What is Destination Imagination?

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Destination ImagiNation, Inc., the world’s largest creativity and problem solving organization, inspires participants in all ofDI team 2022 its programs to learn the process, art, and skill associated with problem solving. 

DI is a place where kids take what they know and what they are good at, and learn to apply it to solve challenges, working together and cooperatively with a team and pushing the limits of imagination to best not their competition, but themselves.

Up to seven participants work together as a team for up to 5 months to create their unique solution to a Team Challenge.  Every year 6 unique and new challenges are put out in 6 different areas: Technical, Engineering, Fine Arts, Scientific, Improv and Public Service. Frequently, challenges also incorporate history, culture, literature, math, science, technology and the arts. 

Teams also learn and practice “think on their feet” skills for the Instant Challenge portion of the competition.
Destination ImagiNation helps young people learn in a fun and supportive environment, and the valuable skills they have acquired will be with them for a lifetime.
competition DIParticipants learn unique and critical life skills including teamwork, critical and creative thinking, project management, resource management, mutual respect, research and presentation skills and, as all challenges must be strictly team-solved, self-reliance. These skills make Destination ImagiNation participants more valuable to their communities and as future employees.

Maharishi School Teams

This year Maharishi School has 5 teams.  We have 3 Elementary teams, 1 Middle School Team and 1 Upper School team.  2 teams choose to solve the Engineering Challenge, we have 1 Fine Arts team, 1 Improv team and 1 Technical team.

We are the only DI teams in Iowa so we compete in Illinois.  Our first competition was a Regional Competition, Saturday, March 4th, in Pekin, Illinois. Our teams did very well, and we’re preparing for the  bigger State Competition on March 25th in DeKalb, Illinois.  There they will compete against the best teams from the 4 Regional Competitions that Illinoiis holds.

Elementary Level:

Fine Arts team:  3rd place, 

Team Manager: Moss Cook

  1. Gus O’Connor
  2. Myka Wallace
  3. Hazel Cook
  4. Scarlett Kranz
  5. Harlo Olsen

The Fine Arts Challenge this year requires : 

  1.  Research well-known stories from any genre, culture, medium, and time period. It is up to your team to determine what it means to be well-known. 
  2. Choose one researched story.  Create and present a Flipped Tale. For this Challenge, a Flipped Tale is a team-created story that is inspired by the researched story but focuses on a New Main Character.
  3. For this Challenge, a New Main Character is a character who existed in the researched story but who is not the main character of the researched story.

Improv team:  3rd place

Team Manager:  Whitney Schutten

  1. Chunni Bregenzer
  2. Prithvi Kalra
  3. Keya Thakker
  4. Fuji Aikar
  5. Isabel Everett

This year the requirements for the Improv Challenge are:

Use up to 2 minutes of Preparation time to create an improvisational Skit about an Underdog preparing for and/or participating in a Competition. Incorporate an Expert into the Skit. Enhance the Skit with Trash Bags and Rubber Bands. Use up to 5 minutes to present the Skit to the audience and Appraisers, incorporating a Complication.

Engineering team:  4th place, and highest Instant Challenge score of our Elementary teams

Team Manager:  Amandeep Negi

  1. Ryder Schuldt
  2. Ishaan Desai
  3. Lyra Montgomery
  4. Mehar Negi

This year the requirements for the Engineering Challenge are:

  1. Research roller coaster design.
  2. Design and build a Roller Coaster that will be assembled and then tested during your team’s Presentation at the tournament. For this Challenge, a Roller Coaster is a structure that supports and guides a tournament-provided golf ball along a single, continuous track. 
  3. Design and create a Launching Mechanism that starts moving the golf ball along the Roller Coaster track.
  4. Test how far and how fast the golf ball can travel along the Roller Coaster track.
  5. Team members must do all designing, cutting, shaping, and assembling of the Roller Coaster and Launching Mechanism.
  6. Create and present a skit telling the story of the roller coaster experience

