Happy Holidays from CODERS!

We hope you enjoyed the Mini CODERS Olympiad! It was a pleasure to see you experience what the students will be doing in February. We hope the experience inspired new ideas that you can replicate in your own classroom. The solutions to the Olympiad challenges will be available on our website for your reference soon. Thank you again for your participation, and we look forward to seeing how you incorporate these concepts into your teaching! We wish you the best of luck as you wrap up your semester. Thank you for all your hard work this year!

We are excited to invite you to two upcoming planning meetings for the CODERS Program as we prepare for the Summer Launch and strategize for local and regional dissemination. Remember if this is a day that you do not have school, you can be paid a stipend or choose to purchase more supplies for your classroom (amount tbd). If you are interested in presenting or leading PD this summer, these days will be mandatory planning days.

• Monday, February 10th, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
• Monday, March 10th, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

These meetings will focus on:

1. Planning for the Summer Launch: Collaborate on activities and logistics for the summer workshops.
2. Disseminating What You’ve Learned: Share ideas to promote CODERS locally and regionally.
3. Mini-Writing Retreat: Take time to reflect and begin documenting your CODERS experiences.

While attendance is optional, your input is incredibly valuable, and we hope you’ll join us for these productive and engaging sessions.If you have any questions or plan to attend, please let us know. We look forward to seeing you there and working together to make the CODERS Program even stronger! Meals and parking passes will be provided for all attendees.

We are excited to invite you to the upcoming CODERS Olympiad on Thursday, February 27th. This event gives students the opportunity to showcase the coding skills they have developed over the year. Teams will compete to complete coding challenges in a fun, supportive environment, with the first four teams to finish receiving trophies. All participants will also receive certificates of participation.

Event Details:

• Student Participation: Each teacher may bring up to six students for the event.
• RSVP by January 15th: Complete the registration form to let us know which students will attend.
• Food: Complimentary meals will be provided for all participants throughout the day.
• Parking: Parking passes will be sent to all attendees.

We hope to see you and your students there for a day of friendly competition and learning!

This summer, we will be hosting two workshops:

• Level 1: Introduction to Coding in the Classroom will run from June 2-June 5 and is designed for teachers new to the program or with one year of participation.
• Level 2: Design and Implementation will not be offered in Summer 2025.
• Level 3: Co-Create, Collaborate, and Deep Thinking will run from either June 2- June 5 or July 15, 16, and 17 based on feedback from our last meeting. This workshop is designed for teachers with at least two years of participation in the program. Please VOTE on the dates for this workshop.

We are excited to announce that 24 teachers from 24 different schools have already committed to participate in next year's summer launch!

Here is how you can get involved:

• Confirm your participation by signing up for next year's Summer Launch today!
• Encourage your colleagues to join and build a CODERS team at your school.
• Apply to be a Facilitator or Presenter for next year's Summer Launch.
  
• Stay tuned for additional information about the workshops, which will be shared in upcoming newsletters and posted on our website closer to the event dates.

Interested in presenting to new CODERS? Ready to facilitate or present a demonstration or lightning talk? Please let us know by January 15 if you are interested by filling out this application. We will review the applications and let you know by February 1.

by John Moore

At Neosho Junior High, mornings feel different these days. The Missouri State Coders project has sparked a wave of enthusiasm, drawing students into classrooms with newfound excitement.

Attendance records have improved significantly since the program’s implementation. Students who once struggled to find motivation are now arriving early, eager to tackle coding challenges. The program has made school a place to explore creativity and problem-solving, turning even the most hesitant learners into active participants. Students are drawn to coding lessons that blend creativity and logic as well as fostering critical thinking and collaboration. Instructors John Moore and Brandon Smith are witnessing a surge in classroom engagement, with students eager to contribute to discussions and dive into projects.

The Missouri State Coders project has turned Neosho Junior High into a hub of innovation, where students arrive each day ready to tackle new challenges. The project has transformed the culture at Neosho Junior High, making learning an adventure and coding a gateway to future possibilities.

Thank you, Abbi Coy and Holly Neal, for attending the MOREnet conference! We greatly appreciate your support with the Immersive Lab and the valuable connections you made with attendees.

Friendly reminder to submit the rest of your lesson reflections (a total of five) by the last day of February to receive your full stipend. Your reflections are an important part of the research study, and we appreciate your efforts in completing them. We have 11 schools who have submitted their MAP data! Thank you so much! Callie Dean, our evaluator at The Evaluation Group, will be reaching out to assist with any questions. Please feel free to email her at callie@evaluationgroup.com with any questions about securing the MAP data.