Why Santiago STEAM Magnet?
What is STEAM?
What is STEAM?
STEAM Education focuses on integrating each element (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Design, and Mathematics into highly engaging projects that not only address our California Standards, but prepare students with the skills necessary for college and careers of the future. Students in our high-level STEAM school will work actively to solve problems, take ownership of their learning, and apply content in real-world contexts.
What is High-Quality Project Based Learning?
Santiago STEAM Magnet will focus on High Quality Project Based Learning to drive instruction throughout the day.
Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. In Gold Standard PBL, projects are focused on student learning goals and include Essential Project Design Elements:
- Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - The project is focused on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, communication, collaboration, and self-management.
- Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge.
- Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information.
- Authenticity - The project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact – or speaks to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives.
- Student Voice & Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create.
- Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry and project activities, the quality of student work, obstacles and how to overcome them.
- Critique & Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback to improve their process and products.
- Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom.
Take a look at our Santiago STEAM Magnet Flyer!
On January 23, 2018, Saddleback Valley Unified School District approved Santiago Elementary to become a STEAM Magnet school for the 2018-2019 school year. This is a great honor and will lead to amazing outcomes for all our students.
Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School has a long standing reputation of being the "School Among the Trees" and the place that students and parents feel part of a family. We are passionately focused on developing intelligent, creative and kind young adults. Our teaching staff collaborate together to monitor progress of all students, use research-based instructional strategies, and above all create a welcoming and engaging environment.
STEAM education is a creative and purpose-driven approach grounded in content knowledge, skills, and cognitive processes, whose purpose is to empower all learners to positively impact our global community. We focus on the integration of each STEAM domain (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).
Santiago STEAM Magnet HQPBL (High Quality Project Based Learning) Units are developed and approved by our talented educators before going live in a classroom, while also allowing for voice and choice from students. Each trimester will culminate with an Ignite Night where students have an opportunity to share their ongoing work with peers, parents and community members in order to grow in their ability to solve complex problems.
Santiago STEAM Magnet continues to improve our knowledge and expertise in supporting our students’ social-emotional development. To that end, we follow our district’s Digital Citizenship Curriculum developed in combination with Common Sense Media. We have also included the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Program, which is designed to give students the tools they need to excel in and out of the classroom. The program is focused on developing skills in emotion management, situational awareness, and academic achievement.
College and Career Awareness is an exciting endeavor at Santiago STEAM Magnet. We have developed a Career Day. Members of the community come together to share their love of their careers. Last year, we had over 45 presentations! Lastly, we have developed Field Trip Tours to high schools, community colleges, and state and private universities within southern California. All grades participate in one trip per year to gain a new perspective on higher education for free.
- Kindergarten: El Toro High School
- First Grade: Saddleback College
- Second Grade: Irvine Valley College
- Third Grade: California State University, Long Beach
- Fourth Grade: California State University, Fullerton
- Fifth Grade: University of California, Irvine
- Sixth Grade: Chapman University
Technology is at the forefront of education and Santiago STEAM Magnet is leading the way. Lower grade students have access to iPad, while upper grade students revel in the use of Chromebooks. One special area of focus is Math. We participate school wide in the use of ST Math. The program was designed by the MIND Institute and uses visual game play and critical thinking to develop math skills. To move further, we are transforming our Library into the "Innovation Lab" to foster research strategies, creativity, collaboration, and presentation skills to support our young 21st Century learners.
All of this happens because we have a dedicated staff and PTA. Our PTA is focused on enriching the lives of all students and parents. We start the year off with an Ice Cream Social! Our PTA funds and supports our Fall Festival, Family Fun Nights, Red Ribbon Week, Book Fair, Jog-a-Thon, and Bagels with a Loved One. You will want to add them all to your calendar.
And, speaking of calendars...Santiago use Bloomz!
Bloomz is a school communication app that gives you the ability to be up to date on all things going on a Santiago. Once signed up, you will have access to our school and class calendars, current events, posts from teachers and administration, and volunteer opportunities. Bloomz gives you all access in to what is happening in your child’s class. Do you speak another language? No Problem - Bloomz translates instantly in the language of your choice.
To show our children that learning is a life long endeavor, Santiago offers monthly parent workshops ranging from Digital Citizenship to Homework Alternatives to Reading Strategies. This offers parents the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding and to support their children in this increasingly complex world.
As you can see, Santiago STEAM Magnet has everything you are looking for and more! Want to learn more? Stop on by or call to set up a tour.
