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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:March 28, 2017Page 1 of 2
St. Sebastian Parish School Achieves STEM Designation
The Ohio Department of Education awarded St. Sebastian Parish School the distinction of STEM designation on Tuesday. The parish school has met all the qualifications laid out by the State of Ohio and is invested and committed to offering a rigorous integrated curriculum rooted in project-based learning to their students grades K-8, with the goal of preparing them with the skills and competencies to be successful in whatever path they choose when they leave the school. Although this is very exciting news, St. Sebastian Parish School remains focused on its dedication to Christ and its commitment to excellence in education for all students. It is not becoming a STEM school and remains a Catholic Parish School.
Over the past few years, the school has been actively securing funds and materials to support STEM Education and also provide opportunities for professional development for the faculty. St. Sebastian Parish School began offering STEM teaching in the classrooms using funds raised from the school’s largest fundraiser, the September Spectacular. That allowed the school to purchase robots, drones, gravity racing cars and other necessary learning tools for their classrooms. In 2016, the parish school raised enough money to invest in an Innovation Lab. This space will become a hub for student centered, STEM-based collaboration where students are challenged to be creative, take risks, experiment, prototype and let their curiosity guide their discovery.
The school is also developing relationships with diverse partners to support their STEM initiative in many different ways. These partners are supplying financial support, offering authentic problems, providing outside speakers, career information and technical expertise. The administration at the school would like to thank parents and current STEM partners, the International Soap Box Derby, Thirsty Dog Brewery, the University of Akron and St. Vincent-St. Mary High School for all their support.
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Parish school principal, Sandie Isabella stated in a recent school publication that, “Every student in our school will benefit from these efforts as we fine-tune our curriculum to strengthen critical thinking, collaboration, hands-on learning and use of technology and other materials to explore ideas and solve problems.”
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Image name:St. Sebastian Parish School Achieves STEM Designation
Image caption:Students collaborating in the school’s Science Lab
Image Source: St. Sebastian Parish School
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Image name:St. Sebastian Parish School Achieves STEM Designation
Image caption: Students building Soap Box Derby cars
Image Source: St. Sebastian Parish School