Page 3 - School Planning & Management, November 2017

NEWS & VIEWS { FACILITIES | SECURITY | TECHNOLOGY | BUSINESS } Office Park Transformed
into Early Learning Campus
>> THE AWTY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, the largest international school in the U.S. and the largest private day school in Houston held a grand opening at the end of September. The new approximately 75,000 square-foot campus, specifically designed for Awty’s pre-K through first grade students, the sixth project that Shepley Bulfinch has completed for the school. The design completely reimagines what was a stale
and vacant 30-year-old office park, sited on 5.25 acres. The early learning campus includes 26 interactive classrooms, two multi-purpose rooms, art and music rooms, teaching kitchen, library, media room, and dining facilities for students and faculty. The new two-story gymnasium addition features a rock-climbing wall, multipurpose courts for basketball and volleyball, and a performance stage. To read more, visit webspm.com/articles/2017/10/06/awty-international-school.aspx.
Ask the Expert
This Month
Makerspaces
WHAT IS A
MAKERSPACE?
MAKERSPACES ARE “DIY” SOCIAL SPACES
where students meet to create, design, share ideas and learn. They may contain a variety of resources — craft, hardware supplies, 3D printers, electronics, etc.
Why should we start a makerspace?
Makerspaces are popular because they in- cubate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills, marketable proficiencies for students in the 21st-century economy. Aside from STEM, makerspaces promote collabora- tion, critical thinking and creativity — skills students use in college and career.
What does it look like?
A makerspace can be as high-tech or low-tech as desired. The important factor is to provide a safe, collaborative environment.
Furniture and equipment should be flex- ible and durable, enabling student-teacher movement and task-transitioning. Furnishings should also allow for enhanced organization
of various objects (e.g. peg boards for hanging tools). If your makerspace is high-tech, furnish- ings should provide options to charge tools and devices.
In many schools, media centers facilitate problem-solving and design-thinking projects in varied dynamic makerspaces. Areas of discovery include robotics, iMovie making, gaming, circuitry, music production and con- struction while utilizing high-tech tools such as 3D printers and graphic design programs.
What are some ideas?
Great makerspace projects are mashups from all disciplines. For example, circuitry com- bined with paper can provide a new perspective on greeting cards or signs; water could be used to test floatable machines; etc.
>> Bryan Shark is the vice president of Sales – Furniture and Equipment at School Specialty, Inc., a leading distributor of products, services and solutions to the education marketplace.
New San Diego School Promotes Experiential Learning
The Launch Pointe at Monarch School, in San Diego, Calif., serves kindergarten through 12th grade,
and will engage students in hands- on, project-based learning. The school is designed as a space where students can engage with employers, have industry partners lecture or
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WEBINARS ON DEMAND
Building a Physical Infrastructure to Support Technology in Education — To register, go to webspm.com/1710
30 Days to Healthy Schools at Lower Cost — To register, go to webspm.com/1711
2017 Education Operations Health Index — To register, go to webspm.com/1711d
WEBINARS COMING IN DECEMBER
Buildings as a Teaching Tool — To register, go to webspm.com/1712
WHITE PAPERS
Columbia Public Schools Use
KPIs to Create Change — Visit webspm.com/ whitepapers/2017/10/kpis.aspx
NOVEMBER 2017 / SCHOOL PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 3