Standard 10

At ACS, we strive to provide opportunities to put STREAM skills to work in a real-world context.   Culinary skills practiced since elementary school culminate in cooking and serving the Donor Luncheon as 8th grade students and cooking and serving for 150 people for our local soup kitchen, Loaves and Fishes.  Collaboration and organization skills are put to the test for Beta Club service projects (Hurricane Relief and Cookies for Cops) and special events (middle school dance and Game night).  Leadership, collaboration, and time-management are practiced during STREAM Days, either as a participant, assistant, or team leader.  Technology and communication skills are put into practice for journalism club students whose broadcasts are released to the school community every other week.  Creativity and collaboration skills are used to create art pieces for our annual art auction.  Finally, student confidence, concentration, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills are practiced at the STEM competitions our students participate in whether it be Robotics, Mathstars, Chess, or Engineering Challenges.  Members of the FIRST Robotics team have to go through the Engineering Design Process, not only to design a working robot but also to provide a solution to a real problem in our world.

In middle school, it is essential to have repeated project assessments in order to witness growth and expansion of understanding in the same core areas (research, communication, design, creativity, and critical thinking).  These include exit projects that occur at the end of the school year in place of end of semester exams and science fair projects.  Project rubrics and guidelines have minor changes each year based on previous student performance to help in areas where students have struggled.  Middle school teachers meet and collaborate both before and after exit projects to discuss strengths and weaknesses in student skill sets.  For the school year 2024-2025, middle school teachers adjusted curriculum to include more opportunities to practice communication skills and model design, as these were the areas students showed the greatest need for improvement.  For exit projects, we also invite panel members from outside the school (usually professors and teachers from MUW, MSU, and MSMS) to evaluate student projects and to supply feedback for both teachers and students.

Exit projects cover a wide range of topics in science and social studies based on student interest.  Past projects have included water treatment in the 19th century, the steam engine's role in the industrial revolution, how bread is made and its commercialization, and the use of hydroponics and how it could be used as an aid to end world hunger.

In STREAM, students build on coding skills through a series of different level robots, starting with BeeBots in preK-4 - 1st grade, moving on to Kamigami and Botzee robots in 2nd-3rd grade, then on to Spheros from 4th-8th.  Robotics students learn how to build and design Lego Spike robots.  Students are able to practice different skills such as the engineering design process and learn about various subjects through Robotics projects.  This slowly builds fluency in coding and how to apply algorithms.  This is also supported through coding puzzles and practice through lessons on code.org.   The code.org platform allows students to move at their own pace.  Once lessons are complete,  students can practice skills in a series of different coding challenges.