Kindergarten students at Riccardi Elementary School recently teamed up with Grade 5 students for a gingerbread house activity that brought learning and kindness together in a meaningful way.

Riccardi Grade 1 teachers Jennifer Wade and Stefanie Colclough guided students through a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) project focused on problem solving and creativity. Students built sleighs using cardboard, pipe cleaners, tape, tinfoil, popsicle sticks, and other recycled materials, then designed ramps of different heights to see whose sleigh would travel the farthest.

Students in Tracy Porter’s kindergarten class at Riccardi Elementary School began their Holidays Around the World journey with a look at traditions from Germany and the Netherlands.

Students in Brittany D’Orazio’s class at Riccardi Elementary looked like they were busy wrapping presents and stacking them into tall gift towers, but a closer look told a different story. These Grade 5 learners were actually creating classroom skyscrapers for a hands-on math project.

As part of the Erie Canal Bicentennial celebration, Grade 3 teacher Rebecca Mulford connected her students’ social studies lessons with a special art collaboration led by Art Teacher Amy Dunaief and Student Art Teacher Gillian Henderson.