Phillies name SCH teacher Peter Randall "All-Star!"
SCH's very own Peter Randall '69, Department of Engineering & Robotics Chair, was selected as one of the Top 10 Phillies All-Star Teachers this year. Selected from a pool of 400+ entries, SCH parent Donna Schapiro wrote an essay about Peter's impact on the SCH community.
Unfortunately, due to the status of the MLB season, the date of the Phillies game where both Peter and Donna would have been recognized will not take place.
In lieu of this, we are proud to share Peter's nomination submission:
Not surprisingly, as befits an all-star, Peter was recently in the Chestnut Hill Local for his work to fabricate face shields for those serving on the frontlines:
SCH teachers make face shields for medical teams
Unfortunately, due to the status of the MLB season, the date of the Phillies game where both Peter and Donna would have been recognized will not take place.
In lieu of this, we are proud to share Peter's nomination submission:
To: 2020 Phillies All-Star Teachers Contest Committee
It is my pleasure to recommend Peter Randall, Department Chairman of Engineering
and Robotics, as a 2020 Phillies All-Star Teacher.
I’m Donna Schapiro, representing the parents from Springside Chestnut Hill (SCH)
Academy. I’ve participated extensively in my son’s schools and worked with many
excellent teachers, but Peter is in another ballpark entirely.
His teaching philosophy is, “If you’re not falling down, you’re not learning to ski.”
From the earliest grades, Peter passionately teaches students to accept “falling
down” as part of the learning process and to take lessons from what didn’t work and
apply them to their next try, called “falling forward.” It’s much more valuable than
getting things right the first time and the best kind of teaching and leading. Peter
believes in each of his kids and instills in them that same belief. His students take
their learning from FIRST robotics and engineering and carry it throughout their
school experiences and into the world beyond.
STEM education is vitally important today because our world depends on it. We can
all agree it’s more important than ever for children to be equipped with the
knowledge and skills to solve tough problems. That’s the task Peter embraces in his
18 years of teaching.
Is he effective? Peter’s involvement has touched thousands of lives. One of those
affected is Chelsey Roebuck. As a young boy, Chelsey had no thoughts of
engineering, but when he participated in FIRST Robotics under Peter’s guidance, he
discovered a great fit. After graduating from Columbia in Mechanical Engineering,
Chelsey founded ELiTE (Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering) that
uses STEM education to empower students from underserved communities to
realize their potential. When Chelsey received the Rising Star Award from FIRST,
Peter was first on Chelsey’s guest list. Peter’s passion for learning was being paid
forward to other students throughout the world.
Over 500 students grade 1 st – 12 th participate in Peter’s robotics and engineering
programs each year.
Robotics: Oversees three teams – Elementary, Jr. High and High School -- in
their various FIRST programs, meeting before school, after school and
weekends! As for going deep, after 350+ student hours of work, Peter’s team,
along with their Alliance, won the 2019 Detroit World Championship! In fact,
under Peter’s stewardship, SCH Team Vulcan has qualified to compete in 15
of the last 16 championships.
Engineering: Supports student interests to brainstorm and create. Evan
Weinstein, Class of 2015, is on his way to becoming a 3D Chocolatier, having
developed his passion in Peter’s class.
Planes: Mentors a group of determined students who come to school at 7 AM
to work on building a Bede BD4 plane that was won on a student grant
proposal.
How fortunate for us that Peter loves what he does. He teaches our kids how to
approach complex problems they’ve never seen before and to solve them using
perseverance, resourcefulness, resilience, teamwork and communication. It’s hard to say who admires and respects Peter more: the kids or their parents. Peter is as “All-Star” as it gets!
It is my pleasure to recommend Peter Randall, Department Chairman of Engineering
and Robotics, as a 2020 Phillies All-Star Teacher.
I’m Donna Schapiro, representing the parents from Springside Chestnut Hill (SCH)
Academy. I’ve participated extensively in my son’s schools and worked with many
excellent teachers, but Peter is in another ballpark entirely.
His teaching philosophy is, “If you’re not falling down, you’re not learning to ski.”
From the earliest grades, Peter passionately teaches students to accept “falling
down” as part of the learning process and to take lessons from what didn’t work and
apply them to their next try, called “falling forward.” It’s much more valuable than
getting things right the first time and the best kind of teaching and leading. Peter
believes in each of his kids and instills in them that same belief. His students take
their learning from FIRST robotics and engineering and carry it throughout their
school experiences and into the world beyond.
STEM education is vitally important today because our world depends on it. We can
all agree it’s more important than ever for children to be equipped with the
knowledge and skills to solve tough problems. That’s the task Peter embraces in his
18 years of teaching.
Is he effective? Peter’s involvement has touched thousands of lives. One of those
affected is Chelsey Roebuck. As a young boy, Chelsey had no thoughts of
engineering, but when he participated in FIRST Robotics under Peter’s guidance, he
discovered a great fit. After graduating from Columbia in Mechanical Engineering,
Chelsey founded ELiTE (Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering) that
uses STEM education to empower students from underserved communities to
realize their potential. When Chelsey received the Rising Star Award from FIRST,
Peter was first on Chelsey’s guest list. Peter’s passion for learning was being paid
forward to other students throughout the world.
Over 500 students grade 1 st – 12 th participate in Peter’s robotics and engineering
programs each year.
Robotics: Oversees three teams – Elementary, Jr. High and High School -- in
their various FIRST programs, meeting before school, after school and
weekends! As for going deep, after 350+ student hours of work, Peter’s team,
along with their Alliance, won the 2019 Detroit World Championship! In fact,
under Peter’s stewardship, SCH Team Vulcan has qualified to compete in 15
of the last 16 championships.
Engineering: Supports student interests to brainstorm and create. Evan
Weinstein, Class of 2015, is on his way to becoming a 3D Chocolatier, having
developed his passion in Peter’s class.
Planes: Mentors a group of determined students who come to school at 7 AM
to work on building a Bede BD4 plane that was won on a student grant
proposal.
How fortunate for us that Peter loves what he does. He teaches our kids how to
approach complex problems they’ve never seen before and to solve them using
perseverance, resourcefulness, resilience, teamwork and communication. It’s hard to say who admires and respects Peter more: the kids or their parents. Peter is as “All-Star” as it gets!
Not surprisingly, as befits an all-star, Peter was recently in the Chestnut Hill Local for his work to fabricate face shields for those serving on the frontlines:
SCH teachers make face shields for medical teams