Weaver Lake Elementary (A Science, Math and Technology School – a Magnet School)
Weaver Lake Elementary is Maple Grove’s sole Magnet School. This Public Elementary School focuses on a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) heavy curriculum in addition to basic Elementary Education. Founded in 2008, Weaver Lake Elementary School serves more than 700 students in grades Preschool to 5th grade.
The school is comprised of students from five school districts located in the northwest suburbs of the city of Minneapolis. In 2009, Weaver Lake Elementary was awarded the Magnet School of Excellence, the top category of awards given by Magnet Schools of America. Families with children looking to enroll at this school must apply through a lottery system for admission.
The School features a science lab, math and engineering labs, and has outdoor classrooms tucked into the woods that enclose the campus. The school classrooms and laboratories are equipped with state of the art technologies such as SMART boards, computers and tablets, MAKER technologies, digital microscopes, 3D modelling software, architectural design programs, coding software, and video game design apps.
Weaver Lake Elementary partners with many area businesses and nonprofit groups for what Principal Gretchen Peel describes as value added projects. She described these projects in a recent interview with Maple Grove Magazine: “What we offer is an additional infusion of science, math and technology,” she says. “We have what we call value-added projects. Those are based on national standards in science, math and technology, and those are in addition to meeting the core curriculum and basic standards.”
(photo courtesy of Maple Grove Voice)
A recent example of a business partner project was when Weaver Lake Elementary 5th graders partnered with Boston Scientific to plant a native prairie habitat aimed at attracting and increasing the monarch butterfly population in the area. The habitat located on the Maple Grove Campus of Boston Scientific will continue to provide a setting for research for future students.
(photo courtesy of Jeffers Foundation)
Weaver Lake Elementary paired fundraising efforts with a grant from the University of Minnesota Schoolyard Ecology Garden Grant to partner with the Jeffers Foundation to convert a courtyard garden area into a school garden. Designed to increase student taste for fresh produce they used the garden to support curriculum and studied the relationship between bees, insects and plants.
Neighborhood overview: Near Rush Creek Golf Club, Weaver Lake Park & Maple Grove Hospital/North Memorial Medical Center
Address:
15900 Weaver Lake Road Maple Grove MN 55311
Website:
http://schools.district279.org/wvr/
Social media sites:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weaver-Lake-Elementary-School/167160746628724?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wvrstem
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/weaverlakestem/featured