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Marching Full STEAM Ahead Into Thanksgiving!

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woodglen parade

What do Snoopy, SpongeBob and Hello Kitty all have in common? They’re featured in CCSD's 2024 elementary STEAM parades! Giving Macy’s a run for their money, this year’s “floats” are not only a demonstration of our students’ creativity but also their growing skills in the areas of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

After reading about the popular New York tradition in books like “Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade” by Melissa Sweet, fourth and fifth graders at Woodglen, Lakewood (pictured) and Little Tor were inspired to recreate the spectacle ahead of the Thanksgiving break. “Students used the Engineering Design Process to create their own floats,” said enrichment teacher Lisa Imperial-DiNardo. “They also learned how to ‘drive’ several different robots down the parade routes by coding and controlling their speeds. These included Dash, Sphero indi, Bee-Bot and Botley.”

Just like in real life, our engineers in training had to make adjustments to their designs leading right up to the event. However, they faced any and all challenges that came their way head-on. After all, the parade must go on!