S.T.E.M.

Highlands School - SAVE THE DATE

Congratulations to Macon Middle School student Ethan Loftin who won $250 for his "Camping Can" product and Emma and Danni Ledford from Franklin High School who won 1st in the high school division and 3rd overall at this year’s Smart Tank! Their project was a Volleyball Line Judge. They coded an Arduino to measure if a ball was in or out of bounds. Way to go Macon County! Thank you so much to Mr. Wilkinson at MMS and Sarah Weresuk at FHS for mentoring these students and making it possible for them to compete!

Mountain View students are learning more about the value of our National Forests through field trips and a special presentation by a Cherokee storyteller. Students heard the story of how plants provided medicine for the people and were able to learn a few Cherokee words. Next week, students will learn more about Forest Values at Coweeta Hydrologic Lab. Thank you to the National Environmental Education Foundation for providing Mountain View 6th-grade students with this opportunity.

Thank you NCOutdoors! Our Macon Outdoor Club took a hike last weekend on the Bartram Trail to learn about Spring wildflowers, trail etiquette, and reading a map! We had a beautiful day and a great 4.5-mile hike to William's Pulpit.

Thank you to The Science House and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation for making this opportunity available for our students! Grant funding supports the Mobile STEM Lab experiences for our students. Mrs. Bear's 5th-grade students at Highlands School participated in a DNA extraction lab. Students are not only learning about SCIENCE but they are learning research techniques, how to work as a team, the importance of clear communication, and being precise in their measurement.

Asheville Maker Faire is coming soon! April 13 from 10-3pm This is a free event! For more info, go to https://asheville.makerfaire.com/

Thank you to the NC Go Outside grant program for providing funding for our new nature trail and equipment at Mountain View Intermediate School. We have a few more finishing touches to put on the trail but the students are ready to explore! https://gooutside.nc.gov/go-grants/ Thank you to Spriggley's BeeScaping for building us a wonderful outdoor classroom! https://sprigglys.com/

Looking for engineering activities for the classroom? Check out these resources. https://discovere.org/engineering-activities/

Breaking News from Macon Middle STEM! Congratulations to Bradley, Kenyen, and Gabriel for completing the paper tower project! Their stellar performance in seventh grade sets the bar high. Kudos to these future engineers for showcasing their skills and promoting exciting career paths through the development of their design process skills.

East Franklin Elementary students are practicing their engineering design skills! Kindergarten is building a den for a mother polar bear. They were told to figure out how to build a den to keep out the wind. They need a long entrance to keep out the wind (fan)! This activity is tied to one of the stories they are reading in class. They are also learning a little about bears and how they survive in the cold. These students are not only learning about science but are having to problem solve and critically think about possible solutions!

NC School for Science and Math Summer Accelerator Information Session - Feb. 27th Join Us Virtually! Want to learn more about our programs? Have questions about our application process? Our information session will be perfect for you to attend! Please excuse the earlier email- there was an error with the link to register. Please fill out our Google Form and an email with the Zoom Link will be sent out the day of! If you have any questions, feel free to email Taylor Flach at taylor.flach@ncssm.edu Date: February 27, 2024 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Via Zoom https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfX0QY6H6dD23RwfyI80JYA9ndCcFnelq6y3-e34MBWKYVkGg/viewform

What do you do on a cold Saturday morning? LEARN! These Mountain View Intermediate School teachers spent last Saturday morning learning from Christy Bredenkamp, Macon County Extension Director, about Shitake mushrooms and how to grow them! The group was able to inoculate two logs each with the fungus in hopes we can produce a crop this coming Fall and into the future. The logs were all donated to the Outdoor Explorations class at Mountain View. Students will be able to learn about the process of growing Shitake mushrooms, the importance of fungi in an ecosystem, and some of the economic benefits. Check out these other classes through our local NC Cooperative Extension (https://macon.ces.ncsu.edu/events/).

Students in Mr. Byrne's Biology classes had a chance to visit the Highlands Biological Station and participate in a microscope lab using the research lab. Students learned about current research taking place at the station, which is part of the Western Carolina University campus. Mr. Jason Love shared some of the microplastic research taking place on the plateau and the students had a chance to tour the botanical garden. Thank you to the Highlands Biological Foundation for providing the funding to make this trip possible! Great things are happening in our own backyard!

