GCISD Secondary STEM
News and Notes for Parents October 2019
Fall is Here!!!! Almost...
Upcoming Events
Join us for the following events to see what students are doing in GCISD STEM.
- HeroCon - November 1st - School Day Event at GMS, more info below
- Fall STEMposium for 9th-grade students at GHS and CHHS on November 21st from 6-8 pm
- STEM Family Night at GMS on December 3rd @ 6 pm
STEM Students of the Month
7th grade at GMS - Kingston Dammond
9th Grade at CHHS - Cameron Hammond
Cameron has done a great job this year collaborating with his classmates. He as emerged as a leader in the classroom through class activities and design challenges.
9th Grade at GHS - Sean Mahon
Several students have created Quizlets or found resources that were helpful for studying and shared in the stream for the class. Sean is the one who came up with a solution to allow for better organization of "Student-generated Resources" as a topic in Google Classroom. This is a small thing, but 1) I love how the group went into collaboration mode without being prompted by creating and sharing resources, especially while learning to navigate the pressures of a rigorous AP class. 2) When faced with the problem of losing these resources in the stream, Sean jumped into work towards a solution after several iterations.
10th Grade at GHS - Naomi Drori
Has done a phenomenal job demonstrating collaboration in class. She has gone above and beyond in the classroom, from working and helping peers to taking leadership in labs and design challenges.
STEM Teacher of the Month - Greata Parr, Algebra 1 teacher at GMS
Getting to know Mrs. Parr:
What do you love about GMS?
- I love the feeling of family. The teachers set an example for our students of working together to make a safe learning space and the students follow suit by collaborating with each other so all succeed.
What is your favorite free time activity?
- Hard to choose! If needing to relax, reading. If I want to show my competitive spirit, it's playing games or watching sports (especially college football).
- I love the focus on inquiry and making real-world connections to our content.
- This is my second career, my first was as a CPA, and then being a director of investor relations.
- I used to compete in triathlons, but now just like to run for fun.
- I want to do anything I can to help you or your student succeed. Please keep the lines of communication open with me so I can best meet your students' needs.
GMS STEM Supply Need:
Do you order from Amazon, Big Box or other delivery services on a frequent basis?
Requirements
- Small enough for one person to carry.
- For space purposes, all boxes should be flat when arriving at GMS.
- Brown or white corrugated cardboard only. Please, no shiny or "slick" cardboard.
Included in this issue:
Cyber Security,
Soft Materials, and
Building for the Army Corps of Engineers
HeroCon 2019
We are looking for parents that would like to present in at least 2 - 20-minute, highly interactive, sessions to students and businesses that are interested in providing an experience for students or willing to donate prizes.
If you are interested in volunteering for HeroCon, contact matt.canafax@gcisd.net
If you would like to donate a prize for students please contact our GMS PTA president,
The STEM Academy on Social Media
October's Habit of Mind - Questioning and Identifying Problems
Each month in STEM our teachers will focus on a different skill. These skills are some of the most important skills that students can learn for future success. The resources below are just a few things that you can do at home to help your student learn more about these valuable skills. As always, a simple conversation with your student about how you use the skill in your career can go a long way.
Tips and Tricks for Parents - Questioning and Identifying Problems
- Pick a random object
- Talk about the things you observe about it. The first few will be rather basic but as you run out of basic observations, you will find the more complex details.
- From observations, we can begin to ask "why"
- Do a little research on the topic. Sometimes Google will have the answer. When they don't that is when you know you have a real research question to work with.
Once we get comfortable observing our world, socially or physically, we can begin to ask more questions about the phenomenon that we observe. This activity will also work for social discussions as well. Sometimes these are more difficult, but they can lead us to realize why someone acted the way they did or why we feel a certain way. Regardless of how you do it, simply encouraging your kids to ask questions will help them discover problems around them and encourage them to seek answers or design solutions.