Okanagan AI and Robotics Academy (School Year 2024-2025)

What is our vision?

At OARA, we recognize the need for a comprehensive supplementary education for our kids to be ready for the future. Something we found lacking in a small town like ours at the same time trying to address the gaps in our education system. Having lived more than a decade in big cities such as Chicago and Dallas, we are fully aware of the educational resources required to prepare the children.

We aim to provide a platform for students to excel in the field of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) with a focus on AI, Robotics, Engineering, and Entrepreneurship. To know more about the importance of STEAM education, you may refer to this write-up that I found useful https://artsintegration.com/what-is-steam-education-in-k-12-schools/.

From an organization perspective, OARA operates much like a not-for-profit with a significant investment from the founders. One of the goals is to operate OARA in a sustainable way at least by 2025-2026 school year.

What is OARA Journey?

Starting this school year ( 2024-2025 ), every OARA student will travel through a personalized “OARA Journey.” Each student is unique and requires a different kind of attention. We understand this need. All this will be tracked in the form of a student portfolio. This year, we introduce “Outcomes” to the OARA Journey. Every student will work towards their outcomes for every quarter (3-month cycles). This is a journey from kindergarten to high school (K – 12), and we strive to guide the students all the way. As you know, each of these commitments is challenging and not an easy task in any way, and we, the coaches, the students, and the parents, will all work together to accomplish this.

What is OARA Curriculum?

At OARA, the students learn a variety of STEAM skills at various levels. Some of the skills include

  • Robotics and coding
  • Practical hands-on projects
  • Practical presentation skills
  • Website designing
  • Design engineering
  • 3D modeling
  • Robotics competition coaching
  • Guided research and innovation projects
  • Teamwork
  • Worksheets for homework, etc.

What are the age groups at OARA?

There could be some overlap; however, the students are grouped as:

  • Beginner (6 to 10 years old)
  • Intermediate (10 to 14 years old)
  • Advanced (High School)

What is OARA Makerspace?

Starting this year, we moved to our new location at 3125, 31 Ave. We are constantly improving this place as a perfect makerspace. Learning should also be fun. We have already added games like table tennis, air hockey, foosball, etc. We want this place to be a platform for innovation and creativity. We have also added very good audio and mic systems for use during OARA events, which could be a place to showcase the students’ work in front of a large audience. We are particularly excited for this year’s First Lego League championship (“submerged”).

What are OARA Events?

We plan to conduct several events at the OARA makerspace. We will update this in our monthly newsletter. Events may include mostly STEAM-related activities, creative presentations, project showcases, competitions, debates, movie nights, etc.

What is an OARA Calendar?

We update all our events, classes, and programs in our calendar. It is very convenient to subscribe to the calendar. Calendar link: https://okanaganaiandrobotics.com/oara-program-calendar/.

How to join us?

We highly recommend booking an info session with us to get started. An info session is also recommended at the beginning of every school year.

Book An Info Session

Read more about us

Payment Plans

We offer both monthly and annual payment options, providing flexibility while ensuring long-term commitment to our students’ journey. We understand there could be several conflicts and other priorities, so a monthly option may be ideal for those who cannot commit to an annual plan. We also provide drop in option on a per class basis which would be $ 30 per session.

Monthly Payment Option

  • $149 per month (paid monthly)
  • Could attend up to 2 classes per week on a regular school week. Each session or class is valued at $ 35.
  • Access to robotics competition training ( Conditions apply )
    • Discuss with the coach for more details (Examples: First Lego League Explore, FLL Challenge, FTC, RoboCup, etc.)
  • Eligible for family discount
  • 10% off seasonal camps (such as winter camp, summer break camps, pro-d day camps, etc.)
  • Access to indoor play area: Table Tennis, Foosball, Air Hockey etc

Annual Payment Option

  • $129 per month (paid annually)
  • Could attend up to 2 classes per week
    • Could attend up to 2 classes per week on a regular school week. Each session or class is valued at $ 35.
  • Access to robotics competition training ( Conditions apply )
    • Discuss with the coach for more details (Examples: First Lego League Explore, FLL Challenge, FTC, RoboCup, etc.)
  • Eligible for family discount
  • 50% off seasonal camps (such as winter camp, summer break camps, pro-d day camps, etc.)
  • Access to indoor play area: Table Tennis, Foosball, Air Hockey etc
  • Access to future offerings
  • Discounted access to OARA events

Drop-In Option

  • $ 35 per session

Questions

We will be glad to answer any questions. Please reach out to us at okanaganaiandrobotics@gmail.com or book an info session with us at https://okanaganaiandrobotics.com/book-an-info-session/.

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