STEM Matters
September 5th, 2025
The 6th Annual Lab Coat Ceremony
Rites of Passage and memories made...All sixth grade families are invited to the Lab Coat Ceremony:
September 11th. Students are to arrive at 4:30 p.m. with the program beginning PROMPTLY at 5:00 PM.
At Baldwin, we value and are intentional in teaching the RCS Portrait of a Graduate competencies. The Fall Ball allows our scholars to demonstrate being: A Collaborator, a Culturally Aware and a Global Citizen.
How: In conjunction with Fox Realty (donated turkeys), our students donated non-perishable food items (the sides), to create the perfect Harvest meal.
When: We kick-off the donation window Monday, September 9th.
Who: Members of our Student Council and the Royal Court (homecoming), collaborate with our partner the Reynoldsburg Community Church to decorate the baskets, that are then delivered to deserving families.
FAQs:
Can you just buy a ticket to the dance? No. The focus is to teach the importance of paying it forward and giving back.
Will the dance be in the evening? Who will chaperone? This is a "Day Party" and yes, you may sign up to volunteer.
What is the Royal Court? We love to join the festivities of Homecoming! At SMBR we crown a Duke and Duchess (6th grade), a Prince and Princess (7th grade) and a King and Queen (8th grade).
If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessica.meyer@reyn.org (one of our school counselors)
The Annual Clap-In!
We are off to a STEMazing start to the school year!
Our annual Clap-In was a huge success! Several of our community partners, members of the Divine 9, and our STEMtastic BOE Members joined us, as we took our first step towards closing the BELIEF gap, by welcoming our STEM Scholars back to school!
So excited to see their next chapter!
#greatnessawaits
6th Annual Back to School Bash/Meet the Teacher Night!
STEM families had a blast, at the 6th Annual Back to School Bash!
Food, cotton candy, popcorn, sip & paint, face- painting, building tours, kickball, line dancing a maker-space AND more!
Yes... this is STEM @BALDWIN!
Thank you to our community partners who came out to volunteer and join in, with the fun!
The Wilhouse
Last spring, we held a ribbon cutting ceremony, as we unveiled our school store: The Wilhouse. Inspired by a shared vision, between our school principal and school social worker Ms. Dent...a place that meets the whole needs of our students, now exists. The Wilhouse, provides free hygiene, dental products, laundry products, seasonal wraps, and more!
If a student is in need, they scan the QR codes, provided by the social worker, and the items are set aside for them.
Super huge shout out to the Reynoldsburg Community Church who supported this dream by clearing, painting and stocking this space.
Congratulations to our social worker Ms. Dent on always being here for our staff and kids.
Pics of your room
Pics of students
At SMBR, we "count it all joy!"
In addition to the mundane but necessary PD on policy, protocol and procedure, our principal is always intentional in creating a PD, that fills the buckets of teachers before we kick off the school year. This year, the teachers and staff participated in an old fashioned lemon-squeeze!
Armed with lemons, bottled water, sugar, peach, blueberry, raspberry syrups, and fresh fruit, STEM teachers crafted their individualized cups of lemonade, with the directive to SAVE THE SEEDS. At the end, teachers COUNTED their seeds, each of which represented a start, stop and continue, in relation to how we will SHOW UP this year, for students and colleagues. The moral wasn't about making lemonade out of lemons, but instead recognizing that we determine just how "sweet" the school year will be.
Mic drop! Ha!
7th Grade News!
The seventh grade team was so excited to hit the ground running this year! On top of building relationships, we dove right into the design cycle teaching and learning through quick practice projects that had them research and explore different countries, careers, and how they relate to math, as well as solving problems relevant to their own lives. Look out for information about an upcoming field trip to Hocking Hills in October!
Science Department:
The start of the year has been an exciting time in the science classrooms! Students have been focusing on building strong relationships, establishing classroom norms, and getting back into the rhythm of learning. As the year progresses, our young scientists will dive into a variety of engaging topics. Sixth graders will explore the building blocks of life by studying cells as well as rocks and minerals. Seventh graders will investigate energy and ecosystems, discovering how living things interact with their environment. Eighth graders will take a closer look at Earth’s landforms and the fascinating world of genetics. We’re looking forward to a year filled with curiosity, discovery, and hands-on learning!
Humanities Department:
The Humanities Department kicked off the school year with a variety of activities that helped establish relationships and set classroom expectations. We also gave students a variety of hands-on activities to knock some of the dust off of their critical thinking skills. In addition, we focused on the ways that the design cycle can be applied to their writing, both in social studies and language arts, as they brainstorm, outline, research, and draft their ideas. We believe that our students are smart and that they need to trust their instincts, and we’re setting a course this year to help students believe it, themselves.
News from our Electives Team!
Band/Orchestra - 6th grade students are excited to begin their musical journey this week, not to mention learning how to use a combination lock! They are gearing up for their first performance Tuesday, September 30th! 7th and 8th grade students are up and running with getting ready for their first performances in the next few months. Check in with your teacher for more information about performances.
Choir - 6th graders are beginning to learn how to read music, and all choir classes have begun work for the winter concert December 17th.
Computer Design - Computer science is focusing on computer hardware and software. The small section will culminate with taking apart a pc and putting it back together. We are also working on typing. Each day we spend the first 5-7 minutes doing typing practice.
Geographical Cultivation and Sustainability - we are problem solving water scarcity and exploring potable water, water quality, human use, and global water challenges. Through labs, simulations, and reflections, we will investigate water pollution, filtration, conservation, and scarcity, while considering how people around the world access and use water differently. At the end of the unit, students will understand what makes water safe to drink and why it matters.
Physical Education - We are learning to play these awesome games!
Frisbee Golf
Ultimate Frisbee
Matball
Pinguard
Video Game Design - So far this semester, students started out their intro to game design by creating a 3-D model of a gaming environment that they want to create digitally by the end of the semester. They worked together to brainstorm different features that need to be included in a game to make the environment interesting to players, and the challenges that they can solve from taking an idea from paper to a digital creation. This week, we have been working on animation-- how to bring the characters to life in a video game. We started with the basics of animation by storyboarding their ideas, and then adding movement through flipbook animation. Over the next two days, students are bringing their drawings to life by using the website Flipanim, and working as a team to plan, design and improve their work together, through practice on the Clevertouch and their whiteboards. Students share their work with their peers every Friday, where their classmates test out their game progress, suggest edits, and give productive feedback.