Photo By Courtney Pollock | NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (April 27, 2022) – Students in the sevillanas club at Rota...... read more read more
Rota David Glasgow Farragut (DGF) Elementary School hosted its first family night in over two years at the school campus, April 27, 2022. The family night focused on STEAM activities of science, technology, engineering, art, and math geared towards elementary school-aged children and their families.
“Our second annual STEAM Expo and family night is a showcase of not only student learning and application, but also gives our students the opportunity to see real life applications as demonstrated by our community presenters,” said Mary Chambers, the STEAM expo coordinator and a fifth grade teacher at Rota DGF Elementary School.
The presenters from Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota community included Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8, Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit 7, U.S. Naval Hospital Rota, NAVSTA Rota Fire Department, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, and more. They provided real-life applications of STEAM through robots, how antigen testing is done, and even using building blocks to explain coronavirus and how vaccines works.
The school’s sevillanas club led by Yadira Cuba-Bizardi, a second grade teacher at Rota DGF Elementary School, kicked off the event with a performance of traditional Spanish dancing seen at the annual spring fairs called feria.
“Our school was so excited that our sevillanas club dancers performed las sevillanas for opening ceremony,” said Cuba-Bizardi. “I was thrilled to be asked to do the opening ceremony for our second annual STEAM Expo event.”
While the sevillanas club met and performed last year, the final performance was virtual for families and friends.
“We were so happy that we were able to perform outdoor and parents were able to attend to see the live sevillanas recital,” said Cuba-Bizardi. “The dancers performed well; all dressed in their feria outfits.”
The sevillanas club students, in grades 1-5, have been practicing since late January and performed several dances before receiving a certificate for their participation in the club. To finish the performance, students and audience danced La Macarena together.
Afterwards, students and families were able to wander the STEAM demonstrations placed throughout the school complex. There were over 70 students’ science projects on display within the hallways of the school as well as activities such as a reading room, robotics, and escape rooms.
"The STEAM Expo & sevillanas dance were the first events held on campus in nearly two years and was the first time parents stepped onto our campus,” said Kenneth Kirk, principal at Rota DGF Elementary School. “I felt the most joy watching our students guide their parents around the building with excitement.”
Kirk explained that these family night events improve students’ educational outcomes by validating an essential part of the child’s day, strengthening the school-home connection, and increasing parent involvement.
“Our school looks forward to hosting more of these events in the future,” said Kirk.
Based on the smiles and laughter of the over 130 families roaming the campus, the event was a success and marked a return to normalcy for the children of the Rota community.
“This event would not have been possible without the support of the staff at DGF, parents and community members,” said Chambers. “We are finally able to enjoy our campus and community as it should be – one cohesive unit!”
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2022 01:43 |
| Story ID: | 419993 |
| Location: | ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: | 305 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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