As part of a presentation to the all-school Curriculum Committee, members of the unofficial IDEA (Inquiry Driven Exploration Approach) group shared some of the exciting and curricular-connected projects that have been happening in and out of the Commons. Each of the sub-groups that were formed at the Commons retreat last summer (Civic Engagement, Mindfulness and Empathy, and IDEA) are presenting to the Curriculum Committee this year in a more concerted effort to “map” these non-departmental parts of becoming an educated Harley student.

The presentation coincided well with the annual STEAM Fair that took place on Thursday, February 13th. The Project Space was already set up to present three separate open-ended challenges which involved design thinking, reflection, and recording data. The projects all involved engineering principles (buoyancy and stability, structural integrity in simulated earthquake, and architecture for height with limited materials). The members of the Curriculum Committee gladly embarked on their selected challenges, many to great success!