April Coppola President | William Floyd School District
April Coppola President | William Floyd School District
William Paca Middle School sixth graders participated in a unique STEAM project titled "Balloons Over Paca" before Thanksgiving. The initiative was inspired by the children's book "Balloons Over Broadway" by Melissa Sweet. Under the guidance of Mrs. Julia Scotti, students designed and constructed parade balloons, applying engineering principles to create structures similar to those seen in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The project aimed to develop various skills among students, including spatial reasoning, engineering design, problem-solving, fine motor skills, collaboration, math skills related to geometry and measurement, and creativity. Working in pairs, students used diverse materials to build their balloon sculptures.
Following the completion of their projects, the sixth graders paraded their balloons at Tangier Smith Elementary School. Music accompanied the procession as younger students observed and voted on their favorite designs. Out of 22 balloons featured in the parade, three were chosen as winners: "Pikachu" took first place, followed by "Unicorn" in second place and "Mr. Krabs" in third place.
Mrs. Scotti’s students received written letters from Mrs. Romero and Mrs. Worontsoff’s second-grade classes after the event. The letters expressed gratitude for sharing their work and organizing an enjoyable parade experience.