Tag Archives: Silva Health Magnet

Computer-controlled robots mazed through the hallways while students learned CPR on manikins just across campus.  Meanwhile, students crime-scene investigations were happening at a different corner of the school, near the area where students were engaging in nutrition classes and CrossFit-like workouts.

This is all part of the innovative EPISD Summer Medical Prep Academy — an intense three-week camp where more than 550 middle-school students are learning the basics of health using STEM education.

The new camp replaced the former Developing Research and Early Aspirations Medical Scholars (DREAMS) and offers similar opportunities to students for all EPISD middle schools.

The program, previously housed at Silva Health Magnet, had been limited to incoming sixth graders at Title 1 campuses. The Academy has now been moved to Henderson and is open to any incoming middle-school student in the District.

“This is a great way to keep your brain active during the summer,” said Hornedo sixth grader Merrik Brewer. “It’s important to keep the brain active because it’s good for your learning.”

Merrik joined the program because of its promise of robotics and crime-solving activities and looks forward to the exercise component to beef up his soccer game. His fellow Hornedo classmate Jose Escobedo sees the academy as an opportunity for career exploration.

“I’ve learned how to take DNA out of a strawberry and learn how to solve a crime based on people’s stomach content,” Jose said. “I like learning, and this is fun learning.”

Academy coordinator Ashley Sheldon explained that the hands-on projects and activities build students’ experiences and knowledge without appearing to be like regular school.

“We work really hard to make sure that there are no handouts, no lectures,” Sheldon said. “They’re sharing things and they don’t even realize that they’ve learned things at this point because they didn’t take any notes or listen to a teacher lecture. They just worked hands-on with projects.”

All aspects of the medical prep program are student-driven, teacher-facilitated – especially the robotics section.

“The teacher’s there to help them, but they come up with our own robot design with their own claw and their own programming,” Sheldon said. “By the end, and they get a robot through the obstacle course where before they had no knowledge of how to do that.”

Every three days, the students rotate through the forensics, medical applications and robotics.  Students solve a crime through DNA, fingerprinting and fiber analysis during the forensics piece. In the medical applications segment, students learn to take each other’s blood pressure and use a practice doll to apply chest compressions for a lesson in basic CPR. A Cross-Fit-like activity – known as Raise Up the Bar – gets their heart rates up and complements a nutritional component.

“The kids are loving it,” said Bobby Macias, who created Raise Up the Bar at Ross Middle. “They’ve been very receptive to trying new things.”

The component introduces students to a variety of exercises associated with Cross-Fit-like classes including push-ups, squats, lunges and 400-meter runs.

“We’ve been introducing them to functional movements, and we’ve noticed the friendships they are forging while doing the workouts,” Macias said. “A lot of them are saying ‘I wish we had this class at our school.’”

Meanwhile, in the nutrition classroom, students examined test tubes with different foods and taking note of their fat and calorie content. The kids got a visual perspective of the fat in foods common in their diets: brownies, buttered popcorn, cheese, ice cream sandwiches, an apple and pudding.

“Check out the fats,” said JaMya Lynn-Carswell, holding a tube labeled trail mix 350 calories and 22 grams of fat for a half-cup serving. “I was surprised by the trail mix. I see a lot of people eating trail mix in exercise commercials but they’re eating more fat.”

Story: Reneé de Santos | Photos: Leonel Monroy  |  Video: Raymond Jackson and Angel Dominguez / EPISD

Dozens of students traded in pencils and notebooks and instead took time learning to draw blood, suture patients and assist geriatric patients during a hands-on career exploration workshop.

Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso’s Desert Mountain Area Health Education Center gave the participating students — all of whom had expressed an interest in a health care career — an opportunity to interact with medical students during the Map Your Future workshop.

“We’re trying to get students interested in the medical field – not necessarily to become physicians or nurses, but just to open up their

eyes to all the different possibilities within the region and throughout the United States,” said Raul Gomez, a volunteer with the health education center.

“We believe that if we plant the seed at an early age, they’ll start to build on it and it’ll be so strong by the time they get to high school or to college it’ll just be something that they’re so passionate about that they don’t mind going through eight years of schooling or four years of schooling.”

The event featured a variety of hands-on activities at the different stations set up in the gym and a classroom.

At one station, students learned to draw blood with a Kool Aid-like substance oozing out of a fake arm.

A few feet away, other students used a suture kit to learn how to practice sewing up patients. Inside the gym, another group donned weighted vests, funky googles and other restricting equipment to simulate ailments associated with geriatric patients. Another booth gave a hard lesson on the dangers of drinking and driving.

At the DUI station, students wrote on eggs expressing their hopes and dreams, then slid on some vision-distorting glasses. Meanwhile,

they balanced their eggs on a spoon while maneuvering through an obstacle. Some students lost their balance dropping the raw egg to the ground – symbolizing how a DUI could shatter their dreams and aspirations.

