Sunday, February 12, 2017

Innovation on the Brain

I'm not sure if "Cosmic" Bowling during PE class is the cause, but our students have certainly been engaged in a lot of innovative thinking lately!


Over the weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity to experience my first SIT (Students Involved with Technology) Conference, which was held at South Middle School. This is a student-led conference in which students share, present and choose which sessions they would like to participate. There were hundreds of participants! It was great to see several current and former Dryden students there! Specific sessions I visited included how to build a website to use technology for positive social change, a Mystery Challenge in which students built and tested catapults, Nanotechnology, coding drones and how one student built a hydraulic-powered, robotic arm. 





Our fifth-grade students have been immersed in researching human space travel to Mars. They are learning about the problems scientists are having to solve in order to make human space travel to Mars possible. As students work in groups to hone in on researching specific questions and problems they've identified (food sources, physical and mental health, landing on Mars, fuel storage and use, returning to Earth, etc.), they are thinking about and designing possible solutions to these problems. Our students are learning that research and problem-solving often lead to discovering more questions, problems and the need for further research . It's very exciting to observe their creative problem-solving. Based on their focus and teamwork, I'm convinced that if anyone will be able to get humans to Mars, it will be these fifth graders!



It's been great to see so many fifth graders involved in band this year. Their winter performance was outstanding! Bravo! Music for music's sake opens our hearts and our minds to endless beauty and possibilities. Furthermore, music (and other arts) inspires our creativity and innovative thinking in the sciences, math, writing and more!


There are a number of social innovators at Dryden, too! This group of girls made this beautiful poster to brighten our office and show their appreciation. How kind and creative!


Being innovative is messy, hard work. It requires taking risks, making mistakes and changing courses of action. It can also be very rewarding to our students if we acknowledge and celebrate their efforts throughout the process. Keep on innovating, Dolphins!



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