Campaign Priority: Inspiring Innovation & Creativity
Goal
$2,300,000 to renovate underutilized space to better serve the needs of current students & reopen as the IHM Center for Innovation & Creativity.
The IHM Center for Innovation and Creativity
The IHM Center for Innovation and Creativity is fittingly named in honor of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who have been the backbone of the Bishop Shanahan educational experience since its beginning. This new space will serve as a central hub for collaboration across a wide range of activities, including STEM, business, community service planning, clubs, and more. We envision that all students will find a space in The IHM Center, inspiring bold thinking and the formation of new ideas.
The campaign will support the creation of this new space by repurposing the existing Media Center, Computer Resource Lab, and a portion of the academic wing. It will further enhance the school curriculum and support students in solving problems strategically, thinking critically and creatively, communicating and collaborating with others, and discovering positive group dynamics and leadership strategies.
Students will experience exciting courses in engineering, immersion technology, robotics, and STEM-related areas of study. Technology-rich labs, presentation spaces, and collaboration areas will also support the traditional sciences to give Shanahan students the very best environment for a robust, rigorous, and relevant learning experience.
The creation of vibrant and innovative new learning spaces to our facilities is essential to maintaining Bishop Shanahan’s legacy of providing an exceptional and holistic Catholic education. - Father Donia, President
The Center Will be Equipped with:
Learning Zones to maximize student potential by offering work spaces suitable for different learning styles. These zones will feature private spaces for solitary study, collaborative zones for group work, and flexible seating for teaching instruction with students as a collective whole.
Collaborative Workspaces that will provide the opportunity for four to six students and/or teachers to work on projects utilizing technology and to access external learning resources.
Design Center featuring dedicated computers, video-making equipment, and design software for the execution and implementation of projects imagined and designed in the Innovation Center. In addition, the Center will host classes in digital publications and in tech resources.
Resource Center and Academic Lab to empower students to be their very best. It will act as a one-stop shop for all the resources students need to thrive and achieve their goals, including tutoring, quiet space for testing, academic support, and online/virtual classes.
STEM Lab and Makerspace to enable faculty and students to collaborate with hands-on projects that cross disciplines, creating deeper learning experiences and encouraging interests in fields such as physics, engineering, math, graphic design, robotics, and art.
Necessary Skills for Tomorrow:
A research report from McKinsey Global Institute has highlighted the skill sets workers will need to secure the best careers for the future. These are:
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Technological: this embraces everything from basic to advanced information technology skills, data analysis, engineering and research.
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Higher cognitive: these skills include advanced literacy and writing, quantitative and statistical skills, critical thinking, and complex information processing.
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Social and emotional, or “soft skills”: these include advanced communication and negotiation, empathy, and the ability to learn continuously, to manage others, and to be adaptable.
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