Genius Hour
Genius Hour is a daily opportunity for STREAM students to showcase their creativity, curiosity, and innovation. During this elective hour, students from various grade levels come together to build, design, explore, and create a wide variety of projects that reflect their individual interests and passions.
This dynamic time encourages cross-grade collaboration and hands-on learning. In previous years, students have:
- Created podcasts and websites
- Produced animations and short films
- Designed and built real inventions
- Explored arts and crafts
- Performed original musical productions on topics like geology, the Gold Rush, and grammar
- Constructed electronic circuits, machines, and robots
- Broadcasted their own newscast, Pencil Box News
- Cultivated the school garden
- Jitjisu
- Spanish for Students
- Learned to play the guitar — and so much more!
Genius Hour allows students to dream big and apply their learning in creative and meaningful ways.
Students in grades 5–8 participate in Genius Hour electives Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Even late in the day, STREAM students are eager to dive in and explore their unique “genius” in this inspiring and energetic setting.
Music
At STREAM Charter School, we offer a music program that stands out among California schools — and we’re proud of it! Every student receives music instruction four days a week, making music a core part of our daily learning experience.
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Kindergarten–4th Grade
Students in grades K–4 enjoy dedicated music time in the Multi-Purpose Room nearly every day. Through singing, movement, hand motions, and the use of basic classroom instruments, our youngest learners build a strong musical foundation while having fun and expressing themselves creatively.
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5th–8th Grade
Beginning this year, all students in grades 5–8 will participate in band class with Mr. Manera — that’s nearly 200 band students learning, playing, and performing together! This level of access to instrumental music education is rare in California, and we’re excited to provide it.
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Through band, students will:
- Learn to read and play music
- Practice on band instruments
- Collaborate as an ensemble
- Perform for a variety of school and community audiences
At STREAM, we believe music inspires confidence, creativity, and connection — and every student deserves the opportunity to experience it.
Physical Education
Performing Arts
Our Performing Arts program focuses on teamwork through Musical Theater. Students perform fun, educational shows that connect directly to STREAM subjects like Science, Language Arts, and History.
They sing, dance, and act using scripts based on real academic content—all while learning cooperation, memorization, and stage presence. It’s learning in action, with a strong focus on collaboration and creativity.
Lego Education at STREAM
At STREAM, Legos are more than just toys—they’re powerful learning tools used across our entire K–8 program.
Starting with simple stacking and pattern-making in early grades, students progress to building towers, bridges, and scenes that support writing and storytelling. As they advance, they explore simple machines, renewable energy, and robotics using gears, motors, windmills, and solar-powered models.
Programs like Story Starter let students build and write their own stories using Lego creations and photos. Our Renewable Energy unit has students build working models—like hydroelectric generators using Legos and running water.
We also offer FIRST Lego League, where students design, build, and program robots to compete in real-world challenges—learning teamwork, engineering, and problem-solving along the way.
At STREAM, kids don’t just play with Legos—they learn with them.
Technology
At STREAM Charter School, students in Kindergarten through 8th grade participate in Tech Time, where learning comes to life through hands-on experiences. Each grade level is scaffolded to meet students’ growing skills and needs as they explore the world of robotics, engineering, coding, and more.
STREAM K-2nd Technology Program
In Kindergarten–2nd grade Tech Time, students dive into hands-on technology projects like coding, robotics, and digital creation. These activities allow them to explore technology in fun and creative ways while building problem-solving skills and sparking innovation
Along with technology, students also take part in exciting STEM activities. Through building, experimenting, and designing with everyday materials, they connect science, technology, engineering, and math. Whether it’s constructing a bridge or testing a marble ramp, STEM projects encourage teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking.
Some of the exciting things we do in Tech Time include:
- Creating podcasts
- Editing with iMovie
- Designing stop motion videos
- Exploring with Dash Robots, Bee Bots, Dot Robots, and Edison Bots
- Learning to code with Kodable
- Building circuits
- And much more!
STREAM 3-5 Technology Program
In 3-5 Tech Time we work on reinforcing concepts learned in K-2 Tech and begin to build to the next level. We continue our work on stop motion and explore different mediums for our story telling. We also dive into i-movie and touch on narrative theory and script writing. We will reinforce student’s stage presence as we learn how to create presentations and give them. Robotics and coding will also be explored as we push forward on our learning journey. We have so much technology at our disposal nowadays, and in 3-5 Tech we use it to tell our stories!
STREAM Charter Middle School Technology Program
In our tech program, curiosity takes flight—sometimes literally! Students explore hands-on projects that spark creativity and problem-solving, from launching rockets and piloting drones to designing 3D prints and building with Legos. We dive into coding, podcasting, and website creation, giving students a chance to not only use technology but to shape it. With simple machines, engineering challenges, and multimedia storytelling, our classroom is a space where ideas become reality. We don’t just learn about the future—we build it together.