Student Events and Programs
It's all about the kids! We love our student events and programs as they let us focus on and enjoy the reason we are here: the students. The smiles, excitement, and joy you see as they achieve a goal or grasp a concept – truly priceless!
Many schools and districts hold a variety of events themselves, but what the Bucks IU brings with their activities is the ability for the students and teachers to interact, collaborate, and compete as a way of learning from others. The goals and objectives for individual events vary dramatically based on the type of program, its theme, the audience's age and abilities, etc... However, the common thread for all events is to encourage student growth and development through positive, energizing, engaging, interesting, collaborative, and interactive educational programs.
A few examples of the types of student events offered include:
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Reading Olympics
With the mission of inspiring students to become lifelong readers, Reading Olympics encourages children to read more, read a greater variety, and to enjoy the excitement of reading and talking about books with their peers. The program centers around school-based teams of students reading books from a prepared list for several months prior to the final event. On the final evening, all of the teams attend and participate in three rounds of questioning, with the students receiving a ribbon determined by the points their team earned during the evening. Students participate in Reading Olympics through their local school.
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STEM/STEAM Programs
We are committed to the advancement of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math – education. Originally referred to as STEM, "art" has been integrated as a critical design element that helps take advanced conceptual ideas and transforms them into real, usable tools. Our focus on advancing STEAM education encompasses programs for both students and educators.
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Student Forum
The group consists of eleventh and twelfth grade student representatives from participating public, nonpublic, and technical high schools that meet monthly to discuss student suggested topics. The students' responsibilities are to identify and study local and regional concerns, and to serve as a sounding board for views, programs, and concerns in individual districts. Students are selected by their high school principal to participate in the Student Forum.