XSTREAM Games provide a little bit of everything in annual competition
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It was everything, everywhere, all at once. While veggie pizza was being served up in the cafeteria, robots battled in the gym, and kids played homemade arcade games in the theater. This is typical of the X-STREAM Games, the annual competition of Catholic school projects dealing with science, technology, religion, engineering, art and math. This year’s event was held at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute on March 29.
“This event is awesome because it brings everyone together to see the projects, but I think this just scratches the surface of what is actually happening in our schools,” said Stephanie Genco Gasiecki, STREAM coordinator for the Diocese of Buffalo. “I’ve had the opportunity to visit a lot of our schools, looking at them through a STREAM lens over the past couple of months, and there are just so many amazing projects that are student driven, that involve so many real world skills and applications – problem solving, answering important questions for your community, getting community involvement. This event is just a beautiful showcase of a little bit of all the awesomeness that is happening.”
Many of the projects involved multiple disciplines. Kitchen Chemistry mixed food preparation with religion. Students were tasked with creating a new dish connected with the Jubilee Year. St. John’s Culinary Crusaders made a simple yeast bread and offered cinnamon butter and bacon butter spreads.
“We made it because the pilgrims took the bread with them on their journey because it lasted,” said Henry Kulik from St. John the Baptist in Alden. The bread won them first prize.
Public speakers spoke on well-researched topics dear to their hearts. Olivia Anderson, the first place recipient from SS. Peter & Paul School in Hamburg, spoke on adoption.
“My speech was ‘Why you should adopt.’ I’m adopted, so I talked a little bit about that and how my mom adopted me. I was placed at birth, but my mom adopted me when I was 1 years old. Ever since then, she has been the best mom I could ever hope for,” the seventh grader said.
She hopes her listeners learned the difference adopting can make in a child’s life.
Survival of the sweetest? Science fair projects examined some interesting hypotheses at the 11th annual XSTREAM Games held March 30 at St. Joseph Collegiate Institute in Kenmore. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Danica Niefergold of St. Peter & Paul School in Hamburg wanted to see if eight lemons could charge her phone. Turns out, it only takes seven. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
The top finishers in the XSTREAM Games Public Speaking competition include Harrison Ignatius, Kylee Kerr and Olivia Anderson, who pose their judges (back row), Peyton Wagner, Mary Jo Aiken, and Chris Riso. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Nativity of Our Lord School in Orchard Park sletuthed their way to the gold at the XSTREAM Games CSI/Forensic competition. The team included Maya Roussev, Robert Bennet and Jack Perry. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Displays lined the halls of St. Joseph Collegiate Institute for the 11th annual XSTREAM Games. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Displays lined the halls of St. Joseph Collegiate Institute for the 11th annual XSTREAM Games. (Photo by Patrick J. Buechi) 
Kids invented a non-air version of air hockey. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira) 
Strategy and skill go into building arcade games, as well as playing them. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira) 
DeSales Catholic School took home the first and second place trophies in the Robotics competition. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira) 
Science experiments were conducted at the XSTREAM Games. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira) 
Simple bread and butter gave St. John’s Culinary Crusaders a competitive edge. It helped that the butter had cinnamon and bacon in it. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira) 
A gingerbread church complements of St. Stephen School on Grand Island. (Photo by Nicole Dzimira)
“That’s what children usually need – support, love, and a nurturing environment,” she said.
For the more analytical minded, CSI/Forensics presented teams of students with a packet of clues with fingerprints and bootprints to solve a theft and prove their own innocence.
“This was a very fun experience. I enjoyed it,” said Maya Roussev of Nativity of Our Lord’s winning sixth grade team. “I think it’s something they should do more of. I think they should do more hands-on experience, rather than paper. Dusting for fingerprints; I think that would be more fun.”
This was the 11th year for the X-STREAM Games and the first time organized by Genco Gasiecki.
“I’m very happy with it,” she said. “We had such support from our school families and from teachers and from high school volunteers that we had. There was so much community support in it. That really made a big difference in making the event a success. Students were really excited about what their projects were. They were engaged in their learning and sharing it with other people.”
Volunteers from St. Joseph Collegiate Institute and Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart helped set up and coordinate the event.
And the award goes to …
CSI/Forensics
- Nativity of Our Lord, Orchard Park
- St. John the Baptist, Alden
Public speaking
- Olivia Anderson, SS. Peter & Paul, Hamburg
- Kylee Kerr, NativityMiguel St. Monica, Buffalo
- Harrison Ignatius, Nativity of Our Lord, Sacred Heart, Orchard Park
Science scrimmage
- St. John the Baptist, Alden
- NativityMiguel St. Monica, Buffalo
- St. Mark, Buffalo
Kitchen Chemistry
- St. John the Baptist, Alden
- SS. Peter & Paul, Hamburg
- St Greg the Great, Williamsville
Robotics
- Team 1, DeSales, Lockport
- Team 2, DeSales, Lockport
- SS. Peter & Paul, Hamburg
Arcade Academy
- Team 1, NativityMiguel St. Augustine
- Team 2, NativityMiguel St. Augustine
- St. Mark, Buffalo
