Montclair Public Schools

Watchung STEAM Week a Success

Posted on 05/02/2025

Watchung recently held its annual STEAM Week designed by the School Action Team for Partnerships (SATp) Magnet Committee helmed by parents Katie Sanders and Kerri McMahon with the theme of “Our Super Solar System.”

Students participated in events and activities that were planned for each day of the week. Parents took the lead on rotating stations and the STEAM Bee, while teachers Valerie Hampton and Richard Burrell led the Science Fair. 

Kindergarten and first graders enjoyed an activity highlighting Earth Day and describing the importance of pollinators in the Connected Courtyard.



Watchung parent and Broadway dancer Jenn Dunn Keeney led an assembly Dance Movement & the Solar System in which students acted out how planets move around the sun.



Second through fifth graders attended an Earth Day Assembly led by Gary Sondermeyer, formerly of the NJ Dept of Environmental Protection and US EPA, who gave presentations on recycling and waste.



All students participated in a Lunchroom Food Waste Audit which investigated the types and amounts of materials that get thrown away in the cafeteria each day. This was the school’s second Food Waste Audit, building on last year’s data.

During the STEAM Bee, all classes participated in a Jeopardy-like format among each grade. One winning class per grade received a STEAM Bee Championship trophy to keep in their classroom.

Students also rotated homerooms to participate in three stations: Science Experiment – build/launch rockets; Technology Laser Communication Station – see how satellites send/receive information from Earth; and Astronomy Art Project – Learn about the Solar System and paint your own galaxy/planet tea light.



The week culminated in the Science Fair put on by fourth and fifth graders and attended by all grades.