela Nguyen, third place; and Alex Kreuter (fourth place). The eighth grade finalists were James Horn, first place; Thomas Dyer, second place; Mostsaly Kim, third place; and Jimmy Le, fourth place. Congratulations!
Middle School Students Of The Month
The administration and staff of Phifer Middle School are proud to announce the following students that have been selected as the Students of the Month for April.
Seventh Grade
Shelby Leshnov, Alex Delgado, Kayla Brown, Jose Morales, Steven Do, Jesse Lozano, Bryanna Tatem, and Angelia Pho.
Eighth Grade
Selena Morales, David Charris, Jaelon Roman, Rosawandavi Thach, Giovani Mateo, Kieu Vo, Christian Jackson, Kenedi Atwell, Felix Liu, and Karina Rios.
Congratulations!
Phifer Celebrates Pi Day
Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant, which is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. March 14 was chosen as the day to celebrate Pi, since the numerical date, 3/14, represents the first three digits of Pi. The U.S. Representatives have even passed a resolution designating March 14 as National Pi Day.
This year, Pi Day, was extra special because when the date of 3/14/15 was combined with the time of 9:26:53 a.m. or p.m., it matched the first 10 digits of Pi! This is a phenomenon that will not happen again until the year 2115.
Phifer Principal Thomas Honeyman got “pied” in the face by student Madison McCall as part of the school’s celebration of Pi Day. This year, Pi Day fell on 3/14/15; when the time of day was 9:26:53 a.m. or p.m., it matched the first ten digits of Pi.
In honor of this remarkable date, Phifer Middle School math teachers celebrated with “Pi related” activities. The activities included finding the circumference and area of many circular objects and creating Pi bracelets.
In addition, the students at Phifer Middle School were challenged to memorize as many digits of Pi as possible. The student who could memorize the most digits would get to “pie” the principal, Mr. Thomas Honeyman. The third place winner was Kenny Lieur, who memorized 79 digits; the second place winner was Isaiah Norman, who memorized 110 digits; and the first place winner was Madison McCall, who memorized 115 digits!
To see the activities, hear Madison recite 115 digits of Pi or watch Mr. Honeyman get “pied” in the face, check the school’s web page at www.pennsauken.net/school/phifer.html.
Phifer Students Learn About Robotics, Engineering
For the first time, Howard Phifer Middle School is offering robotics for a full marking period as a “related arts” class. The robotics program, taught by Mrs. Tracey McSweeney, is designed for students to explore, build, and program small LEGO NXT robots.
Students at Phifer Middle School are learning about robotics and engineering during a special class taught by Mrs. Tracey McSweeney.
Mrs. McSweeney encourages her students to reflect and collaborate on the learning process by using skills such as application of knowledge and problem solving. The lessons are cross-curricular in that they incorporate “STEM” or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. For example, the students use mathematical strategies and teamwork to help engineer a solution to their robotics problem. Students utilize their collective problem solving skills to construct and program the robots to perform various tasks. Some tasks include programming the robot to travel a desired distance based on wheel circumference and also navigating through its environment with programmed touch, sonar, sound, and/or light sensors.
Robotics brings students the realization that working as a team helps them complete tasks faster and more efficiently. In addition, video clips, articles and current events are incorporated to show students the benefits of updating technology and utilizing robots to perform daily tasks that were once performed by humans.
To generate interest in the field of engineering, Mrs. McSweeney invited Mr. Aron Rubin, an engineer from Lockheed Martin, to speak to her class. On Friday, Jan. 23, Mr. Rubin excited the students with a presentation about humanoid robots and a helicopter drone project, which he is currently assigned. Mr. Rubin brought in different robotic hands for the students to manipulate. He also described his experiments with a military spy drone that would potentially be able to fly into a building opening at 20 mph, take a video of a room and quickly exit. The grand finale of Mr. Rubin’s presentation was a hexacopter, which he brought and allowed the students to fly in the classroom! Mr. Rubin’s wonderful presentation hopefully stimulated student interest in engineering and technology fields.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Mrs. McSweeney invited additional Lockheed Martin engineers, Joe Mirizio, Rebecca Cargan, and Eric Birkhead, to speak to her students for “Engineers Week,” a time of year dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers.
Mrs. McSweeney’s students are looking forward to learning about possible careers in engineering as well as performing an exciting rocket launch “STEM” activity that the engineers have planned.
Robotics is a fast growing technology field that is revolutionizing business, manufacturing, the military, the medical field, and our daily lives. The goal of this robotics program is to prepare students for tomorrow. The job market of the future will be more demanding of its applicants than ever. The best applicants will be able to apply their cumulative knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics to perform their daily tasks.
Through this robotics course, Mrs. McSweeney hopes to spark an interest in her students about robotics so that they may possibly pursue a career in engineering.
Phifer Wrestling Wins Pirate Classic
The strong Phifer Middle School wrestling team recently won its fifth Pirate Classic wrestling tournament, beating the second place team, Collingswood, by over 90 points. The Pennsauken Indians placed a team-record 11 wrestlers in the finals. The young wrestlers’ skills continue to grow and feed the strong Pennsauken High School teams, who are now a well-known force in South Jersey wrestling.
The four champions for Pennsauken were seventh grader Braily Vargas and eighth graders Miguel McEady, David Louie, and Jesus Cruz. Falling just short of being crowned champions and landing in second place at the eight-team tournament were sixth grader Angel Abreu, and seventh graders Jahneil Blue, Stephan “Pudge” Przycowicz, Carlos “Muscle Man” Padua, and Sincere Jones. The eighth graders getting second place at the tourney were Geninson Castro and Gabe “The Model” Myles. Wrestling tough and coming in third was the trio of Duane Britt, Uriel Balon, and Brian Smith.
The team’s head coach, Sean Duff, has been lucky to have a wonderful volunteer staff to help the local kids turn into such a strong force on the mat. Volunteer coaches include PYAA coach Lynn Hunter, who helps every year with try-outs and runs the successful PYAA wrestling program; Tom Locke, a Berlin Police officer volunteering his time; Dave Corson, a middle school history teacher and long-time Pennsauken wrestling coach; and Dennis Sherwood, a conditioning specialist and counselor for the middle school.
The team’s dual meet record is a strong 11 wins and three loses, with another division championship and playoff run to come. The sport of wrestling is one of the toughest sports in the world and involves a long four-month season. The kids on the team work incredibly hard to attain the level of success they have reached. It builds character and the team’s motto of “hard work and dedication” is chanted at the end of every practice.
Let’s hope for another South Jersey Middle School League wrestling championship for the hard working kids of Phifer Middle School.
