Tuesday morning, members of the Picayune School Board of Trustees took a tour of schools before holding a business meeting at noon.
One of the stops on the tour of schools was Todd Gigglio’s class, where Board members heard about the various things students learn. In addition to seeing a demonstration about how to operate 3D printing machines, the Board members also saw several other machines in action, all of which give the students a preview of what it would be like to pursue a career in engineering or automation.
Gigglio said he introduces the students to a little bit of all aspects of the automated industry, including building small robots and using special computer software to power the printers, so they can find what they like best.
During the noon meeting, nine students from Picayune Junior High were introduced to the Board. These students were recently recognized as being five STAR students, meaning they received the most points under the STAR program. To do that, students would have had perfect discipline, all As in classes and near perfect attendance.
West Side Principal Kerri Wilder also updated the Board about her school’s Sea Perch team, who competed in the state event over the weekend. To get to the state event, the team built an underwater remote controlled robot from scratch and use it to compete at regionals in a variety of events. During regionals, the team placed second out of 8 teams. During the state competition the team placed fourth out of 13 teams overall. The team also earned third place in the notebook presentation portion of the event and fourth in the puzzle-solving portion, Wilder said.
Curriculum and Testing Coordinator Mary Williams updated the Board about progress being made in grades K-6 using the iReady program, which helps children with the subject areas of reading and math. She said that all grade levels are showing growth, and just about each one is reaching the national average in the subject areas.
The next Board meeting will be April 25 at noon.