STREAM of Conciousness

“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” — Leonardo Da Vinci I recently had a conversation with a parent who was confused about what their child does in my classroom.   "I thought you teach Technology," they said.  "I do," I replied, then added, "But that's only one part of what I do."  I then explained how though I do include tech as part of my curriculum, "T" is among five other, equally important letters. Here's my opinion: Technology is absolutely important for todays young learners.   Here's my  other  opinion: Technology should absolutely not be the primary focus of STREAM education.   In 2021, Sadlier published a blog post in which the author noted: " A successful STREAM approach seamlessly integrates ideas from the six disciplines into learning experiences. It is a vision that requires planning, development, su...

  X-STREAM Games date set for 5/4 at SJCI X-STREAM Games is coming to St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute on Saturday, May 4th.   Since we want to make X-STREAM Games the best year ever, we will be requiring a minimum number of entries for each competition (between 15-20 for each event.) Events may take place with fewer entries, but they will be exhibition only.   This year's events will include many favorites from years past as well as some new events.  There will be opportunities for the students in our Diocese schools to participate in events such as: VEX IQ Full Volume Robotics Competition (Grades 6-8) Rubber Band Cars (Science Scrimmage) (Grades 3-5 & 6-8) Public Speaking (Grades 6-8)  Fashionably Yours Design (Grades 3-5 & 6-8) Young Scientist's Challenge (Science presentations) K-2, 3-5 & 6-8) Cardboard Arcade (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8) Kitchen Chemistry   (Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8) Linked pages above are included as general reference...

THWARTED BY 7-YEAR OLDS Readied with plans to talk about things like Light, Prisms, Rainbows and Noah's Ark with my second-grade STREAM class at St. Peter's school in Lewiston this past week, before I knew it, the proverbial monkeys had taken over the zoo. Indeed, I was bombarded with questions about the upcoming solar eclipse , a topic which was NOT in my lesson plans but was one in which I was delighted to explore along with them.  (This may be my favorite part about teaching STREAM: when unrelenting curiosity arises, more often than not I am able to indulge my students' eagerness to learn!) You've probably heard, there's going to be a solar eclipse on April 8 this year, and Western New York is right along the path of totality.  According to a report on WKBW-TV , this is serious business, with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz even considering a county-wide shut-down, just as though we might expect for a snowstorm. “The traffic is going to be horrible," Po...