STEM Matters
November/December 2025 Issue
The Reynoldsburg Community Church: You are appreciated!
STEM is grateful for the Reynoldsburg Community Church. Winter coats, hygiene items, socks, clothing, and treats for teachers are just a FEW of the items the church has donated to our STEM Scholars. Annually, they donate to our holiday baskets, in addition to coming in and supporting our student council and NJHS students as they fill the baskets. Their care, support and benevolence is incomparable! We want to send a huge thank you to both Mr. Morgan and Mr. Wallick, who represent two "Small Groups" of the Reynoldsburg Community Church members. Pictured below is an example of the Friday Meal bags that they provide to deserving families.
Friday Meals!
Minestrone Soup will be on the menu this weekend! Each meal bag contains not only all of the items needed to prepare the meal, but also the recipe with step-by-step directions. We appreciate the love and care that goes into each meal bag.
The December Teacher of the Month! Check out what our STEM teachers & staff have to say about Mr. Keith:
December Lab Coat Luminary - Mr. Keith,
"Mr. Keith never half-does anything - he always puts in 100%"
"Mr. Keith is an amazing teacher who always goes above and beyond for students and staff. His engaging lessons inspire learning and result in excellent student achievement. In addition to teaching, he leads multiple events and serves as chair of the Humanities Department. We are lucky to have such a dedicated and stellar educator."
The November Staff member of the Month! Check out what our STEM teachers & staff have to say about Ms. Dent.
November Lab Coat Luminary - Ms. Dents, School Social Worker
" Ms. Dent is the epitome of the accolade "above and beyond." Not only does she support our students with mentoring and lunch bunches, aimed at building character and self-esteem; she also supports our families. She works closely with our community partners and administration, ensuring families have food, holiday baskets and more. Her dedication even spans into late nights and weekends, supporting our students and families."
"She does an excellent job advocating for our students safety. She is quick to intervene and report any harmful activity that involves them. She also does a great job distributing resources to students in need. She really cares."
"The old team built the bridge; the new team crosses it."
Mr. Murgatroyd, Safety and Security extraordinaire has joined the team at Summit High School. Mr. Murgatroyd worked seamlessly with administration and built genuine relationships with students. We wish him all the best.
Ms. Tyree, the best administrative assistant ever...is now the Administrative Assistant, to Assistant Superintendent Sanders. A chair needs four legs to stand, and indeed she was one of our four legs. We wish her well on this exciting new chapter.
Welcome to SMBR! We are excited to welcome to our STEM family:
Mr. Folts - Safety and Security
Ms. Hopkins - Safety and Security
Ms. White - Administrative Assistant to the principal
SMBR has a new attendance incentive!
In November, SMBR kicked off a new attendance incentive. Each month, we will celebrate our STEM Scholars who have perfect attendance, with a yummy celebration! That's not all! Every week, the names of students with perfect attendance will go into a drawing, for cool prizes, donated by...wait for it...the Reynoldsburg Community Church!
Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser
Scholar families, our Double Good fundraiser runs from January 26th - January 30th. Students and staff will be selling Double Good's award-winning popcorn and earning 50% of every sale!
Stay tuned for more information!
In the meantime, learn more:
https://popup.doublegood.com/event/36fa2b2c-ea54-11f0-896e-2f5c4f2182cb
Science! It's like magic, but REAL!
From the desks of Ms. King and Mr. Seballos:
In conjunction with the 8th grade school wide book read, The Refugee, 8th grade science students completed a Design Cycle Challenge, called Refugee: The Great Escape Project.
For this project, pairs of students used the Design Cycle to construct a moving vehicle which would begin its motion, from a Zero Force (Balanced) to an Unbalanced Force, without the assistance of a physical push or pull (Contact Force).
The vehicle had to be able to carry both family and supplies [2 dice] from start to finish.
The vehicle had to travel 2 meters [representing 2 km] on its own, without the assistance of electricity, gasoline, or wind (this is not the windy time of year).
The Refugee is a historical fiction novel, that follows the lives of three families — German Jews in World War II, Cubans under the Castro regime in 1994, and present-day Syrians — all attempting to flee the unbearable strife of their homelands. It aligns perfectly with the Social Justice lens of STEM, allowing students to solve real world problems and concerns, across the curriculum.
At STEM, there is always "more in store" for our scholars!
We are excited to announce that Maryhaven and The Columbus, Ohio Chapter of the Links will soon be providing prevention services at STEM Middle @BRJH! This partnership will supporting student, families, and our school community.
Through Maryhaven’s Project Lead High Expectations — the “No Thank You” Campaign, the goal is to deliver engaging, age-appropriate prevention education that promotes healthy decision-making, raises awareness, and equips students with the skills to navigate real-life challenges. Maryhaven is passionate about meeting students where they are and reinforcing positive choices in a supportive school environment.
If you would like to learn more about how your STEM Scholar can be a part of this project, please contact our school social worker, at Lasandra.Dent@reyn.org
NCH Mentoring Movement after school program
As we kick off the third quarter, we want to remind families that Nationwide Children’s Hospital is offering a free six-week, health and fitness-based mentoring program for 6th
grade students at Reynoldsburg City Schools. Students will have the opportunity to work with mentors to
build successful life skills, like self-leadership, healthy nutrition habits, cooking classes, and physical fitness. Please reference the flyer, and scan the QR code, for more information.
