Last Friday, the entire RAUC seventh grade attended the NetPals assembly, and
the students heard about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (sometimes known as STEM) directly from employees of four local companies. The assembly was the kickoff for the award-winning STEM mentoring program, NetPals, run by Cambridge School Volunteers. The NetPals program's goal is to have students, through real-life mentors, be able to picture themselves someday working in tech, biotech, engineering, or research. RAUC students asked thoughtful questions, such as "Will the robots [designed by Vecna Technologies] make people lazy?" The speaker, Nathan Towne-Smith, explained that the Vecna robot he was displaying could do jobs that are not safe for humans, including clearing mines.
Analia Ivanier of Cambridge School Volunteers and Mr. Jay Mahoney, 7th grade science have worked together to plan an interesting NetPals program for the students, from December to May.
Beginning next week, you may hear your 7th grader mention "my NetPal", an adult mentor who works in STEM. Each 7th grader will interact via supervised emails and visits with his or her own NetPal who works at Cambridge Systematics, GCP Applied Technologies, Oracle, or Vecna Technologies. On
Tuesday, December 12, the whole seventh grade will go on field trips to the companies for their first meeting with their NetPals. Students will have lunch with their NetPals and tour the offices to learn about what it's like to work there. The pairs will meet again at
a STEM Breakfast at RAUC on
Wednesday, March 7. The NetPals provide advice about their students' Science Fair projects, and the adult NetPal mentors will attend the Science Fair at RAUC in April, providing an authentic audience for the students' work on their projects. The goodbye emails will end the NetPals program in May. We look forward to another powerful year of connections and inspiration for our seventh grade!
Feel free to contact Cambridge School Volunteers to ask more about NetPals: NetPals Director
Nadia Foster.