Orbiting the moon twice and returning to Earth, a giant sequoia sapling has made a permanent landing at Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary School in Lake Forest.
NBC 4 Los Angeles reported the Saddleback Valley Unified School District school was initially selected to be one of 50 recipients of the then-seedlings that flew aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft in 2022 through its partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.
After sending in their application to house one of the soon-to-be “Moon Trees,” Santiago was selected due to the community’s ever-present commitment to environmental education. The site was previously named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for its composting and conservation efforts on campus.
On Monday, Oct. 14, more than 500 students, staff and family members got to welcome the space-traveling tree to its new home during a special ceremony complete with student performances depicting the space mission and guest presentations led by NASA scientists, engineers and forest service representatives.
While students are excited about how tall the tree will grow in the years to come, parents like Liz Gibson look forward to the lessons they could glean from this otherworldly occasion.
“Kids don’t always learn from hearing a story or watching a video,” Gibson told NBC 4. “By creating hands-on opportunities and shared experiences, they are not learning about the world from a book, but being active participants in it.”
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Irvine Unified Principal Belinda Averill was one of nine recipients to earn the national Terrel H. Bell Award for demonstrating outstanding leadership and inspiring change at South Lake Middle School.
- OCDE’s Language Services unit recently won a Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association for its dedication to promoting language access for students and parents nationwide.
- Ocean View High School students can practice mindfulness and self-regulation with calming activities at the campus’ new WellSpace, developed by OCDE in partnership with Children’s Hospital of Orange County and CalOptima.
- Language professionals from 80 school districts gathered to enhance family engagement and bridge communication gaps at the eighth annual Interpreters and Translators Conference earlier this month.
- After operating for nearly 50 years, McDowell School in Laguna Niguel will permanently close its doors in two months. The campus offered private education opportunities to children from six months old to sixth grade.
- Chapman University recently partnered with Girls Inc. of Orange County to help high school students build upon their STEM skills and manage technological projects through the annual Summer Engineering Academy.
- Cal State Fullerton educators and alumni recently celebrated 20 years of the College of Education, marking its anniversary with over 20,000 graduates and nearly $39 million in grants to support student success.
- Edison High School staff have implemented a new policy asking students to scan a QR code upon leaving or re-entering the classroom in case of a campus emergency, amid student privacy concerns, according to the Orange County Register.
- New studies from the National Institute for Early Education Research show that learning outdoors can boost preschoolers’ health, reduce hyperactivity and increase opportunities for play.
- The number of middle and high school students who smoke or use tobacco products has dropped by an estimated 20 percent — the lowest level in 25 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Orange County School of the Arts students have officially entered spooky season, creating original pumpkin designs for the Visual Arts Conservatory’s annual Painted Pumpkin Auction.
- A Santa Clarita high school student has developed an after-school education program that makes space experiments accessible to underserved students.
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