Middle Level:

Engineering team:  1st place

Team Manager:  Mark Wilkins

  1. Ayaan Desai
  2. Sohani Singh
  3. Pranit Ruia
  4. Eliana Alsenosy

Requirement the same as the 4th grade Engineering Challenge

Secondary Level:destination imagination trophy winners 2023

Technical Team:  1st Place

Team Manager:  Celeste Siemsen

  1. Miles Siemsen
  2. Trent Hefner
  3. Uma Wegman
  4. Eva Marie Quevedo Rubio
  5. Jace Wallace

Requirements for the Technical Challenge this year are:

  1. Design and create a Puzzle that will be assembled during the Presentation.

For this Challenge, a Puzzle is a set of separate, physical pieces that create a single unit when assembled.

  1. The Puzzle must have a minimum number of pieces, according to your team’s competition level:
  • Elementary Level teams must have at least 6 pieces.
  • Middle Level teams must have at least 10 pieces.
  • Secondary and University Level teams must have at least 14 pieces.
  1. Designate one piece of the Puzzle as the Crucial Piece. For this Challenge, a Crucial Piece is the most important piece of the Puzzle. It is up to your team to determine why the Crucial Piece is the most important.
  2. Design and build all pieces of the Puzzle using your own ideas and skills. Your team may incorporate commercially produced items, but for scoring, Appraisers will only consider your team’s changes and/or additions to those items.
  3. Each Puzzle piece and the completed Puzzle should be visible from 25ft (7.62m) away.
  4. Create and present a story about how at least one character’s understanding changes at a Pivotal Moment. For this Challenge, a Pivotal Moment is an event or point in the story when something important is revealed, discovered, and/or learned.
  5. Integrate the Puzzle, the Crucial Piece, and Puzzle assembly into the Presentation.

 

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Top 10 Achievements for 1st Semester

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Maharishi School Top 10

On January 12th we honored Maharishi in our traditional Founder’s Day celebration, by recognizing our successes of the past semester, and making wishes for the new year. Your support has given children access to the #1 ranked Private School in Iowa and the benefits of Consciousness-Based education. Thank you for helping our wishes become a reality.

 

