Advertisement
  • National News
  • State News
  • Contact Us
Subscribe for $2.50/month
Print Editions
Pocahontas Times
  • News Sections
    • Local
    • Sports
    • A&E
  • Obituaries
  • Community
  • Magistrate News
    • Circuit Court News
  • Compass
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Southern Baptist
  • Pocahontas County Veterans
  • etimes
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
Pocahontas Times
No Result
View All Result
Print Editions
Pocahontas Times
No Result
View All Result

‘Violet the Pilot’ entertains and encourages HES students

April 20, 2022
in Headline News
0
0
SHARES
72
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
DREAMA BURNS, dressed as the protagonist in “Violet the Pilot,” reads the book by Steve Breen to students at Hillsboro Elementary School during their special early literacy program event last Thursday. The students all received a copy of the book and also put their STEM skills to the test as they tried to create little mechanisms made from household items. Photo courtesy of Susan Arbogast

Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer

The students at Hillsboro Elementary School transformed into engineers last Thursday. Their minds raced with thoughts and ideas of how to use simple materials to create levers, ramps and even a racing car.

Their inspiration?

A precocious little girl in the book “Violet the Pilot,” written by Steve Breen.

The day’s activities centered around learning about Violet and learning to create machinery with found items.

HES principal Becky Spencer said she initially applied for a Benedum Foundation grant for one of the foundation’s early literacy activities which includes a children’s book and STEM projects related to the story in the book.

She received a grant for the “Violet the Pilot” activities, but while the Benedum Foundation saw the project as a small, parent involvement event, Spencer saw something bigger.

“Their intention was to give you materials for a parent involvement activity, but not every parent can come in the evening, and I wanted every kid to experience the STEM activity,” she said. “I made it a little bigger because I wanted to do it school-wide.”

With additional funding from a Dramas, Fairs and Festivals grant, Spencer had enough to provide a copy of “Violet the Pilot” to each student. She also used the funding to get materials for three STEM activities, which put the young minds to work to create little machines.

Pocahontas County Veterans Honor Corps member Joe Arbogast, right, helps kindergarten student Colton Armstrong with his project. Using paper cups, straws, paper rolls and tape, the goal was to create an object that shows balance. S. Stewart photo

“We have three different STEM activities,” she said. “One, they’re creating a little balance – so learning how to create a fulcrum and a lever; how do I balance objects. The second activity is a ramp, so they have little matchbox cars and they are building a ramp. They are all given the same paper towel tube, but they are going to decide how high the ramp needs to be.

“The third one is a balloon car, and it comes with all kinds of little pieces,” she continued. “They have to put the wheels together, the frame together and it has a little part where they have to blow up the balloon and then attach it, and try to get the balloon to be the propellant to make the little car go.”

The younger grades received extra instruction, while the older students were given more leeway in putting their creations together. They also had help with their activities. The kindergarten was assisted by members of the Pocahontas County Veterans Honor Corps, while other grades had help from Pocahontas County High School students.

Along with the STEM activities, there was also a special visit from “Violet the Pilot” herself.

Dreama Burns, wearing a classic pilot’s hat with goggles and a long white scarf, read the book to each class to introduce them to Violet and her way of thinking.

“It’s been a really great experience,” Spencer said of the day.

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Enter your email address to weekly notifications.

You will receive a confirmation email for your subscription. Please check your inbox and spam folder to complete the confirmation process.
Some fields are missing or incorrect!
Lists
Previous Post

PMH to open public pharmacy in the fall of 2022

Next Post

Stanford Sharp

Next Post

Stanford Sharp

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News Sections
  • Obituaries
  • Community
  • Magistrate News
  • Compass
  • Spiritual
  • Pocahontas County Veterans
  • etimes
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • FAQ
Call us: 304-799-4973

  • Login
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
body::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 7px; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-track { border-radius: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { border-radius: 50px; background: #dfdbdb }
No Result
View All Result
  • News Sections
    • Local
    • Sports
    • A&E
  • Obituaries
  • Community
  • Magistrate News
    • Circuit Court News
  • Compass
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston
    • Southern Baptist
  • Pocahontas County Veterans
  • etimes
  • Classifieds
  • Login
  • FAQ