The Dream Center
Urban Aviators - After-school Club
7th Grade Updates
The 7th grade completed their school-wide book read, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, and wrote argumentative essays based on the text. They also began analyzing the State of Ohio STEM Design Challenge by exploring the question, “How can we improve the movement of people and things?” They designed ways to improve electric transportation inclusive of cars, charging stations, battery sustainability, and access to such vehicles among other ideas.
6th Grade Updates
6th Grade: Sixth grade has been busy learning, growing, and exploring! Before winter break, students wrapped up our powerful novel A Long Walk to Water, and we’ve started the new year diving into Merci Suárez Changes Gears. Students are working hard to strengthen their reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills as they respond to texts and share their thinking. In Geographical Sustainability, we are thrilled to begin using our OSU Agriculture in the Classroom Grant by bringing Tower Gardens and hydroponics into our classrooms. Students will plant, monitor, and harvest vegetables—and even get to taste what they grow—while learning about sustainability and food systems. In Social Studies, we are launching our exciting Ancient Egypt unit after finishing our study of forms of government in December. Students will explore ancient civilizations, daily life, and the lasting impact of Egyptian culture. We have many engaging projects and hands-on activities coming up, and we can’t wait to see our students continue to grow this quarter!
News from our Electives Team!
Band/Orchestra - All band students in grades 6-8 and orchestra students in grades 7-8 are preparing for their February performances. Double check your calendars for after-school rehearsal dates and times. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Mr. Tennant or Miss Emmons. 6th grade students in orchestra are preparing for their next performance in April.
Choir - The choir is kicking off an exciting season! We’ll be starting new music as we prepare for our May concert, while also exploring and honoring music connected to Black History Month. In addition to our musical goals, students are looking forward to our upcoming Kings Island trip, which will be a fun opportunity to celebrate teamwork and all the hard work we’ve been putting in together. It’s a busy and rewarding time for choir!
Geographical Cultivation and Sustainability - We are excited to utilize our OSU Agriculture in the Classroom Grant by bringing in Tower Gardens and Hydroponics to grow vegetables in the classroom! We will monitor growth, harvest when ready, and eat the food we grow.
Physical Education - We are kicking off the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge. We will also play Tag Games, Kickball, Matball, Super Matball, Pinball, and Battleship.
Video Game Design - We have started the quarter discussing careers in design and how their skills with animation, coding, illustration and design can lead them down amazing creative paths in their future. We are hoping we will have guest speakers/professors from Columbus College of Art & Design visit to discuss their Video Game Design program and coding camps! We are working on illustration and animation in January, as well!
News from the 8th Grade Team
During the month of December, our 8th graders were busy learning, creating, and reflecting. Students dove into our school-wide book read, Refugee, engaging in thoughtful discussions around our essential question: How does the use of force disrupt the direction of nature, society, and objects? In addition, students planned and developed products for our Makers’ Market, following the STEM design cycle to create innovative items to sell to the community as part of our fundraising efforts. Their creativity and problem-solving skills truly stood out. To close out the month, students reflected on the semester and set personal and academic goals as they looked ahead to the new year.
News from the Humanities Department
Humanities Department:
In November, the Humanities Department hosted Literacy Night. Parents and students were invited to participate in a discussion about how our school connects its school-wide book reads to STEM and problem-based learning, and the ways in which literacy in every subject matter helps our students to see the world through a variety of lenses, both at a macro and microscale, and from multiple perspectives. The presentation was followed by a teacher-created game of Family Feud, where teachers, parents, and students competed by answering questions at the intersection of literature and pop culture. We want to thank all of the families who came out to participate.
We also began prepping our students for our middle of the year MAP tests, which will be taking place next week, starting with Language Arts on Monday, January 12. We have conferenced with our students and had them set goals for academic growth based on their most recent fall scores and their trends over time. We are optimistic that our students will do their best not only for us, but for themselves.
News from the Math Department
Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) is a teaching method created by researcher Peter Liljedahl that gets students actively solving problems instead of just watching the teacher. Math teachers have started using BTC. They have students work in random groups at vertical whiteboards, which creates amazing results. The erasable whiteboards help students feel comfortable taking risks and trying new ideas. Working while standing up keeps everyone involved and makes it easy to share thoughts. Random groups mix up who works together, so all students learn from each other. We are seeing students who are regularly disengaged, actually focused and solving challenging problems. Students stop asking "Is this right?" and start really thinking about math, discussing different ways to solve problems, and not giving up when things get hard. This approach helps all students become better problem-solvers.
News from the Science Department
The science department has been buzzing with hands-on learning across grade levels. In 8th grade, students are diving deep into Earth science as they explore the layers of the Earth, investigate convection currents, and examine how plate tectonics shape our planet. Meanwhile, 7th grade students recently wrapped up an engaging unit on energy, where they applied their knowledge by designing and building tiny houses. They are now turning their attention to the water cycle, discovering how water moves through Earth’s systems and impacts life on our planet.
STEM Service!
This winter, our school was excited to kick off the 5th Annual STEM Service Hygiene Drive! This service project supports the Heart Food Pantry in Reynoldsburg and helps provide essential hygiene items to members of our community. We encouraged students to bring donation items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, baby wipes, and travel-size shampoo or soap. To add a little friendly competition, the homeroom with the most donations received a special prize. Additionally, 15 of our scholars visited the pantry to drop off the donations and help stock the shelves for our neighbors. Students collected over 300 items this year for our donations! Thank you for supporting our students as they worked together to make a positive difference in our community!