“This really tells me the consequences it brings and how my career could not be successful if I’m drunk driving,” said Vanessa Valdez, an eighth grader who aspires to go to Silva Health Magnet.

“I mostly want to be a nurse but I’m still deciding. It’s been great coming here. They’re giving me experience.”

Eighth-grader Jashwa Villanueva is wavering between a career in architectural engineering and health care.

“I wanted to see options for my future and see if I’d like jobs in the medical field,” he said. “It’s been a really fun, eye-opening experience to see the cool jobs and having the medical show us the activities.”

Guillen is the first middle school campus to take part in the Map your Future event. Counselor Sonia Antuñez worked with Texas Tech’s Desert Mountain Area Health Education Center to offer the program to Guillen.

“Our children are not exposed to different careers in medical field,” Antuñez said. “This has been rewarding for them. They’re taking it in and actually thinking about the medical field because of what they have been exposed to today.”

Story by Reneé de Santos | Photos by Martín A. López | Video by Raymond Jackson – EPISD

A new virtual reality tool will allow CCTE, Franklin and Silva Health Magnet students to look deep into every aspect of the human body, dissect animals, explore paleontology and even study automotive applications without leaving the classroom.

Trainers introduced the new zSpace technology to Career and Technology Education teachers from CCTE, Franklin and Silva Health Magnet last week.

The teachers donned special tracking glasses and wielded a stylus to get a close up, authentic look at internal organs, blood vessels and other parts of the human body. The skull virtually popped into the space between teachers and their screens – giving them a chance to maneuver the stylus and go in for a closer look.

Anatomy is only one of many virtual, 3-D learning applications available through the zSpace technology.

“One of the things that makes this so important and so critical is the high level of engagement that it evokes from students immediately,” said Kevin Dougherty, zSpace sales director. “You don’t have to rely on the teacher to evoke that from kids. It actually comes from the child themselves from elementary through high school when they have this experience with virtual reality.”

During the all-day training, the teachers spent time exploring the human body and discussing how to incorporate their lessons with the new technology.

The initial movements of the stylus brought lots of oohs and ahhs – something the teachers expect to hear when their students begin using zSpace. The technology offers engaging, real-world training that offers students a deeper understanding of their curriculum.

“The training has been very interactive,” said Dr. Dominque Nehring, who teaches vet tech at CCTE. “The kids are going to be really excited to use this.”

Nehring finds the possibility endless for the new technology – giving students virtual hands-on lessons in areas they might not otherwise experience. Students could perform anything from a virtual EKGs to examining the inner workings of a car, learn how to take it apart and put it back together.

“We could even do a virtual spay or neuter,” she said. “This has been a nice experience. I’ve learned a lot and we’re excited about bringing our kids in and letting them start playing.”

zSpace technology is spreading throughout Texas but Dougherty said EPISD has become an area of focus for the company.

“What’s most exciting about working here in El Paso ISD is the great sense of vision and the idea that anything is possible,” Dougherty said. “As a result, we’re looking to set El Paso ISD as our first district of distinction in the state of Texas for zSpace.”

Several EPISD campuses delved into the TED-Ed Clubs this school year, exploring and learning to express their passion through talks. The campuses came together last week for a district-wide TED-Ed Club talk and community presentation at CCTE.

“TED-Ed helps kids develop their confidence in speaking to an audience, develop their ideas and express their ideas,” said Karen Blaine, Chief Academic and Innovation Officer. “This not only prepares for skills they will need in the future, it gives them a place at school to express their passions.”

Campus participating in the program are: Barron, Cielo Vista, Coldwell, Guerrero, Mesita, Newman and Tom Lea elementary schools; Armendariz, Lincoln, Morehead and Richardson middle schools; Coronado High School and Silva Health Magnet.

“It’s really fun,” said Mathew Hernandez, a Schuster 5^th grader. “I think it’s a great idea. You get to express what you feel with the world.”

 The talks included a wide variety of topics including bullying, body image, post traumatic stress disorder and being a good friend.

“I think this is very important because it teaches them that if they have a great idea, their voice matters, too,” said Schuster teacher Stormy Daniels.

Collaboration is key to TED-Ed Club talks. In TED-Ed Clubs, students work together to discuss and celebrate creative ideas. Club leaders receive TED-Ed’s flexible Clubs curriculum to guide their school’s club and to help inspire tomorrow’s TED speakers and leaders.

 “I may have a great idea but not speak very well and might need a friend help me articulate it better or make my presentation using technology,” Daniels said. My role has been to guide them and help them with the opportunity. It’s their ideas, they research and the parts they liked they went for.”

District officials and the area TED Ed representative are encouraged by the students’ collaborations and talks. The clubs, which began in EPISD at the beginning of the school year, is open to any campus interested in participating.

“We’re pleased with the response and how the clubs have taken off in such a short time,” Blaine said.