Blog

San Benito—Miller Jordan Middle School students took a day off this week from regular classroom work and assignments to zero in on 21st century learning activities in Business and Industry, Public Services and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

 

A seventh grader already with the goal of attending University of Texas-Kingsville, Kandice Limas, said the activities were really fun and they gave her a better understanding that she likes science and engineering.

 

“I think It was pretty cool we got a free day from doing our work,” Limas said. “It was fun even though it was about work, jobs and college.”

 

The ENCORE HB5 experience is a hands on educational program that engages students in real-world career concepts developed by the Mercedes based non-profit, Texas Valley Communities Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to empower the community through education and innovation.

 

Each student had the opportunity build a remote controlled robot and get introduced to medical training with a high fidelity robot normally used only in graduate level studies and they worked in teams to conceptualize a mission into outer space.

 

UTPA Biology Pre Medical Society mentors worked with the Jordan Miller students. They gave them introductory lesson on CPR on the human patient robot simulator. The robot has the ability to speak in English and Spanish and can be controlled to do over 100 different medical treatment scenarios.

 

 

“I actually want to be a sports medicine doctor so it got me more interested in what I want be when I grow up,” said Kaylonee Vasquez, a Jordan Miller seventh grader. “I learned more things like how much they spend to build rockets and it was really fun to build the robots.”

 

 

Miller Jordan seventh grader, Juaquien Chavez said he had a great time learning about rockets and building the six legged robot with his homeroom group. The space travel game helped him realize that so much thought, money and time goes into planning a space mission to Mars but it was the medical experience activity that triggered him to think about going to college and medical school to be a doctor.

 

 

The activities are an educational program that align with the new House Bill Five law that calls for students to choose educational focus with a desired career from: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Business and Industry; Multi-Disciplinary; Public Services or Arts and Humanities. and educational endorsement that will focus on career.

 

Miller Jordan Middle School teacher, Robert Romero said he had a great time helping his math students work out critical-thinking and problem-solving activities that involved team work to plan and develop a space exploration mission.

 

The ENCORE House Bill 5 (HB5) CAMP Experience is a hands-on educational program and fully immersive theatrical production for middle school students. This experience is designed to captivate students and provide a multisensory modalities approach to engaging in each of the endorsements as outlined by Texas Legislation House Bill 5. Utilizing costumes, set design, audio and visual effects and a cast of professional actors and university mentors, students become a part of the storyline in which they interact with characters and contribute to the outcomes of the plot while engaging in real-world career concepts. Students who participate in the ENCORE HB5 CAMP Experience will learn and discover numerous career options and will be empowered to make an informed decision when selecting an endorsement for high school.

 

Engaging Communities for College Readiness (ENCORE) is a initiative developed to increase the number of students ready to complete a post-secondary education. ENCORE develops and implements college and career readiness outreach programs for students, parents and educators by collaborating with school districts, community leaders and corporate/ foundation partners.