The Merced City School District is excited to share that work is now underway on the first of seventeen new solar arrays that will be located at ten thoughtfully select sites across the district. We would also like to provide some information about what you can expect in the coming months to keep all stakeholders informed and aware of the progress.
MCSD secured grant funding through the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) to pay for these solar arrays as well as air conditioning and lighting upgrades at Burbank, Gracey, Muir, and Reyes elementary schools. The HVAC and lighting upgrades are scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2018. The goal is to save money on energy costs while also providing much needed shade around playground areas and other key locations.
Hoover, Givens, and Chenoweth will be the first to receive the solar arrays, followed by Peterson, Gracey, Wright, Burbank, Sheehy, Muir, and our Maintenance/Operations/Transportation facility. The arrays at all of these locations are expected to be complete by January.
The initial work that will take place in the weeks ahead will vary slightly from site to site, but most will include underground boring, drilling for support piers, and the pouring of concrete. Steel columns will also soon be in place to support the solar photovoltaic panels. Throughout this process, safety will remain the number one priority. Security fencing is being used to confine work activities away from areas used by students and staff. We know there will be some noise at times, but crews are working quickly in hopes of minimizing the impact on students and staff.
This project is just the latest in our effort to provide modern, safe, and efficient facilities for our children and community. We look forward to the completion of these solar arrays and the many benefits they will provide for years to come.
If you have any questions, please contact our Facilities Department at 209-385-6332.
The community is invited to attend the dedication ceremony for the Merced City School District STEAM Center on Wednesday, October 25 at 10:30 a.m. at 2900 Green Street.
The STEAM Center is a cutting edge facility where TK-8th grade students from throughout the district have an opportunity to experience 21st century, hands-on learning in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. It also allows groups of teachers to work together and receive support and training so they can continue to expand their own horizons and bring that knowledge back to our 18 school sites. Local scientists and engineers are also invited to speak to the students to show them the exciting career opportunities connected to STEAM.
The 5460 square foot center is located next to Ada Givens Elementary. It includes a lab classroom and two “flex” classrooms, along with a lobby/breakout space and a large outdoor amphitheater. The entire design allows for engaging, interactive lessons that can be tailored to various age groups and class sizes.
This facility is one exciting piece of the district’s comprehensive STEAM program. The goal of the program is to prepare students for bright futures in high demand fields through critical thinking and experiential learning. It is supported by classroom teachers as well as several teacher librarians and teachers on special assignment, known as TSA’s. Students are provided STEAM learning opportunities throughout the school year as part of their daily coursework and through extended day opportunities after school. They have the chance to perform a play, learn a new instrument, compose music, build and program robots, create art galleries, work with 3D printers, grow plants, build electric circuits, and much more. They also enjoy educational excursions to places such as Yosemite National Park, Farm 2U, and local arts programs.
The MCSD STEAM program received the prestigious Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association in 2016, and students began using the new STEAM Center in August of 2017.
Free flu shot clinics will be held at five different district sites from November 13-17. They are available to all MCSD employees, retirees, and dependents. Please see the flyer below for all of the details:
Are you a local scientist or engineer? Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge and inspiring future generations? Then the Merced City School District would love to collaborate with you!
Our district is expanding our award-winning STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math) program, which includes integrated lessons in the classroom as well as educational excursions and hands-on learning in our new state of the art STEAM Center. We are also in the process of planning our second annual districtwide science fair. All of these offerings create more opportunities to partner with experts from our community and to show our children the types of careers they can aspire to attain.
We are currently seeking volunteers for three different areas. The first is a series of “Ask a Scientist” nights. Participants will help students prepare for the district science fair by hosting a table and discussing topics such as hypotheses, variables, procedures, and conclusions. The main requirement is a general understanding of those elements as well as the science fair process. These gatherings will take place at 5 p.m. on October 17, November 7, and December 7. Volunteers can sign up for as many of those sessions as they would like.
