Powell Jr High Student Participants

The 2007-09 Cohort of students are engaged in the program at Powell Jr High School. These eighth grade students meet twice a week, at the Powell Jr High Media Center, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:40 pm to 5:20 pm.

Program Facilitators

Mesa Public Schools
 Joe Magie, Science Teacher
 Pam Whitaker, Science Teacher

Arizona State University
 Jessica Hunsdon, ITEST Instructional Facilitator

Student Participants

CristalBio Cristal joined the program because she thought it would be a fun learning experience and she really wanted to learn about Mars. She enjoys having fun, but learning something new and wonderful at the same time. Cristal loves to listen to music – her favorite is alternative rock and she can’t stand rap! SoniaBio Sonia was interested in joining the after school program because she is curious about the world around her. She enjoys the meetings because she is learning more than other people would at a young age. For fun, Sonia likes to read or play with her LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kit that she has at home. She likes to argue about almost everything – at times she stops herself, but at other times she doesn’t. MartikaBio Martika first joined the afterschool program because she was curious about what engineering was and thought it would be interesting to learn about it. She has enjoyed meeting new people and learning new things. She also enjoys the field trips, as well as working on the LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kits and learning how to program them. Martika thinks engineering is interesting and is something that can possibly help you in life. JoeBio Joe joined the after school program because he was interested in the field trips and building and programming with the LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kits. He enjoys working with the robots. For fun, Joe likes to make music on his computer. He considers himself to be the coolest kid in the world! IsabellBio Isabell joined the program because she wanted to learn more about Mars and build a rocket. She enjoys talking and getting to know other people in the program. For fun, Isabell likes to ride bikes around her neighborhood with her friends. She cries when she sees a sad movie, likes to study and read books, and really enjoys painting.

RodneyBio Rodney first joined the afterschool program because he was fascinated about space and had lots of questions. Some of them have been answered and others he is still waiting to find the answers. He enjoys building with the LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kit. For fun, Rodney likes to play football and basketball. He also enjoys playing X-Box 360 which he believes is much better than Play Station 3. He is funny, but also can be very competitive when challenged. SabrinaBio Sabrina likes being a part of the program because it gives her more time to be with her friends. She likes that the afterschool program is both social and educational. She loves to watch tv, play video games, and using her phone for texting. VuBio Vu joined the after school program because he was interested in creating a rover to explore the surface of Mars. He enjoys making the rover/robot. For fun, Vu likes to play on the baseball field, as well as on the computer. Vu would like other to know that he is very personal about his thoughts and doesn’t always share them with others. JayBio Jay was interested in joining the program because he wanted to learn about Mars. He enjoys meeting up with friends and discussing their progress in the program. Jay enjoys drawing and is quite good at it. AlexisBio

JasmineBio Jasmine was interested in participating in this program for her second year because wanted to interact with today’s technology. She enjoys building robots and in her free time likes to talk with her friends or listen to almost all types of music! JuanBio Juan joined the afterschool program to work with the NXTs and create a Mars surface. He enjoys creating new programs for the LEGO® Mindstorms NXTs and going on field trips. For fun, he likes to draw, play video games and the violin. He considers himself very smart and talented. KosibaBio Kosiba was first interested in joining the after school program because she liked the robots. She likes to program the robots and watch them work. Kosiba likes to hang out with her friends for fun. She reads a lot and loves basketball and most sports. JeffryBio Jeffry joined the program mainly to build with the LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kits, but also the engineering part attracted him. He really enjoys building the robots and programming them. For fun, Jeffry likes to play video games and build stuff. He likes to keep to himself.

ChristopherBio Chris joined the program because he wanted to have fun and learn about engineering. He enjoys playing games and building with Legos. He would like others to know that he considers himself to be smart. JesusBio Jesus was interested in joining the program because it is free and he likes going on the field trips. He enjoys working with the LEGO® Mindstorms NXT kits because they are fun and make you think. For fun, Jesus plays soccer and basketball all day without resting. He also enjoys playing Play Station 3 which he thinks is better than the X-Box 360. Jesus never gives up in something that he likes and he will always try to win. Also, he prefers to work by himself so coming to the after-school meetings helps him to learn to work in a group. ABBio AB was first interested in joining the program because he knew that he would be practicing a bit of engineering and that really excited him. He enjoys working with the NXT kits, as well as learning things he never knew about Mars. For fun, he likes making up new things like inventing objects or just playing sports. NormaBio Norma was interested in the program because she wanted to learn how to build and program a robot. She enjoys learning new things, going on field trips and participating in activities with her friends.