Category Archives: Science

Center for Excellence Registration is Open

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Registration for Chaminade College Preparatory’s Center for Excellence (CCE) is now open. It is the perfect place for students to spend their summer learning and growing. With classes in the morning and afternoon, CCE offers programs, for students entering grades 1-12, designed to inspire, engage, and empower young minds.

Students entering grades 1 through 12 will enjoy expanding their horizons through the Center for Excellence summer programming. For students entering Chaminade’s 6th grade, Eagles Take Flight will prepare them academically and introduce them to Chaminade’s middle school community; while students entering high school grades can acquire valuable skills in High School Study and Success Skills, and students entering 12th grade can prepare for college applications in the College Application Bootcamp. CCE also offers robotics programs on both campuses with a brand-new class on the West Hills campus focusing on electronics and programming.

This year, CCEs summer Ste[+a]m Academy, for grades K-5, will once again be powered by STEMscopes. With a different curriculum each week, there is no repetition. Each STEMscope module engages students in cross-disciplinary activities that build knowledge and skills in areas including computer science, engineering, and biomedical science. Students can come for one week, or all five weeks.

The Great Books Academy, for grades K-5, is one of CCEs most popular programs aimed at educating the whole child. The Great Books curriculum is the cornerstone of the academy and is specially designed to help students become independent readers and thinkers by focusing on reading comprehension, critical thinking, vocabulary, and writing.

Summer is also an excellent time for students of all ages to pursue their creative passions in visual and performing arts. And children ages 5 to 15 can join CCEs Sports Camps and explore athletics from football to basketball as well as soccer, baseball, volleyball, fencing, and more. The West Hills campus also hosts Varsity Camps, which gives students the chance to work with Chaminade’s varsity head coaches, players, and former athletes with college and professional experience.

For more information visit chaminade.org/centerforexcellence or click here to register today.

Eagle Engineers Take Top Honor at Robotics Tournament

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Robotics By Annette V. Stone ’16

Chaminade’s Eagle Engineering Robotics Team 1138 perpetuated their winning tradition by taking the Excellence Award at the California Academy of Math and Science Vex Invitational robotics tournament at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach this weekend. This was their second year in a row earning top honors at this event. The team delivered a solid performance, finishing third in the qualifying rounds at 5-1. They then carried their three-team alliance through the semi-finals against some very tough competition. The Excellence Award is considered the highest honor in Vex Robotics Competition and goes to the best overall team in robot performance as well as all judged categories. Cited in their award presentation were the effectiveness of their robot, a solid team approach to design and construction, and most notably an impressive exhibition of programming prowess.

This award qualifies the team for the California High School Vex Robotics Competition State Championship to be held in Santa Clara, March 14-16 ‑ the next step in their goal to return to the World Championship in April.

Team 1138 Sponsors include Xerox, Boeing, Aerojet/Rocketdyne and HBO.

Science Takes Chaminade Junior to Washington, D.C.

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Max Holden ’15 spent part of his summer vacation traveling to Washington, D.C. where he presented the results of his science experiment to a science conference held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The experiment, which went to space aboard a SpaceX flight, tested the speed of fermentation in grapes when exposed to microgravity.

This was the experiment’s second trip to space; during its first flight, there were complications which resulted in inconclusive data. Because of these complications, the experiment was permitted to return to space aboard another SpaceX flight. The second time around, the experiment was a success, and Max determined that the fermentation in microgravity increased slightly over three times that of fermentation rate in Earth’s standard gravity.

Max has also sent the results of his experiment to the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP), the company responsible for the spaceflight program. He hopes to have the experiment published on the SSEP website, as well as in a scientific journal or magazine.

In addition to his regular Chaminade studies, Max plays football for the Eagles. He also participates in the West Hills Baseball Champions Division, a program which helps children with special needs play baseball. Max is a “buddy” in the program, and works with a child within the program.