Newsletters (NWSISD) NWSISD newsletter - June 2014 | Page 3

STARBASE MN Welcomes Students from
University Avenue Elementary School
Destination Mars! University Avenue ACES were “aces in the classroom”
at STARBASE MN on the National Guard
base. For one week in February, grade 5
students had the opportunity to work in
small clustered classrooms with an engineer
leading the students through a curriculum
or "Flight Log" with the mission to get to
Mars.

!

While investigating the planetary
conditions of Mars in order to identify
the needs of a human mission,
students had to conduct scientific
experiments which integrated math,
technology and engineering. Using
CAD software, students designed a wind turbine and a Mars colony. They used
robotics software to program and test Mars rovers.

!

One, Two, Three - LAUNCH! Grade 4 University ACES were engineers
for a week as they learned and explored options to build a rocket. Starting
out the week, students designed rocket
fins on CAD software. They conducted air
experiments, investigated drag and
designed alternate nosecones. Students
evaluated their results and explored
options for their rockets including the
effects of mass and aerodynamics for
launch. Students toured the MN Air
National Guard airplane museum and by
the end of their week they were ready to
launch their rockets. On launch day, students set off their rockets one-by-one
and then used GPS to collect the
landing location. They evaluated their
data to see which type of fin was the
most successful.

!

STARTBASE MN programs align with
MN Science and Math Standards
through STEM focused activities to
develop motivation for continued
learning at school. Visit
www.starbasemn.org.

Future Educators’ Club
Shadows Educators; holds
Book Drive

!

Future Educators’ Club (FEC)
students visited local
elementary and middle schools
in the Northwest Suburban
school districts to shadow an
educator for a day on February
12 and 26. Shadow Day gives
students a chance to experience
education from a perspective
different than their own.
Students do this by crossing
district lines and through
experiential learning. FEC
students are able to see how
cultural, economical, and social
issues can influence day-to-day
classroom interaction and
individual learning styles.

!

Shadow Day experiences also
help students explore teaching
as a career option. By providing
a realistic understanding of
teaching, it encourages students
from diverse backgrounds to
think seriously about the
teaching profession. Shadow
Day also elevates the image of
teaching and promotes it as
both a challenging and
rewarding career. Shadow Day
gives teachers the opportunity
to examine, clarify, and explain
their role in students' lives. It
also provides educators an
opportunity to mold the minds
of our future educators.

!

Prior to Shadow Day, FEC
students held their annual "I
Want to Read" book drive; which
takes place the entire month of
January. The goal of the book
drive is to help spark family
reading at home by making sure
there are plenty of books
available for students to read.
FEC students collected over
2000 new and gently used
books, which were donated to
community programs and
elementary and middle schools
throughout the Northwest
Suburban collaborative.