S.T.E.M. at ShepardsonWhy?
Last year the staff and parents spent time considering the option of incorporating STEM components into our established curriculum. The response was overwhelmingly supportive by both staff and parents. We will definitely maintain our focus on the “whole child,” the arts, and language arts but we found compelling reasons to strengthen our program with these components. Our study of what our students will need to be successful as global citizens in the 21st century easily led us in this direction. These elements are not new to Shepardson but we envision integrating them within our existing standards to create a more engaging learning environment that motivates students to think, to inquire, and to be active learners in their education. More information about this is available on our school website!
What has happened over the summer?
After school was out, nearly all of the teachers were able to attend a full day personal session with several CSU professors at the learning laboratories of CSMATE (Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education.) We ourselves became active learners, allowing us to better understand what inquiry looks like. The other half of the day was spent analyzing what all Shepardson is already doing and what we feel we would need to do to move into an authentic STEM school. We were pleased to see all we are already doing. CSU was highly supportive of our efforts and provided significant value to our thinking and planning process. Teachers were highly engaged all day, imagining many possibilities to make learning more fun, meaningful and exciting for our students. We want them to capture the Joy of Learning!
Principal Mary Kay Sommers was invited to attend a gathering of 200 education, business and policy leaders at the State Capitol for the Governor to launch the Colorado STEM Network. This initiative recognizes the skills that students will need to be successful and competitive for the innovative workforce needed in the 21st century. Shepardson continues to be one of the few elementary schools seeking to incorporate all elements into the learning process.
Teachers Beth Brown and Rebecca McGoldrick attended a two-day training session on grant writing. We recognize that Shepardson will need to seek outside resources to assist us with this development. We are now better skilled and positioned to seek grants alone and with our esteemed colleagues at CSU. We are anxious to have parent assistance in this process since it can be time-consuming as well as time-sensitive. Interested?
On behalf of Shepardson, Principal Sommers has been invited to join the planning and demonstration sessions of a CSU STEM-related initiative, supported by the state of Colorado. This grant will seek to bridge the gap between the skills businesses need and the talent our schools system is producing. We are excited to be viewed as a serious and eager developer of STEM elements into an elementary curriculum. Sommers has been making contacts with various groups who are equally eager to assist us in the development.
This summer our technology plan was approved for the expenditure of Bond funds. Now purchases have arrived and teachers are eager to learn ways to maximize their use in the “normal” course of learning, not as a separate entity. Media Specialist Margie Bucher enticed staff to seek new resources over the summer to expand our use of technology in the classroom, as one way to more actively engage students in the learning process. One teacher immediately responded with specific ways she could have used it last year to help a specific child. Shaun Cornwall attended a state technology conference returning with new strategies! The ideas for relevant use of technology are growing easily. More ideas are welcome!
We plan to maintain a special section of our newsletter and our website related to STEM this year. SIT will again be serving as the parent/staff team who will assist us in our decision making process. Please contact a SIT parent rep. if you have questions or ideas to share.
| 
