Author: Brandon

Montgomery Public School

Montgomery Village Public School

Grant Report FALL 2022
Montgomery Village PS
Orangeville Ontario

Susan Penfold’s Grade 5 class, and Sharon Taylor’s Grade 1 class, were awarded a $500 grant from STEM Camp Foundation. The grant was used to purchase Makedo kits, a Makey Makey, rolls of conductive tape, LED lights and coin cell batteries. The ultimate. Project goal was to build a STEM fort, FORT STEM we presume, in the
school gymnasium. I had the pleasure to visit the school in late May to see the final project and enjoy watching students from both grade levels enjoy the results of their hard (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) work.

Throughout the year, the “Learning Buddies” (Grades 5 and 1) at Montgomery PS worked on mini-projects, conductivity testers, game controllers, and a model community. These projects provided the students with hands-on building activities leading up to their massive Fort STEM project in late May. Activities included construction, electricity, and iterative design, and they had a significant impact on the young students. The projects provided opportunities for cross-grade level engagement, and a chance to develop important STEM skills, problem solving, collaboration and creativity.

The Montgomery Project PS events have shown that project-based learning can be an effective way to excite students about STEM education, while promoting a positive school culture.

Georgian Bay Community School

Bluewater DSB
Grant: Fall 2021

Teachers Mary Jack and Natalie Patrick applied for a $500 grant purchase shovels and block makers for their Grade 2 and Kindergarten classes at Georgian Bay K-12 school in Meaford, ON. The photo below is SCF Executive Director Ron Cougler, posing outside the new school with Vice-Principal Julie Phillips in May 2022, on a school visit.

The STEM project supported at GBCS was to provide tools to create towers and igloos out of snow. This sounded like a great technology and engineering project for seven year olds, and one that STEM Camp Foundation was very pleased  to support.  In Mary’s words, “students will need to plan ahead, monitor weather conditions, learn about the states of matter and how temperature affects precipitation.  They will need to study structures, materials and use math skills to make their igloo stable . The Grade 2 students will ‘pay it forward’ when they make an oral presentation to the Kindergarten class about “building igloos that last”.