  1. NEW UKRAINIAN STUDENTS
    The inquiries came last spring: four Ukrainian students, exiled from their home by the war, asked if they couldukraine students in front of dorm continue their education at Maharishi School. They were attracted to our academic reputation and development of consciousness programs. Within two months, generous donors from our community and across the country raised enough money to fund their living expenses and transportation. Later this fall, three of our seniors, including two Ukrainians, were awarded QuestBridge scholarships for high-achieving, low-income students, covering all of their college expenses.
  2. # 1 RANKINGS
    For five years in a row, Niche.com has ranked Maharishi School #1 in Iowa:
    * Best Private K-12 School
    * Best Private High School
    * Best Boarding School
    Our National rankings continue to improve:
    *Top 4% Most Diverse Private High School
    *Top 5% Best Private K-12 School
    *Top 10% Best Private High School for STEM
    *Top 16% Best College Prep High School
    For more details click here: NICHE #1 for Maharishi School
  3. BOARDING
    We currently have 22 boarding students in our residential life program, a 70% increase over last year. Ourboarding school multicultural dorm includes students from around the world: China, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Nepal/Bhutan, Tanzania, Ukraine, United States and Vietnam. We are eager to fill our dorm to capacity for 2023-24!
  4. AP CLASSES
    Maharishi School earned another 1st place in the state this year… in the “AP Index.” We have the highest percentage of high school students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses of any Iowa school! Our students are enrolled in nine AP courses this year.
  5. CHILDREN’S HOUSE
    Enrollment in the Children’s House are steadily rising back to pre-Covid levels, with new applicants consistently rolling in. We continue to foster, through our Montessori-inspired curriculum, a multi-age classroom, where children can follow their individual interests, while still hitting the benchmarks of the Iowa Standards.
  6. LOWER SCHOOL
    This year the Lower School began their own Student Council, with Ambassadors of Responsibility, Respect, Solutions, Service, and Transcendence, each representing Maharishi School’s Core Values. The Student Council meets regularly to plan activities and initiatives for the Lower School, and they even go into the other classrooms to deliver news or well-wishes to the youngerstudent council students.
  7. CULTURAL PARADIGMS
    New this semester in Upper School, the Cultural Paradigms class was designed to explore the myriad ways of “being human,” through the lens of acceptance and adaptation to differences. Topics include an exploration of cultural values, race, religion, ethnicity, neurodiversity, plus challenges such as physical disabilities, Adverse Childhood Experiences—and the importance of removing barriers to create an equitable society. Pictured in photo is Rabbi Alex Green discussing Judaism. Students are recognizing that complex problems must be solved through collaboration with people who bring different abilities and perspectives to the table—so it is critical to learn how to leverage these differences and celebrate them.
  8. GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
    seniorsFacilitated by Anne Walton, the Senior class recently spent three days at a leadership training retreat learning what it takes to become genuine changemakers. Ms. Walton explained how this includes examining the impact of economics, public policy, community engagement, technology, and the importance of anticipating unexpected consequences, both positive and negative.
    Seniors will apply these principles of collaboration to solve complex problems in the newly created Global Solutions class that begins this month. Small groups of students have already identified their own global challenges, ranging from fast fashion to sustainable housing to support for refugees. These findings will be presented in a final capstone project, to be presented to the community in May.
  9. RAISE CRAZE SUCCESS
    Raise Craze was once again a HUGE success. Students asked friends and family to donate to Maharishi School, and as a way to pay their generosity forward, they performed Acts of Kindness for others. Raising $21,080, our students also performed 924 Acts of Kindness, and school-wide collected 425 pairs of shoes, helping needy people throughout the world.
  10. Maharishi School is deeply grateful for the support shown during our December “Season of Giving” campaign. Our Development Team together with your help, raised $30,000 through Giving Tuesday and Matching Funds.
Thank you all for your
wonderful support!
Cheers to your good health, happiness, and abundance in 2023!

 

 

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Maharishi School Student Honored at ISEF

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International Science and Engineering Fair

maharishi school students 2021On May 8, Ishita Mukadam and Ms. Asha head for the International Science Fair competition in Atlanta. She was invited to attend based on her outstanding entry into the state science fair, sponsored in conjunction with Iowa State University. This is a tremendous accomplishment for a sophomore—and for her teacher!

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Ishita Mukadam

 

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Local Paper Features Maharishi School Seniors

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Southeast Iowa Union “All Union Class of 2022”

The local paper has featured Maharishi School’s top two seniors for the class of 2022 to highlight for their accomplishments in the classroom, actives and the community. Lily Fenton and Dominic Dupoux were nominated and filled out a questionnaire that is attached below. Congratulations Lily and Dominic for all of your great successes!

Dominic Dupoux

maharishi school senior

Dominic Magnus Dupoux

 

Parents: Xavier Dupoux and Katie Eller

GPA: 3.92

Co-curricular activities: Robotics Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, Varsity Tennis Team

Community activities: Interact, Come to Supper

Future plans and goals: Administrator/sales executive for sustainable business

How will your high school experiences help you in the coming years? The experiences I’ve had with an academic and intellectually demanding curriculum have taught how to think critically and deal with dynamic workloads

Fondest memory of high school: My final year of robotics when my team spent the entire day at the district competition and got the highest score of the day.

Which teachers have had the biggest impact on you and why? The influence of my freshman year English and homeroom teacher, Mr. Corbett, gave mesenior robotics great insights into the kind of life I want to lead (intellectually stimulating, respectful of others, and filled with silent reflection and gratitude). My robotics teacher, Mr. Jones, has taught me what truly great leadership looks like, and encouraged me to challenge myself with new, albeit intimidating, opportunities.

