STEM Blog

It's Electrifying!
Posted March 30, 2023

Check out these amazing 8th Grade Science students in Ms. Duff's class! They're building both series and parallel circuits in class and it's electrifying to see how engaged and excited they are about learning. These hands-on activities are a great way to make science come alive and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Keep up the great work. #STEMatSLS
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All About Germs!
Posted March 29, 2023

Last week, Dr. Varghese-Kroll and Dr. Kroll presented to 3rd grade science class on germs. They explained how to properly wash your hands. They even had a special light to show the students how germs stick to areas on our body (mostly our fingernails) so it’s super important to wash our hands correctly!

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Dash Winter Olympics
Posted March 24, 2023

St. Louis School Third Graders may not be at the Olympics, but they held their very own competitive sporting event! Thanks to a collaborative effort between Computer, Library, Math, and ELA class, the students researched their assigned sport and country, then programmed the Wonder Workshop Dash robots to perform the appropriate actions for each sport. The students also measured the speed of the robot by dividing the distance traveled by the time it took to complete the action. The results showed that the robots move at about 1 foot per second! The event included an Opening Ceremony and the teams demonstrated terrific sportsmanship. A big shoutout to AFCEA Central Maryland (CMD) for supporting our STEM program through their generous grant making the purchase of these robots possible. Thank you to Mrs. Whiteford, Mrs. Ellerbrock, Mrs. Sutton, Ms. Gunn, Mrs. Benton, and Mrs. Frances Thomas for their support of this fun and engaging lesson.

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Probability!
Posted March 24, 2023

As part of our STEM Speaker Series, SLS Fifth Grade students had the opportunity to learn from Mr. Mike Blasi, a former SLS parent and STEM resource. Using Monopoly as an example, they discovered how to calculate the probability of landing in jail and other similar scenarios. Mr. Blasi also explained how probability and statistics apply to real-world situations, helping the students understand the scientific method and hypothesis testing. He even related these concepts to games like Yahtzee, Risk, and Monopoly by showing how dice and coin flips impact outcomes. We're grateful to Mr. Blasi for taking the time to come and share his knowledge with us
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Leprechaun Traps!
Posted March 24, 2023

Look at these clever kindergartners in Mrs. Amrhein's class! They had a blast building leprechaun traps in class yesterday. Our little engineers used all sorts of materials and creative ideas to try and catch those sneaky leprechauns. We can't wait to see if we caught any. Happy St. Patrick's Day! #StPatricksDay #KindergartenFun #LeprechaunTraps #STEMatSLS #AOBCatholicSchools
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Pi Day!
Posted March 24, 2023
Today, fifth graders had a fun day in math class playing with PIE, as in 3.14 pi, the ratio between a circle's circumference to its diameter.
They students turned the digits of pi into a bar graphs and made fun cityscapes. They also created a "Piaku" (as in haiku), which is a poem that has nine lines, and each line uses the number of words that corresponds to the first 9 digits of pi. They also created pi suns using a ruler to measure the different rays of the sun that followed the same order of pi.
It was a fun way to get to know circles and pi, which they will start learning more about in geometry. Thanks Mrs. Benzing, Ms. Rossi, Mrs. Conahan, and Mrs. Riggin for a fun math day!

 
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March Madness!
Posted March 24, 2023

Happy Selection Sunday everyone! At St. Louis School, our eighth graders got a head start on the March Madness excitement by competing in a Dash Robot Basketball Shoot Out earlier this week! In Mrs. Whiteford's Computer Class, our students collaborated in small teams to assemble their own half courts and program their Dash robots to aim at the basket, shoot and reload. We had a blast with this engaging engineering challenge and were thrilled to have Mrs. Thomas join in the fun too! #MarchMadness #SelectionSunday #STEMatSLS #DashRobotBasketball Carly and Adam
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Electric Charge Alert!
Posted March 24, 2023
Ms. Duff's Science Class 8th-grade students are currently diving deep into the world of electric charge! This week they built a device that allowed them to observe the effect of static electricity. Thanks to their knowledge of the fundamental principles of electric charge, they were able to conduct a thorough investigation, learning that like charges repel while opposite charges attract.
Our students were engaged and excited to see the effects of their experiment come to life. Who knows maybe we have some scientists and inventors in our midst.
We can't wait to see what other incredible discoveries our students will make as they continue to learn about the fascinating world of electric charge.

 
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Chemical and Physical Reactions!
Posted March 24, 2023

Third graders are learning how science class can be fun and amazing! The students are currently studying chemical and physical reactions. This past week, they mixed together sugar, yeast, and water and were absolutely amazed when they saw the as carbon dioxide filling the balloons!



Teacher STEM Learning Fun!
Posted March 24, 2023
Our dedicated teachers have been hard at work, participating in professional development to further develop their STEM education skills. Led by Mrs. Whiteford and Ms. d'Epagnier, our educators engaged in hands-on learning, honing their abilities to create dynamic and impactful STEM lessons for our students.
This PD was not just informative, but also a lot of fun! Our teachers had the opportunity to tackle a hands-on STEM challenge, putting their new skills into practice and working collaboratively to find creative solutions. We are so proud of our teachers' commitment to continuing their own education and professional growth, and we know that their dedication will pay dividends in the classroom.
At St. Louis School, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible education, and our teachers are at the heart of that mission. Thank you to Mrs. Whiteford, Ms. d’Epagnier, and Mrs. Madden for leading valuable professional development sessions at the Archdiocesan-wide PD day yesterday. We also thank all of our teachers for their dedication to our students.
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State Championship Results!
Posted March 24, 2023

The Nuclear Knights and the Knights of the LEGO Table each came away with awards from today’s State Championship at UMBC. The Nuclear Knights came in 8th overall among 60 teams in the robot competition and won the Judges Breakthrough Award. The Knights of the LEGO table won a finalist award in the Robot Design category. Congratulations to both teams for a job well done. A huge thank you to our parent coaches and to everyone who helped make this experience possible. Already planning for next year! #STEMatSLS FIRST in Maryland Archdiocese of Baltimore Catholic Schools
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FIRST LEGO League Maryland State Championship
Posted March 11, 2023
3,2,1 LEGO!
The Nuclear Knights and the Knights of the LEGO Table have begun the morning portion of the State Championship competition at UMBC. The St. Louis School community is proud of these students and wishes them the best today. You can view the Livestream of the robot game portion of the competition by clicking on the link below starting at 12:00 PM. Look for the Knights of the LEGO Table (blue tables) and the Nuclear Knights (purple tables).
Visit https://marylandfll.org/ for YouTube Livestream information.
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