Holy trinity episcopal academy

Students Explore Variety of Passions on Innovation Day

On Friday, April 22, fifth and sixth grade students participated in Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy’s fourth annual Innovation Day.
Creativity and teamwork were the buzzwords of the day as students designed and executed projects in art, photography and filmmaking; cooking and baking; technology and coding; rocketry and aeronautics; sports; building and more. Innovation Day was designed to allow students the time and space to pursue a specific area of interest.
 
“Innovation Day was started to give students the opportunity to spend a day learning about what they want to learn about. All teachers work hard to instill a love of learning in children, but not every topic is guaranteed to ignite a passion for learning,” explained science teacher Stephanie Boates. “Our hope is that on Innovation Day, students will find something they are passionate about and then enjoy the process of learning and self-teaching. Students often say, “This is the best day of school ever.”
 
Among the many incredible projects created was a fully functioning hovercraft made by sixth grader Brian Mazo. Brian made the base of the hovercraft by cutting a large circle from plywood, then stapling a tarp over the bottom to create a smooth surface. He cut holes in the tarp to allow air to pass between the base and the floor. The craft was powered by a leaf blower engine with a rechargeable battery, and a plastic lawn chair was fixed atop the base to provide a secure seat. Brian found the idea online and said, "It was actually easier to build than I thought it would be!"
 
Several students created Rube Goldberg machines, using dominoes, blocks, balls and other materials to create a controlled chain reaction of events. Students learned to test, adapt and improvise as a “failed” attempt at a Rube Goldberg turned into a successful skeeball machine.
 
In the art classroom, students designed recycled art, worked in pastels and acrylics, designed a pet habitat, painted a pillow, created art with rolled paper scrolls, and worked in paper mache. Several students honed their skills in photography, using photos to make movies, practicing levitation photography and time lapse photography. Budding tailors sewed dresses, skirts, emoji pillows and a soccer ball, and learned to knit on a loom.
 
In the field of aeronautics, students created various catapults, slingshots and rockets, even one that dropped candy as it ascended. Two students joined forces to create a pedal powered go-kart using an old riding lawn mower and a bicycle. Two others built a rolling service cart.
 
Many students took advantage of their coding skills to create projects such as a Minecraft server and a pong game. Others worked in circuits or used iPads to create stop motion and animated films. A budding author worked on a young adult fiction book while another created a football board game. One student put the school’s laser cutter to use by crafting a Greek Mythology clock with a different mythical hero at each hour. Each figure was etched on wood using the school’s laser cutter.
 
Several young chefs and bakers were busy in the Holy Trinity kitchens making everything from Mexican food to French pastries, from ice cream creations to emoji cookies.  Altogether, students created nearly 60 unique and innovative projects.
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Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy

Ranked #1 Best Private K-12 School in Brevard County

Schoolwide Phone: 321-723-8323
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Fax - Upper School: 321-241-6422
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