Who is your role model and how did they influence you? Shristi Sharma. The hardest working person I’ve ever known, and yet always seemed to be in a positive mood. She was extraordinarily ambitious and yet also one of the most humble people I’ve known.

What is special about your high school? My high school is very attentive to the needs of its students. Not only is there a constant effort to communicate and improve, but there is an insightful understanding of what skills and qualities will matter the most when we are released into the world as adult citizens.

If you go back to when you were a freshman, what advice would you give yourself? Fail big. If you think you can just sit and wait and expect things to happen, you’re wrong. You must try. Even if it means you fall a mile short of your goals, by truly putting in the effort you will go so much further.

Lily Fenton

senior photo

Lily Fenton

Parents: Peter Fenton and Trish Fenton

GPA: 3.99

Co-curricular activities: President of Student Council, Captain of the Girl’s Tennis Team, National Honor Society, Yearbook creator, Maharishi School Beautification, Speech.

Community activities: Competitive dance at High Temperature Dance Academy, Interact, Big Fish Shark Tank Contest, TM for Girls Internship, National Society of High School Scholars, organizing Fairfield High School and Maharishi School to write letters to the nursing home during COVID

Future plans and goals: I would like to major in biology and double minor in dance and business. I would like to attend dentistry school and later do a residency in orthodontics to open my own business.

How will your high school experiences help you in the coming years? High school has been a time where I have been able to face and overcome my fears which have prepared me for college because I am now able to leave knowing what I am able to do and who I want to become.

Fondest memory of high school: On our annual camping trip, we started the tradition of the “Senior Prank.” As sophomores, we returned from a walk to find our tent missing. Our senior year, we put someone’s tent on top of our school bus.

Which teachers have had the biggest impact on you and why? Dr. Beall has shown that he has the biggest heart and truly cares about every one of his students.

Who is your role model and how did they influence you? My parents have set examples for me, provided a safe space and everything I need, and have created a solid foundation that I can now build upon in college.

What is special about your high school? My high school is remarkable due to the community. I have grown up at Maharishi School since I was three years old, and I have met and got to know amazing people.

If you go back to when you were a freshman, what advice would you give yourself? I would tell myself that everyone goes through their ups and downs, especially during high school. High school is a time to find out who you are as a person and who you want to become.

senior prom

Lily and Dominic at their senior prom

 

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Maharishi School Nominated for All-State Speech Performance

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maharishi school speechMeet the Speech Team

Every year the Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA) conducts a state-wide competition featuring performances that provide a snapshot of what resonates with teens, their teachers, families, and communities. The performance piece was put together at the beginning of January, by teacher and Maharishi School Alumni Loreena Hansen, who made the compilation script. A compilation script means that contained in this Choral Reading are lots of different paragraphs from current news articles, plays, novels, and poems that all work together to prove a thesis to the audience. The next step is putting that script into movement.

Among these performers are the six students in the Maharishi School Speech and Drama program members include; Jolie Gaquer (11th grade), Eva Rubio Quevedo (9th grade), Gabriel Roesler (11th grade), Daira Valls Blazquez (10th grade), Uma Wegman (9th grade), and Jace Wallace (10th grade).

Daira Valls Blazquez

Eva Rubio Quevedo

Gabriel Roesler

Jace Wallace

Jolie Gaquer

Uma Wegman

 

When the group finally got to show off their hard work and perform at Districts Competition, there were 10-12 other groups to compete against. Which the Maharishi School team qualified to move on up through. Then at State there are four more competitions and after that you can be selected to go to All-State which features a critic who will be selecting one group that is the winner.

At State competition you have to get a perfect score from every judge in order to be considered in the running to perform at All-State. We are very excited to announce that the Maharishi School team has the honor of being nominated to perform at All-State!

