Bridging the Gap!

This week has seen us discussing the way we want to see out our final weeks of primary school. Yep, it's getting real- in fact the students spent their iPad session reflecting on all the special moments caught on camera this year. They began putting together their 'Leaver's Placemat' using PicCollage. They never fail to drop my jaw when it comes to technology, but it's not just a matter of choosing a few photos and placing them on a grid. They consider carefully the story it tells, the colour choices that complement it and the use of a banner to bring it together. While it's fun to look back at the adventures and special events days - it's empowering to reflect and realise just how far the students have come in their last year of primary school- their learning, emotional development and for many their physical growth- yep I'm becoming a shorty!

Build a bridge, kids, and get over it. No wait, build a bridge and make it strong enough to carry a bag of marbles. Oh, and make sure it's aesthetically pleasing! The challenge this week was to build a Popsicle Bridge that would stretch over a 30cm gap between the desks. The supplies- 25 popsticks and 1 metre of masking tape. The results as always were varied. Some ended as piles of sticks deep in the classroom canyon but some left us awestruck with their engineering ingenuity. The best result was over 70 marbles in weight- four way tie. It was interesting to observe group dynamics in our fourth STEM challenge, some groups have found their groove and are off and racing while others are struggling with sharing ideas, choosing a plan and executing the best build. This is why STEM is such a rich learning experience- it's the interpersonal skills as well as the technology process that the students grow from. Stay tuned to check out our next challenge, until then- paper, scissors...