STEAM at The Country School

Madison’s Country School eliminates plastics Published 12:00 am EDT, Thursday, October 11, 2018 Photo: Louise Jackson / Contributed Photo ...

Welcome Back Country School! We are excited to dive back in to our STEAM initiatives, continuing our emphasis on the environment.  Our school-wide mission this year is: We will continue to raise awareness of the plastic overuse in our world. We will also begin to eliminate and re-purpose plastics and improve our recycling efforts. Projects are already underway with discussions of water stations at TCS, recycling stations, and elimination of single use plastic bags, straws, and plastic water bottles on campus. Our long term goal is to have a positive impact and create awareness in the greater community and to partner specifically with Madison Chamber of Commerce to Turn The Tide on Plastic. Be on the lookout for our student designed scarecrow in downtown Madison! Take the the TCS monthly challenge! October We would like all TCS students to watch the video from the All School Meeting with their families and click the "FOLLOW" button or comment on our blog after ...

The Country School's  STEAM  program for young learners is designed with a   unique twist;  it is first literature based and then infused with " ST EAM ".  When people see the "A" in STEAM they often think of the visual arts but there is so much more.   Art includes: literature, music, sculpture, architecture, dance, photography, digital, performing arts;  the list goes on and on.  This is evident in our classrooms, hallways and all over The Country School campus.                                    I love this quote from author  Lisa Marder   "There is no one universal definition of art but there is general consensus that art is the conscious creation of something beautiful or meaningful using skill and imagination." Our  STEAM  objective at TCS is to invoke the imagination of each child through th...

Click on the link:  http://lowerschoolsteam.blogspot.com/2017/12/got-minute.html?m=1

Good luck to our two robotics teams! The Wise Guys and Archimedes Owls teams are competing today in the First LEGO League robotics competition at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. They've been practicing all fall, and at All School Meeting yesterday, they gave us a preview of some of their research. This year's theme is finding a solution to the world's water challenges, and members of the Archimedes team shared a skit about creating potable water from salt water. Members of the Wis e Guys team talked about the interview they conducted with a water specialist at the Connecticut Department of Health and how they decided they could contribute by creating a fuel efficient car that runs on a resource we have plenty of: salt water. Using a copper sheet, salt water, a rubber insulator, and an aluminum can, they demonstrated how power can be generated simply and without using fossil fuels. "Think about it," one team member said. "Instead of buying expensive...

Full STEAM Ahead in 2nd Grade The 2nd Graders wrapped up their Colonial Days STEAM experience by inviting parents to come and celebrate their learning. We traveled back to the 1600s to share what life was like for the colonists in the New World. A big part of this experience was the outdoor education component where the children built a colonial settlement.  The children had to work cooperatively to decide where to build their homes and how they would construct them.  This took a lot of teamwork, flexibility, and communication. Writing with a feather and ink Mrs. Hornyak came in to teach us how to make Jacob's ladders. Sharing in the colonial village Our field trip to The Mystic Seaport paper quilts, natural dyes and sharing our work   Thank you for going on this journey with us!

The Elmore Leadership Expo began on the patio of the Farmhouse in the summer of 2015 with the 6th Grade English and history teachers. The students had read biographies before, and the English and history studies have also been closely related thematically, but we decided to take our usual lessons to the next level. Knowing that our country was gearing up for a presidential election and that we as a community emphasize the importance of leadership, marrying the two ideas was quite easy. That summer morning, we put a date on the calendar for our first Elmore Leadership Expo and committed ourselves to the endeavor. This is our third Elmore Leadership Expo, and each year the students impress us with their determination, enthusiasm, and creativity. They have been working on this project in science, history, English, music, math, and art. And this year we have put a unique spin on the their topic of choice. Their 21st Century issues have to be related somehow to eith...