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STEM Blog
3.14159
Today is Pi Day. Notice the spelling...this is not the kind of pie you eat, but the kind of Pi you think about. Mrs. Briskey’s 7th and 8th grade Math students thought about Pi a lot today during a Breakout challenge. Breakout is a time-limited series of questions, puzzles, and brain teasers that ultimately result in a solution that allows you to open locks and break out. In case you missed it, the value of Pi begins 3.14 and today’s date is March 14th. Enjoy the rest of your Pi Day and hope you get to celebrate with some pie!
A big thank you to Patti Harju, Director of Games BreakoutEDU for helping us set the locks over FaceTime! Breakout EDU
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What materials are needed to build a functioning igloo?
Ms. Armhein and Ms. Melvin guided future Pre-K engineers on a journey to find the answer to our igloo design question using marshmallows, toothpicks and paper plates. They read a story about igloos and discussed who lives in them and how are they built. This activity helped students ask questions about the world around them and seek answers by trying things out. #SLSStem
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Circuits for Learning!
SLS teachers are always looking for innovative ways to teach core concepts. Mrs. Riggin’s Fifth Grade Science Class designed electronic circuit boards to help Third Graders practice their multiplication facts. The Fifth Grade students worked in two-person teams to plan how to wire the board in series using simple materials so that when a simple light bulb assembly was attached to the proper location on the circuit, representing the correct multiplication product, the bulb would emit light. Check back soon to see how Third Graders make use of this dynamic teaching aide!
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Celebrating Dr. Seuss with Science!
Today our 2nd-grade students celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday drawing inspiration from Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Using cornstarch and water, the students explored the properties of a liquid vs. a solid, and now completely understand why Dr. Seuss came up with the name “Oobleck” to describe their creation! To make things even more fun, each student went home with their own baggie of Oobleck to demonstrate what they learned to their families. Mom and Dad – you might want to check those backpacks!
Thanks to Mrs. Anacker and Mrs. Drell for making science so much fun!
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3...2...1...LEGO!
Seventy two FIRST LEGO League teams competed today in the Maryland State Championship competition held at UMBC. The St Louis School teams’ hard work, commitment and passion paid off and their efforts recognized with the coveted bright yellow LEGO trophy. The Einstein Narwhals won First Place for Robot Strategies and Innovation and the Sludge Buddies won Third Place for Robot Programming! We could not be more proud of these students.
We would like to recognize and thank the coaches who gave their time and expertise to guide the teams: Anne Reed, Jenn Sleeman, Luke Franks, Astrid Connors and Michael Blackwood. WAY TO GO KNIGHTS! #AOBCatholicSchools #RiseAbove #SLSSTEM
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FLL State Championship at UMBC!
The St. Louis School community wishes the best of luck to our two FIRST LEGO League teams, who are competing at the Maryland State Championship this weekend at UMBC. Come join us tomorrow starting at Noon to cheer on the the Einstein Narwhals and the Sludge Buddies. GO KNIGHTS!
If you are interested in watching the Maryland State Tournament Live this Saturday:
https://me.umbc.edu/
Spanish Geometry?
How do you make 3 dimensional objects from 2 dimensional shapes en Español? On Friday, First Grade students took on the challenge with some assistance from several Third Graders. The students spent part of the morning navigating through centers where they engaged in various practices to review the shapes in Spanish, then built those shapes using materials like Play-Doh, craft sticks and paper. It was an engaging morning full of engineering, collaboration and critical thinking. A huge thank you to Mrs. Courtney, Mrs. Coyle, Mrs. Vicendese and Mr. Hughes for planning this activity.
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Expanding our World!
Cyber STEM students are taking on a new challenge!
Our new VEX IQ robot kits arrived on Tuesday and students have already begun assembling the "ClawBots," a robotics platform used by many high schools. After assembly and checkout, students will program these robots to interact with the environment and solve increasingly difficult challenges.
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The Tale of the Exploding Peat Moss
Seventh grade is currently studying asexual reproduction in Life Science. One method of asexual reproduction that many organisms use is the releasing of spores. Mrs. Yuska asked the students how they thought the spores were released and how were they able to be carried by the wind. After some lively discussion, educated guessing, and more questioning, Mrs. Yuska showed them the video "The Secretly Speedy Life of Plants - The Tale of the Exploding Peat Moss". When the video ended they continued their discussion with a hands-on activity, building vortex cannons. The air pressure released by the cannons is similar to the air pressure release that moss capsules produce when they release their spores. The students were able to build and modify their cannons to produce the most force for launching our pretend spores - ping pong balls and cotton balls.
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Snow Removal STEM Fun!
Despite the lack of snow in Maryland this year, SLS Cyber STEM students were challenged to design and build a snowplow out of index cards, attach it to an Ozobot robot, and program the robot to navigate a simulated town while removing snow. Students watched a MythBusters Discovery Education video that demonstrated various plow designs, then worked in teams to design and build their own plow. Once their plow was built, each team planned out a path using Ozobot programming color codes for direction, speed, timers, exits and more. Teams are now using the engineering refinement process to try out a design, observe how well it works, then modify and improve their design and code to increase the amount of snow each plow can remove!
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Third Grade Engineers
Today, 3rd grade math students put their engineering skills to the test! Students worked together to solve multiplication problems while building towers using a limited number of resources. Critical thinking was the name of the game, and they rose to the challenge!
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6th Annual STEM Family Fun Night!
As a part of our Catholic Schools Week celebration, we hosted our 6th Annual Family STEM Night. Eric Energy did not disappoint and had the crowd excited and engaged. We did some fun activities In our classrooms making balloon powered cars and loop flyers while learning about aerodynamics and wind-power along the way. Our three FIRST Lego League teams kicked-off the night demonstrating their programming skills and did an awesome job! We congratulate them on their success in the FLL competition and wish them the best of luck as they move forward to the state competition. As always, we are grateful to our parent coaches and the students for their dedication and cannot wait to see what is next! Lastly a great by SLS "Thank You" to all the teachers and staff who stayed to help out – we couldn’t do it without you!
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