Principal's Message
Dear Baggett Family,
I am hope that you are well and enjoying the holiday season! What a beautiful time of year this is with so much going on and with family at the center of it all! So too, there is so much going on here with your Baggett family. I wanted to share some exciting upcoming events as well as other pieces of exciting news. Please check the calendar below for our important December dates.
You might recall last month, I began to write in more detail about our vision and what becoming an innovative STEAM school really means. In last month's Baggett Banner, I wrote specifically about engineering as a component of STEAM and how we integrate this into the other elements of STEAM. I recall that I also shared about our new Makerspace in the Baggett Media Center. Already we are seeing grade levels of students coming into this space to create, collaborate and use their critical thinking skills. Whether it was 4th graders coming in to design and build their catapults, 1st graders designing and building bat boxes to accompany their study of pollinators, or 3rd graders designing and constructing puppets for their theatre class, our students are already putting this space to great use!!
In this month's Banner, I wanted to address what we mean by technology as part of the acronym STEAM. Students have access to technology throughout most of the day. In fact, every student has an assigned Chromebook. Many of classrooms have Smartboards, and as mentioned last month, we now have ten 3D printers in the new Makerspace. Other specific classrooms use other applications to create podcasts or to create videos. The most important thing about technology is not what it is but rather why we are using it. The goal in STEAM is to use technology to create something new and that students are not simply consuming through technology. In other words, although it is important for students to use their Chromebooks to learn through iReady My Path or through Imagine Learning, the goal of STEAM is to create and collaborate with and around technologuy. In this, we might see 2nd graders designing a model of for impacting erosion on our creek through use of Tinkercad and our 3D printers. We might see others use iPads to create video messages to our students to take particular action such as reducing food waste. Others might create a website to demonstrate what they have learned in a unit of learning. As yourself, when your children are on technology, are they simply consuming or are there moments when they are creating.
Speaking of technology, Baggett has some new technology to celebrate. On Friday, November 22nd, just before break, we cut the ribbon to bring our new Solar Panel System online. This tool was funded by Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful, the District Science Office and through a huge donation from Better Tomorrow Solar. The system will reduce our electricity bill by approximately $1,000 each year and along with the included application will provide a hands-on learning experience for our students. This solar panel system is the first of its kind for any elementary school in the metro-Atlanta area. And it's right here at Baggett ES where we are working every day to engage your children in meaningful, purposeful work and other activities that make them excited about coming to school each day.
Connect with us next month for more about STEAM and how it plays out on our campus for the benefit of all of our students. In the meantime, join us at any of the bolded items below on the listing of dates, slow down a bit, and take some time to connect with those who are most important in your life.
Mitch Green
Principal
Baggett Elementary School
