STEM & Blossom: May

“May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.” -Fennel Hudson

Hi Hallinan Families!

May is here and the bees are buzzing and the flowers are peaking their little heads out! The view is SO beautiful here from the lab -- Watching the tulips be enjoyed and smelled (Thank YOU Britt Marra and garden crew), listening to laughter and lunch times at the new outdoor tables (THANK YOU PTO!) and seeing kids run on our big green field! The garage door is open (on our nice weather days-- ahh PNW weather) and the breeze fills the hallways on sunshine days! There is JOY to be found all around our school! This is such a special time here at Hallinan and I am honored to work with your children as they start wrapping up their school year.

The lab is very busy as 5th graders are making their Memory Boxes of their elementary years, kinders are building cities, 2nd graders are creating inventions and firsties are engineering biomimicry tools. 3rd graders are studying Portland Bridges and building museum displays while 4th graders are tackling Earthquake Engineering and building for a client in downtown Portland who needs and Earthquake-proof skyscraper! SO much creativity, collaboration, problem solving and innovation happening this month!

I wish you a MARVELOUS MAY!

With love, respect and appreciation,

Nickie Doran

See project details below! These projects run from May 1st- May 19th!

• Kindergarten: Design a City! The smallest Hawks design a City! Inspired by a Social Studies unit, kindergarten students discuss what all cities need to be successful and a great place to live! Students create various buildings for their city (Post Offices, Hospitals, Vets, Parks, etc.) and as a group, create a name for their city! We end the week taking out roads, cars and people and play in our city! This is one of my favorite units! ("Mrs. Doran, you ALWAYS say that!")
• 1st: Biomimicry First, you might be asking yourself... "What on Earth is biomimicry?" Biomimicry studies nature and then imitates or takes inspiration from these designs and processes to solve human problems. To start the week, firsties explore biomimicry, inventions in our world inspired by nature and then we specifically focus on inventions inspired by birds! Students will build a bird and discuss some of their features that could be used for potential inventions or tools that solve a human problem. Then, they will work in teams to engineer a tool inspired by a bird! Teams then build their prototype and end their week creating an advertisement to sell their tool!
• 2nd: Invention Convention! Invention Convention: An EXTRA SPECIAL week for 2nds! We start the week discussing the invention process where we ASK, IMAGINE, PLAN, CREATE and IMPROVE! For this project, students will work independently as they develop a plan, blueprint and prototype for an invention that solves a problem for their school, their room or animals/the environment! We check out famous student inventions, explore inventions that make a HUGE difference in our every day lives and even some smaller inventions that we all know and love (like Bandaids and Bubblegum!). We end the week with an Invention Convention, where students present their inventions to guests in the lab!
• 3rd: Portland Bridge Museums! Oooooo! I love this unit! Local connections, math concepts, creativity and a variety of project options! Students start the week going on a Gallery Walk of our Portland Bridges and take notes on their findings, wonderings and interests! Then, students select a Portland Bridge and work in teams to decide on a platform/museum format of their choice (Canva, Adobe Spark, Tinkercad (3D Printing) or Maker (Build it!)!
• 4th: Earthquake Engineering This unit comes from UC Berkeley, which was brought to us by STEM teacher Faith Jordan at Forest Hills! Students work in teams to explore earthquakes and engineering buildings best for natural disasters. Then, each team is given unique challenges, criteria and constraints within their plans and builds. Teams wrap up the week with a Portland Design Challenge where they are given a client in which they have to build their earthquake-proof structure for downtown Portland. Lots of KNEX, lots of problem solving, lots of building up and tearing down and I AM HERE FOR IT! Can't wait!
• 5th: 5th Grade Memory Boxes Is this when I cry? I think this is when I cry. 5th graders begin their Memory Boxes of elementary school! Students plan and create at least 6 artifacts that they think best represents their elementary years. They have the option to create an origami-inspired box or build their box out of Makers Materials to fill with their artifact treasures. This is such a special week as all students work independently to create a meaningful memory box that best showcases their time at Hallinan and elementary school. Artifact options include: Making a logo/icon sticker on Canva, wood burning art, ceramics, mini scrolls and books, 3D printed keychains and MUCH MORE!

Email: dorann@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.instagram.com/stem_and_blossom/
Location: Hallinan Elementary School, Hawthorne Drive, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2353
Twitter: @nickie_doran