STEAM Lab 2018-19 Week 23

Another huge week at Piney Point! Arts, academic, and social/environmental action excellence were all display this week with Alley Theatre, Da Camera, Monarch Heroes, Recycling Team, Name That Book teams, and the No Place For Hate student coalition.

Monday saw our 3-5 Name That Book team presenting their Scratch interactive book review programs to the administration team, then taping their first reviews for the Piney Point morning show in the TV studio, our 4^th grade No Place For Hate video subcommittee filming the first four videos in their STOP the Hate series that have begun appearing weekly on the morning announcements, AND Da Camera percussionist Mr. Brady was here to lead the Landfill Harmonic Music Encounter with our second grade Eco-Schools USA recycling heroes. Also our K-2 Name That Book team arrived early to practice for their contest this Friday! All of this happened before my first class at 9:20 - fortunately Ms. Tran’s Kinder cubs arrived and re-energized me!

Wednesday started off with our 2^nd Alley Theatre Oskar performance – this time it was Oskar and the Curiously Colorful Clash. It was another fantastic show – universally loved! And it shared an important lesson mixed in with the hilarity – one that resonated deeply at a school as beautifully diverse as Piney Point.

K-2 classes focused mainly on Code.org this week; as my lab is shutting down for TELPAS testing all next week I need to pack up as much as possible! We saw a lot of progress and even though I was out Friday for the K-2 Name That Book contest, we still had our Free Build Day!

3-5 split their time between Wonderopolis, Code.org, and Scratch. This was 3^rd grade’s introduction to Scratch so they worked offline with the tutorials. 4^th grade worked on their Scratch Bookshelf projects, and it was impossible to get 5^th grade away from fighting with creating functions for Minecraft in their Code.org course! Most popular Wonders this week for all 3 grades were the Coliseum and Unusual Pets, although Gargoyles had a strong fan base as well. Thursday was also a Free Build for these grade – they almost ALL chose digital “building” with 3^rd grade ransacking the Scratch sound library, 4^th grade making wild, strobing games featuring a lot of rainbow unicorns, tacos, and their own remixed sound effects, while 5^th grade took the opportunity to revisit the Code.org Hour of Code Dance Party

Monarch Heroes are still hard at work starting seeds and collecting Monarch Money – we will be moving everything outside in the next week or two. Butterflies are already back and looking for sustenance!

We closed out the week with our 1^st grade Name That Book reading superstars’ at the competition. We are so proud of all their hard work and leadership. Congratulations to all the teams that participated in the event!

STEAM Lab 2018-19 Week 22

STEAM Lab 2018-19 Week 22

Every week our Panthers impress and inspire me! Whether it is my 1st grade Name That Book club writing and filming book reviews, or our Eco-Schools Green Heroes doing authentic action research to identify campus environmental issues and figure out solutions, or watching them enthusiastically share every new coding or making skill they learn with their peers.

This week saw our 2^nd IIM fair! The student presentations were fantastic! 50^th grade had a 50 states showcase, 3^rd grade took us on a tour of the Solar System, 2^nd grade Green Heroes collected data on campus waste and recycling and launched a composting program, our Monarch Heroes in 1^st grade presented original odes to the Monarch, an overview of pollinators, and more, and Kinder Green Heroes spent the week collecting and categorizing all the litter they found on campus to identify problem spots and primary litter types.

In STEAM Lab lots of progress was made in Code.org courses, K-2 started work with Osmo and Scratch Jr, and Ms. Pesce’s Monarch Heroes started their seeds for the spring habitat expansion. 3^rd-5^th grades began the “Daily Wonder” with Wonderopolis and exploring in Scratch.

3^rd grade had an absolutely incredible Da Camera Music Encounter – The Science of Sound. Everyone was amazed to “see” what and how we hear.

Name That Book club continued their broadcast of book reviews on the morning announcements and making visual retells in Scratch Jr. and storyboarding. They have been working hard with daily read alouds during 1^st grade ancillary.

Our No Place For Hate student coalition met to organize and the projects they developed over the last two meetings. I won’t spoil the surprise, but their new programs will be getting underway next week!

STEAM Lab 2018-19 Week 21

An amazing week of non-stop arts learning experiences! Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Da Camera, and two grades had field trips to the Hobby Center!

We kicked off Monday with fantastic performances from Houston Grand Opera’s Opera to Go. It was a new production, The Elixir of Love, and was a smash hit with all our students from K-2! Tuesday 5^th grade enjoyed a Ballet Talk focused on Sleeping Beauty; later that afternoon the 5^th grade G/T classes had their Da Camera extension Music Encounter! Both Kinder and 1^st grade enjoyed field trips to the Hobby Center and, of course, celebrated the 100^th day of school.

Name That Book club members started their broadcasts of book reviews on the morning announcements and are continuing their daily read-aloud visits to classrooms. The K-2 team have started animated book retells in Scratch Jr while 3rd-5th grade have begun their Scratch "Bookshelf" project. Danilo from our UIL Spanish Oral Reading team presented to the administration team also.

As if all this wasn’t enough, our Fuel Up to Play 60 ambassadors won a contest and our Pre-K – 2^nd graders enjoyed a spirited breakfast with Toro event! There was definitely more dancing than eating as our Panther cubs showed Toro their best moves!

This week was a little unusual in the STEAM lab as Piney Point prepares for TELPAS testing. A different 2^nd-5^th grade class came every day rather than coming for the week-long unit. We took the opportunity to have free choice days for Scratch and Code.org – leading to a couple of new Code.org graduates - and to also introduce Wonderopolis and the Daily Wonder write-up. Students loved this new window onto some of the most amazing things in our world. In fact it was very challenging to detach them after they completed the assignment as they wanted to continue exploring! 

K and 1^st worked on Code.org, started work in Scratch Jr, and Osmo. Ms. Flores’ Monarch Heroes were able to start their seeds for the spring planting too!

STEAM Lab 2018-19 Week 20

We had such a great week! Code.org graduations, rolling out Scratch Jr. to K-2, introduction to OSMO, National Wildlife Federation Green Hero projects with K-5 including painting, planting, and recycling, Arts Integration with Houston Ballet and Da Camera, AND our school Spelling Bee champion, Justin, competed at the District Bee!

K – 2^nd grade are continuing their work in Code.org and we are starting to have graduation celebrations! 4 of Ms. Lugo’s 2^nd graders completed Course C! They are also getting acquainted with Scratch Jr. and Osmo. Kinder is gearing up for their big Spring Trash Bash, 1^st grade Monarch Heroes are starting seeds for the spring planting, and 2^nd graders are still managing the school’s recycling and getting ready to introduce a fantastic new waste reduction initiative! 2^nd grade G/T classes also had a special Da Camera Music Encounter with a Harp Trio!

3^rd- 5^th grade are also hard at work on their Code.org courses and excited to be starting work in the Scratch Stations! Mr. Briceno’s class just wrapped up their Dance to Learn workshop with teaching artists from Houston Ballet and 4^th grade classes had their I Am Jam – figurative language Music Encounter with Da Camera.

We wrapped up the week with Free Build Friday and the usual spectacular displays of collaboration and creativity were well represented!