Saturday, October 23rd, 2021—Syracuse Academy of Science Atoms took home the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the annual CNY Steamboat Challenge presented by the MOST.

On Saturday, October 23rd Syracuse Academy of Science elementary, middle and high school students took to the sea in the STEM competition in 'pop-pop' or 'putt-putt' boat engineering. For this competition students could work in teams of 2-3 or individually, and were tasked with designing and constructing a miniature working steamboat powered by a single tealight candle. Teams would then present their design to the judges and are scored in 5 categories, as well as, their boat's best race time in 2 attempts.

Scoring for the CNY Steamboat Competition was based on the following criteria:

• Boat Specification
• Race Time
• Student Presentation

Awards are given in three categories: Divisions I (grades 4-6), II (grades 7-8), and III (grades 9-12).

Congratulations to the following Syracuse Academy of Science High School students for placing in this year's Division III CNY Steamboat Competition.

• First Place: Eva Acheampong and Janell Virgilio
• Second Place: Yakina Sika Amoah and Grace ONeil
• Third Place: Theodore Simon and Migual Mathis

Congratulations to the following Syracuse Academy of Science middle school students for placing in this year's Division II CNY Steamboat Competition

• Fourth Place: Samara Hurtado and Arna Amoah

Congratulations to all of our Atoms who participated in this year's STEM competition. We are very proud of you, your hard work and all that you have accomplished! Please click here to visit our Facebook page to view more pictures from the 2021 CNY Steamboat Competition.

Thursday, October 21st, 2021—Do you believe in the magic of textbooks? We most certainly do! Syracuse Academy of Science Charter Schools has teamed up with Rotary District 7150, and Terra Science and Education to sponsor three pallets of curriculum books to the Rotarian CNY Books of the World organization - who support efforts in getting books to people in Africa.

We would like to thank all of those who helped make this donation possible, especially Mary Eileen Wood who put in a tremendous amount of effort and time, and hard work in providing the books to be donated. We hope this small donation will make a big difference in the lives of others.

Tuesday, October 19th, 2021—Never stop exploring with the Syracuse Academy of Science 6th grade Project Based Learning (PBL) students!

The PBL students said yes to new adventures during their team bonding field trip to Orenda Springs. Throughout the day, the students embodied the phrase, ‘your wings already exist. All you have to do is fly,’ when participating in the experiential learning challenges of the high and low ropes courses. These courses are not only physically challenging, but mentally as well which allowed the students to work on building trust with themselves and their fellow classmates.

In the Low Ropes courses, it tested the Atoms problem solving, organization and creative thinking skills, along with their patience, as it required the full cooperation and participation from all the PBL students.

The High Ropes course allowed for the students to step outside of their comfort zone and to overcome their fears. This course is unique in the sense that the 'high' heights vary along the challenge. In addition to working on overcoming their fears, Atoms learned the importance of supporting their teammates, enhancing their problem solving skills, trusting one another, clear communication, and the responsibility for not only their actions but others, as well.

The field trip to Orenda Springs was a great opportunity for all the students to practice their creative thinking skills, all while exploring and enhancing their leadership and problem solving skills. 

Click here to visit our Facebook page to view more pictures from this experiential learning field trip with the 6th grade PBL Atoms.

Tuesday, October 12th, 2021—We all know the Syracuse Academy of Science elementary school students are super creative and love a good challenge, but wait until you see what they have been working on throughout the month of October in their art classes.

To start us off, let's look at the Kindergarten Atoms. This month, the students have been busy working on projects that are geared towards developing and refining their fine motor skills. These include: coloring, cutting and gluing. Their project was creating their very own ladybug!

The 2^nd grade Atoms mixed things up a bit with their 100 color challenge! We all know that Atoms are always up for a good challenge, and this one certainly didn't disappoint. For this challenge, students were tasked with creating 100 different colors using only the following paint colors: Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, and White.

The 4^th grade Atoms were busy folding away to create a radial design. For those not familiar with a radial design it is when visual materials are arranged around a central point, taking a roughly circular form. Students practiced their origami skills by folding colored paper to create unique and creative design pieces. 

Keep up the great work Atoms, we are so proud of you! Click here to visit our Facebook page to view more pictures of the Atoms and their impressive artwork.