As a parent, you have a big task.
To see your child into adulthood. To provide a nurturing, loving, and stable place for him or her to grow. To chose what experiences will help in navigating life’s obstacles, ensuring to the best of your ability that they arrive at the threshold of independence prepared for opportunities. We want our children to grow up to be fulfilled, successful, and happy. We want them to give back, make good decisions as members of a community, follow their dreams, find security, and to weather the storms that are sometimes beyond their control.
When we look ahead to the changing world and the issues of the future, we can see that the shift is toward STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. STEM is not only an area that has a swift and strong momentum for employment, it is a place of uncharted territory– where creativity, ingenuity, and the problem solvers of tomorrow are molded.
Why is STEM at the Elementary level important?
The years of childhood are filled with creativity, self-discovery, and wonder. Children are excited to learn, they want to participate, and they are willing to take risks. At Shepardson Elementary, we seek not only to provide the academic foundation for STEM as a path to the future, but also to inspire the wonder and creativity that is unlocked when children explore the world. We encourage our students to think creatively, convergently, divergently, and critically. By pairing learning and experiences with big questions, children become passionately engaged in the world around them.
What about all the other fun and exciting things that kids learn in elementary school? Do you have those?
The innovators and creators of tomorrow will need many skills for success and there is room in STEM to recognize and value art, music, language and literature. We also place significant emphasis in cultivating positive social relationships, as tomorrow's world needs people to communicate and connect in many ways. Shepardson has art, music, PE and wellness specials, recess time, and afterschool enrichment to build whole and healthy people.
What will Shepardson as a STEM-focused school do for my child?
- Connect Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math across the curriculum, integrating learning
- Provide dedicated STEM time daily, STEM buddies (where older students and younger students collaborate) and special STEM co-teaching with a STEM education specialist
- Engage in meaningful and exciting project-based learning
- Visits from STEM professionals, field trips, and other STEM events
- A deep appreciation of out-of-the-box thinking, emphasis on creativity, and opportunity for invention
- Use of the school STEM lab and materials (including digital microscopes, models, circuits, Engineering is Elementary, and other hands-on, minds-on tools)
- Citizen science, where students contribute to real science research and gain experience with the tools of science
Other Useful Links:
“The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the thinking we used when we created them.”
- Albert Einstein