Atkinson students give engineering lesson at Board of Education meeting

School board members learned all about engineering thanks to a presentation from Atkinson Elementary’s fourth grade REACH class.

At their September meeting, the Board of Education recognized Ms. Holly Pelley’s fourth grade REACH class for their ELA/ STEM Integration project, which combined a close reading of “The Cay” with a collaborative, hands-on engineering assignment.

In “The Cay,” a young boy and older man are stranded together on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Students were tasked with designing and constructing a model raft using popsicle sticks and paper cups to emulate the survival aspect of the novel.

“I purposely put them with a partner that they weren't best friends with because in the novel, there is a tension between the young boy and the man,” Pelley said. “You could