At Wayside Schools, students have many opportunities to showcase their learning, interests, and hard work. From science and history fair displays at our elementary schools, to STEM Night projects at Wayside: Sci-Tech Preparatory, exemplary student work has been everywhere over the past four months.
Science Fair
Students at all Wayside elementary schools spent weeks working hard on projects they presented at campus Science Fairs. These projects challenge students to research a question that interests them and then allows each group of students to drive their own learning through research and experimentation. They walk away with a better understanding of the inquiry process and the scientific method.
While there were many impressive projects across the district, one that stood out was “Electric Blue Balloon” by Zoey Evans, Cadence Henry, and Angel Martinez, a group of third graders at Wayside: Altamira Academy (AMA).
The team’s project involved rubbing a balloon on different materials and seeing how big the static electricity reaction was for each material.
The students and their blue balloon won 3rd place at Wayside: AMA and went on to win 2nd place at the Regional Science Fair.
“We had a fun time with our project and really liked that we could show it to others so that they could learn too,” Evans said. “The best part was getting to share our information with people and being on a team with friends. It was a real team effort.”
The group said that the most challenging part of the project was writing down the information on their display board, which they presented to the judges. This part of the project challenged them to think through the scientific method. They posed a question, stated what they thought the result would be, wrote out the process of doing their experiment, and shared the result and conclusion. Throughout the process, the team took photos of their experiment, which they attached in different sections of their display board.
“This project taught me that science is a complicated thing, but also a fun thing,” Evans explained. “I loved it, and I don’t want to stop going to Altamira Academy for the Science Fair.”
Congratulations to Zoey, Cadence, Angel, and all Wayside Schools Science Fair winners!
History Fair
Every year, Wayside: Eden Park Academy (EPA) holds a History Fair. Students are assigned to research a person or event in history and present it at the fair on display boards. This year, Julie Gray, a 6th grader, won first place for her project on Sophie Scholl, a German student and Anti-Nazi Activist. Gray went on to the Central Texas Regional History Fair, where she won an impressive second place, qualifying her for the upcoming State History Fair. Wayside Schools met up with her to learn more about her project.
When asked why she picked Sophie Scholl, Gray explained that she saw the name on a list of suggestions and then looked her up and learned that she opposed the Nazi Regime. This fact was interesting to Gray, which led her to study Sophie for her project.
“My favorite fact about Sophie Scholl is that she was in the White Rose movement,” Gray added. “People in this movement were exploiting things about Hitler because at the time everyone thought that he wasn’t bad. Sophie helped spread the truth through that movement.”
For Gray, the best part of the project is all of the photographs she found of Sophie because it was difficult to find good ones from certain time frames that fit her project. She also really enjoyed seeing images of Sophie’s life because it helped her visualize what it was like.
One takeaway Gray had from this project was that it was a fun way to learn about history.
“The work I did is benefitting me because it’s important to know the history of what happened back then,” she said.
Best of luck at the State History Fair, Julie!
STEM Night
At Wayside: Sci-Tech Preparatory (STP), students took a new approach to showcasing their work. They displayed projects connected to what they were learning in the classroom at the first ever STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Night.
“The goal of STEM Night was to encourage parents and the community to interact with student work while also providing an opportunity for students to showcase the work they were doing in their classes,” said Chelsea Schauer, the Wayside: STP Library Media Specialist and teacher who helped create the event.
STEM Night was unique because it showcased how STEM is everywhere. Wayside: STP really wanted to highlight how, in today’s world, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are even a part of the arts, like literature or sewing.
Those who attended STEM Night walked around the gym looking at different projects and talking with students and teachers about their work. Each class designed their 
own booth and materials.
“The interactive nature of it made it a huge success,” Schauer continued. “Each person could touch and see the components of the projects and ask questions to learn more.”
Some notable projects at the event included Edison Sumo Bots, which were small robots that students programmed, and the Cookie Dough Cooking with Fractions booth, which highlighted the connection between math and cooking.
Families and community members haven’t see the last of STEM Night. Wayside: STP will be hosting another one at the beginning of next school year. You won’t want to miss it!