Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Zayden Lusk, left, a sixth grader at the Joseph Bruno Montessori Academy, shows Augustine Kwok and her mother, Heather, how to maneuver a robot through the robotics course as Vinita Natrajan, far right, watches.
Walk into the new STEM lab at the Joseph Bruno Montessori Academy in Indian Springs Village, and you’re likely to see kids of all ages working on a variety of creative projects.
Kindergarteners making safety belts and digital animations. Third graders building a bee habitat to protect the safety of honeybees. Middle schoolers designing a therapy toy for a child with cerebral palsy, creating their own apps and building robots.
“We believe that hands-on STEM activities help students discover real-world applications and develop 21st-century skills necessary in today’s world,” said technology coordinator Jessica Linville, who heads Bruno Montessori’s STEM lab. “A STEM classroom allows for this development outside of their regular science and mathematics instruction.”
Linville said many people within the school and community were instrumental in creating the STEM lab, and financial support came from grant funding as well as a donation from the school’s parent teacher organization.
“We try to involve our entire community when making big decisions,” Linville said. “We asked for input from students, parents, teachers and our board.”
Linville said facilities manager Dana Maxfield and a parent volunteer helped construct the STEM classroom, and parents who work in STEM-related careers provided suggestions and guidance.
This year, the STEM lab will serve students in first through eighth grades with weekly classes. Linville said the school will incorporate a kindergarten curriculum next year.
“Hands-on learning is one of the seven pillars of a Montessori education,” Linville said. “We are excited to combine traditional Montessori curriculum with modern STEM curriculum to prepare our students for their future educational endeavors.”
The specific curriculum Linville is following is Project Lead the Way, which uses computer science, engineering, biomedical science and other disciplines to help students become independent thinkers and find solutions to real-world problems.
Linville, who is in her 12th year teaching at Bruno Montessori, is currently pursuing her certification from Project Lead the Way and the National Institute for STEM Education.
Last year, Bruno Montessori launched the VEX Robotics program, where students learn to build a robot to complete a series of tasks and compete against other schools’ teams.
"Many of our students and families are excited about our new robotics team. Our team includes students who would otherwise not be involved in a school extracurricular, allowing them to explore their strengths. Having a STEM Lab is what makes that possible,” said Leeann Wingard, an upper elementary science teacher and robotics coach.
The academy has three robotics teams, each made up of four students, one of which includes Linville’s son, Ronan, who is in fifth grade.
“The first robotics meeting was last October, and our first competition was in December 2023 in Northport,” Linville said. “One of our teams placed in the Northport competition.”
Linville said she wants to work with other teachers at the academy to incorporate STEM learning in the classroom.
“My vision for STEM class is to allow students to question and problem solve in a creative atmosphere that broadens their way of thinking,” Linville said. “My hope for this class is that my students will be able to think outside the box and gain a drive to become lifelong learners.”
For more information on Bruno Montessori’s STEM initiative, visit brunomontessori.org.
