STREAM School
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National Certificate for STEM Excellence
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In December 2021, Christ the Redeemer Catholic School is the third Catholic grade school in the United States to earn the National Certificate for STEM Excellence (NCSE) - Campus Certification from the National Institute for STEM Education (NISE). The NCSE recognizes individual school campuses for their commitment to and systematic support of teachers’ understanding and use of high-impact, evidence-based STEM instructional strategies.
“Through this certification process, we learned that STEM is about so much more than robotics and coding,” said CtRCS Principal Dan Courtney. “Our teachers strive to inspire critical thinkers who are eager to solve real-world problems in creative ways across disciplines. We learned to value the power of collaboration, communication, and the redesign process as vital components to STEM learning.
“As a Catholic school with an amazing fine arts department and a belief that our Catholicity runs through the fabric of all we do, adding the arts and religion to our STEM program makes us a true STREAM learning environment.”
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, NISE evolved from STEM professional development and curriculum created at Rice University and was conceived by seasoned, practicing educators and is based on thousands of hours of research, professional development, curriculum design, and educational leadership. Using an online platform and supported by a dedicated NISE STEM leadership coach, educators and instructional leaders work together to refine school operations and instruction to further strengthen STEM practices and the campus’ overall STEM culture.
As part of earning the NCSE - Campus Certification, eight educators also earned the National Certificate for STEM Teaching (NCST), further contributing to the school’s collective STEM expertise.
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Certified Teachers
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ami.lebasctrschool.com6th Math, 7th Pre-Alg., 8th Algebra -
lisa.sansburyctrschool.com5th Grade ELAR and Social Studies -
kelly.murphyctrschool.comSTREAM Coordinator, 6th-8th grade Robotics -
michelle.pyectrschool.com1st Grade Teacher
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CtRCS STREAM Vision Statement
Christ the Redeemer Catholic School strives to inspire critical thinkers who are eager to solve real-world problems in creative ways. Crusaders value the power of collaboration, communication, and the redesign process as vital components to their learning.
STREAM enables teachers to focus in an interdisciplinary way on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), while integrating the Arts, and allowing Religion to flow throughout the daily routine (STREAM).
In December 2021, CtRCS became the third Catholic grade school in the United States to earn the National Certificate for STEM Excellence from the National Institute for STEM Excellence.
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STREAM in the Classroom
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Engineering Design Process
The students in Mrs. Sansbury’s fifth-grade class are applying the authentic engineering design process in this Sons of Liberty lesson. The students are responsible for engineering a Liberty Pole to notify colonists of the secret society meeting being held to plan the Boston Tea Party.
“Incorporating STEM in the Social Studies and ELA classroom may seem challenging to some," Mrs. Sansbury said. "I have enjoyed pushing my brain to further develop lessons and evaluate my teaching style to incorporate more authentic real-world learning opportunities.
While attending elementary school, I had the opportunity to engage in a variety of STEM curriculum. My hope is to provide the same opportunities to my students, from within my classroom, to be problem solvers and innovators."
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Scarecrow STREAM
Kindergarten students in Mrs. Patteron's class read fiction books about scarecrows and then were challenged to make a scarecrow stand using a variety of materials of their choice. The students came up with an idea first and went "shopping" for the materials of their choice. These materials included straws, pipe cleaners, Q-tips, cotton balls and tape. After several failed attempts, the students quickly realized that their scarecrow needed a sturdy base to help it balance. The students were all determined to work through their problems and complete the challenge of making a scarecrow stand.
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When people think of STREAM, they tend to think of math and science content areas. Our third-grade class has proven STREAM integration can happen anywhere and within any content area. After reading "Stone Fox" as a class, 3rd grade students designed, constructed, and tested sleds in our STREAM lab. Students even write prayers for cooperation, success and kindness prior to starting their creations. Way to go, 3rd grade!
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"Stone Fox" STREAM with Mrs. Matlock
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Alumnus Inspired by STREAM at CtRCS
Luis Barajas graduated from CtRCS in 2018 and attends St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School in Austin, TX. He hopes to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering.
"Attending CtR School helped me to solidify my desire to go into a career in STEM," he said. "CtR constantly offered opportunities such as when I did my science fair projects or talking to my science teachers, all the STEM classes, and being exposed to technology at school only increased my interest in science."
The opportunity to join the Lego League club in sixth grade inspired Barajas to participate in his high school's first Tech Challenge Robotics Team and broke the record for most points scored in a competition.
"Besides the academics and strong faith formation, the opportunity to constantly serve as an altar server during Mass, my time at CtR also really helped me to meet new friends and build solid friendships," he said.
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