Thirteen Oriskany high school students are taking part in the Project Fibonacci STEAM Youth Conference this week, the Oriskany district announced.
Students are participating in conjunction with the district’s “Oriskany: Beyond the Box” initiative that involves “rethinking when, where and how students learn,” the district said.
Oriskany student Jonah Perez said “Oriskany’s participation in Project Fibonacci is one way our school is pursuing the goals of our ‘beyond the box’ restructuring. This conference will help many of our students learn new skills and talk with new people, giving them a chance to explore their interests and have fun while doing it.”
The week-long Project Fibonacci, which features sessions at The Beeches and other local sites, involves local as well as out-of-state students in a program focusing on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and science).
The cornerstones of the Oriskany district’s “Beyond the Box” initiative “are a move toward experiential learning with more field experiences and increased college and career exploration, project-based learning for all students, a one-to-one computing environment where each student uses an individual technology device for accessing information and communicating, and instruction in what the district calls the 10 essential innovation skills,” the district said. The district noted that for the second straight year, every graduating student earned college credit during high school, including 50 in the Class of 2016.
District and student innovation teams have been established. The district also has established partnerships with regional organizations including the Griffiss Institute, Air Force Research Laboratory, Utica thINCubator, Mohawk Valley Community College, and ANDRO Computational Solutions which is hosting the Project Fibonacci conference.
