About the STEM Committee: The STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Committee is a group of parents interested in helping to enrich Runnymede through hands-on science, mathematics and technology opportunities that focus on the reinforcement of the mathematics and science curricula.
If you would like to join or help, please contact the STEM committee chairs RunnymedeSTEMcommittee@gmail.com.
Activities taken on by the committee include:
- Facilitating STEM enrichment activities :
- Fun, in-class math activities ‘Angry Birds’ for kindergarten students
- The Amazing MATH Race June event for students in grades 4 and 5
- Fun Amazing MATH activities in class for students in Grade 1-3
- Science Fair for students in Grades 6-8
- Classroom enrichment programs such as University of Toronto Engineering Outreach for students in grades 6-8
- Creating hands-on science “kits” and procuring science manipulatives for students in kindergarten – grade 8
- Sourcing math manipulatives for all grade levels, to make math more hands-on and fun
- Dispatching a team of parents to assist in the installation of school technology and to make sure all computer systems are up and running for immediate, in-class use
- Sourcing additional funding and instructional support for in-school technology as well as STEM subjects
STEM in March!Runnymede Senior School Science Fair – Thursday, February 22
Poster design by: Poppy + Valentina (6A)
We are pleased to announce that the Runnymede Senior Science Fair will be taking place on Thursday, February 22! Students in grades 6, 7, and 8 will be working hard over the coming weeks to complete their project display boards. Last year we had 150 projects and almost 300 students participating so we are expecting another exciting Science Fair this year!
Important notice: all Grade 6-8 students are to arrive early at 8:15am on the day of the Science Fair (Thursday, February 22) with their projects for setup in the gym. Presentations and judging will take place during the morning school periods. Students in grades 4-5 will be visiting the science fair with their classes in the afternoon.
Invitation to parents: parents are invited to visit the Science Fair between 1:00pm-2:00pm on Thursday, February 22. Please enter via Door #5, located in the middle of the front yard.
STEM Activities During the Month of June
June is usually a busy month for Runnymede students, with hands-on STEM learning going on inside and outside the classroom. Here’s what you might expect!
Junior and senior students will be participating in a variety of STEM Enrichment programming at Runnymede. In the past these events have included Future Goals: Hockey Scholar STEM Learning sessions and University of Toronto Engineering Outreach programs.
_______________________________________________
Primary students (grades 4&5) participate in the Amazing Math Race. This is a half-day, on-site, fun math event where students run around and use their math and team-work skills.
Dates: Each grade will have a specific day in the last half of June.
Time: 12:00 – 3:15 pm
Grade Leads Needed! We’re always looking for parents who can do a bit of preliminary organization and help lead the Amazing Math Race for their child’s grade. If you’re interested in being a Grade Lead or if you simply want to volunteer for a half-day of fun math activities with your child on the day of the event, please get in touch at runnymedeSTEMcommittee@gmail.com. No math expertise required!
____________________________________________
GRADE 1-3 have in class AMAZING MATH ACTIVITIES brought to their classrooms, so they can have a morning of fun math games, activities and challenges (like GIANT sudoku, multiplication madness and Yahtzee fun!
Grade Leads Needed! We’re always looking for parents who can do a bit of preliminary organization and help lead the Amazing Math activity for their child’s class. If you’re interested in being a Grade Lead or if you simply want to volunteer for a half-day of fun math activities with your child on the day of the event, please get in touch at runnymedeSTEMcommittee@gmail.com. No math expertise required!
________________________________________________
Kindergarten students participate in the Angry Birds Math activity where they get to stand up and measure, build, sort, graph and LAUNCH Angry Birds! 
Dates and times are TBC, but each class will participate in a half-day activity (9:00 – 11:30 am or 12:30 – 3:00 pm). The Angry Birds Math activity usually runs in late May / early June once students have covered most of the math curriculum.
Interested in volunteering in your child’s class for this activity? Please email runnymedeSTEMcommittee@gmail.com.
Robotics at Runnymede
Runnymede is extremely fortunate to have hosted competitive FIRST LEGO league robotics teams. Tryouts are typically hosted in the spring for students who will be in grades 4-8 the following school year. Teams get straight to work as soon as school starts on their annual challenges.
What is FLL? FLL combines basic robotic programming and scientific discovery with team work and product development culminating in a fun and friendly showcase competition. In FLL coaches become mentors and the students work to find solutions together. Visit FLL League for more information about this worldwide phenomenon.
Visit the team’s website to find out about our projects and for helpful hints on LEGO building, programming and crazy STEM fun!
Interested in learning programming at home? Check out the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s site SCRATCH. This site encourages kids to program using blocks of code that they connect to make scripts. They can “see inside” the programs of posted games and learn from others, or follow the tutorials provided.
Join us!
Any parent interested in helping promote the Math and Science curricula at Runnymede is welcome to join the STEM committee – we’d love to have you! No specific skills are required. Please co
STEM Parent Resources
To support math learning at home and to be connected with your child’s mathematics learning, you can check this website offered by the TDSB. (Lots of great resources)
https://sites.google.com/tdsb.on.ca/tdsb-mathematics-for-families/home
The Family STEM Challenge
Are you feeling that you may run out of activities over the break? Why not participate in Runnymede’s holiday STEM challenge?
Materials needed for the challenge:
-Toothpicks
-Soft candy or marshmallows or cubes of cheese or fruit (anything that will hold to a toothpick)
How the challenge works:
Start by attaching pieces of candy to toothpicks and build your structures through trial and error. Kids will use logic and creativity to combine the toothpicks and candy in a way to build the structure they have envisioned- tall or wide or a CN Tower prototype- there are lots of options.
Who will have the tallest or sturdiest tower? How much weight can your structure hold? Can your family recreate a famous landmark?
Grab your candy and toothpicks and have some fun!
Runnymede Public School Council 