Submitted by Cecily Gottling and Michael Rodenbush
What do MINECRAFT coding, flying paper airplanes, folding Halloween origami, controlling robots, and shooting off rockets all have in common? They are among the myriad engaging activities designed for our fourth-grade girls by the amazing Upper School girls of the WISE club on three eventful days this past year. WISE stands for Women in STEM Education and encourages young women to pursue an interest in STEM courses and topics. Upper Schoolers Ashley, Linda, Marwah, Polina, Roxane, Ashley and Mena got rave reviews from the younger girls for their mentorship as well as hugs and high fives. The fourth-grade girls also got the WISE message about resisting gender stereotypes and taking on leadership roles themselves.
“I think WISE Girls is important because everyone thinks that men are the math and science rulers in the world, but when you think about it, it is pretty equal.” -Amanda
“I loved WISE girls. It taught me lots of things like—never give up and don’t give up because there are barely any girls, only boys!” -Anna
“I also think they should continue WISE GIRLS because girls who are interested in coding, technology and science might want to be the girls in charge of WISE Girls when they get older.” -Nisha