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Royal Bash 2012
Update Hopkins Public Schools
The community’s guide to the District.
February 2012
Hopkins Education Foundation’s fundraising gala that benefits our schools. Call 952-988-4097 for details. February 25, 6:00 p.m. Golden Valley Golf and Country Club 7001 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley
c o m m u n i t y POPs Concerts A celebrated tradition at Hopkins High School featuring the junior and senior bands. Lighter band music, comedy, and musical routines. February 3 & 4, 7:00 p.m. Hopkins High School
Kiddie Karnival Come out of hibernation for family fun. Games, stories, silent auction, and more! Saturday, February 25 10:00 a.m. - noon Harley Hopkins Family Ctr. 125 Monroe Ave. S.
www.SeatYourself.Biz/Hopkins
STEM for All Hopkins student paper receives highest state rating The Hopkins High School student newspaper, “The Royal Page,” has been recognized as among Minnesota’s top student newspapers. The paper has again earned an AllState Gold ranking from the Journalism Educators of Minnesota. “The Royal Page” received a ranking of excellence in the following areas: · Editorial Leadership · Content · Design/Typography
Lovas named Girls’ Track and Field Coach of the Year The Minnesota State Track and Field Coaches Association has named Nick Lovas the 2011 Girls’ Class AA Coach of the Year. Lovas coaches Girls’ Track and Field at Hopkins High School and teaches social studies at West Junior High. The Girls’ Track team won the Lake Conference championship in the 2010-2011, 2009-2010, and 2007-2008 school years.
Caring Youth Award
Do you know a young person who shows an ongoing awareness of others through volunteering or other activities? Sure you do! Consider nominating him or her for the 2012 Caring Youth Award. Nominations are due Friday, February 3. Learn more – visit www. HopkinsSchools.org
Hopkins infuses STEM curriculum into each of its program levels In the next six years, General Mills expects a third of its IT staff to retire. Nationwide, there is a shortage of engineers. The green energy industry is in need of more technical employees than ever before. All of this points to one thing, the United States needs a workforce that is well versed in the hard sciences. Hopkins Public Schools is on the forefront of this need for technical employees, and has integrated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into its elementary, junior high and high school core curriculum. All Hopkins students are exposed to STEM concepts starting in grade 3.
Student builds a Rube Goldberg machine that can transfer energy from one group to another in the eighth-grade PLTW class.
engineer is anyone who uses what they observe in nature to solve a problem,” said Soltis.
The grade 3 EiE unit, entitled Designing Model Membranes, requires students to build a membrane that provides a model frog with just the right amount of moisture by “We want to make sure that all students have access to mimicking the elements of a rain forest. Students are broken STEM,” said Tim Amelie a technology teacher and STEM into small groups and are given porous coordinator for Hopkins Public Schools. materials like coffee filters, screens, and cheese “Our approach is STEM for all.” Companies clothes to control the flow of water. They These efforts have not gone unnoticed. Last must collaborate and decide how to create a are looking for year, the Minnesota High Tech Association membrane that provides just the right amount recognized Hopkins Public Schools for someone who of water for their frog. its leading-edge STEM curriculum and is technical and Rachael Ramy, a grade 3 teacher at programs. Meadowbrook Elementary, knows that can use math Engineering is Elementary — it starts collaboration is a real-world skill that will be with a frog required of students throughout their entire and science to Starting in grade 3, Hopkins students begin lives. The membrane experiment is just one taking STEM coursework through EiE solve technical way to get students thinking about how they (Engineering is Elementary) which applies work together with their peers to solve problems. They can science concepts to an engineering design problems. challenge. Developed by the Museum of are interested in This year, EiE is being integrated into the Science, Boston, the curriculum was brought grade 5 curriculum at Meadowbrook and to Hopkins in 2009 by the Science Museum our students. Eisenhower Elementary. These schools are part of Minnesota from a Cargill grant. The of an engineer-in-residence program for the unit Marvelous program will be fully implemented next year. Machines. Trained teachers from the Science Museum will According to Pam Soltis, a grade 3 teacher at Tanglen guest teach the curriculum in May, giving Hopkins teachers Elementary, the first step to teaching EiE is helping students an opportunity to see it in action. understand that technology and engineering are broader Junior High: PLTW curriculum takes students to concepts than they realize. new heights “We teach the students that technology is anything that is Learning comes alive in Bob Krebsbach’s Design and man-made and helps Modeling /Science of Technology class. This PLTW (Project solve a problem, and an see STEM for All inside
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math): what you need to know At Hopkins, STEM is embedded into our core curriculum for all students Courses at the junior high level: At the high school level (in addition to PTLW courses): PTLW (Project Lead the Way): ACE (Architecture, Construction Courses at the elementary level: t %FTJHO BOE .PEFMJOH 4DJFODF PG EiE (Engineering is Elementary) : Grade 3: Designing Model Membranes Grade 4: Designing a Maglev System Grade 5: Marvelous Machines: Making Work Easier
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and Engineering): ACE is an extra-curricular activity where students have the opportunity to network with professionals from companies like 3M and Mortenson Construction, learn building codes, and visit actual job sites.