STREAM Program Students in grades 3-5 benefit from a creative program that integrates Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art and Math. Most schools that offer this program call it STEM. But St. Matthews adds a component of Religion and Art to create a unique experience for students. STREAM is a weekly program that requires students to build solutions to problems. Students are grouped together with others from all three grades. The groups rotate every 9 weeks to a new teacher and a new challenge. Each challenge begins with a planning and brainstorming session and the collecting of recyclable items and other materials. Then the building begins. Each week the students add to their creations; cutting, glueing, measuring, and figuring out how to make the creation in their heads into mini-models.
There are wonderful study skills and life skills that develop over time as the students become comfortable and more adept at building models. The engineering component is the most fun, but can also be the most challenging. Figuring out how to attach two parts, or bend something into a specific shape, or cut something to be proportionate to the rest of the model might take several tries. The students must remain resilient when attempts don’t work, and flexible with the solution’s outcome. Imagination, creativity, and collaborative discussion are key. Conversations that occur between the students and teachers can be quite insightful, and sometimes students reveal a deeper creative or problem solving side of themselves through the STREAM activities. When students practice seeking each other out for solutions, and engage in discussion about problems and how to solve them, this becomes a natural behavior that can impact the dynamic in the classrooms for other content areas. This is the model for a classroom where the teacher is the facilitator. Students view others as resources for information and solutions to problems, and as fellow-visionaries. The students also benefit from developing a relationship with two additional teachers who have a vested interest in the success of every child. Giving students the opportunity to actively create solutions to problems can change the way they look at things, where suddenly a problem is a welcomed situation just waiting to be solved. Cultivating an ‘I can solve this’ attitude, and pride in one’s work are basic to what we want our children to experience in school. The St. Matthew’s STREAM program is a means to get them there.