The World Affairs Challenges gives students the opportunity to address real-world issues.

At Mackintosh Academy, seventh and eighth grade students have been participating in the World Affairs Challenge (WAC) since 2014. This annual challenge asks students to work collaboratively to research, address, and take action on a real-world problem.

This year’s World Affairs Challenge focuses on the water nexus, which is a term that describes the deep connection between several of our planet’s critical domains: water, energy, food, and transportation. For this challenge, Mack students selected a water-related issue and explored how it connected with food, energy, and transportation. Students then created video pitches that explain the issue and propose a potential action (in the challenge lingo, “WACtion”) they could take on to help mitigate the issue or call attention to the issue. 

WAC judges will review the videos and the student groups will then meet virtually for a follow-up interview with the judges. The teams in the top 20% will advance to the WAC World Championships on Saturday, April 1.

In the past, WAC had an in-person element, but in recent years has switched to virtual participation. This allows WAC to reach a global audience of student participants. In 2022, over 900 students participated in WAC, forming teams in schools in 15 different cities across Colorado and in Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Collaboration is key in World Affairs Challenge

Mackintosh Middle Years Programme teacher Joe Pausback shared that this year’s challenge has been a great opportunity for students to take on a global issue, dive into it, and work collaboratively on the project.  He added, “There is an element of WAC where we teachers get pretty hands off, which is a little terrifying, but it is validating to watch groups come together, and explore how to creatively present their information and balance that with still delivering the appropriate content.” Mr. Pausback believes that collaborative work is the most beneficial part of WAC.

The students’ pitch videos are available for viewing on the Mackintosh Academy YouTube channel.

Team: Mine WACcidents

Video: Mine Waste

Team: Cheese and QWACkers 

Video: Water Conservation in the Colorado River Basin

Team: ComeWAC of the Century

Video: E.coli in the South Platte River

Team: WACaroni 

Video: Microplastics

We wish all of our MYP students great success in this year’s WAC and will share the results when they’re available!

****

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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Honoring our Students at Graduation

At Mackintosh Academy, our graduation ceremony traditionally involves the entire school. PreK students escort the eighth grade graduates into the building to the tune of “Pomp and Circumstance.” All students from each class perform a tribute in honor of the graduates. Teachers write and present poems for each of the eighth graders. Selected student from each class are recognized for their accomplishments with International Baccalaureate Learner Profile awards. Parents from the entire school watch on as the eighth graders honor their parents with flowers. And of course, one graduating student is selected to give the farewell address. This student is known as our “Mackalaureate,” and is selected by faculty and peers not only for their grades, but also for embodying the values and attributes of a Mackintosh graduate, including open-minded, principled, caring, thinking, and resilience.

A Different Kind of Graduation

This year’s Mackalaureate speaker, Grace Muench, was not able to address the entire school during graduation as she normally would have. Our drive-in ceremony looked a little different this year in the face of the coronavirus, featuring masked graduates and a limited audience of parents looking on from their cars. A Mack “lifer,” Grace has attended our school for ten years, and although she did not have her moment on stage, we would like to share her words here. We hope you enjoy Grace’s wit and wisdom, and her reflections on what it means to be a Mackintosh graduate.

You can also watch the video here.

The Mackalaureate Speech

 “I hope you appreciate how challenging and scary these times are and you kept putting one foot in front of the other”- Joe Pausback  (Mack MYP Teacher)

I’ve gone to school here for 10 years but really I have been at Mackintosh since birth, yet I never really thought about what I would say to a group of my best friends if I got the chance to say goodbye to and for them. I really didn’t want to think about it because Mackintosh is a second home and my second family and well actually one member of my first family. Even though my class may be leaving, Mackintosh has given us the tools to leave with confidence and the tools to learn so much more about ourselves and the universe(s) around us. 

You don’t go to this school in agony of the drama you will endure that day, you go to school excited for the first laugh and the first smile. You’re in a community of teachers and friends who are able to spend real-time teaching and learning about what you do best and all the qualities that are good. They don’t point out your flaws but make you improve on them naturally. They teach you how to be a good friend. We may be leaving Mackintosh but we’ll never forget each other because we were each other’s rocks at some point. Working on math at school late, a teacher presenting your exhibition for you because you had a throat cold, or giving a gift to someone who had a bad day.