Howard Johnston
Principal
High Quality Project Based Learning Units
Kindergarten
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
My Place In the World |
What Do I Need From My World To Survive? |
Woodpecker Video |
Class Big Book, including charts and individual student pages. *The Living Song- performed at Ignite Night with projects 1 and 2 (with sign language).” |
|
2 |
My Place In the World |
How do my choices affect plants and animals? |
Badger Video |
Individual student books |
|
3 |
My Place in the World |
Why do I observe weather? |
Rainforest Weather Video |
Students make a video presentation of our class weather chart and a written “script” of one week of weather (icons and labels) and a complete sentence. |
|
4 |
My Place in the World |
How do I use Patterns to describe weather? |
Squirrel Video storing nuts for winter |
Green screen group presentation. |
|
5 |
My Place in the World |
How Am I Affected by Sunlight? |
Moving shadows on our playground- mark at different times |
Shelter for an animal (animal made out of UV beads). |
|
6 |
My Place in the World |
How do I make responsible choices? |
Deforestation photo |
Collaborative model of a project to save resources, with a poster and opinion writing piece. |
|
7 |
My Place In the World |
How can I make changes or find solutions? |
Rube Goldberg Trick Shot Video |
Students set up a course to rescue an animal (decorated golf ball) from a flood. Students must get that golf ball into a cup (at a higher level) |
|
8 |
My Place in the World |
How can I tell if my change or solution is effective? |
Pinball machine video |
A Maze to get animal safely to food while avoiding a predator (with 3 other objects in its path) |
First Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
My Place in the Universe |
What are the different types of communities and how are they established? How can we create and design a community that is beneficial to the success of all living things? |
Communities Look Similar and Different |
Build Models and Blueprints of a Community with Green Screen Presentations |
|
2 |
Communication in the Changing Universe |
How can light and sound be used to solve problems with communication over a distance? |
Synchronized Fireworks Show |
Create codes to communicate messages using light and sound |
|
3 |
Survival in the Changing Universe: Survival on Earth - Biomimicry
|
How can we design a device that provides a solution to a given human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use external structures to survive, grow, and/or meet their needs? |
Duck and Airplane Clip without Sound Biomimicry without Sound |
Students design a device that provides a solution to the given human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use external structures to survive, grow, and/or meet their needs |
Second Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
Our Changing Environment |
How is our environment changing and what is our impact? |
Glacier National Park Video |
TED Talk Podcast Skype/Google Chat- teaching another elementary class Green Screen: -Recycling -Composting -Greenhouse Gases -Renewable Energy Sources (wind, solar, water) -Ocean Pollution (plastic pollution) |
|
2 |
Habitat Biodiversity |
How are plants and animals affected by the environment that they live in? |
Habitat Flyover Video |
Habitat Model |
|
3 |
Systems & Interactions Within Ecosystems |
How do living things interact with and depend on each other in an ecosystem? |
Gallery Walk |
Pollinator Engineering and Proposal |
|
4 |
Solving Problems in Our Environment With Technology |
How can we use technology to solve problems in our environment? |
Ozobots & Scratch Jr. |
Junior STEAM Shark Tank |
Third Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
Creating Community |
How and why can groups form? |
New Lake Forest Civic Center |
Students will present a set of class rules and values (based on evidence from science and history) to Mr. Johnston and any relevant administrators. They will also include an actionable suggestion for improving our school culture. |
|
2 |
Investigating Balanced and Unbalanced Forces |
How can outside influences disrupt the status quo? |
Bowers Museum First Californians Basket Weaving |
Students will design and build props that use a predictable pattern of movement to artistically emphasize a disruption in the lives of Native Californians. They will perform a spoken word piece that uses their prop, followed by an audience Q&A. |
|
3 |
Analyzing Patterns in Life |
How can humans interact with cycles in nature? |
Bowers Museum Plein Air Painting |
Students will design (and hopefully plant) indigenous gardens that can withstand the damaging environment of the non-native eucalyptus forest at our school in an attempt to restore indigenous life and beautify the campus for our school community. |
|
4 |
Innovating Adaptations |
How can we advocate for others? |
Bowers Museum Cochineal Prints |
Students will design and implement a community outreach message to positively impact the survival of a threatened local organism. |
|
5 |
Mitigating Impacts |
How can we mitigate the impacts of events beyond our control? |
Tour OCFA Fire Station #19 |
Students will assess their home, school, or local community for fire risk and use research about existing fire science solutions to propose an actionable suggestion for mitigating the impacts of fire hazards in their chosen area. This could be in the form of community outreach education, physical changes to a space (lightning rod, signage, emergency preparedness and evacuation plans). |
Fourth Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
Adaptations in California Regions |
What adaptations are needed to survive in each of California’s four regions? |
Octopus Video |
Given the climate of a specific region, create an animal and plant with the external and internal structures needed to survive in the changing region.
