Our 2019 Science Fair was a great success! We had a wide range of project ideas that demonstrated the scope of our students’ scientific interests. Thank you to our parent volunteers and NYU post-grads for providing feedback to our student scientists.
Last week, our second grade students participated in our annual “City Worker Day” event.” A variety of city professionals, from fire fighters to city planners, came to PS154 to share their experiences and to provide an opportunity for students to interview them. This event is part of the second grade social studies curriculum and is a great example of curricular integration, as it targets both ELA and social studies standards. Our students researched different New York City professions and created projects based on their research, including specific questions to ask our guests.
By now, most of our classes have had an opportunity to go to the new makerspace. Andrew and Monika, of Koko Open Source, are facilitating a program that has allowed our students to jump right into the design thinking process. The first challenge, for all grades, is to design a chair using various materials.
I spoke with class 4-308 after their first session and they were very excited to tell me all about their experience. They expressed how much they enjoyed working as a team, the permission to make mistakes and then have the opportunity to figure out solutions. I asked how that process relates to their other school work and one student said, “It’s just like in math. We have to figure out the best strategy.”
The objective of our makerspace is to provide experiences that reinforce how we believe kids learn best. We want our students to develop collaborative skills in an immersive environment that encourages risk-taking, creativity and hands-on exploration. In other words, we want our students to be courageous, curious and caring.
Here are some pictures of class 1-205 designing and testing chairs-