Congratulations to our Maharishi School Speech team on receiving an IHSSA All-State nomination in Choral Reading! They will be performing at the All-State Festival at Iowa State University in Ames on Saturday, February 19th. Make sure you keep following our social channels for more updates!

 

speech all state iowa“I’ll just say that I couldn’t have asked for a better first year on the job. My students, many of whom have never had experience in theater before, are exemplary performers and team mates. I couldn’t be more proud of them. I am so thankful for the invaluable advice from coaches before me and the support of the school. The honor of having this team perform at All-State is an unmatched feeling! ”

– Drama and Speech Coach Loreena Hansen

 

 

 

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Private Boarding School in Iowa Achievements

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private boarding iowaTop 10 Achievements for 1st Semester at Maharishi School 2021-2022

Today, as we recognize our successes of the past semester. Your support has given children access to the #1 ranked private school in Iowa and the benefits of Consciousness-Based education. That is the foundation for all of our achievements as we close out 2021.

1.

Richard Beall maskedNothing is more important–especially in this Covid climate–than the health and well being of our students, staff, faculty, and families. Although we’ve had cases occur, we’re holding strong to the safety standards that allow our in-person learning to continue. Someday we hope our masks will be relics of a by-gone era, but for now, we’ll share our colors and our care for each other proudly.

2.

In 2022, Maharishi School ranked #1 Best Iowa K-12 Private School, #1 Best Iowa High School for STEM, #1 Most Diverse Iowabest school iowa School and #1 Best Iowa Boarding School. We ranked #2 in Iowa for Best College Prep and in the Top 6% of US Private Schools. For more details click here: NICHE #1 for Maharishi School

3.

Being ranked as the #1 Most Diverse Private High School in Iowa (of 51) is a huge benefit for our students as they prepare to navigate through our multicultural society and world. In our dorm alone we currently have boarding students from China, Germany, Korea, Mauritius, Tanzania, and the United States.

4.robotics team

Our team in the national FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition won an Alliance trophy, posted the top score at the district event, and move on to the Super-Qualifier in February. Our multicultural team has members from grades 8-12.

5.

Our Preschool is thriving. Multi-aged classrooms allow older students to assist younger students by modeling challenging tasks. The children are encouraged to develop self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and independence, which are natural tendencies at this stage of their development. The ability to do things for oneself develops self-confidence and brings joy to the child.covid mask lower school

6.

Children are curious about the world around them. The Lower School science curriculum uses the Mystery Science program to allow the child to answer these questions, using a hands-on and child-centered approach to learning science.

7.

The Middle School has established its own Student Council, tasked with sponsoring activities (such as movie and game nights) and emceeing their own assemblies. Every member of the 8th grade class has a leadership role and the other classes have elected representatives. English teacher Tom Corbett is their advisor.

transcendental meditation

8.

On January 8, four Upper School students in 11th grade graduated from the TM-Sidhi program, which includes Yogic Flying. These students are now practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs regularly in our Hall of Bliss, bringing greater coherence and harmony to their daily life. They include Polo Altynski-Ross, Devrishi Eisner, Mekhi Kahiu, and Jayanta Wegman.

9.

Raise Craze was a HUGE success. Students asked friends and family to donate to Maharishi School, and as a way to pay their generosity forward, they performed Acts of Kindness for others. Far surpassing our goal and raising $29,033, our students also performed 782 Acts of Kindness, and school-wide collected 975 pairs of shoes, helping needy people throughout the world.

private boarding students

10.

Maharishi School is deeply grateful for the support shown during our December “Season of Giving” campaign. Our Development Team together with your help, raised $53,383 through Giving Tuesday and Matching Funds–more than we ever thought possible.

 

Thank you all for your
wonderful support!
Cheers to your good health, happiness, and abundance in 2022!

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Robotics at Maharishi School

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Maharishi School is not new to robotics as this is their sixth year participating in the First Tech Challenge. This year’s team has eight members, five of whom are participating for the first time, and two of which have been participating for three previous years. In terms of skills and interest, this may be the most diverse robotics team in Maharishi School’s history, with over five countries represented. With the guidance of our experienced mentors and returning members, as well as the novel ideas of our new members, we strive for innovative and effective solutions to the problems presented to us.

