Barnwell School District 45 students participate in Summer Leadership Forums

During the summer, students from Barnwell Primary School and Barnwell Elementary School participated in leadership opportunities through Envision. According to their mission, Envision by WorldStrides programs are designed to empower, engage, and equip next generation leaders to realize the power of their potential with amazing hands-on career exploration, state-of-the-art simulations, and experiences previous participants call “amazing” and parents call “transformational.”

Huber Completes Envision’s National Youth Leadership Forum: Pathways to STEM

In mid-July, Trey Huber, a current 4th grade at Barnwell Elementary School, joined outstanding elementary school students from across the southeast to take part in a unique academic and career oriented development experience, the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Pathways to STEM, taking place at Clemson University.

NYLF Pathways to STEM is one of the Envision by WorldStrides family of programs (www.envisionexperience.com) that enable students to explore their interests and experience learning beyond the classroom. At NYLF Pathways to STEM, students build the confidence and skills needed to excel in the classroom while gaining exposure to STEM fields and concepts. They learn how to adapt to and communicate in new situations, to new challenges, and with new people, which, given how rapidly the world is changing due to technology and innovation, are essential skills for success.

Huber was nominated to attend this program by his Barnwell Primary School Gifted and Talented program teacher, Ms. Horton. During the program, Huber was able to participate in a variety of activities introducing medical, investigative, and robotics career skills. Some of the activities included dissecting a cow heart, building and coding a robot, and investigating a mock crime scene.

“My favorite activity was definitely building the robot,” said Huber. “The Crime Scene Investigation was also great,” he added. “It was a good mystery and took many steps to solve.”

In addition to excelling in the classroom Huber also enjoys playing baseball and spending time with his family.

Two BES Students Participated in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference

Barnwell Elementary School recognized two students who participated in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference. The Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC) is the premier leadership development program for middle level students. To ensure that students attending JrNYLC have the most impactful experience possible, the program is divided into two separate age groups.

Onyx Winns, one of Barnwell Elementary School’s former 6th grade students, participated in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. this summer. With the purpose of showing students that great leaders learn from history, participating rising 7th and 8th grade students from across the country had the extraordinary opportunity to spend six amazing days in and around the nation’s capital, experiencing the power of democracy among the monuments and museums. Winns, along with other participants, were inspired by exemplary stories of courage and collaborated with one another to discover solutions to some of the issues the country faces today.

Zamari Williams, a current 6th grader at Barnwell Elementary School, participated in the Junior National Young Leaders Conference at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Explore STEM program Williams participated in was a unique learning experience for bright, forward-thinking middle level students with the purpose to help those students evolve into the next generation of innovators, engineers, doctors, forensic scientists, mathematicians, and physicists.

During this six-day immersive experience, students liked Williams learned through hands-on simulations, workshops, and competitions, while also making new friends and having unforgettable experiences. Hands-on activities focused on forensics, robotics programming, medicine, and civil engineering. This program allowed high-achieving students to explore the frontiers of 21st century science and technology.

According to BES Principal Kay Gooding, “I am so glad our students were able to participate in this program. Few fields are more important to the future than STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math. This focus on hands-on learning with real-world applications helps develop a variety of skill sets, including creativity and 21st-century skills”

With so many career fields today requiring a solid foundation in STEM learning, it is one of the fastest growing areas of study—and the reason that STEM professionals are in the highest demand throughout the world. Barnwell School District 45 salutes these students and proudly recognizes them for their participation in these robust programs.

About WorldStrides:

For over 35 years, Envision by WorldStrides has empowered extraordinary students to become their best selves through programs that enable them to discover their passion, explore a career, and positively impact their world. In 2018, Envision became part of the WorldStrides family. The largest provider of educational travel and experiences in the United States, WorldStrides works with over 50,000 educators each year to help more than 550,000 students see the world—and themselves—in new ways. More information can be found at https://www.envisionexperience.com/.