On Dec. 1, approximately 120 children from preschool through third grade gathered in the NDEC auditorium dressed in their best pajamas.
Polar Express Arrives at NDES
On Dec. 1, approximately 120 children from preschool through third grade gathered in the NDEC auditorium dressed in their best pajamas. With the spirit of Christmas alive in their hearts, the children settled in for the evening with cookie decorating and reindeer games while their parents enjoyed a quiet evening out on the town. The night concluded with children nestled in their pillows and blankets enjoying “The Polar Express” on the big screen at NDES.
A big thank you to NDPA Elizabeth Looman and her team of student and parent volunteers for making the event a big success.
STEM Girls/Boys!
As part of the new junior high elective program, NDES offers STEMGirls! and STEMBoys! taught by Mrs. Halle Davis. Because STEM covers an extensive list of disciplines, NDES formed two classes that narrow the scope and explores each STEM discipline in-depth. Students meet once a week during their junior high elective period for a semester.
STEMGirls! focuses on biotechnology and biomedical engineering with challenges and labs that introduce how technology is changing the field of medicine. During one of the lessons in biomedical engineering, girls studied the complexities of prosthetic limbs and created a functioning prosthetic hand.
STEMBoys! focuses on computation thinking process and robotic programming. Students design and program video games with different applications such as Scratch, Block Programming and LEGO Mindstorms! Discovering the fundamentals of coding through these various applications helps students unlock important strategies for solving problems, designing projects and communicating ideas.
The junior high elective program is a new academic enhancement offered at NDES in addition to regular courses. Students in grade seven and eight have the opportunity to sign up for two courses per semester. Electives range from computer coding to yoga and cooking. There is an elective for every interest.