Last Years Robotics Team

Fundraising and Outreach with COVID

During the lockdown, the team has come up with various ways to fundraise and spread information about our robotics team. Through a new Instagram account, and the help of our local businesses, our team was able to financially support our innovations.

Programming Innovations

The programming team has been leveraging the use of Vuforia** technology to detect rings, a new addition to our team̗’s skill set and robot̗’s capabilities˼ We are also increasingly mindful of optimizing the driving experience and have devoted a lot of time towards significantly reducing the precision and number of controller movements required to complete tasks such as launching rings and placing wobble goals.

Current Robotics Team

Technical Advancements

The most demanding and new task for the design team this year has, by far, been the in-taking and launching of the rings. Our answers to these criteria were an intake ramp and a hopper with a fly-wheel powered launch ramp. Difficulties mainly arose around efforts to maximize effectiveness and efficiency as well as minimizing complexity, given the complications of building with new materials and mechanisms. Successful construction was owed to a balance of practical and systematic engineering methods, along with communication within the team, particularly with programming.

Who’s on the team?

maharishi school student 2021
Budhil Thijm- Engineering Notebook Supervisor

As a senior at Maharishi school participating in my first year of robotics and possibly my last, I hope to do the best I can with my team. As the future progresses I believe robotics and automation will benefit all of us depending on how it is used and learning about it, I hope to be capable of being involved in that future.

Dominic Magnus Dupoux- Fundraiser and Calculatormaharishi school students 2021

Being a junior in my second year of robotics, I hope to take on responsibilities and go out of my comfort zone so that I might help lead the team next year. I worked as the head of fundraising initially as well as in design and construction, particularly in calculations, hoping to approach design in a more systematic way. My strengths are my attention to detail, creativity, and focus.

maharishi school students 2021

Ishitia Paras Mukadam- Junior Programmer

As my first year in robotics, I truly wanted to learn the basics in this field, especially the programming side of it and how it worked alongside the mechanics, so I can use that knowledge in the future. I loved being there and learning the process of connecting the dots between the code and the robot. The main thing I learned is to be patient and persevere through the challenges. There’s no doubt in my mind that I will continue to be a part of this robotics journey throughout my years of high school.

Miles Christopher Siemsen- CAD Mastermaharishi school student 2021

I joined robotics in search of developing new skills and finding other ways I could work with a team. It has been a great experience this year in learning the basics of coding in java as well as learning how to almost replicate the robot my team has built-in CAD. My strengths are that I’m a fast learner, persistent, and cooperative in a group.

maharishi school students 2021

Saraswati Paz Quevedo-Valls- Business Chef

I joined the robotics team to get out of my comfort zone and learn a variety of new skills. As the season is coming to an end, I can say that I have learned a lot since joining the team. Before joining, I was unable to even screw and tighten screws. As well as better communication skills, as I worked a lot on fundraising˼

Shristi Sharma- Senior Programmer

maharishi school student 2021

I love learning new technologies such as programming mecanum wheels, experimenting with Vuforia, and creating driver enhancements. In my last robotics season, I’m optimistic about the team’s future and have been working with our fantastic members to help them take on the programming portion of the challenge for future years. My strengths are my ability to be organized and collaborative.

Skylar Anthony Halley- Head of Design

maharishi school student 2021

As a senior in my third year in FTC, this year my goals have been to help design mechanisms for the robot that will allow us to succeed at each element of the task as well as share some of my knowledge to help prepare future teams after I graduate.

 

Yeabtsega Woubishet Taffesse- Public Relations

I joined the robotics team because I was always interested in engineering and coding. Once I joined the team I realized that I like being involved in the community so I specifically focused on reaching out to people to talk about the robotics team. Before joining the robotics club, I was not aware of the process of making a robot. I have worked on the base of the robot-like the wheels and the motor part of it. I also worked with fundraising and that helped me build up my communication skills.

