Thanks to an expansion of STEM programs to 8th and10th grades this fall, the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS) will have more new students and teachers than those returning.
What does that mean for students and staff new to the school? For students who funnel in from Montgomery, Clark and Greene counties -- and for their teachers -- it means mostly new faces.
Enter the two-day summer bridge program, which gave 200 new students a chance to become acquainted with each other, school staff and the STEM approach.
Laurie McFarlin, Director, Network Relationships and Communications for DRSS, says the program this year was conducted at the school Aug. 10 and at institutional partner Wright State University on Aug. 11.
On the first day, students participated in a design challenge, which required close collaboration with students and teachers, McFarlin says.
Additionally, a group of current tenth-graders prepared a number of activities to welcome the new students and immerse them in the five important qualities stressed at the school: persistence, inquiry, communication, creativity and collaboration.
"So, for instance, (they filmed) a little video related to these qualities. A small group of kids put together a music rap about the qualities, those sorts of activities," McFarlin says.
On the second day, at Wright State, students broke into teams for a high-tech treasure hunt known as geocaching.
"It's kind of like a scavenger hunt," McFarlin explains. "But you get to use GPS equipment. A low-ropes course gave students additional opportunities to have fun, get to know each other and do some team building," she says.
Source: Laurie McFarlin, Ohio STEM Learning Network Dayton Hub
Writer: Gene Monteith