A group of Ravenswood students has devised a series of STEM projects aimed at improving the social and educational lives of students in Nepal.
The Ravenswood girls are participating in the Future Problem Solving International Program, which encourages young people to brainstorm solutions to real-life problems and develop their teamwork, communication and leadership skills.
The students have named their group Stemming Their Future and initiated projects that respond to the daily needs of children from the Heartland Academy in Kathmandu, including a lack of light, heat and educational opportunities.
They have fundraised to buy solar lamp kits and made an explainer-video to help the Nepalese children put them together; designed and made a prototype for a warm jacket that the children can make themselves; applied for grants to buy LEGO robotics kits and made an explainer video so the students can use the coding program SCRATCH; and written maths quizzes so they can work with the Nepalese children via Skype.
“Ravenswood girls are having a huge impact on the Heartland students,” said Pat Price, CEO and founder of the Centre for Learning and Children’s Rights (CLCR).
Meanwhile, three Ravenswood students from Years 6 and 7 represented Australia at the Future Problem Solving International competition at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse where they had to analyse, write and present on the challenging topic of ‘Criminal Justice Systems Twenty to Fifty Years in the Future’.