By JENNA RHUDE
Moapa Valley Progress
Excited! Such a simple, yet enthusiastic word.
This was the word used by attendees of the STEAM event presented by Ute V. Perkins Elementary School last week. The event was held at the Old Logandale School on Tuesday, June 12.
On hand at the event were several teachers, parent volunteers, Principal Hal Mortensen and Vice Principal Kelby Robison to explain the school’s new Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math (STEAM) focus.
Upon entering the room attendees were greated warmly. Kids immediately noticed virtual reality (VR) stations that were set up to try out. These were the huge hit of the night. Participants could walk on the moon, explore dinosaurs, or go on a treasure hunt. Perkins has 7 VR units at the school.
Parent Wendy Jensen said that she is looking forward to the new program. “The kids will be more hands-on with their education,” Jensen said. “Kids can actually feel as though they have walked on the moon rather than just reading about it in a book. Learning will be more interesting for the kids.”
School staff were also displaying a “mouse station.” The program is called, Code and Go Robot Mouse. The participant touches buttons on the top of the mouse and creates a sequence. They they can watch the robotic mouse navigate the course by itself.
Also in the robotics division was the, Dash and Dot robot. This robot consists of four spheres, creating a simple triangle. Students program/code in what they want Dash to do and then push go. There are project cards that increase in difficulty as the programmer completes each task.
Another station focused on engineering. The student is presented with a picture and asked to recreate it using building blocks. The activity found kids building anything from boats and trains, to towers and bridges.
Why is Ute Perkins presenting this program where other schools will not? Vice Principal Kelby Robison explained that the school had a “use it or lose it budget.” So they chose to use it to bring STEAM to Moapa.
When asked how the school will incorporate STEAM into the school it was explained that the art and music “specials” will be moved over to the classroom teacher. Then that time slot will be replaced by STEAM learning.
“We are excited to be going in a different direction at our school,” said principal Hal Mortensen. “We want to help the students be able to acheive their dreams. We want our students to know that they are capable of so much more through integrating technology, engineering and hands-on learning into their every-day education.”
Some parent concerns were set at ease during this event. A number of parents were worried that adding art and music to the classroom would overburden the teachers. However, Mortensen explained that the program will relieve teachers from teaching science in the classroom. This is expected to free a little more time for teachers to expand into other subjects like music and dance. Science grading will be done by the STEAM teachers and given to the classroom teacher for input into the report cards.
The STEAM teacher is Michelle McConnel and the science and gardening will be taught by Susie Pulsipher. Another feature that will be new to the school this year is square foot gardening. Perkins received a $10,000 grant from the Nevada Department of Agriculture to create a gardening program. Each student will be given a square foot to tend and learn about growing their own food. These will be raised garden beds and will be located by the kindergarten playground.
Ute V. Perkins has 50 open enrollment spots available. This means that lower valley students can apply for open enrollment to attend Perkins Elementary. STEAM is part of the curriculum and not available for attendance unless you are enrolled full time at the school.
By hosting this open house, Vice Principal Robison is hoping to draw at least 15-20 students to the school. Perkins has a regular enrollment around 150, which is sizably small for our area. By providing open enrollment, the school district is trying to increase enrollment at the Moapa elementary and ease overcrowding at our other elementary in the Valley.
Vice Principal Robison said that he is looking forward to this program’s implementation next school year. “Ute V. Perkins is a 4 star school,” he said. “We’re proud of what we’ve done so far. Adding STEAM to the curriculum is just building on our success.”
Parent volunteers are welome at the school. Please be aware of the CCSD policy of frequent volunteering at schools, more than 3 times a month requires an application process be followed.
