Instructional Services / STEAM+ Meet the Specialists

STEAM+ Meet the Specialists

Art

If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.

~Emile Zola

Amy Doyle

Ashley Falls

Nicole Nelson

Carmel Del Mar

Brian Patterson

Del Mar Heights

Del Mar Hills

Jennifer Luce

Ocean Air

Shannon O'Connell

Sage Canyon

Catherine Gilbert

Sycamore Ridge

Summer Conover

Torrey Hills

The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.

Through STEAM+, specialists in art expose students to a variety of visual arts mediums, including watercolor, tempera, and acrylic painting, printmaking, fiber arts, ceramics, pastels, chalk, scratch art, paper maché, wire sculpture, wood sculpture, found object assemblage, collage, and SO much more! While specific techniques for working with each medium are taught, students are encouraged to think outside of the box, and to look for unique perspectives and solutions that integrate concepts and principles across disciplines such as science and engineering.

While everyone enjoys the final ‘product’ of a great piece of art, the real learning takes place during the process. Discoveries are made, problems are solved, confidence is built...and artists are born!

Music

Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.

~Confucius

Dawn Zurcher Ashley Falls	Cinda Peck Carmel Del Mar	Joseph Brachmann Del Mar Hills Sycamore Ridge
Michelle Beeson Ocean Air	Kenneth Igarashi Sage Canyon	Jodi Neilson Torrey Hills

Scientific research shows music study helps young minds develop. Music is a basic building block of intelligence and playing music develops critical neural connections. DMUSD music specialists design lessons that reinforce collaboration, communication skills, creativity and self-discipline. At the core of STEAM+, these qualities are essential to students’ development as a 21^st century learner and promote success across every curricular area.

Learning music develops spatial IQ, which helps students access complex math processes because the same parts of the brain used in processing math are strengthened through practice in music. For example, students who take music in middle school score significantly higher on algebra assessments in ninth grade than their non-music counterparts, as their brains are already accustomed to performing the processes used in complex math (Helmrich, 2010).

Most importantly, music is joyful and provides an opportunity for expression unlike any other. Students have the opportunity to shine through individual and group performances, cultivate talents, and develop an appreciation for another of the fine arts.

Physical Education

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.

~ John F. Kennedy

Desiree McBride

Ashley Falls

Veronica Brand

Carmel Del Mar

Ian Phillip

Del Mar Heights

Matthew Noonan

Del Mar Hills

Sage Canyon

Michael Davis

Ocean Air

Nick Sorenson

Ocean Air

Trent Tracy

Sage Canyon

Katy Moyneur

Sycamore Ridge

Summer Gurell

Torrey Hills

Our physical education program promotes an understanding and appreciation for the benefits of physical activity, healthy habits, and positive choices. It instills a love for physical activity that will last a lifetime. Through athletic skills-based lessons, games, fitness, and cooperative activities, students learn physical, emotional, and social aspects of life skills crucial to STEAM+ and the development of the whole child.

Physical education develops the students’ motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Physical health allows students to function even better in classrooms. A good cardiovascular system developed from regular exercise promotes excellent blood and oxygen circulation. This means more nutrients circulate throughout the body, which includes the brain. This circulation produces longer attention span during classes allowing longer concentration and absorption.

The health and well-being of every Del Mar student is of the highest priority to our entire community. Our certificated physical education specialists provide an exceptional program that promotes individual success and empowers every student to reach for their personal best in every aspect of their lives.

Engineering

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

~Steve Jobs

Anything that is built must first be engineered, or planned out. An engineer is a person who designs and builds complex products, machines, systems, or structures. Engineers want to know how and why things work. Innovation and engineering are threaded throughout STEAM+. Students engage in learning that requires critical thinking and solutions to complex real-world problems. Applying principles learned in their classrooms and STEAM+ specialties, students build, test, and revise.

STEAM+ learning continues to grow and evolve. In DMUSD, we are moving forward in creating an unparalleled educational experience. Imagine having an engineering specialist to help create even more exceptional experiences for our children. With community support, anything is possible. What does “WOW!” look like for our children?

Science

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

~Carl Sagan

Tim Miller Ashley Falls	Jennifer Munoz Carmel Del Mar	Kathleen Minarik Del Mar Heights	Nancy Swanberg Del Mar Hills
Stacie Waters Ocean Air	Lexi Hull Sage Canyon	Shawn Green Sycamore Ridge	Uma Krishnan Torrey Hills

Our science labs offer our young scientists a hands-on opportunity to investigate, explore, think, design, create and test their imagination, beliefs and ideas! Through STEAM+, students engage in real-world problems that require them to apply knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines as part of the learning experience. Students discover the wonders of science and the relationships between scientific principles and the world around them. The inquiry-based approach designed around sound concepts supports critical thinking and exploration.

Hands-on science experiences have the power to spark a student’s natural curiosity and appreciation of the world around them, while giving them the tools to think through how they can logically design and test methods to answer those questions. Science can discipline the mind and cause the imagination to soar!

Technology

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kevin Cunha

Ashley Falls

Janet Wolfertz

Carmel Del Mar

Gail Moran

Del Mar Heights

Kimber Johnston

Del Mar Hills

Erik Bienke

Sycamore Ridge

Amy Smith

Ocean Air

Paris Esmaili

Sage Canyon

Janese Swanson

Torrey Hills

Through the creative and purposeful use of technology, credentialed technology specialists integrate STEAM+ disciplines by designing powerful learning experiences that require students to problem solve, research, investigate and communicate. Artistic expression is nurtured through the use of video, digital photography, coding, and much more! Using a variety of technology tools, students efficiently gather and evaluate information, prompting further inquiry.

As technology is increasingly integrated into students’ daily lives, these ‘digital natives’ need the skills developed through technology to communicate effectively with peers, teachers, colleagues, and employers. As responsible digital citizens, students learn to use technology tools responsibly and ethically. Students’ thoughtful and resourceful use of technology promotes learning and supports their inexhaustible desire to learn more and understand their world! Through the skillful use of technology, matching tool to purpose, the classroom walls fall away and learning reaches across the continent and around the world.

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves. ~Thomas Edison

What is the “+” (plus) in STEAM+ ?

Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics are key components of the DMUSD STEAM+ educational experience. These components, along with the focus on physically fit, healthy children and attention to the unique qualities of each school, put the essential “+” into STEAM+. DMUSD schools’ educational programs reflect the desires and character of each individual school community. Language experiences, increased opportunities for mathematics, robotics, performing arts, instrumental band, orchestra, problem solving… the possibilities are endless! What does “+” mean to your school? When children, parents, and community members walk through our doors, what inspires us and says, “WOW!” ? Together, we are building the future of education. Help us move from now to “WOW!”

Ariella Leeder

Ocean Air

Erica Rood

Torrey Hills