Problem-solving with robots, drones and 3D printers
CHARLOTTE — The top brass turned out at Our Lady of the Assumption School May 24 – and the students were ready.
It was time to cut the ribbon on a new $325,000 SmartLab filled with robots and drones, computers and iPads, 3D printers and a laser engraver.
These are learning tools educators could not have imagined a generation ago, part of a hands-on learning approach that teaches critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration.
But before two eighth-graders could wield a giant pair of scissors to cut the red ribbon, the entire school – 180 students, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade – put on a show to welcome diocesan leaders May 24. Among them were Father Timothy Reid, vicar of education for Catholic Schools, and Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent.
TV news turned out, too!
Standing at the lectern, in a gym adorned with multinational flags that illustrate the diversity of his students, Our Lady of Assumption Principal Tyler Kulp emceed the show.
“What types of things will we learn in the SmartLab?” he asked the students.
“Circuitry!” the pre-kindergartners called out.
“Robotics!” kindergartners shouted.
“Mechanics!” yelled the first-graders.
“Environmental technology…manufacturing technology…software engineering…media arts…recording data…control technology…scientific analysis,” students in each grade called out in turn.
Soon it was time to visit the main attraction.
The SmartLab is one of a handful across North Carolina, paid for through federal COVID-19 relief funds.
It’s a classroom with four “learning islands,” each equipped with three computers where two kids are assigned to work together on a project or problem. There are supplies of all kinds to help kids create. They’ll visit the SmartLab twice a week and follow a curriculum designed to take them through all the disciplines.
First-year teacher James Moore says in this classroom he will assist, not lecture. “My job,” he says, “is to direct and guide without giving them the answers. We want the kids to solve problems, to explore and figure it out on their own.”
At one learning island, pre-kindergartners Daniel and Cassidy used magic markers to draw lines thick enough for a golf ball-sized robot named “Ozobot” to follow on a sheet of paper. This was an intro to “coding.”
At another island, middle schoolers Anthony and Senai followed a computer model to build a bridge out of Lego-like composites.
Then there were eighth-graders John and Delila, who were working on a computer they said to “improve the design” of a flagpole holder their teacher produced on a 3D printer but didn’t work.
“This is very different learning than you do in a traditional class,” Leigh Robertson of SmartLab supplier Creative Learning Systems told students. “The problems you run into – it’s your job to solve those problems. It’s all on you. And you can do a lot of things you didn’t know you could do.”
Eighth-grader John Nguyen was inspired: “Man, I love this lab. There is so much to do and so much to experience. I want to be an engineer mainly because of this! I get to do this for a job!”
Even their principal couldn’t contain himself: “I can program this thing to follow me around the school,” Kulp said, holding a basketball-size robot on wheels.
Diocesan leaders congratulated the east Charlotte school for its example to others in the diocesan system of 20 schools.
“Catholic schools have always been on the forefront of cutting-edge educational teaching,” Monroe said.
“The more we learn about ourselves and our world, the closer we get to God.”
Father Reid, too, noted the kids’ great blessing and teased that they are “guinea pigs” trying out the SmartLab. “What a great blessing it is to have a SmartLab,” he told students. “It is your responsibility to take it very seriously and use it to the best of its potential and yours.”
— Liz Chandler. Photos by Troy Hull
Decades of generosity
WINSTON-SALEM — Over the course of 21 years, an anonymous couple has given $1 million to the Piedmont Triad Scholarship Fund, making a Catholic education possible for more than 800 students at St. Leo and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic schools in Winston-Salem.
For the fiscal year 2023-2024, the fund will provide $50,000 in need-based scholarships ranging from $500 to $2,000 per student in eligible single-parent and minority families. Families are awarded the scholarships in early May of each year.
For two decades, the donors’ generosity has made a world of difference to area families seeking a Catholic education for their children, who have in turn enriched the school communities, the principals of both schools noted.
“We have been blessed with the presence of students who may not have been able to attend our school if it hadn’t been for this scholarship fund,” said St. Joseph Sister Geri Rogers, principal of Our Lady of Mercy School. “I’ve seen such tremendous blessings and accomplishments in the lives of the families who have been awarded the scholarship over the years. Our school family would not be the same without them, and it’s all thanks to the generous hearts of these anonymous donors.”
School leaders also noted the lasting impact such gifts make as the students go out into the world and use their education to benefit others.
“We are humbled by the generosity of the donors who have given so freely of their resources for more than 20 years to make a Catholic education possible for families in the Winston-Salem area,” said Gary Callus, principal of St. Leo School. “The good this fund has done and will do in the lives of these families will reach far into the future, and we are immensely grateful.”
Jim Kelley, development director for the Diocese of Charlotte, added,“We are having more individuals and couples make transformative gifts, either to capital projects, estate gifts or through significant gifts over a period of years like this couple has done. These particular gifts have changed the lives of these students as they learn to grow in knowledge and holiness and prepare themselves for lifelong service in their communities.”
Dr. Greg Monroe, superintendent of Catholic schools, agreed.
“Through the grace of the Piedmont Triad Scholarship Fund, the doors of St. Leo and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic schools swing wide open for families in need. We gratefully acknowledge our generous donors who are not merely funding education but investing in the creation of saintly scholars,” he said. “Their contributions are planting seeds of knowledge, virtue, service and ambition that blossom into our students’ lifelong journeys, empowering them to change the world for the better.”
— Annie Ferguson
Learn more
Interested in making transformative gifts like this one, whether it’s for a school, parish or other diocesan organization? Contact Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development, at 704-608-0359 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..