FIRST® learning never stops building upon itself, starting at age 6 and continuing through middle and high-school levels up to age 18. Young people can join the international, K-12, after-school STEM programs at any level. FIRST inspires STEM innovation excellence by teaching participants a multi- disciplinary set of 21st century skills and immersing them in project-based learning and robotics co
mpetitions made possible by public and private partnerships. Working with volunteer adult Mentors/Coaches, FIRST youth receive the benefit of real workforce training. The FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC®) combines the excitement of sport with science and technology to create a unique varsity Sport for the Mind™. FRC helps high-school-aged young people discover the rewarding and engaging world of innovation and engineering. High School is the oldest Catholic School on Maui, being 165 years old. We are changing the education model of the school to 21st Century, Project based learning to provide real life skills for the students of Maui. In doing so, FIRST Robotics is one of the cornerstones of change for our students. Since bringing on board a STEM/Robotics Coordinator this year, we have already started Robotics classes, 3 FLL and 2 FTC teams. With the addition of FRC team 5625, we not only are the only school on Maui to have all of the FIRST programs, but it also gives our students competitive teams from Jr. High to Sr. High school. We are in the process of opening a MAKER lab at the school and have become a MAKER Camp affiliate for summer camps. During our Fall break, we will held our first Robotics camp for kids age 10-14 as an FLL style camp with a MARS Mission theme, using many NASA video, lesson plans and curriculum for the students. Being the oldest Catholic school on Maui, over 60% of our students are from Maui in the school and on the team, along with an amazing 50% female participation in our classes and on the teams. The school administration is 100% behind the advancement and implementation of the STEM/Robotics program realizing that it will continue the growth of our school and the future success of Maui while teaming with local businesses to create sustainable workforce development for the island of Maui. With the implementation of our new STEM/Robotics program at St. High School along with our FLL, FTC and FRC teams this year, we have committed to provide our students with the knowledge, skills and opportunities to pursue higher education and careers in the STEM and Robotics related fields. We now have Robotics classes for all students starting in 7th grade and continuing through the 12th grade. By starting FLL, FTC and FRC teams as extracurricular activities, we provide the opportunity for those who are driven and those who want to experience a “Sport of the Mind” an outlet to challenge themselves with competitive robotics teams. Working side by side with industry professionals as mentors the students will learn valuable hands on lessons while developing relationships with community partners gaining access to internships and scholarship opportunities that were not available before implementing FIRST at St. Anthony has a long history on Maui of quality education with a 100% graduation rate. By having FIRST teams in FLL, FTC and FRC we have added to our curriculum and overall goal to provide high tech, leading edge project based 21st Century education.
