2019-20 STEAM Lab week 26

A shortened week, but full of wonderful learning experiences!

Monday we gathered our UIL Team to congratulate everyone and give back their results. We are so Panther Proud of our scholars and performers!

STEAM lab was on the road this week to accommodate HMNS Bugs on Wheels. I love this program and so do all our students! I booked it last year and it was such a big hit, I hope to make it annual.

Monday was Monarchs for our Eco-Schools USA Monarch Heroes of course!

Tuesday was Decomposers for our Eco-Schools USA Recycling Team – they were excited to meet nature’s recycling team!

Wednesday was Pollinators for 3^rd grade:

Thursday was Arthropods for 4^th grade:

Friday was scheduled to be Arachnids for 5^th grade, but the cancellation will push that back after our return to school.

Kindergarten created their own definition and image of a Green Hero, had a bonus campus clean-up day and was able to produce their class profile video! 

Our Green Heroes were recognized by Don't Mess With Texas and received several boxes of special prizes! They got beautiful calendars, giant posters, and a clean-up bag with stickers and a mini book. Thank you so much for the gifts!

First grade reviewed all their Monarch learning for the year – incorporating new facts from their HMNS program! They then worked in teams to create their Monarch Movie, but unfortunately didn’t get to present their final project when school was cancelled. They also got acquainted with Scratch Jr!

Second, Third, and Fourth grade had their Scratch Intro, but then environmental projects took over! They donated a day to assisting the Monarch Heroes by relocating some of their beds and prepping them for Habitat Restoration Day, they prepped new beds in the Guacamole Garden, they bucket brigade watered all 50 of the Monarch Hero habitat beds and the vegetable gardens too! They also attended the HMNS Bugs On Wheels program for their grade level.

Thursday was Monarch Habitat Restoration Day! All eight classes came out to add new plants in place of ones that didn’t make it through the winter or were completely devoured by caterpillars in the fall!

In Digital Making Club 2^nd graders got acquainted with LEGO Dacta as an introduction before they start the Simple Machines and then the WeDo kits. The 3^rd grade put final touches on their interactive stories, and Krisha (who finished last week) started on LEGO WeDo. 4^th and 5^th graders started work with BirdBrain’s Hummingbird robotics kits. They started creating a simple – or in some cases, NOT so simple, design to attach the motors and lights and then program it to move, light up, or spin around in Scratch.

I was saddened to learn that school will not be in session until March 31^st, but obviously the safety of our children and their families is the top priority. I do wish I had an opportunity to say a proper goodbye to students and make sure I sent home activities and supplies. I look forward to seeing everyone back healthy and ready to make and learn again as soon as possible!