King’s inquiry-based approach to learning was in full effect during the solar eclipse that swept across North America on April 8. The event offered an extraordinary opportunity for educational engagement at every grade level, fostering a deeper understanding of the cosmos and Earth’s place within it. Students, faculty, and staff across campus donned protective glasses to view the eclipse phenomenon together as scientists and astronomy fans.

It was a morning filled with innovation and exploration! King’s inaugural STEAM Morning on Thursday, April 4, was a smashing success. The event, led by science teacher Shevon Morris, brought students and families together for an enriching taste of inquiry-based learning at its very best.

Pre-K through Grade 5 students teamed up with their families to tackle fun, hands-on STEAM activities in their classrooms. These activities showcased how science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics come alive when applied to the real world. 

The seventh annual STEM Colloquium showcased years of research from senior class recipients of the STEM Distinction, recognizing the students' passion, determination, perseverance, and achievement. Ben Persily ’23, Gouri Krishnan ’23, Yuriy Sandmeier ’23, Clare Liao ’23, and Eli Lowe ’23 discussed their capstone projects, many of which were completed through King School’s Advanced Science Program for Independent Research and Engineering (ASPIRE). Following the student presentations, Director of Science Research Dr. Victoria Schulman announced the winners of the Upper School Science Fair, which was held on May 10.

King School is thrilled to announce that Ben Persily ’23 won the prestigious National Merit $2500 Scholarship. The award is the culmination of two years of competition; winners were announced on Wednesday, May 10. Over 1.5 million students from about 21,000 high schools entered the competition, which began in October 2021 when high school juniors took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT.) The highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists. For Connecticut, that meant earning a PSAT score of 1470 or higher, with 1520 being perfect.

Grade 6 students carefully eased their boats into a container of water to see if their boats would sink or float for the annual STEM boat competition. The students were challenged to design and engineer a boat that is less dense than water at room temperature to ensure that it is buoyant. The boat with the lowest density wins the challenge!

In an effort to keep their cost and materials low, the students found themselves working through different designs in a process of trial and error.

King student Ben Persily ’23, placed fourth at the Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair (CSEF) in March for his research using stem cells and prime editing to study and correct the genetic mutations that cause cystic fibrosis. Ben’s accomplishment put him on the podium, standing out from over 600 students who participated in the state-wide fair. The success also meant that a student from King School would represent the Connecticut delegation at the International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) for the first time. 

The Upper School Science Fair was back in the gymnasium this year after a two-year pause. Upper school students in Honors Biology, Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics, and the ASPIRE program participated in two sessions held on May 12 to present their research to peers, faculty, family, and special guests. 

“I love mentoring science fair projects for beginning students. Their excitement for trying new things is always refreshing. My favorite moments are when they shift from fear and nervousness about doing something new to excited and confident after they get results and realize it’s not that hard, and then they’ve learned a new skill,” said Director of Science Research Victoria Schulman. 

A crowd of lower school students looked up in awe as a bottle rocket launched to near ceiling height at the Lower School Science Fair. Using a pressure pump, Ella Mendez ’29 and Ella McKee ’29 hypothesized that the more air pressure they added into a soda bottle, the higher the bottle will rocket upwards. The students learned that there were other variables that impact the height of the bottle such as its angle at launch and the force of gravity. The fair, which took place on April 28, presented new innovative ideas from the fifth grade class.

Chemistry class became a tasty treat for sixth grade students at King School when they used cookies to examine the physical properties of matter last week. Middle school teacher Katie O’Connor led the students in an exercise on identifying properties of matter by studying the characteristics that make each cookie unique.

O’Connor introduced matter as anything that has mass and volume. Mass is the amount of matter in an object, which is usually measured in grams or kilograms, and volume is the amount of space that matter takes up. She then prompted the class with a question: How can we describe matter using our cookies?