STEM News: 1st Edition

Welcome to the new school year! In the STEM department, we have been working busily during the summer months to develop an exciting STEM program for all Rincon Valley Union School District students. Below you can see how STEM is made possible this year and the new ways your students will participate throughout the year.

We hope you will enjoy receiving a monthly STEM News updating you on the happenings in the labs throughout the district. We are excited to be returning for another awesome year of science, new learning opportunities, and some favorites from last year.

Your STEM teachers,

Celene Schaefer & Mercedes Thompson

Rincon Valley Education Foundation (RVEF) has been working hard for Rincon Valley students. During the last few weeks of the 2022-2023 school year, RVEF set a goal to fundraise $40,000. This money was being collected to help build the STEM program in RVUSD and ensure that all Rincon Valley students could access more hands-on STEM lessons starting in the fall of 2023. With a lot of determination, not much time, and generous donations from our families and the community, RVEF was able to meet its goal! Because of their hard work, teachers across the district, and all the students of Rincon Valley Union School District, will have access to a STEM teacher, hands-on lessons, and more time in the STEM labs. We THANK YOU, RVEF. The expansion of STEM could not have been possible without your hard work and determination.

All kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers will again use Mystery Science to bring science to their classrooms. However, this year will look slightly different for the kinder through the third-grade classroom. Teachers in these grades will have help preparing materials and labs with the help of their school's STEM teacher. Teachers can request one unit per trimester to be copied and prepped for their classroom, enabling them to spend more time in the lab rather than preparing the lessons. With the help of the STEM teacher, the classroom teacher will utilize the STEM labs to explore science topics with students in a fun, hands-on, and engaging ways. This new way of bringing Mystery Science to kinder through 3rd-grade classrooms is also thanks partly to RVEF and their fundraising efforts.

The STEM teachers have been working hard to develop STEM units of study for the 4th and 5th-grade classrooms. Each fourth and fifth grader will have access to a unit of study each trimester prepared by their STEM teacher. The classroom and STEM teachers will work in tandem to deliver these units each trimester. We hope to explore roller coasters, magnets, machines, and more!

Don't worry TKers; we haven't forgotten about you! In collaboration with SCOE, we have also developed fun centers for TK students to explore science and STEM. We will bring centers to the classrooms for students to explore while becoming mini-scientists.

Stay tuned for updates!

Do you ever have random stuff lying around and wonder what you can do with it? Well, we need your random reusable items!! We are always looking for empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, bubble wrap, lids, jars, or anything else you think may be reusable. Nothing too big or too complicated.

We will place an empty box in front of each school office for you to donate your junk. Nothing will be returned, so please ensure that you can part with whatever you send our way. Please avoid batteries or anything electronic.

From time to time we may ask for more specific items as well. Thank you for giving us your junk! ;)

Click on the CURIOSITY JAR above to ask a curious question. Every week, three students are chosen at random, and Mystery Doug answers these questions. Will yours be next?