As you may have seen on the calendar, or remember from previous years, we always have a day where we welcome parents in to see what students have been working on in Science. In the past it was called Science Fair, then became STEAM Fair, and this year we are calling it Innovation Day, and it will be taking place on March 5 (more info about this to come).

Before I give you any more information, I just want to say that this is a project where students will have ample time to work on it IN SCHOOL. There is no obligation for students to work on this at home. Even more than this, I have told the students that they are not allowed, under any circumstance, to have their parents help them with their project.

Whether this makes you go or         

here’s our thinking behind this. The point of Innovation Day is for students to learn about something they are interested in, think about solutions to real world problems on their own, be creative, and have fun! They are not being graded on how fancy their model is, how perfectly cut their papers are, or how creative their presentation board is. They ARE being graded on the information THEY collect. The way THEY can explain what they have learned. And how THEY document their learning throughout the process. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask questions or give suggestions. We’d really like this to be a student led project though, where they can feel ownership and pride over their work.

Here are some useful documents for students, and for you as well, if you’d like to see how we will be working through this project.

I am encouraging students to make their models from mostly recycled materials. We also have some new materials in our Marker Space that we will have access to. Hopefully, we will be able to provide everything your child will need for this project at school, including their presentation boards.

As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.