This past month your child explored contributions made by Black Americans throughout our society to celebrate Black History Month. The following is a summary of what each grade level explored:

Our kinder scholars studied Martin Luther King Jr and his infamous "I Have a Dream" speech. Then scholars created illustrations of the speech and made crafts.

First grade scholars read and researched the lives of George Washington, Carver, Jackie Robinson, Mae Jemison, Ruby Bridges, and Rosa Parks. Scholars then wrote informational paragraphs and illustrated their writing.

Second grade students created a quilt that highlighted several black leaders who impacted our history.

Third grade scholars also studied Martin Luther King Jr. as well as the poetry and literature of Maya Angelou.

Fourth graders research famous STEM innovators for Black History Month. Students studied and shared with classmates the lives of 35 different innovators, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments.

Fifth graders explored the black mathematicians at NASA. Students emulated their work by creating and utilizing the tools the scientists used to map the starts and survey farmland.

Talk with your students and have them share with you all of the wonderful things they learned during our Black History Month celebration. As we come upon our annual Spring break, please prevent learning loss by having your child continue to read daily and play math games. Your child can also access Lexia (K-5) for reading and ALEKS PIE (3-5) for math. We hope you have a safe and refreshing Spring Break.

Best Regards,

Monica Elizondo, M.Ed.

Elementary Principal

Elementary StuCo students took a tour of the Black Cultural Council of Odessa to learn more about Black History in their community. We were so grateful for the opportunity to learn.

StuCo students volunteered at a local food pantry last month.

I hope this newsletter finds you doing well this month. We have a short month ahead with spring break right around the corner. As we start to enter a very busy end of school year there are a few big student accomplishments that I would like to highlight.

The first is our Robotics teams. Our top-performing team of Cantina Crew has received a special invitation to compete at the state tournament. Mr. Vann and Mr. Malla have worked endless hours with these student teams ( a total of 5 teams with 4-10 students on each team). The students have also put in multiple hours. We are very proud of what they have achieved.

The second group is our middle school Destination Imagination team. This group received a wild card invitation to state after placing third at regionals. The students design a performance and mobile set on a given topic. They then are judged on a rubric by independent judges. The students are also given a random instant challenge to compete in. This group of students will be going to Arlington at the end of the month with their coach Mrs. Sikes. We look forward to great things of their performance.

The next group just finished up at district meet. It is our Student Council crew. STEM has a middle school and high school student council that attended district meet. The high school group won sweepstakes and was given the prestigious Outstanding Student Council designation. The administrative leaders of StuCo fill out paperwork that lists their activities for the year in the areas of Energy and Environment, Drug Alcohol Safety & Health, Pride & Patriotism, and Community Service. If the group is awarded in all those areas they qualify for the Outstanding Student Council. On top of this achievement, the geographic district 8 schools elected STEM as the President school for the coming school year. Ms. Gunn and the entire student council are leading the way to state in Irving at the end of this month. To say our campus has shining leadership is a vast understatement.

All of these achievements don’t show on our state accountability report but truly show a diversified student body. Please help me in sharing STEMS appreciation to these sponsors and students that are lighting the way for STEM.

In Service to others,

Dr. Cody L. Griffin Ed.D

Principal - STEM Academy Middle and High School

Elementary STUCO enjoyed a visit from Madison Guerrero, a local rising artist from UTPB, as she spoke on how her Hispanic heritage inspires her art.