Fundraising Goals and Efforts

Our fundraising goal this year was to fundraise ̥2000 to put towards our robot. In an effort to do so, we made a list of 38 target companies that we would like to contact for donations. We contacted each of these companies by either calling or emailing in an effort to fundraise money. After contacting all of our target companies, we spent a couple of hours driving to local businesses to get more donations.

When contacting companies or speaking to the managers of our town’s local businesses, we made sure to include what a robotics team is, what we were working towards, and what we would use the money for. If the companies we emailed did not respond, we respectfully sent a follow-up email. So far this season we have been able to raise 1803, which is 197 away from our season fundraising goal.

Sustainability

The Legacy

This year was the last season for three of our robotics team members as they will be graduating. Two of the soon-to-be graduates have been doing robotics their whole high school careers and are the head of our robotics team. The three seniors have been taking this season to not only work on our robot but to teach all of the members who will be here next year.

Our head coder, Shristi, has been working closely with a freshman who is very interested in coding, Ishita. For the whole season, they have been working side by side on the coding elements of our competition. Another soon-to-be graduate, Skylar has been making sure to educate and teach us his thought process and skills he uses when building the robot. I have been working with him alongside Dominic, Miles, and Yeabstega. They take every opportunity they get to let us in on their past experiences and knowledge they have gained from their years in the robotics team. 

Recruiting New Members

At the beginning of each quarter at our school, teachers have the chance to advertise their clubs to students. During the first quarter, the robotics club takes the opportunity and advertises the club to high school students. When we present, we explain all the aspects of robotics such as fundraising, to show how much thought is in the club. As well as pictures of past robots and competitions. We make it clear that you don’t need any experience to join the club, to not limit the students. As someone who has only been doing robotics for less than a year and is fairly new, I think that the team does a good job of teaching and making new teammates feel welcome.

 

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**Vuforia is an augmented reality software development kit for mobile devices that enables the creation of augmented reality applications. It uses computer vision technology to recognize and track planar images and 3D objects in real-time.

Unleash Your Creativity

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Project-Based Learning: Discover and test-drive your passionsproject period maharishi school

Each project is either designed by a teacher or proposed by the student at the conception stage and addresses an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The students work either independently or in small teams and exercise real-life skills in their areas of interest while being fully supported by teachers, community experts, and leaders brought in to match the students’ interests. At the end of each quarter, all the students’ projects are showcased as part of a community-wide event.

Project Period with Miss Sheila Higgins

project period maharishi schoolThe 6th graders at Maharishi School are diving into the world of storytelling with stop motion videos. As they make creative content for their videos they will also be in charge of creating both individual and group stories, while also learning technical skills needed to shoot their concept.

While creating their movie Miss Higgins asks them to plan out a small action sequence that can be a re-telling or  new creation of a familiar story. Her students will take part in drafting the story and building sets, props, as well as characters. On the days that they will be shooting there are several jobs withing the group that need to be done, including a photographer, a mover and a storyteller (or timekeeper). Check out this video to see this project period in process!

 

 

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What is Project Period?

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Project-Based Learning: Discover and test-drive your passions

Upper School students are given 70 minutes to work on a passion project 3 days each week. They problem-solve, experiment, falter and keep striving. Through the process, they learn real-world project period cookingskills that will serve them when they are adults working on projects at their workplaces.

Each project is either designed by a teacher or proposed by the student at the conception stage and addresses an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The students work either independently or in small teams and exercise real-life skills in their areas of interest while being fully supported by teachers, community experts, and leaders brought in to match the students’ interests. At the end of each quarter, all the students’ projects are showcased as part of a community-wide event.

