Earth Day 2014

Discovery Academy Families,

Today is Earth Day and as part of our celebration, each class made a pledge to help the planet.  This pledge was recorded on a puzzle piece that each class received.  When all the puzzle pieces fit together, they spelled out the word “EARTH” on our Earth Day bulletin board.  This board is a true community effort with each student contributing to it in some way.  Below you will see pictures of the bulletin board as it progressed to its final presentation.

Along with our pledges, each student planted a pansy today.  We were able to work with a local nursery so that the ecological footprint of the plants we worked with was minimized (trucking is not environmentally friendly).  Each student then was able to take his or her flower and plant it in either a recycled paper towel roll that can be planted right into the ground or in a up-cycled milk carton planter.  The milk cartons can’t be planted as they won’t biodegrade well, but they do make a colorful and waterproof planter.  I’ve include a few pictures from our day.  Teachers are sending in more by the minute so check back often as there will be more pictures to come.

Happy Earth Day!

-Mr. Reed-Swale

Invention Convention 2014

Invention Convention started with the take-apart activity all the way back at STEM Night on November 7th and now it is nearly complete.  On April 4th, our second graders participated in our first ever Discovery Academy Invention Convention.  We had students who invented ways solve problems from broken crayons, to messy desks, to lost pets, and more.   Friday’s Invention Convention was the culmination of many months of work.  Our students participated in team building activities, engineering projects, studies of inventions, and the design process for their own work.  Following the engineering process, students asked questions, imagined an invention, planned it out on paper, created it in the real world, and then made revisions based on feedback from peers.  Our seven judges and the entire first grade class were able to tour our Invention Convention, learning about the engineering process and what problems these inventions solved.

While we would love to send every student on to the state convention, we were limited to sending just a small delegation.  In the end, the judges selected five inventors to represent us in the Connecticut Invention Convention at the UConn campus in Storrs.  On May 3rd, our five “expert inventors,” pictured with their plaques, will present their work on the floor of Gampel Pavilion.  Not to be left out, our other second grade inventors are invited to join us on the field trip in support of our representatives and will take a tour of the engineering department at UConn and be treated to an a cappella concert by an award winning group of collegiate singers.

We are so proud of all our inventors and look forward to seeing our representatives compete at the state Invention Convention.  On a personal level I am very excited to see what we can do with this program next year.  I have seen such excellent thinking and hard work on the part of our students.  I know that next year will be even more difficult for the judges.