One highlight of my December break was a trip to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston.  It felt decadent to meander through the ICA’s galleries, taking time to slow down and experience the ways in which artists create beauty, express emotion, and enact their inspirations through a range of mediums.  About half way through the visit I found myself mesmerized before a Rube Goldberg-like video projection created by Peter Fischli and David Weiss, entitled The Way Things Go.  It was a thirty minute long series of chain reactions that utilized everyday items such as tires, plastic bottles, ladders, balloons and liquids which systematically crashed, spilled, tipped, inflated, and ignited as they moved in a forward trajectory. Each link of the chain needed to be technically precise for the art to progress. Creative uses of gravity, friction, and chemical reactions were nothing short of magical.  While the visuals were compelling, I found myself dwelling on thoughts of the perseverance it must have taken Fischli and Weiss to bring their project to fruition.  I wondered how many times they fell short, and had to begin again. The number of iterations necessary to arrive at a successful culmination of their vision must have been nothing short of epic.  Failure was the necessary path to success.

To me The Way Things Go embodied the STEAM mindset. STEAM is the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. WMS Science Curriculum Leader Tom Longnecker promotes a working definition of STEAM as, “an integrated application of skills and content from different disciplines to solve a real and relevant problem.”  In connecting the disciplines through a STEAM project, students flow through a series of interconnected steps in which students are asked to empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test and repeat.   

Science Olympiad
Our Science Olympians are getting primed to compete.  On Tuesday afternoons one sees students working with partners to design and create different objects to satisfy the rules of their specific events. For example, for the "Mission Possible" event we have two 8th grade students who are trying to design a Rube Goldberg style contraption that utilizes simple machines and turns potential energy into kinetic energy.  In order to succeed, they research ideas and build mini versions of the bigger contraption to see if it will work. To achieve success in any of the events, students must show incredible perseverance and ingenuity. 

Math Class - Windmill Projects
During a 6th grade unit on data and statistics, students work in teams to try to optimize the design of a windmill to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. Using windmill hubs, purchased through a Wayland Public Schools Foundation grant, students experiment with design features, controlling for one variable at a time, such as number of blades, size of blades and angle of blades. Using statistics and graphs of their data, students then presented arguments to convince their audience that they have found the optimal design to maximize electricity output. Maybe there is hope for the energy crisis yet. 

LEGO Robotics
On Friday afternoons one will find a group of about 25 regulars (plus a few floaters) creating in the trenches. There are small groups programming in Scratch trying out ideas to bring over to the robotics.  Others are building mini robots that can pick up and move small items. One recent exciting “out of the box” accomplishment was when a student built a functional stick shift. As the user stepped on a clutch-like feature on the ground, it allowed him or her to use the stick shift to switch between smaller and larger gears causing a wheel to turn slower or faster.  We may have a future engineer for Lamborghini in the making. 

Meddlersome Makers and Tenacious Tinkerers Club
Each week middle school students travel with the Maker Mobile throughout the building to bring to life their student-driven project ideas.  Some simply enjoy the opportunity to tinker with circuits, 3D pens and other inspirational tools, while others come with specific project ideas in mind.  For example, during a recent school committee meeting Meddlesome Maker Club Advisor, Peter Curran, used a real banana as his mouse for his computer, wired courtesy of a WMS tenacious tinkerer who was inspired to learn how a mouse worked and then play with the concept. Like many of our innovative opportunities, this Maker Mobile would not have been possible without the generosity of the WPSF. The PTO also generously awarded a mini-grant for library resources to support the MakerMobile. 

The STEAM innovation and student centered projects at WMS extend far beyond the scope of this newsletter (LARK’s nest, Computer Club, Applied science classes, Hour of code, etc).  The examples I’ve shared represent just a taste of the myriad of ways we help students build the 21st century skills of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. Through an iterative process of empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing, we help students imagine new solutions to problems that matter and build the skills of perseverance needed to see a project to completion. I would not be surprised if years from now, during another December break visit to the ICA, I find myself face to face with artistic creations of one or more of our current middle schoolers.  How cool would that be?

Respectfully, 

Betsy Gavron

Curriculum and Placement - Math, Science & World Languages.

We hope you can join us on Friday, January 29th, 8:45-9:45 am, for our next Middle & More coffee. We will be discussing the math, science, and world languages programs and the process for placement / class selection. (It's only January, but we are already thinking about next year!) Curriculum leaders Donna Sumner and Rebecca Puolo (math), Tom Longnecker (science) and Klara Sands (world languages) will be joining us to share highlights of the curriculum in each subject, to discuss standards-based grading in math and science, to answer any questions about choosing which world language(s) to study, and to describe how levels /course recommendations are determined. Bring your questions!

If you can't join us this month, our next Middle and More, on Thursday, February 25th, 8:45-9:45 am, will highlight the English and Social Studies programs.

Contact Cathy Scholz (cscholz89@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

Artist Statement:  We developed this product to help those who have a hard time remembering things. These mini-dry erase boards are designed to attach to your wrist, letting you take your to-do list everywhere you go. The adjustable Velcro strap ensures a comfortable fit, and they can be customized to meet your style needs.