Agate Panel

On Jan. 5, the AGATE panel for recent graduates held its annual convention at the Schreiber library.  Six former Schreiber graduates—Brandon Tsou, Aimee Levinson, Dylan Lee, Sophie Lipstein, Tiger Ye Gao, and Raj Talukdar—were the featured panelists. These panelists sat down to talk about the positive experiences and difficulties of their high school experience with parents and current students.  The panelists presented one by one, offering their take on high school and sharing their own stories. Questions soon filled the room.

“It was really interesting to hear about all of their different experiences,” said sophomore Annie Bandler.  “I felt that they were all great speakers who did an amazing job representing their college and informing the high school students and their parents of the obstacles and adventures of college.”

Some major factors that the panelists frequently mentioned included the importance of exploration, guidance, and self-conscience.

In regards to school academics and extracurricular activities, the panelists gave useful advice on how to lead a balanced life.  Especially in college, it is critical to explore and experiment with different areas of interest.

“Even if you don’t know exactly what to do once entering college, it’s still very possible that you’ll discover what you’d like to do.  And from that discovery, it may even extend further into life,” said Gao.

Many of the AGATE panelists stressed the idea that balance is key. It is crucial to maintain social relationships while keeping up academically.  They also emphasized the importance of remaining true to yourself and your interests.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure of you and it’s very important that you do not lose sight of what’s very important to yourself.  Take what you have interest in and then balance yourself,” said Levinson.

After the panelists presented, parents and students were encouraged to ask questions, although the majority of people who attended were adults.

“My only regret is that I wished that more students were here.  And it’s one thing for us parents to talk about.  It’s a completely different thing for them to hear it directly and that’s where I think it is so valuable,” said Schreiber parent Ms. Christine Scaffidi.

~ Rachel Kim

Kids Need Enrichment

Kids Need Enrichment, an organization devoted to exposing kids to the divergent aspects of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), has recently been working on a variety of projects.  This program works to allow children to challenge themselves through engaging experiences.

Multiple Schreiber interns along with Port mom, Adrienne Saur, have been planning future events such as Elementary School STEM nights, science related talks, and other interesting activities.

The program hopes to organize a coding workshop for Elementary School Children in mid-late May.  Taking place in the Port Washington Public Library on Saturday mornings, Schreiber students will be working hands on with children to introduce them to coding and possibly 3D printing.

“Since coding is a skill that’s becoming more and more useful in society today, it’s very beneficial to give kids early exposure to it” said Kids Need Enrichment intern, junior Sherry Shi.

However, this plan is not firmly established; these ideas and plans will go as far as financial limitations and school regulations allow.  Therefore, the organization is organizing a kickstarter in order to raise money to purchase hardware.

“I joined this year because the idea of doing something simple and completely within our abilities to give back to the community is pretty appealing,” said Shi.

~ Samantha Veil