STEM Blog

In Social Studies, students received mission instructions and were given a clue each day to help identify the state in which the colony was located. They applied map reading and coding skills to these clues to narrow down possible locations, for instance by eliminating states that border an ocean or another country or had a certain number of farms. They eventually deduced that the bat colony was located in a state that borders four other states and the Great Lakes. The students were then able to narrow down the location to one of two states and each student took a guess. The final clue provided map coordinates which enabled our budding chiropterologists to use Google Earth to locate the colony. The mission was a success and the bats were saved! #STEMatSLS

St. Louis School is committed to preparing our students for the future by providing ongoing lessons and activities that focus on the four Cs of STEM - collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking. Our focus on logical thought processes, problem-solving, and creativity will enable students to develop mental habits that will help them succeed in any field.

For the past few weeks, students in grades 3 through 8 have been reviewing the engineering design process in Mrs. Whiteford’s Computer class. They participated in STEM activities, creativity challenges, and age-appropriate digital breakouts from Breakout EDU to exercise their critical thinking skills. The students were engaged and did a fantastic job demonstrating their growing expertise in the four Cs.

In Computer Class, the students learned how to program #Ozobot robots using color codes to power their floats during the parade. The Ozobot, a mouse-sized self-propelled robot, is capable of reading colored line combinations and performing corresponding actions.

Kindergarten spectators cheered as the parade floats moved across the stage while the SLS First Grade engineers carefully positioned their robot floats. A huge thank you to Mrs. Vicendese, Mrs. Phelps, and Mrs. Sugatan for their guidance and support on this lesson. Well done First Grade! #STEMatSLS #AOBCatholicSchools #CarlyandAdam

In ELA, students read the book Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper and were challenged to use their time sequencing skills to put the events of the story in chronological order. After they completed this successfully, they were given pictures from the story to arrange in that same sequential order, creating a map for the Ozobot to follow as they retold the story. Students used the appropriate color sequences for the Ozobot to follow, changing speed and direction to traverse the map in the proper order. They worked in groups and did an excellent job communicating, collaborating and problem-solving to create each color sequence to cause the Ozobot to move successfully around the map. Who knew learning map skills could be so much fun? #STEMatSLS

For the past few weeks, students have been using the Code.org website to learn about coding, movement, angles, and shapes in Mrs. Whiteford’s Computer Class. They were subsequently challenged to build a device that could be held by the Dash robot and then to program the robot to draw a variety of shapes, including a square, a circle, a triangle, and a hexagon. Our Dashes successfully transformed into artists and it was a successful experience for all! #STEMatSLS Wonder Workshop