S.T.E.M.

Thanks to a grant through the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission the NEW Macon Early College Outdoor Trailblazers Club purchased 10 new bikes with helmets, repair kit, and bike pump! Look for them cruising on the Greenway and eventually, hitting local mountain bike trails! @ncoutdoortrailblazers @gooutsidenc Thank you also to Motion Makers Bicycle Shop in Sylva for being a dream to work with and supporting our program! Check out the MEC Facebook Page for updates on the club!

We are pleased to inform you that MMS, MEC, and FHS were all awarded a $5,000 - $10,000 grant last year to establish an outdoor club aimed at getting our students outdoors and away from their screens. With the increasing demands of technology on our students, it is more important than ever to encourage them to spend time outside and engage with the natural world. As part of this initiative, the outdoor club will be taking a trip to Tremont in the Great Smoky Mountains on November 11-13. This trip is designed to provide our students with hands-on learning experiences in natural resources and recreation, while also promoting potential careers in environmental fields. Please note that students participating in this trip will miss two days of school (Nov 11 and 12). The trip has been approved by the school board, and all necessary arrangements are being made to ensure a smooth experience for everyone involved. If you are interested in participating in the Outdoor Club and participating in this trip to Tremont, please complete the Google Form. The $75.00 fee and paperwork (which will be emailed to you) are due on Oct. 4, 2024. This trip is open to 7th - 10th grade students. https://forms.gle/h8FXR4H36tcHvFkj7

After five years, we are thrilled to finally hang our new sign! Macon County Schools and Macon County Soil and Water will be collaborating with the WCU Forest Stewards program this summer and fall semester on habitat restoration in front of the school along Cove Branch (stream area adjacent to MVI and MMS). This project will involve: *Removing invasive exotic species *Planting native plants and trees *Installing a split rail fence in the fall *Creating a walking path with signage designed by MVI students five years ago (file attached) For those interested in our progress, updates will be available on the shadeyourstream.org website. Our goal is to enhance the front of MVI/MMS, making it more aesthetically pleasing while also providing a valuable learning space for our students. This space will be available in the future for nature studies if classes would like to utilize the space for field trips. We are proud to announce that this project is entirely funded by grants!

Are you already hearing, "I'm Bored!"? We have spaces left in our Muddy Sneakers camps coming up June 17-20 (rising 4th - rising 6th) and June 24-27 (rising 6th - rising 8th). Register here: https://forms.gle/h4moJYbuW6h9mdKw7 Payment is due before camp begins.

We still have spaces for both Muddy Sneakers Summer Camps! June 17-20 is for rising 4th through rising 6th grade students and June 24-27 is for rising 6th - rising 8th grade. The cost is $150.00 per student and breakfast/lunch will be provided through the summer food program. To register, please go to https://forms.gle/TvX66zeoNafoW89k8

Say “hello” to two-way messaging and classroom announcements in the Macon County Schools app! With the addition of Rooms, our district app keeps getting better. Parents/guardians check your email with instructions to sign up and access new features.

Say "hello" to two-way messaging in the Macon County Schools app! The app now offers announcements & parent-teacher chat. Look for your invitation to begin using this feature in our app tomorrow, May 2. Download for Android https://bit.ly/3CyB4tu Download for iOS https://apple.co/3TkKZso

Say “hello” to two-way messaging in the Macon County Schools app! The same district app now offers class streams, announcements, and parent-teacher chat. Look for your personalized invitation later this week. Download for Android https://bit.ly/3CyB4tu Download for iPhone https://apple.co/3TkKZso

Macon County teachers got WILD with Project Wild Training! We had 30 teachers - K-12 Macon County formal educators and informal educators from the USFS, Coweeta Hydrologic Lab, and Mainspring who attended a full day of Project Wild training. Thank you to our instructors, Jason Meador, the Aquatic Programs Manager from Mainspring Conservation Trust, and Melissa Faetz, the Associate Instructor in the School of Teaching and Learning from Western Carolina University. Thank you to the NEEF (National Environmental Education Foundation) Greening STEM Grant for providing funding for this program.

Highlands School - SAVE THE DATE

Congratulations to Macon Middle School student Ethan Loftin who won $250 for his "Camping Can" product and Emma and Danni Ledford from Franklin High School who won 1st in the high school division and 3rd overall at this year’s Smart Tank! Their project was a Volleyball Line Judge. They coded an Arduino to measure if a ball was in or out of bounds. Way to go Macon County! Thank you so much to Mr. Wilkinson at MMS and Sarah Weresuk at FHS for mentoring these students and making it possible for them to compete!

Mountain View students are learning more about the value of our National Forests through field trips and a special presentation by a Cherokee storyteller. Students heard the story of how plants provided medicine for the people and were able to learn a few Cherokee words. Next week, students will learn more about Forest Values at Coweeta Hydrologic Lab. Thank you to the National Environmental Education Foundation for providing Mountain View 6th-grade students with this opportunity.

Thank you NCOutdoors! Our Macon Outdoor Club took a hike last weekend on the Bartram Trail to learn about Spring wildflowers, trail etiquette, and reading a map! We had a beautiful day and a great 4.5-mile hike to William's Pulpit.

Thank you to The Science House and the Cherokee Preservation Foundation for making this opportunity available for our students! Grant funding supports the Mobile STEM Lab experiences for our students. Mrs. Bear's 5th-grade students at Highlands School participated in a DNA extraction lab. Students are not only learning about SCIENCE but they are learning research techniques, how to work as a team, the importance of clear communication, and being precise in their measurement.

Asheville Maker Faire is coming soon! April 13 from 10-3pm This is a free event! For more info, go to https://asheville.makerfaire.com/

Thank you to the NC Go Outside grant program for providing funding for our new nature trail and equipment at Mountain View Intermediate School. We have a few more finishing touches to put on the trail but the students are ready to explore! https://gooutside.nc.gov/go-grants/ Thank you to Spriggley's BeeScaping for building us a wonderful outdoor classroom! https://sprigglys.com/

Looking for engineering activities for the classroom? Check out these resources. https://discovere.org/engineering-activities/

Breaking News from Macon Middle STEM! Congratulations to Bradley, Kenyen, and Gabriel for completing the paper tower project! Their stellar performance in seventh grade sets the bar high. Kudos to these future engineers for showcasing their skills and promoting exciting career paths through the development of their design process skills.

East Franklin Elementary students are practicing their engineering design skills! Kindergarten is building a den for a mother polar bear. They were told to figure out how to build a den to keep out the wind. They need a long entrance to keep out the wind (fan)! This activity is tied to one of the stories they are reading in class. They are also learning a little about bears and how they survive in the cold. These students are not only learning about science but are having to problem solve and critically think about possible solutions!

NC School for Science and Math Summer Accelerator Information Session - Feb. 27th Join Us Virtually! Want to learn more about our programs? Have questions about our application process? Our information session will be perfect for you to attend! Please excuse the earlier email- there was an error with the link to register. Please fill out our Google Form and an email with the Zoom Link will be sent out the day of! If you have any questions, feel free to email Taylor Flach at taylor.flach@ncssm.edu Date: February 27, 2024 Time: 6:00 PM Location: Via Zoom https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfX0QY6H6dD23RwfyI80JYA9ndCcFnelq6y3-e34MBWKYVkGg/viewform