MACON, Ga. — Stratford Academy noticed something missing in their middle school curriculum and decided to give students a way to get creative and learn a new skill.
"I really like researching things, and, like I said before, robotics is just a way for me to have a goal," student Aanika Das said.
Das knew she wanted to accomplish more in 6th grade.
"Last year I really missed STEAM," she said.
Das wasn't the only one that noticed a space the school needed to fill.
"We had a huge gap for our children when they were leaving 5th grade until they could choose that until 9th grade. Our 6th through 8th graders were left out so we decided to start a program," Director of Steam & Innovation for K-5 Holly Leskovics said.
The program is now in full affect and the middle schoolers are all in.
"This is our new creation lab for our 6th, 7th and 8th graders. Right now students are doing 3D printing, flying drones, doing robotics," Middle School STEAM teacher Leslie Lowe Brown said.
Students are doing all this while learning the 4 C's
"They're learning the skills of creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking," Brown said.
Along with the new creation lab, Stratford also offers students a chance to be in the middle school robotics team.
"I think this is like a really different experience for me," Das said.
They are preparing for the first robotics competition. Good Luck!