Page 21 - Menlo Magazine: Winter 2018

MENLO MAGAZINE
Peter and the Robot
A telepresence robot named Sherlock has been spotted around the Middle School Quad mingling with the students as they chat and work on group projects. This robot, a video conferencing screen mounted atop a moving base, is made by a company called Beam, and it’s enabling eighth grader Peter Hanson to continue his schooling while he recovers at home from a stem-cell transplant.
Menlo parent Ray Conley—father of Colton ’16, Makayla ’18, Trent ’22, and Katie ’24—connected Peter’s parents, Menlo teachers Charles and Katharine Hanson, with Sherlock’s inventor and owner, Sanford Dickert. Menlo Technology Director Eric Spross then arranged for Menlo to borrow Sherlock for Peter to use throughout his recovery. Software installed on Peter’s laptop empowers him to remotely drive the device from room to room, and with the teleconferencing screen, he’s able to attend classes and interact with the teachers and his peers in real time.
“At rst, our Middle School students were really curious and interested in Sherlock, but they quickly adapted and accepted it and began treating it as if Peter were right there with them,” Eric says.
According to Peter’s dad, Charles, the technology “has totally transformed what had been a steady but frustratingly slow recovery for Peter.”
“This is Menlo technology at its best: keeping our kids connected to the community. We’re incredibly fortunate to have the technical resources and personal connections to make this happen,” adds Eric.
Guilty of Greatness
Menlo’s Mock Trial program, headed by Thom Scher, along with Varsity coaches David Larson and Carrie Adkins, pretrial coach Tracy Tefertiller, and JV coaches Karen Barr, Michele Freed, and Cindy Herr, has had a banner year. The JV team won its third straight county trial, and the Varsity team, currently undefeated this year, won its eighth straight county title. The Varsity team, led by Makayla Conley ’18 and Ti any Tam ’18, now heads to the state competition, where the students hope for their seventh podium nish in a row.
Give Them a Hand
Seniors Ryan Thompson and David Quezada presented their research from their HAND Foundation Summer Travel Grants at an Upper School assembly. Noosheen Hashemi, cofounder of the HAND Foundation, was on hand to hear the students speak about their projects.
Ryan’s research journey took him to Panama and Costa Rica, where he studied the biodiversity of the rainforest using remote sensing technology in conjunction with Geographic Information System software to track changes to vegetation within tropical ecosystems. He also used satellite imagery to track deforestation by cattle farmers, supported conservation e orts in a sustainable village, and learned about sustainable agriculture from local farmers.
As part of an examination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, David traveled to Mexico City, Southern California, and several other border states to interview DACA Dreamers and learn about the impacts of
the program.
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