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Game of Drones: Students Fly Into Student-Led Learning Project
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Every January, St. Luke's students are given the opportunity to participate in the Hackathon, a weekend event for students to dive into design thinking and tackle design problems. This type of student-led learning, a key pillar in St. Luke’s Strategic Plan, helps to increase student engagement and deepen their love for learning.
Every January, St. Luke's students are given the opportunity to participate in the Hackathon, a weekend event for students to dive into design thinking and tackle design problems. This type of student-led learning, a key pillar in St. Luke’s Strategic Plan, helps to increase student engagement and deepen their love for learning.
This year, the Hackathon took on a new form. St. Luke’s partnered with Drone Legends — a project-based learning company that focuses on STEM curriculum through the use of drones — to host Game of Drones. This two-day, interactive experience brought together SLS students in grades 5-12 and FAA pilots, who taught them how to fly a drone, do tricks for missions, compete in races, and use a First Person View (FPV) simulator.
On the first day, after being introduced to drones, the students focused on precision and collaborative racing. Using their FPV goggles, they flew their drones to carry out drone missions and experienced a drone flight simulation. During a professional drone race, students also had the chance to be spectators, learning tips and tricks they could use in their own race.
Day One ended with a Tello Drone competition. This race was a skill-based collaborative mission where the students worked on teams to complete an obstacle course through precise piloting.
Day Two was all about speed and racing, with the students using FPV goggles. Gavin Krisher ‘27 took home the win, finishing the course in 36 seconds! His first time around was over two minutes, so you can see how much he improved after receiving some professional guidance. Gavin was part of both winning races and received a Tello and Pepper Drone. However, the award for most improved all-around pilot went to Arielle Shaplen ‘30. Arielle nailed the drone flip, landing a ball into a very narrow target more times than we could count.
Technology is constantly evolving and transforming how we live, learn, work, and play. I am always impressed with how our students seize opportunities like Game of Drones (even outside of school hours!) to learn and use technological tools and dynamic applications.
Even News12 joined in the fun, coming to the Hilltop to see Game of Drones in action and sharing the event on the local news broadcast.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 40 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Leading with Humanity curriculum builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