My community of best friends: 

Hazel-  a person who reads books when she wants and makes me an unstable unicorn

Henry- will spend hours putting up a 1000 little paper loops for someone to smile just to see them fall or even wants to move a 1000 pound rock just for the fun of learning how 

David- the friend I’ve gone to school with for the longest, someone who puts his shirt on backward but doesn’t mind it because he has a mission to complete in the Blender software 

Ember-Someone who I can count on knowing the answer and who can sing beautifully

Jacob- Someone who rolls with the punches but knows when to debate about what’s he knows and believes

A community of people who love the challenge of finding ways to fix the problem, or plain out spill green paint all over the problem and make sure that it gets cleaned up. This community has keen minds, compassionate hearts, and global thinkers. Mackintosh has given us a community where it’s ok to fail, grow, and change. We are taught to accept our own changes and the changes of others. We learned about ourselves to be able to go into the world knowing what we need to do for ourselves. What I think I learned most from these years that Mackintosh has given me is the ability to look at and solve a problem from multiple perspectives and to be able to communicate the solution efficiently. A solution like “oh why don’t we just do our play over a zoom call” is something I didn’t think was possible when we went into it. Mackintosh gave us the ability to use technology to have classes every day where we were able to actually absorb the information because, even in a world where you can’t physically be together in person, why can’t we still have the same experiences as we would in-person? Even when everything in these last months told us to stop, such as toilet paper being a form of currency and masks being a new fashion statement, we tested our odds and found ways to continue growing. Instead of giving up, we attended Zoom Academy, a place where even Shakespeare can flourish. Mackintosh gave us superpowers to soar even through a pixelated, glitchy screen. 

Thank you for our superpowers that we will continue to grow. Thank you to our teachers who have spent hours catching us up, planning, teaching, and grading our work. You’ve taught us what we need to go into our new chapter not only with school smarts but with street smarts. Thank you for keeping our days at school interesting and fun. Thank you to our parents who’ve also spent hours making sure we’re learning and growing and hours by our side at our desks when we don’t understand or we are just tired. Thank you for understanding it’s ok to make mistakes sometimes. The parents who know we don’t mean to bring anxiety or stress to anyone and deal with us with calmness and love. Thank you to my classmates who have worked so hard just to get to this one pillar in their life. Thank you for supporting each other and making each other laugh. Sometimes over the years you get tired of people you’re with every day yet I’ve been with most of you every day for 10 years and I haven’t gotten tired of you all and I wish we had more time to make more memories. 

And as I started with a quote I will end with one: “As long as you are trying to figure out you, y’all will be ok” -Mallory Remy (Mack MYP Teacher).

 

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According to Washington University, “Service learning refers to learning that actively involves students in a wide range of experiences, which often benefit others and the community, while also advancing the goals of a given curriculum. Community-based service activities are paired with structured preparation and student reflection.”

This year’s eighth graders chose a variety of projects that reflected their own interests as well as the needs of the communities they served. Whether working with Ethiopian adoptees, food-insecure communities, or rescue kittens, they were able to fulfill the aims of the International Baccalaureate’s Middle Years projects, to encourage and enable students to:

• participate in a sustained, self-directed inquiry within a global context
• generate creative new insights and develop deeper understandings through in-depth investigation
• demonstrate the skills, attitudes and knowledge required to complete a project over an extended period of time
• communicate effectively in a variety of situations
• demonstrate responsible action through, or as a result of, learning to appreciate the process of learning and take pride in their accomplishments.

Faculty mentors shepherded the students through the process of selecting a project, doing background research, and writing a research paper that included a formal bibliography of works cited.

The heart of these service learning projects was, of course, the fifteen or more hours of direct service that the students were required to perform. This allowed the students to connect with members of the communities they served and have a direct sense of how their work impacted others.

• The MYP community projects included:
• creating a nonprofit mentoring organization Wodaj for Ethiopian adoptees in Colorado and building a website for the group
• volunteering at Break Bread Littleton, an organization that builds meaningful relationships among neighbors through a free weekly community meal
• fostering kittens with Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue
• working at the GrowHaus, a nonprofit indoor farm, marketplace, and educational center in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood

The eighth graders presented their projects to the entire school at an assembly, inspiring younger students with their commitment and hard work. All of them reported that the community project had been a beneficial experience: one student shared that this project “helped me come out of my shell and talk to people,” while another said,”This is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.”

