The week before Easter the students at Parkwood Heights Elementary were given a STEM challenge: working in teams to design and create something that would keep an egg safe from a drop from the roof of the school. Our students brought in all the materials they thought they might need and got to work. They problem-solved and worked together to come up with innovative ideas. On Thursday, all the prototypes were put to the test. At our assembly we learned that over 70% of our groups were successful in creating something that kept their egg safe, and those students were presented with a cer
In October, ASD-N rolled out a district wide STEM Bin initiative that saw all K-1 classrooms in ASD-N receive multiple bins of manipulatives used to inspire our youngest students to become problem solvers and engineers. Since that time our teachers have kept the STEM Bin momentum alive by participating in monthly challenges with their classes.
Over 20 kindergarten and grade one classes have participated in each of these challenges by reading, writing, and building. The challenges have included:
Mrs. Noel’s primary’s classroom was a popular spot during the King Street Elementary Open House & Grand Opening held on Monday evening. Students, parents, family members and special guests kept the room busy throughout the evening as they got to experience Osmo Numbers, Words & Tangeams, sling with STEM Bins and SMART Interactive sessions. The Open House portion of the evening ran from 6-7 and was followed by an official opening and ribbon cutting ceremony in the gym featuring many dignitaries. Certainly a great evening for a beautiful new school!
The rollout of STEM Bins has been completed in ASD-N and an exciting new competition has been launched. K-1 classes from around the district are invited to participate in monthly STEM challenges in their classrooms and compete for prizes. Teachers are asked to share pictures and videos of their students completing the challenge and their names will be entered into a draw for a prize. These challenges will be sent out via e-mail each month.
Students in Mme. Roy Leclair’s 7FI math class are learning about mean, median, mode and range. Working in groups, students were challenged to build the highest tower they could out of 20 plastic cups, measure the height of their tower in centimeters, table their results for five trials, then calculate their answers for mean, median, mode and range based on previous learning. What a fun activity!
