S.T.E.M.

From the NC School for Science and Math - Hi! We are excited to share that the Summer Accelerator residential program, sponsored by the Dogwood Health Trust, is open for applications! We have two courses for rising 7th - 9th grade students and two courses for rising 10th - 12th grade students. We have openings for 60 middle and high school students to stay on our NCSSM-Morganton campus during the week of July 21-26th and take one of these summer courses. This free opportunity is only available to students in the Dogwood Health Trust area. You MUST live in one of these 18 counties in the Dogwood Health Trust area: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey, as well as the Qualla Boundary. The application process is competitive. We would love to have all 19 areas represented. The student's room, food, courses, supplies, and field trips will be covered by the grant. They just need to get to Morganton on July 21 and be picked up on July 26th. I've attached a flier. The application deadline is March 15, 2024, and finalists will be notified before April 1st. We will host an information session via Zoom on February 20, 2024 at 7 pm. Please sign up here if you are interested in attending.

NC FLIGHT CREW LEADERSHIP & TEAM BUILDING SUMMIT The NC Flight Crew is a pioneering statewide STEM initiative dedicated to fostering leadership and innovation among students. Designed for girls in grades 6-12, this transformative program takes participants on a year-long journey filled with unique STEM experiences, skill-building opportunities, and impactful community engagement. The NC Flight Crew aims to inspire a new generation of women in STEM, equipping them with the skills and knowledge required to be a STEM ambassador to their communities. Most recently the NC Flight Crew gathered in Raleigh, NC to work on their communication and leadership skills, learn how to present a STEM activity, and to plan out their goals for the remainder of the program!

We are getting ready for SUMMER FUN! The Macon STEM Program is partnering with Muddy Sneakers to provide two summer camps this coming June 2024. See the flyer for more information and register using the QR Code or this link www.bit.ly/Maconsummercamp.

Thank you to Rob from Outdoor 76 for speaking to our Macon Outdoor Club at our last meeting. Students learned about different types of outdoor gear that can keep you warm and dry. We also learned about how to use different kinds of cooking stoves. We love working with our community partners and appreciate it when they take the time to share their expertise with our students! @GoOutsideNC

Macon Outdoor Club will not meet on Saturday, Jan. 27th for their winter hike due to the rainy weather and the possibility of thunderstorms.

Thank you to WCU's Environmental Education in the Parks and Rec Dept. students who came and presented their science lessons to our 5th and 6th-grade students at Mountain View! Students dissected flowers, learned about states of matter by making ice cream, and played food web simulation games. The students did a fantastic job! Thank you also to the teachers who welcomed these developing teachers into their classrooms. We love our partnerships with Western Carolina University!

Rangers from the Nantahala District of the US Forest Service visited the 6th grade at Mountain View Intermediate School as part of the NEEF (National Environmental Education Foundation) grant project. Students learned about the different responsibilities of the US Forest Service such as forest products, food resources, recreation, and wildlife habitat. They then had to rank which one they valued the most or felt was the most important. This was challenging because many students had different opinions. A big part of the program was learning to come to a consensus as a group and recognizing that we all have different values. Funding from this grant will support not only field trips for the students but also professional development for teachers in the Spring.

The Macon Outdoor Club had a great day rock climbing at the Riveter in Asheville! We started the morning with a soggy visit to the Western Carolina Nature Center and then tested our strength and overcame our fear of heights in the climbing gym! Thank you to the NC Youth Engagement Commission for supporting this program with funding! @GoOutsideNC

@GoOutsideNC Thank you to the NC Youth Engagement Commission for grant funding support for our Outdoor Explorations class at Mountain View Intermediate School. Funds are being used to construct a nature trail (completion date in February 2024), outdoor seating, and materials for the class such as wildlife cameras and magnifying equipment, and animal tracking kits. Funds were also used to purchase backpacks for nature exploration kits and camp chairs so students could sit without getting wet and cold! They used these this week for their bird-watching class! Look for more pictures coming soon!

Students learned about knot tying in the Mountain View Intermediate School Outdoor Explorations class. There are several important knots to know if you are going to be outdoors from hanging a tarp to safety knots while rock climbing. Student had the opportunity to practice different types of knots and learn their different applications!

Students in Mrs. Hubbs's Honors Biology class at Franklin High School and Mr. Holmes's Physical Science class at Highlands School were visited by UNC-Chapel Hill students participating in the Highlands Biological Station Institute for the Environment program today. They presented the Capstone research projects they have been working on this semester. These presentations are part of their "Communicating Science to the Public" course. The public will have an opportunity to see these presentations at the Highlands Biological Station on Dec. 14th.

Highlands teachers went virtual at their last faculty meeting. Using their Class VR goggles purchased with the support of AHEC, teachers had the opportunity to learn how to engage students in a new way through virtual reality. They viewed a shark encounter, climbed Mt. Everest, and took a hot air balloon ride. They also had a chance to view a human heart, a carbon atom, and a Grand Canyon topographic model. Thank you to AHEC for supporting our schools with these innovative programs!

Thank you to Mr. Myers with the Southwestern Community College Automotive program for presenting to our robotics students! We learned about gear ratios, torque, and speed! This information will help us prepare for our new challenge!

Computer Science with 2nd grade students at Highlands School! We had a great time learning about programs, coding, sequence, inputs, and outputs.

Thank you to Juliet Spafford from the Highlands Biological Station for sharing her research and teaching our students about BATS today! We kept her busy presenting at Highlands School and at Mountain View Intermediate School. It was a Halloween treat to learn about these important and often misunderstood creatures.

The Macon Outdoor Club had a great second outing today fly fishing and horseback riding in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The students caught 45 fish throughout the day - our guides were impressed! The leaves were beautiful and we couldn't ask for better weather. Thank you to the North Carolina Youth Engagement Commission for providing the grant funding to make this club possible. Macon County received $10,000 to start a "N.C. Trailblazer Outdoor Club" for any high school student attending Macon County Schools. Look for more adventures in the future!

We are building engineers (https://www.k5engineers.org/) in Macon County Elementary Schools! Mrs. Baldwin at East Franklin recently introduced her students to the engineering design process. After reading the story "Chika Chika Boom Boom", students were challenged to build a tree that would hold the most letters of the alphabet using Keva Planks as their building material. Students were able to COMMUNICATE how they constructed their tree and IDENTIFY the letters they used in the challenge.

Congratulations to Stephanie Hudson on completing her Micro-Credential! For more information, go to k5engineers.org/PD.

More engineering success in Mr. Wilkinson's STEM classes! Please join me in congratulating Jorge, Haiden, and Quinn. They are the winners of the 8th-grade bridge-building competition. Their bridge held 101 times its own weight! Outstanding job by these wonderful students.

Please congratulate the Macon Middle School STEM 7th-grade bridge winners, Haley, Nicole, and Jayla. These "future engineers" used their skills to design and construct a bridge that held 123.9 times its own weight - Outstanding. Great job to all our 7th graders who did a fantastic job.