As a key part of Mackintosh Academy’s International Baccalaureate curriculum, service learning opportunities such as the Middle Years community project provide students the chance to make an impact on the world – right here, right now!

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When you think of your middle school memories, what comes to mind? Awkwardness and braces? Pushing your way through crowded hallways? Hours spent memorizing math equations and highlighting dry history textbooks?

Mackintosh Academy’s Middle Years students look back on their middle school years with a different lens.

One recent graduate said, “I’m the only kid in my high school who didn’t hate middle school!” Our alums often reflect on how unique their middle years experience was, and how it helped them to be confident, well-prepared high school students.

In this student-created video, Mack Littleton’s MYP (Middle Years Programme) students share their own words about what makes a Mack education different: inquiry-based curriculum, hands-on learning, service trips, dedicated teachers, and a close-knit, supportive community.

As an International Baccalaureate Middle Years school, Mackintosh Academy’s middle school is more than just curriculum – it’s community! Our students have the opportunity to thrive in an environment tailored for them. They get to solve real-world problems. They learn to be critical and reflective thinkers. They work with teachers who truly know and care about them. And perhaps most importantly, they develop a true sense of belonging.

Curious about what a Mack education might do for your child? Contact our admissions team to find out!

Not quite ready to contact us yet? That’s okay! Learn more:

Quick Facts about Our School

Academic Overview

Admissions

FAQ

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Last week, the Mack Littleton eighth grade class presented their community service capstone projects to the school community. The community project is the culmination of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program, and is a required part of each student’s progress towards graduation. All MYP students in 5000 IB schools worldwide participate in these projects.

The MYP community project also embodies a key part of our mission as a school: to encourage our students to engage in global action. The eighth graders were first asked to choose a community that they wanted to learn more about and serve. After investigating this community, they wrote research papers, and then worked with a faculty mentor to plan their service projects. Although they had teacher guidance and support, their projects were independently designed and conducted.

Students drew upon their own skills, passions and interests to create unique capstone projects that ranged from environmental to educational to civic. The student projects included:

• Teaching at a Sunday School and summer camp
• Working on projects to support endangered manatees and sea turtles
• Tutoring at a public elementary school
• Creating weighted blankets for children with sensory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder and ADHD
• Volunteering with a therapeutic riding program
• Working at a food bank
• Supporting at an LGTBQ+ safe house

To wrap up their community projects, the students presented their work to the larger community of Mackintosh students, faculty and parents. They reflected on their growth in areas such as communication, self-management and time management. Several students mentioned that having to make phone calls and reach out to community organizations was a challenging, yet valuable, part of their experience.

Students also discovered that “service” doesn’t mean drudgery. As one student reflected, “I was surprised that I had done something fun while in service because, previously, I had thought service was a chore to do. This service has changed my outlook on that.” Most students felt that service will be an ongoing part of their lives.

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One of the most critical misconceptions of middle school is that its primary purpose is to prepare teenagers for high school. That belief fails to consider that middle school should be wholly focused on what middle school students need most at that crucial stage of development. The developmental milestones of emerging adolescents are specific, numerous, and important. People rarely say “First grade’s primary focus is to prepare children for second grade,” yet parents of early adolescents see the specter of high school bearing down and can lose focus of the needs of adolescents. A K-8 school environment can provide that important focus on the needs of middle-schoolers.

According to a recent article from NPR, “A large body of research suggests that students who go to middle school or junior high do worse academically, socially and emotionally, compared to the young teenagers who get to be the oldest students at schools with grades K-8.” Mackintosh Academy strives to maximize the elements we believe make the K-8 model the ideal model for middle school students.

Relationships

The first element is continuing to develop and nurture strong relationships amongst peers and teachers—to provide the circumstances under which students can feel seen and known. At Mackintosh Academy, teachers and students in all grades interact and get to know one another on the playground, at whole school gatherings and morning meetings, or in cross-grade “buddy” programs.  Adolescent children can exhibit negativity, can struggle with judgment in respect to the risks and consequences of their actions, and can develop low self-esteem—these traits can present challenges when large groups of 6th-8th graders are educated in isolation, such as in a traditional, stand-alone middle school. When you see 8th graders at Mackintosh Academy leading community games for all ages at recess, and witness older students sitting with their younger buddies during all-school assemblies, you begin to understand the incredible benefits of keeping middle-schoolers in a K-8 setting.

