Weslaco ISD ACE Program

When Challenges Arise, Innovators Adapt!

This week presented a unique challenge—not just for our Time Travelers, but for our Summer ACE staff as well.

Due to the inclement weather cancellations earlier in the week, our team was tasked with completely restructuring our programming to ensure that our students could continue their Journey Through Places in Time while still experiencing a meaningful, rigorous, and engaging STEAM challenge within a significantly shortened timeframe.

In true Weslaco ISD ACE fashion, our staff and students rose to the challenge.

This week, our Time Travelers journeyed to the Renaissance, an era known for innovation, creativity, engineering, and groundbreaking ideas. Inspired by the great thinkers and inventors of the period, students were challenged to design and build a structure using limited supplies—primarily paper—that could accomplish three engineering feats:

• Build a tower as tall as possible
• Convert the tower into a bridge
• Support as much weight as possible
• Withstand simulated winds for 10 seconds

What sounds simple on paper quickly became a complex engineering challenge requiring creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, communication, and perseverance.

Despite having only a single day to research, design, build, test, refine, and prepare presentations, our Time Travelers exceeded every expectation.

Throughout the day, classrooms transformed into engineering studios as students sketched designs, tested ideas, made revisions, overcame setbacks, and worked together to create innovative solutions. By presentation time, every team had developed a functioning tower-to-bridge conversion and confidently explained the thinking behind their designs.

What we witnessed today was nothing short of amazing.

The ingenuity, determination, and creativity displayed by our students served as a powerful reminder that learning is not defined by the amount of time available but by the opportunities we create for students to think, collaborate, and solve meaningful problems.

We could not be more proud of our Time Travelers and our Summer ACE team for embracing this challenge and turning an unexpected obstacle into another unforgettable learning experience.

Because at Weslaco ISD ACE, we don’t let challenges stop the journey—we simply find a new way forward.

The Journey Through Places in Time continues!

Weslaco ISD

As we conclude another incredible week of our Summer ACE Program: Journey Through Places in Time, we would like to take a moment to recognize the students and teams whose hard work, leadership, creativity, and perseverance helped make this week’s Renaissance Tower & Bridge Challenge such a tremendous success!

During our very short week, our Time Travelers journeyed to the Renaissance, where they learned about the innovations, inventions, and engineering achievements that helped shape the modern world. Inspired by the genius of inventors and visionaries such as Leonardo da Vinci, students worked collaboratively to design and construct towers and bridges capable of meeting specific engineering criteria while demonstrating creativity, stability, and functionality.

Along the way, they showcased remarkable teamwork, problem-solving skills, perseverance, and innovative thinking as they tested, refined, and improved their designs.

Today, we proudly celebrate our:

Time Travelers of the Week
Recognizing students who consistently demonstrated outstanding leadership, positive character, enthusiasm, and dedication throughout the week.

Teamwork Award Winners
Presented to teams that exemplified cooperation, collaboration, communication, and the ability to work together toward a common goal.

Creativity Award Winners
Recognizing teams whose innovative ideas, originality, and imaginative thinking helped bring their solutions to life.

Engineering Award Winners
Awarded to teams whose designs demonstrated exceptional engineering principles, functionality, structural integrity, and technical excellence.

Challenge Champions
• 1st Place
• 2nd Place
• 3rd Place
• 4th Place

These awards celebrate more than just final solutions—they recognize the perseverance, growth, collaboration, and determination displayed throughout the entire learning process.

To all of our award recipients: congratulations! Your hard work and commitment to excellence have not gone unnoticed. We are incredibly proud of each and every one of you.

And to all of our Time Travelers, thank you for another unforgettable week of exploration, discovery, innovation, and learning.

The journey continues as we travel to our next destination in Journey Through Places in Time!

Dear Summer ACE Families,

Due to the weather-related disruptions earlier this week, our Time Travelers experienced a shortened timeline to complete their Weekly STEAM Challenge. In order to ensure that students still had a meaningful and successful learning experience, we modified this week’s challenge by reducing some of the original components and requirements.

As a result, tomorrow’s presentations will serve as an opportunity for our ACE students and staff to celebrate the hard work, creativity, and problem-solving they demonstrated despite the unexpected schedule changes. Therefore, presentations this week will be limited to Summer ACE students and staff only.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we worked to adapt our programming to the circumstances.

The good news is that our journey through time continues! Next week, our Time Travelers will travel to Ancient Greece and tackle The Tragedy of Thirst: Engineering an Aqueduct for Ancient Greece. We are excited to once again welcome our families back as students showcase their creativity, innovation, and learning during next week’s presentations.

