ELEMENTARY
Elementary Students have been exploring LEGO engineering. We’ve explored pattern and symmetry using LEGO bricks, along with building mini cities and finally, going big with a skyscraper build. Exploring with LEGO has been great for us to use math as part of our engineering studies and students have had great conversations as they talk about their buildings and the techniques they use.
– Tasha Hudick, K-8 Science Teacher
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Middle School students are finishing up with their unit on Simple Machines. Our last few projects have been a blend of Science, Engineering, and Art, incorporating our concepts of balance, mechanical advantage and gearing into moving sculptures. We are tinkering with Automata, mechanical sculptures that are built out of cardboard that feature cams and a crankshaft to mechanically move a scene on the top of the small structure. Students are putting their scientific knowledge to work and problem solving as they try to capture the right movement to animate their art. Look for the finished products when we return from Spring Break!
– Tasha Hudick, K-8 Science Teacher

HIGH SCHOOL
As Q4 begins, High School Science is shifting into 4th gear! Biology just finish Genetics and Punnett Squares and is now giving their un-divide-d attention to Mitosis & Meiosis. After that, we'll take a whirlwind tour of the Human Body. Chemistry finally finished Stoichiometry (or the Math behind Chemistry) and are transitioning to a different kind of solution: Solutions! Physics is gearing up for their Conservation of Energy test before sipping from the trough of Waves. And finally, Systems of the Human Body finished digesting everything about the Digestive System and are getting nervous about the Nervous System. That's a lot to cover. But that's okay because here at the Stanbridge Science Department, Science is our middle name!
​– Jay Huston, High School Science Teacher

STANBRIDGE EXPERIENTIAL EARNING – What sets us apart

ELEMENTARY
   Experientials are essential educational experiences that bring curricular subjects, such as history, to life. They foster interaction with classmates and community members, offering unique perspectives and inspiring future interests. For our students, navigating new environments builds cooperation, independence, and valuable life skills. Whether a walk around the block, day trips, or overnights, every excursion extends learning beyond the classroom, promotes curiosity, encourages questions, creates lasting memories, and enriches students' overall development.
   Our excursion this week to the Adobe Home was a success.  Students were engaged in hands-on activities, patient with the rain and candle making, and adventurous running up and down a wet beach!  The program was the right fit for our kids–providing fun activities and giving just enough information about California history. In reflection, students have written solid paragraphs or essays about the trip.
   Upcoming field trips include the San Mateo County History Museum, a ride on Caltrain, and a two-day overnight stay on a working farm in Watsonville.
– Michele Sumpton, Elementary Division

MIDDLE SCHOOL
   This past week was filled with two local field trips for the Middle School. We headed up to the Academy of Sciences and explored all over the museum, enjoying butterflies and birds in the rainforest, and laughing at penguin antics in the African Hall. The following day, we went to see two classmates perform in the Pied Piper Players' "Narnia" and then visited Beresford Park. You may remember that we also visited The Crucible, an industrial arts school in Oakland, last month where our students experienced glassblowing, forging, and other industrial arts.
   These day experientials are valuable to the overall Middle School experience in a myriad of ways including exploring local community resources and bonding over shared off-campus experiences. Piling onto a large spinner at the park with your Middle School friends isn't an experience easily replicated in the classroom! Social-Emotional connections are a hallmark of the middle school years and we want to give them as many structured out-of-class outings as possible to work on building these skills.
   We culminate the school year with our 3-day, 2-night trip to Montara Lighthouse in May. Our Stanbridge Middle School Teachers are pairing up with local naturalists to create the outdoor experiences, from tide-pooling at Moss Beach to Kayaking in Pillar Point Harbor. We are so excited to share such a special place with our Middle School Students!
– Tasha Hudick, Middle School Division

HIGH SCHOOL – Experiential Week is Coming!
   We are so lucky to be able to share off-campus experiences with our students here at Stanbridge. Not only do we get to see them shine in ways we never imagined, but we also get to strengthen our relationships through these wonderful, shared experiences. And don't forget all the hilarious inside jokes that are born on these trips!
   In two weeks, we host High School Experiential Week. During this week we will have a series of day trips and then offer our students a chance to plan, cook, and enjoy a community banquet. I feel very fortunate to work at a school that enables me to engage with my students outside of the classroom and even off campus! Also, Experiential Week happens completely during school hours, so students won't miss shuttles, clubs, or other events. This offers students a chance to participate in our Experiential Program without having to sleep overnight away from home. More information will be sent out next week. 
– Jay Huston, Head of High School

Three cheers for the Stanbridge Experiential Program! More often than not, it is Experientials that Alumni remember most fondly.

ELEMENTARY
   Elementary students have been exploring all sorts of different ways of building things. We’ve built cities, bridges, and towers with simple materials: crafts sticks, cups, clips, and wood blocks. Students are learning to play with balance and work against the forces of gravity!

MIDDLE SCHOOL
   Middle School students are looking at various simple machines with Class 1, 2, and 3 Levers. Figuring out how they each help make work easier has been an eye-opening experience. We’ve engineered simple catapults out craft sticks and flung marshmallows all over the middle school hallways. The fulcrum is the point of motion for a lever arm and all objects have a balancing point or what is called the center of mass. It’s been fun balancing blocks and sticks in precarious and unexpected ways! When we come back from break, we will explore more with ramps and pulleys!
– Tasha Hudick, K-8 Science

HIGH SCHOOL – Science Gets Ready for Showcase in January!
   Thursday, January 30th, 2025 is the High School Showcase. All high school friends, family and countrymen are invited to see everything our students have done so far this year. It will be an afternoon of letting our students shine and opening our classroom doors to the greater High School Stanbridge community. We all know that teenagers rarely say more than "we did a thing" when asked about their classes, so the Showcase is a great chance for loved ones to actually see that "thing" in person.
   To those ends, HS Science has been doing activities, labs, and projects to make sure families will get a real show! In Biology, we are creating models mRNA from DNA and then creating models of proteins from those genetic instructions. Chemistry did a project about seeking balance in our lives, which we are now investigating through the lens of atoms seeking balance. Physics is currently working on a project preparing lessons about Newton's Law of Motions for our upper elementary students. And Systems of the Human Body students have been creating amazing wall diagrams about the systems that keep us alive.
   I hope to see you all on Thursday, January 30th so our students can finally brag about all their hard work in Science!
– Jay Huston, High School Science