Critical thinking fueled student designs recently as all fifth-grade students at Merrimac Elementary School participated in a STEAM activity aimed at enhancing student collaboration.

The activity, led by Merrimac art teacher Jenna Motroni, challenged student groups to design and construct the tallest tower possible out of predetermined amounts of spaghetti, tape and string, which at the end of the build would have to hold a marshmallow at its peak. Students were given a 20-minute build time to carefully construct a functional tower out of the limited resources provided. 

“It is fun to teach students traditional concepts in a unique way,” Ms. Motroni said. “Students get to work on solving different problems through teamwork.” 

At the conclusion of the activity, students collectively discussed alternative construction approaches that could improve the design of their towers.

A collaborative effort at Merrimac Elementary School created connections between literacy and community service through a student-organized Pick a Reading Partner theme for the month of March. 

Two fifth-grade students, Brooke Storan and Meadow Murphy, teamed up with second-grade student Lorenzo Vargas to develop a PARP theme that encouraged reading throughout the building, while also collecting school supplies for less fortunate students at Merrimac and other schools in Sachem. The student trio coined the PARP theme, “Supplies Surprise,” and set a goal to collect a plethora of school supplies while logging reading time along the way. 

The students held two assembly programs informing students of the various incentives associated with the program they organized. For students in kindergarten, first- and second-grade, once they reach 200 minutes of reading they earn a sheet of quotes to decorate that will be given to the recipients of the school supplies. Fourth- and fifth-grade students that reach 150 minutes of reading earn raffle tickets that will be drawn to select the students who would help organize the collected supplies before they are distributed.

As part of the unique initiative, each grade has been assigned a different group of supplies to donate. The schoolwide goal for “Supplies Surprise” is to reach 150,000 minutes of reading by the end of March. 

Merrimac Elementary School students traveled back in time to the height of the Revolutionary War as part of a Google Expeditions activity, exploring many significant points in 18th-century American history. 

As an enhancement to the classroom curriculum, every fifth-grade class at the school embarked on a guided tour through the 1700s, visiting historically important sites. Students encountered pivotal events of the war such as the Boston Massacre, the Battle of Lexington and Paul Revere’s midnight ride. 

In between the virtual visits, the fifth-graders answered questions related to the historical destinations they had witnessed.