News

STEM: Lower School Students Engineer for Safety

In designing safe bridge structures, engineers must consider loads such as winds, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Such was the challenge for our lower school STEM students as they designed bridges, taking into account things like which design shape best supports a bridge. Students brainstormed ideas and collaborated on the best design for the most promising solution.  

Lower school STEM teacher Ellen Peek took the project one step further in challenging the children to also create tornado resistant structures. Each child worked on the design, creation and testing of various tornado shelters built by their own hands. The goal was to create a structure that would withstand wind and protect people. The kids did an incredible job! 

In the coming weeks, challenges in our lower school STEM classroom will include creating parachutes, park equipment, and working on coding skills. After winter break, students will start an exciting space unit! So be on the lookout for materials that can be sent in for this unit! 

Charleston's History on Display

After the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, on Monday, December 2nd, the third graders headed over the Ravenel Bridge for a fun and educational field trip! First stop was the South Carolina
Historical Society Museum on Meeting Street. An architectural treasure in its own right, the Museum is housed in a National Historic Landmark building and features interactive exhibits on the people, places, and movements that shaped our state and nation. The children were able to see maps, manuscripts, and artifacts illuminating moments in our state's past. A shared discussion was given also highlighting the Lowcountry's Cash Crops in 1800's, such as indigo, rice, peanuts, cotton, and tea. The children also discussed the history of the museum, how it housed documents, and ways it protected important city records from numerous natural disasters.

After a cool, sunny picnic in Washington Park, located next to the museum, the children walked the cobblestone roads to the Old Slave Mart Museum on Chalmers Street. The Mart was built in 1859, and this was where 35 to 40% of the slaves entered the United States. The Old Slave Mart Museum is considered the last surviving slave auction gallery in the state. It was used only briefly before the Civil War. The children used large informative graphics on the walls to answer scavenger hunt questions, and then they were able to have their questions answered by museum employees. Living in a town rich with culture and history, we feel honored to have such wonderfully informative field trips right over the Cooper! Thank you Mrs. Adkins, Mrs. Andrews, and Ms. Jones for planning such a wonderful learning experience.