We are also looking for judges for the science fair, which will take place on January 19 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This is a great chance to see the incredible work our students are doing and to help determine which of them will go on to the countywide STEM fair hosted by the Merced County Office of Education in March. Last year, our students swept the top three spots at that event and went on to compete in the California State Science Fair in Los Angeles. Go MCSD!
Finally, we have several opportunities for scientists and engineers to speak to fourth, fifth, or sixth grade students at our STEAM Center throughout this school year. Each presenter will have about 30 to 40 minutes, including time for a question and answer session. The topic for fourth graders is wave energy, so we’re especially interested in volunteers who can share their knowledge of earthquakes. The children will be using maps to identify patterns of where earthquakes occur, developing models that demonstrate the shaking, and designing structures that can withstand such temblors. Presenters for our fifth graders will be asked to speak about the properties of matter as students prepare to observe various materials and describe their differences, investigate how materials change when they are mixed together, recognize chemical reactions, and develop models of matter. The topic for sixth graders is thermal energy. Guest speakers would be asked to give an introduction to the idea that temperature measures the average kinetic energy of the particles that make up matter, as well as the transfer of energy from hot to cold materials, and the factors that impact how much an object’s temperature will change.
We are thankful to already have several experts from UC Merced on board for these events, but there are still plenty of openings. Anyone who is interested in volunteering can contact our Public Information Officer, Sara Sandrik at: ssandrikgoins@mcsd.k12.ca.us. We know this community is filled with bright, caring, and generous individuals, and we look forward to working with many more of you as we continue to our mission to help all students succeed.
A Merced City School District dream became reality this week, when the first groups of students began using our new cutting edge STEAM Center after years of planning and months of construction. The facility provides a modern space for hands-on lessons that integrate science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, while allowing teachers to collaborate alongside their students. It was designed to help prepare our children for bright futures in high demand fields.
Approximately 150 sixth graders from Ada Givens and Charles Wright elementary schools were the first to begin using the 5460 square foot center, which is located next to Givens. They learned about thermal energy by developing hypotheses, conducting experiments, making modifications, and sharing their conclusions. One of the activities focused on conduction. The students placed small pieces of wax at different distances on a metal rod and touched the tip to a hot surface. They made predictions and recorded how long it took for each piece to melt. Meanwhile, another group of students was outside taking part in a thermal energy “scavenger hunt.” It involved determining the temperatures of various surfaces using a non-contact digital laser infrared thermometer and analyzing the factors that contributed to each one being higher or lower than the air temperature.
Our Coordinator of STEAM Education, Adrienne Nau, says, “It is so exciting to see the kids using the STEAM Center the way we intended as we designed this space over the past few years. The students are really enjoying the hands-on experience, and the flexible collaborative spaces encourage them to share ideas and knowledge with one another.”
All of our students will get to enjoy the STEAM Center, but the experiences vary by grade level. Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will spend three consecutive days at the facility tackling the toughest physical science concepts in addition to corresponding lessons at their school sites before and after their visits. Our other grade levels will get to visit the center for STEAM-based workshops, interactive presentations, and special events. The facility was thoughtfully designed for this type of learning, from the folding glass write-on walls to the 21st century audio-visual technology to the outdoor amphitheater. It represents an exciting expansion of our award-winning STEAM program, which also includes educational excursions to places such as Yosemite National Park, Farm 2U, and local performing arts programs.
As we continue to develop and improve that program, we truly value our partnerships with all of our stakeholders. We held the first of three parent/community nights at the STEAM Center on August 24th and are planning two more from 6-7 p.m. on September 28 and January 25. We would also like to invite everyone to a dedication ceremony on October 25 at 10:30 a.m. The address for the STEAM Center is 2900 Green Street. We look forward to showcasing this facility and sharing more about how we can all work together to help our students succeed.
For technical questions and comments regarding this website, including accessibility concerns, please contact the Webmaster.