Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/792936
www.ParentingOC.com 42 Parenting OC Magazine | March 2017 David Beshk St. Margaret's Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano TOP TEACHER OF OC 2017 David Beshk is an extraordinary fi fth grade teacher at St. Marga- ret's Episcopal School, San Juan Capistrano. He has demonstrated his innovation as a creative leader in 3D modeling and printing, indepen- dently developing cutting-edge STEM programs in rocketry, the phys- ics of roller coasters, and animal prosthetics. He created the "Home Water Consumption Project", a month-long STEM activity for stu- dents to track their personal water consumption, calculate gallons per minute for their faucets and create a personal water bill from their home data before charging them with designing solutions to conserve water. However, one of his most unique and inspiring undertakings has been to open the minds of students through a partnership with Level Up Village and his Global Inventors course. Video-based en- gineering brainstorm sessions connect St. Margaret's fourth and fi fth graders with students in Honduras, bursting any sort of "OC Bubble" with a shared mission to design and build a product that helps solve a global issue. To bring light to rural areas devoid of power, students created solar-powered fl ashlight designs through TinkerCAD, a web- based 3D design and 3D printing portal. PCMag recently hailed the course as a "fi tting endorsement that the global classroom has ar- rived". Beshk is giving students a foundation for academic achieve- ment, with the vision that opens a world of possibilities for how they will fi nd lifelong success.