STEAM at Ophir

Students at Ophir participate in science education in all grades, from kindergarten through eighth grade. In grades K-5, students engage with activities through Mystery Science - a dynamic hub of engaging, NGSS-aligned lessons. In grades 6-8, students expand their elementary foundation of science education with the OpenSciEd curriculum.

 

At Ophir, we believe in using technology in authentic and meaningful ways that augment our students' learning experience. Students in grades K-2 engage with iPads in small group rotations, using literacy-focused apps to become fluent readers. Students in grades 2-8 have 1-to-1 access to Chromebooks. All students must participate in a series of Digital Citizenship lessons prior to accessing technology, and they revisit these concepts throughout the year to ensure appropriate use of technology.

 

Teachers at Ophir incorporate various engineering challenges for students throughout the school year. In addition, we host two annual "STEAM Days," where our Bobcats partner up, and participate in two different engineering challenges. They then present their solutions to the public at the end of the school day!

 

We are grateful to both out PTC and our LBEF (Loomis Basin Education Foundation) for providing the funds to have biweekly art instruction in grades K-5 and monthly art instruction for grades 6-8. Additionally, all teachers incorporate opportunities for artistic creativity in every project used to assess student engagement and learning. At Ophir, we like to say the "A" in STEAM also represents "ASL" (American sign language), as all of our students learn ASL as their "world language." We share our campus with PCOE's Deaf and Hard of Hearing program, so learning ASL allows all of our students to communicate with each other and build stronger friendships.

 

Math is a clear strength for our school, as evidenced by our outstanding performance on state tests. Students in grades K-5 gain a strong mathematical foundation with the Everyday Math curriculum. They then build this foundation, learning more advanced skills in preparation for high school, with the CPM curriculum in grades 6-8.