East holds enrichment festival

STEAMFest 2015 at Vestavia Hills Elementary East was a weeklong enrichment festival celebrating science, technology, engineering, arts and math. The school’s gifted education specialist, Angela Hollis, facilitated the event.

The annual enrichment week was a collaboration between Hollis, music teacher Deanna Bell, instructional technology specialist Jane Kemp, classroom teachers and PTO. Activities included a hands-on lab experience for every child and a STEAM Fair on Friday. Kindergartners and second-graders worked in Hollis’ “Physics Lab” to explore magnetism and build balloon-powered Lego cars, while first-graders were introduced to light and sound waves being combined with music and technology as they programmed audio cubes with Bell. Third-graders used their coding skills to create an online game for friends to play. The STEAM Fair on Friday was a culmination of the week’s lessons, with every child visiting booths set up around the gym to explore and learn. One second-grader commented that the gym reminded him of the McWane Center.

“Experiences such as this enrich learning for every student,” Principal Mark Richardson said. “Not only do students learn, but they also become excited about learning and all that school represents. Angela Hollis has done a wonderful job of developing activities that benefit all of our students.”