STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. STEM nurtures curiosity, inquiry, problem-solving, creativity, ethical behaviour, confidence, and persistence, along with the excitement of collaborative learning.
In St. Andrew’s we are starting to incorporate STEM into our weekly plans with many classes conducting experiments and exploring new ways of problem-solving and tackling real-life problems.
Intel Mini Scientist 2024
This year, our 6th classes presented STEM projects for the Intel Mini Scientist competition. One group represented the school in the provincial round with a project entitled “Walking Water”.
Ms Smith’s 6th class also travelled to the RDS and displayed the project “Have a sniff!” where the children conducted experiments to see whether people could tell the difference between artificial and natural scents. They also explored whether gender had a role to play in the results.
Science Week 2023
For science week, four sets of experiments were made and a timetable for the teachers to take the experiments to do with their classes. All the materials were included in the boxes along with experiment record sheets and PowerPoints to accompany each of the lessons.
Science week 2024 and School Self Evaluation 2024/2025
This year we are taking STEM as our focus for our School Self Evaluation. Teachers were given a questionnaire asking them what areas of STEM they would like to focus on/ improve at. Engineering was the area within STEM that teachers said they would like help with.
To help teachers with Engineering, lessons were created and put into boxes for each class. Each box had instructions, worksheets and instructions for what resources to collect.
Digital resources were also uploaded to the school server for easy access to PowerPoints and resources to accompany the lessons. These lessons were also used as part of Science Week 2024.
Young Engineers
Young Engineers are an exciting new STEM franchise that came into the school to give free classes.
They offered a free demo class for 3rd and 4th classes.
The children used Lego Technic to learn about STEM. It is a fun way for children to learn and play.
They built models which move such as roller-coaster using a motor and battery.
For more information, please visit their website
https://countykildareenvirons.youngengineers.ie/
They are on Instagram and Facebook
Engineers Week 2025:
This week, students from primary and secondary schools took part in a variety of events for Engineers Week 2025.
The events were held by a number of local organisations in order to celebrate the world of engineering. Design and build activities provide students with a hands-on experience of building, similar to that of real-life engineers.
Both of our 5th classes went to Tallaght Library today to take part in a K’Nex Workshop. 3rd class pupils took part in a Lego challenge designed by Mrs. Kelly where they had to build bridges using a variety of materials.
Mr. Kavanagh’s 4th class completed Mathematical based projects and presented them to the class.
Biodiversity in Schools:
March 2025
Elizabeth Tiernan from Biodiversity in Schools provided 5th class with a Nature Workshop where we explored the school grounds identifying native Irish trees, flowers and insects. In our outdoor classroom, we used a variety of natural materials, for example, ivy leaves, cherry blossoms, tiny cones from the Alder tree to create a print in clay. It was a wonderful day to connect with Nature.
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The Mad Professor
– 3rd Class – March 2025
As part of eco week, South Dublin County Council provided the two 3rd classes with a visiti from the Mad Professor. He showed the class both educational and fun experiments that had the children laughing, entertained and educated.
The mad professor can be found online at http://www.madprofessor.ie/