Fourth-graders show energy‑efficient tiny‑home projects and STEM work to school board

Fourth‑grade students and teachers from Massway Elementary presented models of energy‑efficient tiny homes and related experiments to the Oyster River School Board as part of an interdisciplinary unit on energy and sustainability.

Misty Lowe, Massway principal, introduced the group and thanked the board for the opportunity. “I am beyond thrilled to introduce some extraordinary teachers as well as children to you,” she said. Teacher Beth Stacy said the project “highlights energy transfer, renewable energy, sustainable solutions, and thoughtful tiny home design.” Students demonstrated experiments and described design choices: Grayson explained wind turbine tests and said, “The wind energy turns the blades around a rotor that spins a generator,” and Katie described circuits: “All circuits need a power source, a conductor, and a load.”

The unit combined project‑based learning, interdisciplinary reading (including The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind), visits from outside experts and hands‑on technology. Staff cited visits from the New Hampshire Energy Education Project (NEEP/NEAP) and community experts including Matt O’Keefe (Unitel Energy Efficiency Program Manager) and Jeff Stacy (Mighty Roots Design and Building Company). Digital learning specialist Susan Leifer described student use of Makey Makey kits and Scratch to create functioning switches in the tiny‑house models.

Students and staff said the unit builds executive‑functioning skills, teamwork and real‑world math — teams created site plans requiring scale conversions and calculated area and perimeter for model rooms. The board and community were invited to view projects after the meeting; staff said students will also present at the New Hampshire School Administrators Association Innovations Conference in Concord on April 10 and display projects again at the district Sustainability Dinner in mid‑April.