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American Lung Association Guest Lecture

Endorsement Stories

Stay up to date with the latest stories about academics! From student projects to student successes, see what's going on with our academic department. 
American Lung Association Guest Lecture

Anatomy and Physiology classes had a guest lecture from a member of the American Lung Association. The lecture was full of fascinating facts about cigarettes and the impact of pollutants on the lungs. Did you know that cigarettes are known to contain over 7,000 different toxic chemicals? While the effects of vaping have not been researched to the extent of cigarettes, there is some indication that the 2,000+ chemicals in vape pens could have similar impacts. Though the different statistics were eye-opening, the student's favorite part of the lecture was when the presenter took out two sets of pig lungs (…yes, real pig lungs…), one healthy set, and one impacted by smoking. The presenter used a pump to inflate both sets of lungs. While the healthy lungs inflated smoothly and to their full capacity, the unhealthy ones hardly changed shape. It is one thing to talk about the effect of smoking on the lungs; it's different to actually see the physical effects and how that impacts function. Beyond just looking at the impacts of smoking, the presenter spoke about the different ways that we can maintain the health of our lungs. Some things as simple as drinking plenty of water, exercising, and even singing.

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“If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” 

Mrs. Herscovici's Entrepreneurship class finished their unit on "Exploring Opportunities" by researching famous entrepreneurs. In small groups, students researched an entrepreneur of their choice and were made aware of how many times these entrepreneurs had to fail before their ideas became successful. In the midst of this research, we have been discussing the importance of being able to explain our learning. Essentially, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” ― Albert Einstein.

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Calculus Speed Trap

If you travel 40 miles per 60 minutes, what’s your average speed per hour, or what’s your average rate of change (the change in distance over the change in time)? Are they different? Students in AP Calculus played cops and speeders last week in class. Students had the opportunity to use real radar guns and math to try and see if they could catch their classmates speeding along Fairview.

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Humanities Alumni Update

The Humanities program honored its first class of graduating students this past May 2023 during Valor’s commencement ceremony. We want to regularly include comments from graduates to help give a sense of how the Humanities program prepared them for the next phase of their lives. For our first alumni check-in, we asked Ben Leikam to reflect on how his time in the Humanities program prepared him for college. Here are his thoughts...

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STEM Night 2023

STEM Night was a great success, as students showcased their work through capstone projects, clubs, and competitions. Over 30 projects and interactive demos were highlighted during the evening. In addition, select students received awards for their innovation, creativity, and service through STEM. 

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