THE STEM CENTER

If you have checked an item out from the STEM Center, please be mindful that we will need to have it back at the STEM Center for an end of the year inventory check. We are asking at all items be returned no later than May 15th.

To return items, please write To: STEM Center From (insert your name and building here)

It can then be sent through School Dude. Your custodian can help you with a School Dude ticket.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

We believe our role is to empower kids to make an impact on the world around them and fully believe in themselves. - John Spencer and A.J. Juliani

Karen Dickelman will be hosting a PBL (project based learning opportunity) that will consist of 1-2 PD days in August AND will provide resources and support throughout the 24-25 school year. Please be on the lookout for more information at your May 1st PD . Using this method of facilitating in your classroom can make a world of difference for you and your students. It is a great way to reach multiple core subjects and standards at once and aide in budgeting class time to fit everything in. PBL is NOT a separate subject, it is a method of using cross disciplinary concepts to engage students in their learning.

Worried about this messing with the elementary ELA adoption or not fitting it in the time slots for middle and high school??? NO WORRIES, this PD has you covered.

Our Young Sharks finalists have been chosen from each of the elementary buildings who participated. Those finalists will be headed to Lawrence Tech on May 7th for their final presentations.

We have a panel of 7 judges from our community who are very eager to listen to these students pitches!

The Westland Police Department has a new member or the family! Rotor is serving as a calming dog for the local community. He is loved by so many already.

The police department is asking for YOUR help! Any students that want to design a doghouse for Rotor, can draw their design and share a quick blurb/or labels to explain the functions of their design.

Please have your designs mailed to the STEM Center c/o Karen Dickelman or send them digitally to dickelmank@wwcsd.net no later than end of the day on April 29th. The department will select a winner and their design will be built!!!! Good luck to all and happy designing!

The STEM Center wanted to lift a few passages from the book "Launch" by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. This book is a very easy and quick read and is extremely powerful!

* "We believe our role is to empower kids to make an impact on the world around them and fully believe in themselves"

* Our current model of schooling amplifies this creative chasm. From the bell schedule to the grading system to the lesson planning and pedagogy, our students inhabit factory-styled schools. Phrases like "content delivery" and "delivering a lesson" treat education as a commodity to be collected and then used in the future. This model might have worked in developing compliant factory workers. So here we are now, well into the twenty-first century. The factories are gone. The jobs have moved overseas. Yet, this industrial school model remains. Here's what happens: students grow up immersed in a consumer culture and then attend schools where they consume rather than create knowledge. The chasm widens and students graduate without the creative capacity to navigate the ever-changing landscape of a globalized economy. On a more personal level, they miss out on the deeply human joy of designing and making."

* "Design thinking isn't about abandoning the standards. It's about raising the standards and challenging students to think at a deeper level."

What if there isn't enough time?

* " What if creativity isn't a side dish at all? What if creativity is a totally different way of cooking? What if creativity means you abandon pre-packaged meals and empower your students to be the chefs?

Email: thestemcenter@wwcsd.net

In District Website: https://sites.google.com/wwcsd.net/stem-center/home

Website: https://www.wwcsd.net/schools/educational-programs/stem-center/
Location: 36105 Marquette Street, Westland, MI, USA
Phone: 734-419-2447