NORWOOD ELEMENTARY OFFERS STEM , FINE ARTS ACADEMIES
Brenda K . Norwood STEM Academy fourth grader Emma Ngo and her fellow students once gave a presentation about a miniature dart booth they designed to two local VIPs – her elementary school ’ s namesake and Mansfield ’ s Pickle Queen . Emma has attended the academy for two years , where she ’ s collaborated with her peers , grown her presentation skills , and thrived in her favorite class – math .
“ You get time around the end of the day to design projects and do cool things ,” Emma said . “ In the STEM Academy you get to design things , and you get to do projects with your classmates .”
Emma ’ s dad Minh Ngo says his daughter is doing well at school . What ’ s more , she ’ s learning with students who could remain with her throughout her entire school career if they stay on a STEM learning path .
“ They have amazing resources here and parents are very involved ,” Ngo said . “ The facility is top notch . The teachers , the resources – everything behind it is great .”
The purpose of Norwood STEM Academy is to create an environment where learners explore , create and innovate by engaging in problemsolving using the Engineering Design Process . Learners are immersed in hands-on learning with STEM integration in core content and have opportunities to work on design challenges and explore STEM .
While Emma is working on projects , across the hall third grader Cecily Ferman could be learning a dance routine that looks like movement from the solar system . Brenda K . Norwood Elementary is home to two academies – fine arts as well as STEM .
“ It ’ s been really fun , and I like it ,” Cecily said about her experience with the Academy . “ If you love art , you can come in here .”
Cecily ’ s dad , Jeremy Ferman , is Legacy High School ’ s theater teacher . Ferman says the program is great for his daughter because fine arts is integrated into classes like math and science .
“ It ’ s teaching them how to learn the way that they learn the best . Some kids learn academically ; some kids learn though the arts ,” Ferman said . “ If they ’ re able to integrate the way that they learn here at the fine arts academy into the way they learn at middle school and high school , I think it ’ s a great thing .”
The Fine Arts Academy provides
ABOVE : Members of the Brenda K . Norwood Elementary BeeBots robotics team search for robot parts during a practice in 2023 .
LEFT : Students participate in dance class at Brenda K . Norwood Elementary . The campus offers a STEM and Fine Arts Academy to students . The programs are application based . Students must apply , even if they are zoned for the campus .
students with a rigorous academic environment while encouraging artistic exploration and integration . The program , which places a stronger emphasis on the visual and performing arts than is typically present in a traditional elementary school setting , gives students the opportunity to delve deeper into the creative disciplines of theatre , art , music and dance .
The Fine Arts and STEM Academies at Brenda K . Norwood Elementary are offered to grades 3-4 and are available by application only . Applications open in December . Learn more about the academies at the district ’ s annual Choice Expo on Nov . 4 at the Dr . Jim Vaszauskas Center for the Performing Arts . More information will be available at www . mansfieldisd . org / choice .
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