Lights On Afterschool 2018

       “Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is the only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities.  The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn new things—such as science, community service, robotics, Tae Kwon Do and poetry—and discover new skills. The events send a powerful message that millions more kids need quality afterschool programs.”

We here at Vermont Hills we’re very excited to share in the celebration of the 19th annual Lights on Afterschool on Oct. 25, 2018.   Almost all of our site participated in this event.   They invited the community and families to the program to see what the students had been working on.  Let’s take a look at each site and discover what they created for Lights On.  

First is our newest location, Sauvie Island Charter.  They created working Ferris wheels.  This project explored engineering skills, STEM, and general problem solving.  

Next, Banks Elementary.  They took a refrigerator box and turned it into a Kitty Cat Castle. The first picture is the beginning stage of the castle construction. 

 Here the kids show the inside of the kitty cat castle.

This was a kid led activity, they chose the design, constructed, and decorated this upcycle activity.   So many great concepts are worked on when doing large construction projects.

Cottonwood held an interactive event with students testing the strength of a bridge they created as a class.

             Montclair had the Beaverton Police come and provide a talk about Halloween safety. 

 They also participated in the 4‑H National Youth Science Day with the 4-H’s Code Your World kit. 

 Students could choose to participate in a computer coding club.

  The children learned about how to code, practical applications for coding, and future jobs involved with the subject.

                                           Gaston students worked on a recycled robot. 

They used only recycled materials and talked about electronics.  They also did a STEM project making 3-D shaped bubble wands.  It was a great project that taught geometric concepts in a hands on way.

Days leading up to the event, the students at Portland Village were learning about rockets with their teachers. 

               How to build one, what it takes to launch, and safety measures that need to be in place.  

                                            The kids loved showing off what they learned. 

Geometric shapes were a huge focus of North Plains’ Lights On event.  The students had chances to work with tangrams to make intricate and unique designs.  They also got to work with rockets as well and see one launch.

We want to thank all the teachers, families, and community members that were involved in making this a great event.   We can wait to see what next year brings.