trevordayschool

Sparking Academic Passions Bryn recently had a digital article published through the Biomimicry Institute entitled "A Vision of How to Move Towards a Regenerative Fashion System." She explains its premise as "how to incorporate designs inspired by nature into fashion as a way to help the environment." Many Trevor students and alumni from the last decade will be familiar with the concept of biomimicry, having done a unit on it in the Lower School with Mr. Scholz— with the goal of learning not just about nature, but from nature—to create solutions to problems that are sustainable and well-adapted to life on Earth. is school year, the unit was designed around the concept of the "Dragon's Lair"—a take on the television program Shark Tank— wherein student teams created a product or invention inspired by a specific plant or animal and presented their products to the Dragons for their assessment. Some of the student inventions included a water filtration pump (inspired by a cactus); a gardening glove (inspired by grizzly bears' claws); car windows with night vision (inspired by wolves' eyesight); and Snappy, a nut-cracking tool (inspired by a snapping turtle). (Trevor Class of 2011; Cornell University, BA, 2015; Albany Medical College, MD, 2020) is a physics assignment where all the students worked in groups to build roller coasters to learn about mass and velocity. "Not only was it an informative and interactive lesson, but it was also just plain fun working together to create and learn," Daneil recalls. "at kind of engaging and collaborative lesson added to my interest in science even more." Dr. James McClintock, Upper School Science Teacher, had a similar reaction to the same lesson on the day he interviewed for a position at Trevor. "I came out of the elevator on the science floor and nearly tripped over a group of students building a roller coaster," he recollects. "ey were totally engrossed in what they were doing, and something else struck me right away— they were smiling and laughing as they recorded data on mass and velocity. ey were having fun, collaborating at a high level, and engaging in an open- ended scientific exploration. And I thought, 'is is where I want to teach!'" 3 3 T R E V O R D AY S C H O O L n S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 – 2 0 2 1 Other Trevor projects are etched in alums' memories and helped spark a love for science. A lesson that has stuck with Daneil Mangaroo Left: Bryn presents her Bridge science project in June 2019; Editor's Note: See Trevor Translates for the Upper School on page 21 for a reproduction of a letter that Bryn wrote to Mr. Golanka, thanking him for his excellence in teaching her computer science. Middle (clockwise from top): Fifth graders Luke C. and Owen J. created Snappy, a nutcracker that uses the strength of a snapping turtle's jaw as its design inspiration; a snapping turtle opens its mouth and lures prey with a worm-like structure that fish mistake for food; Magellanic penguins in a pose that demonstrates how thick layers of blubber in their bodies allow them to maintain their body heat, even when swimming in near-freezing temperatures; Fifth graders Brendan T. and Gabriel E.'s design for a penguin blubber jacket should offer similar protection against frigid air temperatures to the human who wears it. Right top: Taken from the Trevor Yearbook of 2011, Daneil poses with fellow members of the Science Olympiad Club. He is in the center, wearing a checked shirt and striped sweatshirt; Right middle: In 2014, MiniTerm included the ever popular class on how to construct a working roller coaster. is Middle School student is delighted to demonstrate how well hers works.

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