The Otay Ranch Academy for the Arts (ORAA) is having its first annual STEAM Fair on February 10, 3:30-5 p.m.
ORAA is located on the campus of Mater Dei Catholic High School, 1615 Mater Dei Drive, Chula Vista. At the STEAM Fair, students will showcase their Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) work to interested members of the public. The ORAA, part of Harbor Springs Charter School, is a tuition-free, public charter school and is part of the Springs Charter Schools network of schools. It serves grades K-8, and incorporates art throughout its core curriculum. The academy is in its first year of operation and is accepting new students for this spring until February 13. Applications for enrollment in the 2015-16 school year will be accepted beginning on March 1, 2015.
“We created the STEAM Fair to show off the outstanding work our students are doing, and offer the community the opportunity to learn about ORAA,” said ORAA Principal, Philip Parks.
ORAA’s mission is “Fostering Creativity through the Arts – Encouraging Innovators of the Future.” Parks continued, “It is our hope that we can help demonstrate that STEAM is important not just to education, but to the foundation of our community by ‘connecting the dots’ for our stakeholders.” Core beliefs, he said, include:
- Arts education is a key to creativity.
- Creativity is an essential component of and spurs innovation.
- Innovation is necessary to create new industries in the future.
- New industries, with their jobs, are the basis of our country’s future economic well-being.
Parks added, “STEAM education is a win-win situation for students, parents, teachers and the community.”
To demonstrate STEAM, ORAA students will complete a project that exhibits some of the five concentrations of STEAM. These projects will include creating videos, comic strips, photo essays, music, journals and newspaper articles.
For additional information, call Philip Parks at 951-225-7690 or visit www.SpringsCharterSchools.org/
