For Immediate Release

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018

Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Jefferson Elementary School Holds Inaugural Family Science Night

ROCKLAND — Principal Michelle Scheufele is pleased to announce that students, parents and guardians participated in Jefferson Elementary School’s first Family Science Night last week.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, from 6-7 p.m., more than 100 families gathered at Jefferson Elementary School to partake in a wide range of science and engineering activities designed to foster students’ imagination and expand on lessons learned in the classroom.

“This was an incredible night filled with hands-on learning for every student and their families,” Principal Scheufele said. “Parents and guardians really enjoyed being a part of their child’s educational experience, and we look forward to replicating this event next year.”

As part of the event, teachers in each grade prepared a corresponding activity that students could delve into with their family members. Additionally, throughout the event, STEM teacher Rachel Mack challenged students with a variety of building exercises using toothpicks, marshmallows and candy hearts.

In kindergarten, 5-year-old students dissected owl pellets and taught their families how to analyze and classify the variety of bones the bird did not fully digest.

First grade students kept their activities magical, leading parents/guardians through fairy tale themed STEM challenges. Exercises included building a model home that could withstand students’ attempts to blow it down (like the Big Bad Wolf), creating the longest replica of Rapunzel’s hair using one sheet of paper and constructing a marble maze from recyclable paper items to mirror the one in Hansel and Gretel.

At the second grade station, students used their knowledge of levers, pulleys and wedges to build a simple machine that could perform a task.

To illustrate the importance of revising and testing a hypothesis, third grade teachers presented the dough challenge. Participants used a set of ingredients, measuring tools and directions to first make a ball of dough. Then, using an additional set of instructions, each group was able to improve its consistency and texture. 

Fourth grade students built structures using pipe cleaners and designed boats using aluminum foil – competing to see who could design the boat that would hold the most pennies.

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