BERNE — A STEAM camp hosted by the Berne-Knox-Westerlo school district has been using robots and milk cartons to learn about various aspects of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.

“Sarah, Will, and I got together a couple of  weeks ago, and the energy sparked,” said Carey Raymond, a special-education teacher in the elementary school. She was referring to the two other faculty members coordinating the camp, third-grade teacher William Dergosits, and elementary school teaching assistant Sarah McArdle.

“The team is very representative of different areas of science and teaching and fun and creativity,” Raymond added.

Speaking at the board of education meeting on June 19, Raymond explained how the camp would cover three different areas of learning, including engineering challenges: for example, students would be using milk cartons to build windmills, and then would be asked questions about how it could be improved or in what ways it would help society.

“You start them with something and let them take off of it,” she said.

McArdle is focusing on outdoor exploration as students explore the nature trails behind the school and identify the various species of wildlife.

“Also, looking more toward the different species like whether it’s an invasive species or if we can help a certain species,” she added. “For example, the monarch butterflies,” which are in rapid decline.

She added that this could also cover other declining species like bees or bats, visiting with spelunkers or apiarists to learn more about these creatures.

Dergosits is focusing on robotics. At the meeting, he brought a robotic ball controlled with a tablet, which alarmed some attendees before they realized what it was. Slightly larger than a tennis ball, it rolled itself into the middle of the floor and flashed various colors.

Students are building robots and learning about seven different types of robots.

“One of the activities that they’re going to be doing is, we have an arena where they’ll be coding the robots to play soccer,” he said.

Goalposts are made of cups and foam noodles.

Dergosits said that the younger group of students would be learning more about coding, while the older group would look into what real-world uses robotics could apply to.

The two-week program being held from July 10 to July 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., for students in grades 2 through 7, and will host up to 120 students, divided into two groups of 60, with three teachers and three aides supervising.

Board members joked that the $50 cost, which includes breakfast and lunch served during the camp, was cheaper than childcare.

Peer mediation makes a trial run

Peer mediation, in which students who are having conflicts work out their differences in mediation sessions overseen by trained schoolmates, was new to BKW this year.

The program began in March, said Susan Sloma, director of special-education, but stemmed from a district-wide assessment of school counseling conducted by Timothy Mundell when he became BKW’s superintendent a year-and-a-half ago.

“What the outcome of that was, that we need a peer mediation program,” said Sloma.

To start their program, the school worked with Mediation Matters, a local organization involved with conflict resolution that offers workshops and training to youth, explained Leigh Kleinson, a guidance counselor in the high school. She and high school guidance counselor Karen Corso worked with the elementary school guidance counselors and school psychologist, as well as teachers and support staff serving as volunteers. Ten students were trained in two days to act as mediators.

BKW’s program is also working at the elementary level to teach children problem-solving and interpersonal skills.

Students or teachers fill out referral forms that are reviewed by Kleinson and Corso. A time for mediation is set up based on when students and staff have a free period. An adult who has received training is present during the mediation sessions but does not participate. Student mediators follow a script, and students fill out a confidential form and agreement at the end.

Since March, 20 students have requested mediation, said Corso. She compared that to Schenectady’s school district which, with around 2,500 students, had only 14 requests the first year peer mediation was established. Berne’s high school has fewer than 400 students.

Three students, Cailyn Toomey, Trevor Goodemote, and Marcy Forti, spoke to the school board about their experiences as mediators.

Goodemote said he wanted to volunteer as a mediator because he saw issues that needed to be addressed when conflicts occurred in the school.

“Some of these issues can be solved from the administrators or teachers,” he said. “But I think sometimes just having a peer look at these problems can help more than anything. It’s just a different dynamic.”

Toomey said she had decided to join because she works with children at a summer camp and babysitting, and thought the conflict-resolution techniques she would learn would be helpful when dealing with children.

She had only had one experience resolving a conflict, she said, but she was impressed by the students’ ability to follow through on a solution. She also learned techniques for listening to the students, by reflecting back what they say in a conversation, for example.

“It makes them feel like they’re in a safe space because you are really listening,” said Toomey.

Forti said she learned about actively listening to her peers when discussing their problems.

“Knowing that the person you’re talking to is understanding and cares about what you have to say is very important for resolving a conflict,” she said. “I’ve started using more active listening in, like, the rest of my life.”