Winter 2019–2020 Volume 4 Issue 1
5048 E. Oak Street Phoenix, AZ 85008 602 389 8600 newwayacademy.org
NEW WAY FAMILY
CONNECTIONS
News and campus highlights to connect the New Way family.
Engage. Enrich. Empower. A TAGLINE STEMMED FROM TRUTH
By Laura Murray
A team of New Way staff and board members convened during last summer to collaborate on the best features of New Way. What makes our school so special? How do our students know they are getting the quality education they deserve, meeting the diverse needs of each individual? After a full-day dialogue on everything uniquely “New Way”, the conclusion was made. New Way students are: • E NGAGED at home, at school, and in their community. • E NRICHED with tools, with strategies, and with resources. • E MPOWERED to learn, to self-advocate, and to stand for their beliefs. Throughout the fall, we shared stories about each of these important factors in giving New Way students the opportunity to become confident and capable learners. The following three stories highlight what it means every day for a New Way student to be an engaged, enriched, and empowered learner. STEM Class Teaches Chemistry Principles While Engaging Students at Home When students step foot into Mr. Vallejo’s STEM class, they know they’re going to learn about something that sparks, sticks, or streams. That’s because STEM in Junior High is all about handson learning: taking materials that are common to find at home, and using them to learn science, technology, engineering, or math in an interesting and memorable way. STEM students started off the year by learning basic chemistry principles and terminology. To most of us, that does not sound like the class in which you’d be most likely to engage — but Mr. V’s students know that there’s no better way to make sense of a chemical reaction than to see it happen in real time!
Vinegar and baking soda are pulled out of the cabinet and transformed into a wonderfully in-depth discussion about how molecules become reactants that produce change. The experiments continue with other household items each day. In fact, a concentrated sugar solution in boiling water one week will have bonded molecules, forming beautifully crystallized rock candy the next! As you might suspect, when students see a homemade experiment with a bottle of soda and mints, a lot of excitement ensues. Students learn that mint candies and soda have a chemical reaction, and the fizzy explosion is actually the carbon dioxide gas as precipitate from the solution. But only after exploring the reasoning and scientific explanations, can they fully understand how high the reaction’s jet stream shot into the air (almost 9 feet, in case you were wondering!). Enriched with the Resources to Become Responsible Digital Citizens We all know that being tech-savvy has become essential in today’s world. But how does a New Way student fully grasp the importance of being a responsible Digital Citizen? New Way’s technology teacher, Ms. Olgin, has been leading the charge on educating Bulldogs about technology usage by enriching students with resources. Lower School and Junior High students have started with what continued on page 2