At the same time, adolescents need dedicated spaces, where they can be immersed in their unique middle school culture. Mack-Boulder’s middle school continues grade-level homerooms (which oftentimes cease after 5th grade in the traditional stand-alone middle school), and has developed 6th-8th connections via the “House System” advisory groups. A middle school “lounge” provides a place for safe, informal interactions. Mack-Littleton’s middle school features a balance of grade-level instruction with a combined 7-8 homeroom. Littleton middle schoolers also have primary responsibility for the greenhouse, giving them another healthy and vibrant space they can call their own.

At Mackintosh, students have the same teachers for PE, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Design, Library (in Boulder), and Spanish from kindergarten on up. This continuity ensures that students have several teachers each year who already know them well. Smaller class sizes also ensure that all their teachers have a deep sense of their strengths and needs. When middle school students start to experience the “sturm and drang” of adolescence, having the support of teachers who have known them throughout their childhood is invaluable—teachers who have witnessed their growth, their challenges, and know how to leverage their strengths to help the students reach their full potential.

Strong Academics

The second element of the Mackintosh Academy K-8 model is the strength of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), taught by passionate, skilled, and interested teachers. The MYP program provides our teachers a strong academic framework upon which to design creative and experiential units of study. Mackintosh middle-schoolers learn to go deep and connect concepts in all areas of study, including our rich “specials” program. Teachers who lead our middle school are carefully chosen for their love and dedication to this developmental age group, and for their skills and interest in teaching a wide breadth of interconnected subject areas. We pride ourselves on our team that cares about adolescents and is dedicated to developing learners both academically and socially. Additionally, despite not making “high school prep” the entire focus of our middle school, the strong academic foundation of Mackintosh Academy has led many of our graduates to excel in high school—in honors and AP courses, as well as rigorous IB programs.

Leadership

The third important element of our model is encouraging and providing mentoring and leadership opportunities. Middle-schoolers are uniquely situated in our K-8 model to see themselves and be seen as leaders. Like most sought-after qualities in learners, leadership is usually not innate—it takes modeling, practice, and direct coaching. As students navigate through middle school, they are given opportunities ranging from low-stress options such as serving as a buddy to a K-5th student, to opportunities that take additional courage and mentoring such as completing our 8th grade Community Projects. 

At Mack-Boulder, the culmination of leadership and mentoring support unfolds in 8th grade in the new Leadership class. In these weekly classes, the students are given freedom to design ways to make the school and community a better place. For example, 8th graders have been designing and leading weekly recess games for the lower grades, as mentioned above. They’ve also taken over the Pizza Friday sale as a fundraiser for their spring trip to Washington, D.C., and initiated a “sock sale” to earn money for the trip as well as donations of socks to homeless shelters. As the year progresses, middle-schoolers will have more leadership opportunities unique to a K-8 environment, such as running all-school meetings.

Mack-Litteton’s 7^th and 8^th graders have an opportunity to provide schoolwide leadership via the Leadership Council, which plans and carries out activities and service projects for the whole school. Recently, they led the school’s efforts to honor veterans on Veterans’ Day, including a letter-writing campaign and collecting treats to send to vets. Every other year, Littleton middle schoolers spearhead a fundraising program to support a service trip the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where they participate in direct service with the local community. Through these opportunities, students position themselves to be comfortable as leaders as they move into high school.

The students are more likely to take these risks as leaders because “in the K-8 schools, those tweens and young teens (are) the “top dogs” — the oldest, the most comfortable and familiar with the school,” as opposed to starting over in sixth grade at a traditional middle school as the “bottom dogs.”

Confidence

The fourth element of our model is the intentional focus on the development of social-emotional learning (SEL). Since Mackintosh Academy’s founding 40 years ago, SEL has never been a “fad” or “add on”—rather, it is at the core of everything we do. Mack-Boulder’s school psychologist teaches SEL classes to every grade level every week, including 6-8th grades. At Mack-Littleton, classroom teachers integrate SEL into their daily instruction with a focus on the unique needs of gifted learners.

Sustaining focus on SEL throughout our K-8 model is critically important, especially in light of the boundless changes adolescents experience. As peer relationships become more important in adolescence, having this targeted support for students as they figure out who they want to be and how they fit in with others is essential.