Thank you for your continued support of our Summer ACE Program and for being such an important part of our Time Traveler community. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Sincerely,
WISD Summer ACE Team

Dear Summer ACE Families,

Due to the impact of the inclement weather this week, our scheduled field trips have been postponed. While we know our Time Travelers were looking forward to these experiences, the safety of our students and staff remains our top priority.

Please know that we are actively working with our community partners to reschedule these field trips. As soon as new dates have been confirmed, we will share that information with all Summer ACE families through our page, Class Dojo, and other program communication channels.

We appreciate your patience, flexibility, and understanding as we navigate these weather-related changes. Thank you for your continued support of our Summer ACE Program.

Sincerely,
The Summer ACE Team

Time Travelers, we are so excited to see you tomorrow! 🥳

Good Morning, Summer ACE Families,

Due to inclement weather and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, families, and staff, Summer ACE for Monday, June 15th, and Tuesday, June 16th has been canceled.

The safety and well-being of our Time Travelers is always our top priority, and current weather conditions have led us to make this decision.

Please continue to monitor our page, and ClassDojo, for additional updates and information.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Please stay safe, and we hope you and your families have a safe and restful day.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

Celebrating an Incredible Week in Ancient Egypt!

What an amazing week our Time Travelers had as they journeyed to the land of the Pharaohs during Week #3 of our Summer ACE Program: Journey Through Places in Time!

This week, students explored the mysteries and innovations of Ancient Egypt while taking on the challenge of designing flood deterrent systems capable of protecting Egypt’s most treasured monuments from the annual flooding of the Nile River.

Working as engineers, architects, scientists, and innovators, our Time Travelers researched, brainstormed, designed, built, tested, and refined solutions that showcased remarkable creativity and ingenuity. Throughout the week, they also explored Ancient Egyptian culture through hands-on enrichment activities, STEM investigations, culinary experiences, fine arts projects, and escape room challenges.

As we concluded another incredible week, we took time to recognize students and teams whose hard work, leadership, creativity, and perseverance exemplified the very best of Summer ACE.

Time Travelers of the Week
Recognizing students who consistently demonstrated leadership, positive character, effort, and enthusiasm throughout the week.

Teamwork Award
Presented to teams that exemplified collaboration, communication, cooperation, and the ability to work together toward a common goal.

Creativity Award
Recognizing teams whose innovative thinking and unique approaches helped bring their solutions to life in extraordinary ways.

Engineering Award
Awarded to teams whose designs demonstrated exceptional engineering principles, problem-solving, functionality, and technical excellence.

• 1st Place
• 2nd Place
• 3rd Place
• 4th Place

These awards celebrate the tremendous effort our Time Travelers invested throughout the week and recognize that success comes in many forms, from leadership and creativity to teamwork and engineering excellence.

Congratulations to all of this week’s award recipients! We are incredibly proud of every student who accepted the challenge, persevered through obstacles, and showcased their learning with confidence.

Now it’s time to prepare for our next adventure as the Journey Through Places in Time continues!

Weslaco ISD

Ancient Egypt Has Never Been Safer!

What an incredible week as our Summer ACE Time Travelers journeyed thousands of years into the past to explore the wonders of Ancient Egypt!

Throughout the week, students learned about the annual flooding of the Nile River and the vital role it played in Egyptian life. While the floods brought rich, fertile soil that helped crops grow, they also posed a serious threat to homes, communities, and some of Egypt’s most treasured monuments.

This led to our Week #3 STEAM Challenge:

Can you design a system capable of protecting Ancient Egypt from devastating flood waters?

Working within a limited budget of supplies and materials, our Time Travelers became engineers, architects, scientists, and innovators as they collaborated to research, brainstorm, design, test, and refine their flood protection systems.

The creativity on display was absolutely remarkable!

Students developed:
• Protective flood barriers
• Specialized flotation systems
• Waterproof lining systems
• Innovative engineering solutions
• And even a hydraulic-inspired system that elevated Cleopatra’s Needle high above the rising flood waters before safely returning it to its original position once the flood receded!

Throughout the challenge, students relied on critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and perseverance to bring their ideas to life.

Today’s presentations showcased not only the impressive solutions our students created, but also their confidence, teamwork, and ability to explain the engineering and reasoning behind their designs.

The innovation, imagination, and problem-solving demonstrated by our Time Travelers served as a powerful reminder that Weslaco ISD students are truly SECOND TO NONE!

We are incredibly proud of every team and the hard work they invested throughout the week.

And now, as our journey through Ancient Egypt comes to an end, our Time Travelers prepare for their next destination as our Journey Through Places in Time continues!

Weslaco ISD