Mock Citizen Science Project? or Trail Map
|
|
2 |
Earth Systems |
How has California’s landscape and people have changed over time? |
Rock Layers formation video |
Create a children’s book about a rock in California. You will be reading it to your 2nd grade buddy What kind of Rock are you? Where are you located? What could you be used for? Where do you travel through the state? What people do you interact with? This could be a play, a story a comic book. |
|
3 |
Earth’s Systems |
How does erosion affect daily life in California? |
Timelapse of Mountain |
BOSCH Construction Where would you choose to build in California and why? After a landslide, fire or flood how do you survive/move forward? (teacher examples- clean water, personal belongings, floatation devices for priceless things, compact boulder mover, retractable power cords, human waste disposal, clean food source, temporary housing -Tent. Fire retardant clothing for infants, fire safe bassinets. Medical Kits- Food Supplies via Drones.) Editorial Newspaper- How did you get to California? What was your journey like? Ozobot goes on a trail |
|
4 |
Energy |
Cause and Effect: How do people use energy for daily life? |
Nuclear Explosion |
Design, Test and Build a Device that converts one form of energy to complete a task. |
|
5 |
Earth and Human Activity |
How do we get and use fuel and energy for transportation and communication? |
Candle Car |
Create a solution to reduce the impact on Earth using natural resources. |
Fifth Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
Water on Earth. Water is a limited resource. |
How can we as a community implement improvements in order protect our limited fresh-water resources? |
Desalination Demo |
Present a proposal to improve current community practices, restrictions, etc. to implement additional improvements in protecting fresh water resources in a our local water district. |
|
2 |
Then and Now - Patterns in the Solar System |
How are the actions of living things predicted and influenced based on patterns in the Solar System? |
Gallery walk Sundials arranged in different ways |
Using their knowledge of patterns of the Solar System, students will design a Day-time Astronomy Event for 1st graders |
|
3 |
Interactions: Ecosystems and Energy |
How can we as environmental stewards advocate for and help protect the biodiversity in our local coastal ecosystems? |
Algae Food and Fuel |
Create educational material for Crystal Cove State Park (or Back Bay Nature Reserve). Create a call to action (PSA, posters and infographics) to advocate for the protection of our local coastal ecosystems. |
|
4 |
-People’s influence on natural systems -Structures and functions -Systems |
What happens when part of a cycle is changed? |
Photo: Plant growth in old lock |
Design, organize, produce, build a worm composting unit to reduce amount of trash and to produce fertilizers for sale to help fund school garden. |
|
5 |
Changing Environment - Cause and Effect |
How can we as scientists explain the properties of an oil spill and decide the best method for clean up? |
Gulf Coast Oil Spill |
Students will create a model and label the various parts of the oil spill, including structure and properties of matter. Students will also design a prototype to solve the problem and will continue to revise their prototype throughout the unit. Additionally, each student will write a CER on oil spills. |
Sixth Grade
|
Unit |
Big Idea |
Driving Question |
Anchoring Phenominon |
Final Deliverable |
|
1 |
Humans Impact Earth’s Systems |
How can humans use energy in Earth’s Systems? |
Charity water video |
Design something that uses water as an energy source OR Use energy to move water from one location to another |
|
2 |
Weather Patterns Impact Earth’s Systems |
Why is predicting weather useful? |
Severe Weather video |
Newscast set in an ancient civilization. Newscast to include a weather forecast and what the civilization should to do prior to the event to affect the outcome (lessen the effects of a drought, etc) - explore what the civilization could do if they could predict weather like we can today. The newscast should include an editorial, and a human interest story (historical narrative). |
|
3 |
Curiosity and questioning create innovation to solve problems. |
How does Earth inspire human endeavors? What real-world problem are you inspired to solve? |
Natural phenomena on causes damage / Earthquake creating a wave |
Create something that solves a problem. Include a product pitch to market your device and lure investors. |
|
4 |
Organisms, their makeup, and their interactions with each other and their environment for survival. |
How are living things organized? Organized in ancient civilizations (governments, religions) and as an organism. |
Inner Life of a Cell |
Create your own nation, with its own government and religious structures to support its values and survival in the world. |
|
5 |
An organism’s survival depends upon its genetic makeup and the environment in which it lives. |
How and why do organisms survive in their environment? |
Wolves Change a River (Yellowstone) |
Create a model that predicts the genetic variation of an offspring of two parents with different traits. (Scratch with Punnett Squares).
Create a genetic animal that reproduces offspring that will survive in your civilization. |
Questions and Answers
- What other advantages are there for attending Santiago?
- If my child is on School Choice at Santiago now, can they stay next year?
- After attending Santiago STEAM Magnet School, will my child continue with STEAM at intermediate and high school?
- Santiago is not our home school, can I still attend?
- Will you have enough space for my child to attend?
- Do you know the hours for students next year?
- Is the STEAM Magnet a program or school wide?
- Will grading be different than a traditional elementary school?
- Will teachers have training to support STEAM instruction?
- I am unable to attend the informational meetings. How else can I learn about your STEAM Magnet school?
- If my child is struggling in school, will they still receive extra support?
- My child attends Oxford Preparatory Academy - Saddleback Valley. Can my child Choice in to Santiago?
What other advantages are there for attending Santiago?
If my child is on School Choice at Santiago now, can they stay next year?
After attending Santiago STEAM Magnet School, will my child continue with STEAM at intermediate and high school?
Santiago is not our home school, can I still attend?
If you are part of our SVSUD family and would like to attend Santiago next year, you will need to apply for School Choice between March 4 - 29.
If SVUSD is not your home district, we do have a process to apply to Santiago. You will need to complete an INTER District Transfer. More information can be found soon on our district's website.
Will you have enough space for my child to attend?
Do you know the hours for students next year?
Is the STEAM Magnet a program or school wide?
Will grading be different than a traditional elementary school?
As a district, all elementary schools have moved to a standards-based reporting system. There are no more letter grades. Rubrics based on a four scale system is used. This system supports the type of project-based learning at Santiago. Most of the work, including student projects, are scored using a rubric system.