One former Mackintosh Academy parent whose child is now in high school said, “In one sense, you worry about the “greenhouse flower” effect. Your child has grown and thrived in this special environment, but once out in the “real world,” you worry they might wilt and won’t be able to withstand pressure. What we found, however, is that being at Mack, in this supportive, nurturing environment for as long as he could, where he was known and understood, where he could experiment and take risks in a low-stakes situation, he grew very sturdy, secure roots. Now out in the harsher climate of high school, he is staying true to himself and his values. He’s secure and knows how to advocate for himself because he was able to learn those skills and use them effectively in the “safe” environment of the K-8 experience. He was able to gain confidence at a time when most middle school kids are having their confidence crushed.”

If you gather a group of parents together and ask them to reflect on their middle school experiences, the vast majority of them speak negatively of their experience. Middle school is typically not revered as a time of “self-worth” and “happiness” and “success.” At Mackintosh Academy, we seek to break that trend by carefully balancing the developmental needs of our students. From a biological and neurodevelopmental standpoint, middle-schoolers are designed to push back on boundaries and limits. They are testing the ones who love them to see how far and deep the love will go. With Mackintosh Academy’s K-8 environment, we are positioned to teach “both the child who is leaving childhood behind, as well as the young adult who is looking forward to the challenges of independence.”

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By Beth Steklac, Director of Admissions and Assistant Head of School

Our middle years students won’t look back on their years at Mackintosh Academy as a time when they were lost in a crowd, overwhelmed by cliques or tuned out or bored in class.  At Mack, our middle schoolers are supported by a warm, caring community of teachers and students who make sure that each student can learn more about their unique selves, explore new ideas and challenges, and contribute their skills to tackling real-world problems.

The Mackintosh Middle Years IB program engages our students on every level and provides not only academic rigor, but a nurturing environment that gives students the confident foundation they need to move successfully into high school. Our students move into rigorous programs throughout the metro area and report back that they felt well-prepared and ready to succeed in high school.

Our middle school program transcends the simply academic, providing rich opportunities for hands-on, real-world learning. Here is a snapshot of the many aspects of our Littleton MYP program that set our students up for success in high school and beyond:

Greenhouse:  Middle school students took the lead in filling our greenhouse to the brim with vegetables and greens.  With the assistance of a local horticulturalist, the greenhouse has been transformed into an active garden supplying produce to the community most Fridays.  The students were instrumental in receiving a nearly $5,000 grant from the Colorado Garden Foundation to install a hydroponic system that will increase yield and offer new opportunities for scientific exploration.

Community Project:  From training service dogs to spreading peace through art, from vegetarian cookbooks to community gardens, our eighth-grade students undertook personal community service projects and presented their learning to the Mackintosh community.

World Affairs Challenge: Building on classroom experiences, each year students prepare for the World Affairs Challenge that takes place in early March at Regis University. This challenge, “dedicated to developing tomorrow’s global leaders,” has become a significant middle school experience.  This year, students looked at problems and solutions in building “Smart Cities.” Our two teams examined natural disasters and alert/response systems and looking at recent flooding in Bangladesh and funding/relief systems. One team took third place in the competition.

Eradicating Infectious Disease:  Each year, the MYP does a three-subject unit.  This year, students are examining the spread of infectious diseases and their possible eradication.  This unit combines mathematics (modeling of exponential growth) science (pathology and vaccinations) and Language Arts (persuasive writing) to provide a fully immersive experience in a real-world problem.

Shakespeare:  Following Mackintosh tradition, our middle school students once again wowed us with a stunning stage performance.  This year the students performed As You Like It.  With an in-depth study of the text during Language and Literature classes and inquiry into their individual characters, the students easily shared a complex story with even our youngest students, who were on the edge of their seats for a full hour and a half.

The United States Civil War and Transcendentalism: The International Baccalaureate program allows deep exploration into the hows and whys of our world and world events.  The unique opportunity to combine disciplines like Humanities and Language Arts opens the door to interesting connections.  This year the Middle School students explored the curious juxtaposition of the rise in transcendentalism and the build-up to the Civil War.

Leadership:  The Leadership Council has continued to provide a platform for middle school students to develop leadership skills.  This year, our Leadership Council has organized several school assemblies, run a successful school spirit week, and initiated several service projects.  For the first time ever, we ran a full-fledged election choosing a student body President and Vice-President.  This process involved all students in middle school – some as candidates, others as campaign supporters.  The candidates had their own web pages and published platforms and were interviewed by members of the local press in a real-life press conference.  Many candidates ran on environmental or social platforms.  The successful President and Vice President are now working diligently to fulfil their campaign promises.

