PROGRAMMING UPDATES
After-school programming has started for the year. On September 15th, we kicked off with the Maritime and Aviation Clubs. The Fab Lab Club and Drone Club will begin in the second quarter. Through these opportunities, students grow personally and professionally—whether through teamwork, leadership, or connecting classroom learning to their future careers. By working together on complex projects, students strengthen relationships with peers and mentors while gaining real-world skills
This year, Argonaut set ambitious goals for afterschool programming, and the results have been impressive. Enrollment surpassed the target of 52 students with 78 participants, and nearly all students met the attendance benchmark, with 50 attending 30 or more days. Literacy outcomes were especially strong, with 50% of students showing measurable growth—double the goal.
A special shout-out goes to Malyah Hill, a Davis sophomore and aspiring UAS pilot, who led the way with 87 days of attendance and continues to thrive in the Aviation and Drone Club.
Team 8222: New Captains, New Season, New Challenges
Team 8222 is gearing up for the 2026 season by training and preparing new members of the team. With 8 members graduated and moving onto their next steps, we had some big shoes to fill.
Meet our new captains: Eamon and Brady. Eamon has a passion for learning new skills and hopes to one day serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. Brady has a passionfor aviation and wants to be a commercial pilot. He is currently on track, training to become a pilot. Both captains have been on the team for a year and have been trained under their predecessors, Yariselle (now studying Mechatronics Engineering at Kent State) and Jovanni (now studying Mechanical Engineering at Ohio State)
Team 8222 has two off-season competitions this fall. The first competition is at Kettering University, Flint, Michigan on September 20th and the second competition is at the Valley Voltage Vibe competition at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio.
The 2026 FIRST FRC REBUILT competition season kickoff will be on January 10th at 2:00pm. This is when all teams around the globe will learn what the new game and challenge is for the season. This will require an entirely new robot, giving us just six weeks to design, build, and program a brand-new robot. We are excited and ready for the new season and can’t wait to share our new robot with you in the spring.
Maritime Program Updates: Aqua Immersion and Sailing Expansion
The school year is off to a strong start for our mariners. Our incoming freshmen have completed their first two weeks of Aqua Immersion. During their first weeks at Davis, our students dove in and learned to become comfortable with the water at CSU and also experienced the water at Rivergate Park.
Thank you so much to our partners at The Foundry, Cleveland Rowing Foundation, and Cleveland Dragon Boats for their time and expertise.
Argonaut has welcomed a new vessel, Paradox, to our fleet. During the summer, teachers had a chance to view the boat and gave it a stellar review. Compared toprevious vessels, Paradox has sails and will be used to teach basic boat handling and sailing skills to our students and their families alike. From understanding sail trimming to learning basic navigation, students will use their classroom knowledge to participate in real-world, hands-on practice situations.
We’re excited to add Paradox as another layer of our maritime education and programming. Be on the lookout for what’s next as we move full steam ahead, including an occasional entrance into sail racing!
Fab Lab Fall Updates: Creativity in Action
The Fab Lab continues to be a hub for innovation, collaboration, and hands-on learning. Thanks to our amazing summer interns—Calvin Jackson, Elise Galloway, Mikeah Velazquez, Arthur Higher, and Kaysha Jones—for making this past summer such a success. Their energy and dedication brought new ideas and projects to life, showing just how powerful creativity and teamwork can be. From hands-on learning to creative problem-solving, their contributions set the tone for an exciting year ahead as we transition into the new school year.
Looking forward, Fab Club will officially kick off its second quarter this October. Students will once again dive into digital fabrication, design, and innovation. The focus this quarter will be on craftsmanship, aesthetics, and building skills and techniques.
Ingenuity Fest, held in Cleveland from September 26–28, is a celebration of art, technology, and creativity that brings together inventors, makers, and performers from across the region. Argonaut played a big role in showcasing our students’ talents by teaching visitors how to operate drones and airplanes by using our simulators. Visitors had the chance to build boats, create rockets and shoot them off by way of an air compressor and drive our award winning robot. A huge thank you goes out to Emily Applebaum and the entire Ingenuity Team for making this event such a success.
Interns and Alumni Lead Hands-On Projects in Argonaut Aviation
Our Aviation Club has been busy keeping our plane ready to hit the skies. Current Davis student Noah Reed interned at the Argonaut Aviation Department with alum Ortez Littlejohn. Together, they replaced a failing Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) in Argonaut’s Piper Cherokee. The new ELT not only sends out a radio signal but also the GPS position of the aircraft in case of an emergency.
Students also fabricated a remotely controlled aircraft tug that will be used to move Argonaut aircraft. The design of the R/C tug eliminates damage caused to the aircraft’s steering system by larger tugs with towbars.
In addition to his work with Noah, Ortez was instrumental in helping diagnose and replace a worn-out cylinder on the Cherokee engine.
Through their participation in the Aviation Club, students had the opportunity to learn about and use several tools specific to the aviation industry and the machine shop/tool-making industry.
The Davis Drone Soccer Team is in the works!
We are excited to announce our plans for a Drone Soccer program this fall semester. Created in South Korea, Drone Soccer has gained popularity worldwide. Argonaut is bringing this fun activity to our Davis students with the purchase of a starter kit. Students are already building, programming, and strategizing together as they dive into this exciting new sport!