Hi, You are invited to the WNC Environmental Summit on Saturday, March 23rd, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. at the Haywood Community College auditorium. This event is open to adult and student participants and will provide educational opportunities for regional groups to come together, share ideas, encourage each other, and take action to make a difference. Registration is now open! The Design This event is designed to connect like-minded, like-spirited people to each other and to connect people to place, and to inspire community action to protect precious WNC backyard ecosystems. The work is to inspire HOPE and conservation through action. This is closely tied with the vision: 1) to teach science through the lens of culture, 2) to provide meaningful and fun learning opportunities for youth and adults, and 3) to inspire discussion and the desire to learn more! Theme Native health expert Dr. Lisa Lefler will start our discussion on environmental hope and action. Participants will learn from the keynote speaker and indigenous expert, Tommy Cabe, EBCI Tribal Forester, how connecting to place is vital to conserve our unique, biodiverse ecosystem and how equity is critical for working across the region in communities. Additionally, panel presentations and Youth Action Labs will continue conversations on traditional ecological knowledge, equity, and provide ways to take action and develop leadership skills to address environmental threats. Join Us in Teaching This conference aims to empower voice and leadership! Indigenous voices and student volunteers will teach, guide, and facilitate others. If you would like to volunteer to lead, please let us know! Here are some examples and pictures of how students can be involved. Teach a poster session on indigenous voices, traditional ecological knowledge, environmental science, or ways to volunteer to take action. Record a video clip to show at the event. Develop a hands-on lab to teach science with a “one-liner.” Communicate science through marketing, art, and public speaking! Registration is free for adults and students. Lunch for Students is FREE! Read more about the event and register here.

Thank you to the Franklin Daybreak Rotary Club for their support of the Macon Bots Robotics Team! Several members of the club came to present our team with a check for $3600 and share a little about the Rotary Club and their work in our community. These funds will be used to support the team with needed equipment, T-shirts, and funds for field trips. Thank you so much for your support of these amazing young people! From Left to Right front row: Chase Plank (FHS), Frederick Bengtson (FHS), Joseph Hammaker (MEC), Parker Wilken (private), Quinnlyn Siple (MMS), Aiva Ashe (MEC), Olivia Sheridan (MMS) Back Row: Lucas McConnell (FHS), Josiah Green (FHS), Billy Black (Rotary), Maya Partain (MMS), Elizabeth Cook (FHS), Ben Rodriguez (Rotary), Evan Roush (homeschool), Mason Schulte (FHS), Lucas Wright (MMS), Ethan Loftin (MMS) Not pictured: Kairi Cicman (MEC), Eleanor Kessler (MMS), Hailey Brown (MEC), Jennifer Love (Coach/STEM Coordinator), Bryan Wilkinson (STEM Educator MMS), Bob Vitale (community mentor)

Students on the Macon Bots Robotics Team had the opportunity to cheer on and learn from the FIRST Tech Challenge teams during their 2024 competition. The team traveled to Fountain Inn, SC for the Qualifying matches. The Macon Bots Robotics program is open to 7th - 12th grade students. For more information about the program, please contact STEM Coordinator, Jennifer Love.

Thank you to Corbin Dental (https://corbindentalcare.com) and Matt Corbin for donating a Mavic Mini drone to our Macon Middle School STEM program. This is a professional drone that will give our students valuable hands-on experience. Students in Mr. Wilkinson's STEM classes have the opportunity to learn how to fly different types of drones, learn about career applications, and produce their own drone photography videos. The Macon STEM Program appreciates the support of our community. Thank you Corbin Dental for investing in our students!

Science in the outdoors! Mountain View Intermediate School students who are currently participating in the Outdoor Explorations class had the opportunity to get outside and learn about the weather during a recently foggy morning. Thank you again to the Go Outdoors NC grant that helped provide materials such as expedition backpacks filled with equipment!@GoOutsideNC

It is never too early to start learning about coding and robotics! These East Franklin Elementary students in Mrs. Baldwin's class are computer scientists in training! They are learning about coding through storytelling and mathematics using BeeBots!

From the NC School for Science and Math - Hi! We are excited to share that the Summer Accelerator residential program, sponsored by the Dogwood Health Trust, is open for applications! We have two courses for rising 7th - 9th grade students and two courses for rising 10th - 12th grade students. We have openings for 60 middle and high school students to stay on our NCSSM-Morganton campus during the week of July 21-26th and take one of these summer courses. This free opportunity is only available to students in the Dogwood Health Trust area. You MUST live in one of these 18 counties in the Dogwood Health Trust area: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey, as well as the Qualla Boundary. The application process is competitive. We would love to have all 19 areas represented. The student's room, food, courses, supplies, and field trips will be covered by the grant. They just need to get to Morganton on July 21 and be picked up on July 26th. I've attached a flier. The application deadline is March 15, 2024, and finalists will be notified before April 1st. We will host an information session via Zoom on February 20, 2024 at 7 pm. Please sign up here if you are interested in attending.