Ophelia Barizo - STEM Coordinator

Staff Involved: Beckie Carbaugh (PK), Dan Wirsz (K), Juli Pumroy (1-2), Joy Nugent (3-4), Tim Grove (5-6), Jake Villanueva (5-6), Angie Singh (7-8)
Students Involved: 90 students in Pre-K through 8th grade
Dates:  September 29, 2016; April 7, 2017; January 25, 2018 

Mrs. Barizo has worked with our school over the last two years to bring us STEM and Environmental staff training and hands-on science lessons to our students. ​
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Mrs. Barizo also keeps the staff updated with online STEM and environmental resources for our classrooms.  August 2016 - Ongoing

Mrs. Barizo working with the 7th-8th grade students to learn about water quality testing in Frederick, MD. ​

Here, Mrs. Barizo discusses food chains and how different living and nonliving things interact in an ecosystem. The students were thrilled to be able to dissect owl pellets, the undigested part of the owl's food. They were able to see what owls, who are at the top of their food chain, eat, by identifying bones, teeth, and lots of feathers!!

Staff Involved: Joy Nugent
Students Involved: 24 third and fourth grade students
Date: April 17, 2017

​Fox Haven Farm staff gave our third and fourth grade students a lesson on composting, how it can reduce solid waste, and how they can start composting at school. Students also learned about the anatomy of red worms and how they help to break down the soil in a composting bin.

Fox Haven Farms

​​Staff Involved: Beckie Carbaugh (PK), Dan Wirsz (K), Juli Pumroy (1-2), Joy Nugent (3-4), Tim Grove (5-6), Angie Singh (7-8)
Date: October 20, 2017

FAA teachers met with Joanne Coates and her team at Fox Haven Farm right down the road in Jefferson, MD. We learned about their production garden and about permaculture. Afterwards we participated in their composting 101 workshop to learn ways to implement composting at FAA. Teachers made worm bins to take back to their classrooms. We ended the afternoon brainstorming ideas on how to utilize what we learned at Fox Haven Farm and put it into practice.  

Mt. Aetna Retreat Center

Staff Involved: Tim Grove and Angie Singh
Students Involved: 50+ middle school students
Date: 2015 - Yearly

​Each year, students from FAA visit Mt. Aetna Retreat Center. While there, middle school students learn about invasive species, help pull invasive species from the grounds, and planted native trees.

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