Andrew CSD 5th graders were able to share their learning and implementation of hydroponics and aquaponics with our school board during the Andrew School Board meeting on Monday, December 11th.
The 5th grade students, along with our middle school students, visited the Bellevue BIG high school aquaponics project in October and came back to Andrew excited to learn more. They had also been learning about how to master reading “Technical Text” as part of their reading standards. Our 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Haverkamp, provided a small hydroponics system for the students and as part of demonstrating mastery of the “Technical Text” standard, the students had to assemble the system using the manual. Students then decided to take their learning further and wanted to build an even larger hydroponics system so they could grow more plants. The students designed plans for how to build the system, they contacted Mr. Till, our facilities director, for materials, they built the system, and they determined which plants they wanted to grow and began growing their plants. During this process, they have made several changes and adjustments to their plans to improve growing conditions for the plants.
During the school board meeting, students were able to explain to the board and parents how they developed the system, which learning standards they had mastered and how they used all 8 Leader in Me habits throughout their learning.
Thank You to Mrs. Haverkamp for facilitating this learning and supporting our students’ voices to pursue learning they were passionate about. Way to go 5th grade students for being amazing role models and leaders throughout this experience. We can’t wait to see what you decide to do next!
