STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)

STEM at Sisters Elementary School gives students the opportunity to learn by doing, asking questions, designing solutions, experimenting, building, testing, and trying again. Through science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and real-world problem-solving, students develop curiosity and creativity while learning that challenges often have more than one possible solution.

Students visit the STEM Lab approximately one to two times each week, where experiences complement classroom learning and provide opportunities to apply academic skills in new ways. The program includes environmental science, applied mathematics, engineering basics, movement and mechanics, computer science, and learning through the STEM Garden and Greenhouse. Community partnerships and the extraordinary natural environment surrounding Sisters further extend learning beyond the classroom.

Have questions? Please contact Sisters Elementary School for more information or assistance.

Building the Foundation

In Kindergarten and First Grade, STEM begins with exploration, observation, and discovery. Students learn to ask questions about how things work, experiment with materials, recognize patterns, and begin solving simple problems through hands-on experiences. Building, creating, measuring, observing, and testing encourage young learners to approach challenges with curiosity and confidence.

These early experiences also introduce an important STEM mindset: it is okay when something doesn't work the first time. Students learn to try an idea, observe what happens, make changes, and try again, developing persistence and problem-solving skills alongside early scientific and mathematical thinking.

Exploring Our Natural World

In Second Grade, STEM experiences begin connecting students more deeply with the environment around them. Geology provides opportunities to investigate rocks, landforms, and the processes that have shaped the Earth, with Central Oregon offering an exceptional natural setting for this learning.

In Third Grade, environmental learning expands through experiences involving hydrology and the life cycle of trout. Students investigate water, watersheds, living systems, and the connections among organisms and their environments. These experiences help transform concepts students encounter in science into something they can observe and investigate within their own community.

SES's Environmental Science Program is strengthened by partnerships with organizations including the U.S. Forest Service, Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Central Oregon Geological Society, Children's Forest, and Think Wild, among others. These partnerships bring additional expertise and authentic learning opportunities to students.

Designing, Building & Problem-Solving

By Fourth Grade, students are increasingly prepared to tackle STEM challenges requiring multiple steps, collaboration, planning, and perseverance. Engineering, applied mathematics, mechanics, technology, and environmental science provide opportunities to take an idea from question to design and from design to testing and improvement. Students become more independent in deciding how to approach a problem. Rather than simply following directions, they increasingly learn to analyze a challenge, consider possible solutions, use available materials and information, test their ideas, and make improvements based on what they discover.

In Fifth Grade, students draw upon years of STEM experiences to approach increasingly sophisticated problems with greater independence. Scientific reasoning, mathematics, engineering, technology, creativity, and collaboration come together as students investigate questions and develop solutions. These experiences help prepare students for the expanded STEM opportunities they will encounter as they transition to Sisters Middle School.

Learning Through Our Environment

One of the distinctive strengths of STEM at SES is the connection between learning and place. The STEM Garden and Greenhouse, environmental science experiences, community partners, and access to the remarkable ecosystems of Central Oregon give students opportunities to understand science and problem-solving within the world they experience every day.

Through these experiences, students develop greater knowledge of local plants, fish, wildlife, geology, water, and ecosystems while considering how people interact with and affect the natural environment. STEM becomes more than something that happens inside a classroom, it becomes a way of understanding and caring for the community and environment around them.

The K-5 Journey

Across the elementary years, the progression is intentional: exploration develops into investigation; investigation grows into designing and problem-solving; and increasingly complex challenges require students to apply knowledge, collaborate, persevere, and create solutions of their own.

By the end of fifth grade, our goal is for students to see themselves as scientists, engineers, designers, programmers, mathematicians, and problem-solvers. Most importantly, we want them to remain curious, to approach an unfamiliar challenge with the confidence to ask questions, experiment, learn from what doesn't work, and keep searching for what might.