Learners benefit from a formal structure of within-school and extracurricular opportunities to extend STEM learning.

CampWAY 

5th Grade Field trip

Each year we take our 5th graders to science camp in the Bradshaw mountains of Prescott. Students spend two action-packed days in the great outdoors, exploring and learning about their role in the environment around them.  The standards-based lessons taught by camp instructors provide hands-on learning experiences that encourage an appreciation for science and the environment. Students participate in activities such as nature hikes, archery, owl pellet dissection, and much more.  Every activity gives our students a unique opportunity to collaborate with their peers in a different setting and build teamwork, and communication skills. Our time at camp also nurtures a sense of community among students and helps them create memories to last a lifetime.

Project Exploration 

6th Grade

We work with a company called Project Exploration to take the 6th grade students on an all day adventure with the purpose of bringing ecosystems to life.  The first time we took the students we went to the Biosphere near Tucson.  The Biosphere was a huge endeavor that scientists put together to create model versions of multiple types of biomes.  The students tour the facility and see how the scientists studied the biomes as well as experiencing them for themselves.  Going in and seeing the inner workings and the technology needed to run the facility is fascinating.  

The next time we went was a double adventure.  We went to Colossal Cave and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum.  Both were in the Tucson area.  The Colossal Cave was a walking tour of a large cave system deep in the heart of a desert mountain.  The students were able to see all sorts of geological formations that inhibit caves.  They were also able to see evidence of how the caves were home to both wildlife and human life.  The Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum is a combination zoo and botanical garden built around the wildlife of the Sonoran Desert.  This trip gave students the opportunity to explore the inhabitants of the ecosystem that surrounds Phoenix.  As we study ecosystems for the 3rd and 4th quarters, this was a highly valuable experience for them.

Astrocamp 

8th Grade Science Filed trip

AstroCamp offers hands-on science activities which supplement the 8th grade science curriculum along with the Sierra Verde Science, Technology, Engineering and Project goals (STEP) and STEM.  Activities include classes in Energy and Matter, Mechanics and Flight, Space Exploration and Astronomy, Geology and Environmental Sciences. The Astrocamp coursework is designed to further enhance the students' understanding of energy, matter, flight, space exploration, geology, and environmental sciences.  Astrocamp offers innovative classroom and outdoor hands-on activities which tie in with district STEP/STEM goals.

Club GREEN THUMB

Club Green Thumb, Sierra Verde’s after school garden club began in 2011.  Since its inception, hundreds of students have had the opportunity to learn about the process of seed germination, photosynthesis, hydroponic gardening, solar energy sources, composting, and the nutritional value a garden is able to supply.  Students have established and maintained three different gardens systems: a solar powered hydroponic garden, a raised bed garden, and a potted garden with a solar powered watering system. Students have faced and solved real word problems such as extreme heat, frost, petulance.   They have applied for and received grants to solve these problems.  Students in grades 1-3 take on these huge problems and are assisted along the way by students in grades 4-8.  Club Green Thumb grows more than vegetables, it grows student leaders as well!

Egg to Chick Club

Our K-4 students are given an opportunity to join the “Egg to Chick Club”, where older students get to experience the excitement of new life and truly understand how kindness to the world in many ways is as simple as caring for an animal. Students are able to connect with local farmers during this experience to learn the role that egg-bearing animals play on the farm.

eSports

We launched the first middle school esports team in our district. Students competed against teams from Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and California in the Western Region Middle School esports Conference. The students competed in Rocket League, Super Smash Brother and Mario Kart. We have collaborated with schools around the state, inspired schools within our district and have connected with the University of Arizona's Rocket League esports team.

Moxie Girls

Our incredible 7th and 8th all-girls computer science and STEM club.

The Rubik's Cube Craze

Our campus has been bitten by the cube craze bug! Cube solvers can be found in grades as young as 2nd grade all the way up to our oldest students. 8th graders are taught to solve the cube during their STEM exploratory but our campus also offers a Rubik's Cube club which culminates each year with a Rubik's Cube Solving tournament where our vipers compete against kids from all around the state.