Celebrating & Reflecting

Last week we put a wrap on another amazing year of STEAM here at the Ottauquechee School, and I really can't believe all that we accomplished.  From discussing social inequality to sustainable cities, to becoming global citizens and goalkeepers, this was a year of truly fantastic work.  The students reflected on their journey and their favorite parts of the year, then were called up one by one for a rousing round of applause and a certificate acknowledging their hard work and commitment to the Global Goals!  They all deserved to take a bow!

 

Finally, all classes ended with a dance party to this awesome song written by African artists called "Tell Everybody," which celebrates a commitment to telling everybody about the Global Goals and continuing our mission as goalkeepers!

What a year! Looking forward to continuing this incredible momentum in the fall!

Forest Structures!

Kindergarten, first and second grade went out into the forest to use their knowledge of using shapes to create strong structures that we've learned from our lessons on geodesic domes. Third grade will have their chance tomorrow! We love taking learning outside!

Great cooperation, communication, perseverance and critical thinking by all students!

Research and Infographics

STEAM and 4th and 5th grade library are having a crossover event, where the research that they are conducting in library regarding their diversity audit (learn more here!) is continuing during STEAM time.  Last week during STEAM students learned how to create infographics in Canva, and will take their data to create informative representations that they will share with Mrs. Whitney and their classmates, including a recommendation of books that the fifth graders will go buy when they visit the Norwich Bookstore next week!

Life-Sized Geodesic Domes!

Students in grades K-3 are taking their knowledge of structures and geodesic domes to the next level, by building life-sized versions out of newspaper and binder clips!  What an ambitious project!

For the amount of fine motor skill and cooperation this project required, kindergarten did an outstanding job persevering through their frustrations, and had some awesome success!

First grade were more independent, and worked so well together!

 

2nd grade struggled the most with perseverance and cooperation, but in the end, they also got the job done!

 

Wish us luck as next week we head into the forest to try to do this with natural materials!  Hopefully we can create a structure that will last throughout the summer!

Testing Our Domes

Students couldn't wait to see how well their geodesic domes, which are a very strong structure due to their equal distribution of weight across their surface area, held up under the pressure of up to 10 library books!  The students were at the edge of their seats--literally--and could barely keep from rushing in to get a closer look!

We were all amazed at the strength of these deceptively simple, and very sustainable, designs!