Alpine Establishes a Wellness Committee
In 2019, a grassroots effort by staff resulted in a new committee and some great achievements at Alpine Elementary focused on the IB Learner Profiles of caring and balanced. The group was able to obtain movement break equipment and a pair of noise cancelling headphones for every classroom. They started a food share table in the cafeteria to reduce waste and help students in need of an afternoon snack. The committee is now inquiring into how Alpine can become a Green Star certified chool.
IBARMS Roundtable on Design Thinking in the PYP
In November of 2018, Alpine Elementary hosted teachers from the Rocky Mountain Association of IB World Schools (IBARMS) in an all day roundtable on Design Thinking in the PYP. The session provided guided inquiry for teachers to learn about design thinking and how it supports student agency, explore design challenges as assessments, and use the design process to plan a unit of inquiry. Teachers from all over the state of Colorado attended the roundtable. Participant feedback to the IBARMS was so positive that Alpine Elementary has been asked to host professional development opportunities on this topic again in the future.
Vex IQ Robotics Awards
Alpine Elementary has established a world class VEX IQ Robotics Club, encouraging student agency in planning, designing, building, and driving a robot to meet each year’s distinct challenge. Students work in collaborative teams to earn points in the VEX IQ challenge. At competitions, a team is paired with various other teams throughout the day to work together to achieve the most points against another team pairing. In 2017, Alpine’s Team Anonymous qualified for the World Championship by earning the STEM Research Project Award at the Colorado State Championship. Their research project focused on how robotics could help a student with physical disabilities. In 2019, Alpine’s Dancing Doritos won the Excellence Award (the highest ranking award for the team that exemplifies overall excellence in robotics) twice during the competitive season, earning them a trip to the World Competition. The World Competition is a unique opportunity to collaborate with teams from all over the world, despite language barriers. Our students were able to meet students from many different cultures and problem-solve with them. What an amazing experience!