Paper Pets:  During this year’s Genetics unit in science, students participated in an exciting paper pet simulation.  Each of the pets started out with homozygous traits and through mating and random distribution of mutations we watched our pets evolve over several generations.  Watch out for “spotted-nose malady!”

Service: This year will culminate with our Middle School bi-annual service experience, a week-long trip to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  Students will work hard in various support projects including skirting trailers, building bunk beds and creating community gardens.  In the evenings, they will meet with village elders from the Lakota tribe to learn more about native culture and modern day challenges on the reservation. In preparation for the trip students are exploring the theme, “When you speak, we listen.” They are researching the current state of indigenous populations around the globe. Throughout the year, middle school students also have the opportunity to work with their year-long buddies in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, and to visit a local preschool for arts outreach, inspiring our youngest community of learners.

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Picture an election characterized by thoughtful debate, collaboration across parties and genuine respect between candidates – that’s precisely what Mackintosh Academy Littleton has just accomplished! For the last month and a half, Mackintosh Academy Littleton participated in its first ever Mackintosh Student Body Presidential Elections. With a strong desire to show students the democratic process first-hand, Middle Years Program Teacher and Leadership Council Advisor, Megan Rich, decided to create a unit for her Individuals and Societies and Design classes that would give the whole school the authentic experience of campaigning and choosing a Student-Body President. She set up this six-week student election unit to mirror the U.S. election process directly, from authentic party conventions to “I Voted” stickers on Election Day.

In order to give every middle schooler a strong role in the process, six Leadership Council representatives — Gillian, Katherine, Lila, Quinn, Sam, and Tanner—all ran for President with the help of fellow middle schoolers who served as Press Secretaries, Technology Coordinators, and Field Directors. The process started with party conventions, where teams set their platforms, decided on parties, and brainstormed brand strategies. They then decided on plans of action for reaching out to every last student throughout the school and even to the larger community. During the primary elections, for example, campaign teams wrote and gave stump speeches to the whole school, created websites (including interactive blogs, surveys, infographics, and platform information), and participated in a press conference with local media outlets, 5280 Magazine and The Littleton Independent. Representative delegates (classroom teachers and administrators) then held caucus-like discussions with their classes to choose their top three candidates. Their votes in the primary elections narrowed the field to three Presidential candidates (and the three others then joined forces with these candidates as Vice Presidential candidates).

For the general election, campaign groups combined platforms and created a united front in all communications, including revising their websites as needed and changing their messaging, giving them the authentic experience of consensus and prioritization. Campaign teams then did a lot of on-the-ground campaigning in classrooms and created video ad campaigns to spread these new messages. This part of the process culminated in a debate between candidates on Monday, November 7th where Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates had to answer hard-hitting questions from the moderator and the live audience. On Tuesday, November 8^th, all students voted in the general election, and on Friday, November 11^th, the community inaugurated Katherine and Sam as the first Student-Body President and Vice President of Mackintosh.

Throughout the process, it was amazing to see the compassion, respect, and kindness between the candidates and among the campaign teams. They truly represented the absolute best in fair democratic processes, and the whole school learned first-hand about the civic duties of voting for representation. Teachers throughout the school were amazed at how engaged their students were in the process, and discussions surrounding both our election and the US-wide election took on a greater depth because of their direct participation.

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Mrs. Alison Weems, the team’s teacher, has been guiding the student’s work through the tenets of our IB curriculum – which means the students are questioning, researching, and developing their design through trial and error.

Did you know?  Per Quinn Yates: “squishability is a scientific term!”

The Colorado Rockies , 9NEWS (KUSA) Steve Spangler Science and Colorado State University have teamed up to launch the 7th Annual Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on May 11, 2016. We will update this post with results!

Please join Mackintosh Academy Littleton, Colorado State University’s Extension program, America’s Science Teacher – Steve Spangler and the 9News Weather Team for this educational event that incorporates physics, math and meteorology into unique science experiments.

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Not only did the 7/8 graders successfully land on the Martian surface, they built a HAB based on Andy Weir’s book The Martian.  In addition to reaching Mars, these creative students were able to grow food – who doesn’t like potatoes?

~Samara Rasmussen

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