Drum roll, please!
Members of Plaza Middle School drum line welcomed approximately 300 VBCPS female students as they walked inside the school Oct. 18 for Beach Girls Rock!
Fourth through eight graders attended the event, part of the female empowerment series hosted by the Office for Opportunity and Achievement, led by director Ty Harris and coordinator Meredith Hobson.
A gender gap still exists when it comes to females in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforces, Harris told the group.
“Our mission is to do everything we can to change that.”
Plaza Middle principal Dr. Andria Chambers helped set the tone for the day.
“You are bright, curious and powerful young women from throughout Virginia Beach,” she said.
“Today is about realizing what you have and what it takes to shape your own future.”
Members of the Kellam High Young Women’s Leadership Club led groups from one workshop to another to explore career opportunities, participate in STEM activities, and focus on personal empowerment and mental health.
Erin Rivera with Virginia Clinical Research presented “Advancing Medicine Through Research.”
“We test medicine before it gets into the pharmacy,” she explained.
And it could cost more than a million dollars and take up to 15 years to get FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval, she added.
When it came time for a mock clinical trial involving how chocolate affects mood, attendees were happy to participate.
The question was, “Which chocolate, dark or milk, enhances mood more?”
Each girl scored her mood on a scale from one to 10 and was randomly placed in groups A or B to unknowingly taste dark or milk chocolate.
Post mood rankings were tabulated, with milk chocolate being the unofficial winning mood enhancer.
Following a presentation by the Deep Sea Tactics Team from Landstown High Governor’s STEM Academy, attendees headed outside to operate two underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
“Marine biologists study ocean life and the environment with ROVs,” explained team member Savannah Synder.
The team is currently designing an underwater ROV to be entered in a spring regional competition.
Sky Burdette, Kendra Mahan and Mia Mullins of the Kempsville High Entrepreneurial & Business Academy wowed attendees at their session “Dream Big, Build Bold”
Their eco-friendly storage bag, designed as part of an in-school competition, won $10,000 for manufacturing the product.
The entrepreneurs led small groups in creating a product, brainstorming and making a pitch using a core value, such as “excellence.”
“Be innovative and have fun,” Sky told them.
Parents attended a variety of workshops about family resources, supporting their child’s social and emotional well-being, and the Sentara School Liaison Program.
They also heard from students in programs and courses available for study at the Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center and Advanced Technology Center.
Contessa Magee with Family and Community Engagement (FACE) hosted “The Power of Parents; Ways to Help Your Students Thrive.”
She discussed “ways to help your child succeed,” including creating a study routine, talking about school daily, helping them set goals and more.
“Positive parent involvement improves student outcomes,” Magee emphasized.
Jacquella Hunter said she attended the event to meet and collaborate with other parents, and for her daughter Ryan Gipson, a Bayside Middle sixth grader.
“I want her to utilize all the gifts and talents she has to be a creative and constructive member of society,” Hunter said.
