Frequently Asked Questions
When and how is the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund being launched?
What is the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund?
What is the purpose of the STEAM fund and how much $$ is needed?
What is a fund and how is it different than the overall school budget?
How and who will determine how we will spend money in the STEAM Fund?
What are the plans for the STEAM Fund and when will we start to see the fund in action?
How can I get involved?
Who is on the faculty-parent advisory group?
Why are we doing this?
Have you received bids or selected a curriculum?
When are we building a lab?
What does STEAM stand for?
Why include the A in STEAM and why not STREAM?
What is a Paddle Raise or Fund-a-Need?
Do I have to be in attendance at the fundraiser to donate to Project Full STEAM Ahead?
I have a question. Where can I get more information?
When and how is the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund being launched?
The fund is being launched with the Saint Cecilia School Spring Fundraiser on April 8, 2017, during the paddle raise portion of the event’s live auction. The paddle raise for the 2017 Fund-a-Need is “Funding Dreams of STEAM” to launch Project Full STEAM Ahead! and provide initial seeding for the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund. Additionally, donations to the project launch can be made online on the fundraiser website at check-out at the event, or by submitting a form to the event staff during the event or to the school office, Attn: Project Full STEAM Ahead! (top)
What is the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund?
The STEAM Fund is the creation of a discrete monetary fund to develop, enhance and maintain Saint Cecilia School's commitment to STEAM education through short and long term focused STEAM programs, curriculum and learning spaces. (top)
What is the purpose of the STEAM fund and how much $$ is needed?
Funding is needed to support the short-term and long-term STEAM initiatives. Curricula, equipment, activity modules, buses for field trips all have costs associated with them that are not currently covered in the school’s tuition budget. Launching this fund will provide the funds necessary to support current and future plans to sustain a rich STEAM curriculum at Saint Cecilia School. Any amount of money is appreciated to help the school launch this project. Some of the nearer term goals require less funding than the longer term goals, but if we start raising and segregating funds for STEAM now, and gradually raise more funds over time, the important long-terms Dreams of STEAM, like building and equipping an experiment lab, will be possible. (top)
What is a fund and how is it different than the overall school budget?
A fund is a sum of money saved or made available for a specific purpose. The Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund will be an account set aside to finance Saint Cecilia School’s STEAM activities. The school’s overall budget covers tuition and ongoing expenses that are already planned with the budget based on the school’s current operating model, whereas this fund will finance the investment in curriculum and learning spaces of the school’s future operating model, that are outside the current budget. (top)
How and who will determine how we will spend money in the STEAM Fund?
A STEAM faculty-parent advisory group is being formed to create a strategy based on funding available and execute STEAM plans, including proposing longer term plans and funding needs of STEAM over the next few years. The faculty-parent group will collaborate and thoughtfully engage across the Saint Cecilia School community so parents, teachers, children and parishioners are fully supported and can have a role in the STEAM equation. (top)
What are the plans for the STEAM Fund and when will we start to see the fund in action?
Right away, the faculty-parent advisory group will be formed and begin to plan and execute specific plans and timelines based on the funds raised and the potential to raise additional funds, with short term goals scheduled to be achieved in the 2017-2018 school year! Goals currently being evaluated are listed below:
Potential Short Term Goals:
•Launch annual Science Fair for the 2017-18 school year
•Host a series of periodic family STEAM activity nights
•Create STEAM activity clubs
Potential Long Term Goals as we Pick Up STEAM:
•Build and equip an experiment and laboratory facility
•Select/ implement updated STEAM curriculum with professional development training
•Parent mentors/champions and more connection to STEAM education programs within their companies (top)
How can I get involved?
There will be plenty of ways to be involved and mentor our children through these STEAM experiences. A faculty-parent advisory group will research and formalize the STEAM plans. If you have interest in being part of that group, or have advice, skills or ideas to share with that group, please email scspringfundraiser@gmail.com.
Donate to the Saint Cecilia School STEAM Fund on the fundraiser website or at the fundraiser event during the Fund-a-Need paddle raise portion of the live auction.
Outside of the initial launch in connection with the fundraiser, future opportunities to volunteer and donate will be communicated. (top)
Who is on the faculty-parent advisory group?
This will be a new group and is currently in the initial formation stages, and members have not been definitively established. See question How can I get involved? (top)
Why are we doing this?
Given the importance of creativity for the future of our workforce and life success in a world where change is becoming the only constant, STEAM gives children hands-on learning that challenges them to think critically and creatively.
Our children are fortunate to be growing up in the Bay Area, a competitive and STEAM-rich environment of communities, companies and schools committed to positioning children for the future. Furthering these programs will keep Saint Cecilia School on pace with the Bay Area and world more broadly, stay competitive with other San Francisco Catholic schools already actively bolstering learning space and curriculum in this area, and prepare Saint Cecilia School students for high school and beyond.
•STEM fields jobs are projected to grow 17%, nearly double the rate of non-STEM (9.8%) from 2008-2018 (USDOC Economic and Statistics Administration)
•Some specific fields have significant growth projections: Biomedical engineers 62%, Medical scientists 36%, System software developers 32%, Computer systems analysts 22%, Mathematics 16% (U.S. Department of Education)
Our children do not all need to enter STEAM fields, but learning at an early age to think STEAM-ly - to think critically and creatively, and to apply knowledge and content in varied and meaningful ways - will provide life skills that support all Saint Cecilia School students to be successful however they STEAM ahead. (top)
Have you received bids or selected a curriculum?
No. Once the faculty-parent advisory group is formed, longer-term specifics plans will be developed. Many ideas have already come in and are being accumulated. Any ideas or referrals are welcome! (top)
When are we building a lab?
This goal has been included in the longer-term 3-5 year time frame for a permanent solution; although, certain equipment may be purchased sooner to support experiments in the temporary spaces in the shorter-term. (top)
What does STEAM stand for?
Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Math
STEAM is the collaborative blending of these 5 academic concepts through the platform of the Catholic faith and ethical values in an exploratory and inquiry-based learning environment with an integrated curriculum of each of the disciplines applying project-based methods to real-world applications. (top)
Why include the A in STEAM and why not STREAM?
Many people are familiar with the STEM acronym. The inclusion of the “A” for the Arts, which enhances creativity and skills in the other disciplines, is becoming increasingly common in schools. Some Catholic schools use the “STREAM” vernacular to reflect Religion. The position of Saint Cecilia School is that Religion is foundational and embedded in the education and is not considered a separate discipline. (top)
What is a Paddle Raise or Fund-a-Need?
This is a way to raise money at the live auction portion of a fundraiser in minutes for a specific cause important to the parents, students and faculty. Opportunities to donate start higher and incrementally reduce to a lower level so that attendees can choose to donate at the level they are most comfortable with and everyone has an opportunity to participate, in contrast to the actual live auction when only a handful of people participate and even fewer win. Everyone wins during a paddle raise! (top)
Do I have to be in attendance at the fundraiser to donate to Project Full STEAM Ahead?
No. You do not need to be in attendance to donate to Project Full STEAM Ahead! Local and distant parents, relatives, friends and other supporters of Saint Cecilia School can donate at anytime to Project Full STEAM Ahead! Donations can be made online on the fundraiser website or by delivering or mailing donations to the Saint Cecilia School Office, 660 Vicente Street San Francisco, CA 94116, Attn: Project Full STEAM Ahead! (top)
I have a question. Where can I get more information?
Please send any additional questions to scspringfundraiser@gmail.com. We will share more information and add to this FAQ as needed. When the faculty-parent advisory group is formed, more details will be shared about their specific next steps through the school's communication channels, including the weekly eNewsletter. (top)