SINTON ISD STEM ACADEMY

There’s a Skills Mismatch

Why is STEM education important? In this two-minute video, Siemens President & CEO Eric Spiegel talks about how his company has more than 3,000 job openings but is having trouble filling them because these jobs demand in-depth technical understanding and a high level of mathematics skills.

Watch the video >

 I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our new and returning STEM Academy teachers and students. I hope you have had a chance to enjoy your summer vacation. I look forward to working with you towards another exciting and successful year at the STEM Academy at Sinton ISD!

Teachers, I will be plannning meetings with each team  to discuss the implementation of our STEM Academy Blueprint and other STEM related issues. As we get closer to the start of the new school year, I ask each of you to reflect on what you teach and how you teach will have a profound impact on the lives of your students who have made a positive choice to be in the STEM Academy. Your students not only expect more challenging and dynamic curriculum, but also look up to you as a guidance counselor who will help them develop 21st century skills to prepare for the challenges of college and career. Your students have the best teachers who will help them achieve their goals!

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any help. I am here for you!
Thanks for all that you do,
Nassrin Spencer
STEM Project Director

From June 13th through June 17th middle school “campers” were busy designing and building rollercoasters, building spaghetti bridges, designing cities, and involving themselves in all aspects of the engineering design process. Sinton ISD would like to send a special thanks to Texas A&M Corpus Christi for sending engineers to speak to our kids. In addition, we would like to thank our Texas State Aquarium for sharing a video-conference with one of their marine biologists! Our kids learned a lot about possible carreer opportunities thanks to these special volunteers!

Activities this week have included experiments with density, car design,  shooting rockets into the air, seeing CO2 pack a punch, and building towers! Team-building activities have shown our STEM kids that it takes teamwork to makes things happen! Visit our Picture Gallery for a sneak peak at our  future scientists, technology masters, engineers, and mathematicians!

Letters were sent home to all “lottery winners” for STEM Camp today. Congratulations to you all!  Attached to this letter are guidelines for our camp and parent signatures.  You must confirm your child’s attendance and permission for this camp by returning this attached paper to the EM Smith Counseling Center by Tuesday, May 31^st.  Since space is limited, this form is necessary to hold your child’s slot for attendance.

We look forward to working with your future scientists, technologists, engineers,and mathematicians!
Mrs. Mounts 🙂

The deadline for the Sinton ISD Summer STEM Camp is
Friday, May 13, 2011.
SUMMER STEM CAMP APPLICATION
Student Notification of Selection Status will be
Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
Submission of this application does not guarantee admission to STEM Camp.
 Spaces are limited.  Your child will be selected through a lottery system.
Letters of acceptance and permission forms will be given to your child
to take home Wednesday May 18, 2011.
______________________________________________
What, when,  and where is STEM Camp? What is its purpose?
STEM camp will focus on educational activities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The elementary and middle school sessions will be held in the Sinton Technology Discovery Center. The high school camp will be in room 3 at Sinton High School. We at Sinton ISD believe students need to enter college with a background in science, technology, engineering, and math. Starting them early can help our children be successful! All three camps will have activities that are fun, engaging, and make them think-on-their-feet! 
_______________________________
Elementary Session
The Discovery Center
June 6-10
_____________________________
Middle School Session
The Discovery Center
June 13-17
______________________________
High School Session
Sinton High School: Room 3
June 20-24
______________________________
For additional information, contact Robin Mounts at
(361)364-6819 or robinmounts@sintonisd.net.
Those who are interested may submit a completed application to the place listed below: 

• Welder Elementary Main Office,
• Sinton Elementary Main Office
• Sinton High School Main Office or to
• EM Smith Middle School Campus Counseling Center
  

  On Saturday, March 26^th, our STEM Academy sponsored 21 middle school girls to attend “Girls in STEM Conference” held at the University of Texas in Austin. This all-day workshop was coordinated by the “GIRLSTART” program whose mission is to promote girls’ early engagement and academic success in STEM education. Each girl attended three Workshops led by professional women who are excited about sharing their science, technology, engineering and math careers with participants. This trip was a great success in sparking our female students’ interest in STEM education. We look forward to making more trips next year.

A special thank you to the sponsors on this trip: Mrs. Ceballos, Mrs. Mahan, and Mrs. Spencer. Sinton ISD and our community appreciate your time!

STEM Application Deadline- Thursday, March 31, 2011
Student Notification of Selection Status: Friday, April 15, 2011.
FINAL STEM ACADEMY APPLICATION FOR 2011

On Saturday, March 5^th, three middle school teams and a high school team represented Sinton ISD at the “2^nd Coastal Bend Engineering Competition” held at the campus of the Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. Students were given materials and two hours to design, build, and test a student powered chariot. They then were asked to compete in a timed race event including a slalom obstacle course. All four Sinton ISD teams were able to develop a successful design which completed the competition. The 6^th grade team received a 3^rd place award and the high school team achieved 2^nd place. They gained invaluable experience having to explain their design, problems encountered throughout the process and the tedious job of redesigning to correct errors. All the coaches were extremely proud of the way these students not only represented themselves but our district competing against schools with a great deal of experience. All our participants are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to get back and challenge for the championships next year! A special thanks to our sponsors Mrs. Terry, Ms. Ceballos, Ms. Mahan, Mr. Rickerhauser, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Hamilton who gave up their Saturday to enjoy this opportunity with their students.

Forty-six middle school students traveled to the Austin on Saturday, February 26th. They attended the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” event at the University of Texas campus! In the morning, they were given a guided tour of the UT campus. Our students learned a great deal about the university and what it takes to get accepted to college. In the afternoon, all of our students participated in hands on/ STEM related activities held at the College of Engineering and Technology. The following are some of the activities they participated:

• Binary numbers- students were given a sheet with code and had to break down the binary number code
• Traffic engineers- students were given different trafic situation on a computer and they had to time the lights on the streets to get the maximum number of cars passing without causing accidents.
• Solar and wind energy- they were shown a house with solar panel and a wind turbine that was mounted on the top of the house. The porch light lit to the amount of wind that was causing the turbine to turn.
• Mechanical to electrical energy- students had to ride a bike in order to generate enough energy for a radio and a panel of lights to turn on
• Earthquake structure- students had to construct a tower from straws, string, paperclips, and toothpicks. When done, a nine ounce sand bag was placed on top. The tower that held the most weight, won.
• Satelite- how satelites orbit around the earch, and when sending out a signal they have to hit a certain spot everytime.

 Our next trip to UT will be on March 26^th will be all day hands on activities.We look forward to this exciting event.