Goals for Projects:

Creativity. Students achieve project outcomes in a variety of ways and are given the tools, resources, and freedom to do so. Students experiment with a variety of possible choices/solutions. Students engage in original thought based on their own understanding and experience. Students understand that foundational knowledge and basic skills allow for more nuanced creativity.

Collaboration. Students work together to achieve project outcomes. Students apply effective strategies to get the most out of group work, in terms of conflict resolution, division of labor, peer feedback. 

Communication. Student practice using various communication methods: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and visual expression.  

Critical thinking. Students use goals/criteria to assess the quality of their group’s ideas/outcomes. Students explore various material and come to an informed, justified conclusion. 

A growth mindset. Students experience that hard work and constructive critical reflection lead to improved outcomes. Students make use of opportunities to complete several drafts/prototypes for a project. Failure is delayed success.

Societal Impact and Service. Students understand that the value of a project comes in its ability to contribute to society. Project outcomes will be considered in terms of both local and social sustainability. 

Interdisciplinary Integration.  Students explore topics from a variety of perspective and integrate skills from across disciplines to create meaningful project outcomes.

Portfolios. Students work towards creating products that can be documented and shared.

2021 Projects to choose from…

  • iPhone Film Production 
  • Podcasting
  • Rocketry
  • Music
  • Robotics 
  • Improv 
  • Cooking
  • Science Fair 

To learn more about our academics or to contact a member of our admissions staff, click here.

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From Maharishi School to Princeton

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Yenet Tafeese graduated from Maharishi School, six feet apart from her friends in the summer of 2020. What is she doing now you might ask? Well, she’s currently in the process of taking her mid-terms at Princeton, one of 12 Ivy League universities in the United States. I was lucky enough to steal a few moments of Yenet’s time to find out her story.

Can you tell me a little bit about growing up in Ethiopia?

While I was in Ethiopia I went to an international school so I was able to learn some English however I obviously didn’t know much. When I was younger I really liked jumping rope, even when I moved here I would jump rope a lot. Some specific memories that stand out in Fairfield were breaking my leg about 2 weeks into 5th grade. I had just moved here and I was trying to make friends and I ended up breaking my leg. Honestly, I was really scared about making friends especially after I broke my leg but I realized that through that I was able to meet the people that I am friends with now.

How has Maharishi School helped you on your journey to Princeton?

Maharishi School had helped shape a lot of what I think and it has cultivated my personal thought on a lot of things. Because of programs like project-based learning and consciousness-based education during my time at Maharishi School I was taught to think for myself and try my best to accept others and meet different people. The international environment and the home-like community at Maharishi School gave me a safe space to learn both academically and just general life skills. 

What was your first reaction to being accepted at Princeton? 

I was extremely surprised I got accepted to Princeton. Princeton was one of those schools that I applied to as a why-not school. The school that I just wanted to apply to for fun. So I was surprised to finish my application let alone get accepted!  I went through the Questbridge application process so I applied to almost all of my reach schools through that. In that process, I applied to WashU, Northwestern, UPenn, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, Duke, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Rice. My plan had been to finish my Questbridge application then depending on how it goes I would have applied to some of my “match” and “safe” schools through the common application. 

What is life currently like for you at Princeton?

My life at college has already started and I am currently taking my midterms. It is very odd to think that it had been a year since I started this process. I think college is very different than what people say it is; but, it is also exactly what people say it is. To further elaborate, college is really based on what you make of it. There is a lot of freedom so discipline and time management are very necessary. There is also the aspect of college that is non-academic and for that time you really have to get yourself out there! 

A lot of the things I do here has been based on me making an active decision. This might be obvious but I didn’t fully grasp this concept until I came here and understood that every decision that I make is up to me and I have to be the one managing things. 

We want to thank Yenet for taking the time to talk to us and congratulate her on this incredible accomplishment! The Maharishi School community is so proud of you, we cannot wait to see what more you will conquer in your life!

To learn more about our academics or to contact a member of our admissions staff, click here.

Find out about our school events and student life, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.