Buford High School

Jacket Family!

With the first grading period under our belts, we can definitely say that we are finding our stride here at BHS! I have to give the community a huge thank you, because a lot of the early successes are in part because of the partnerships and communication that we have with you all. As we move forward, please continue to let us know how we can continue to help in this regard!

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we worked through Thursday. For those of you that chose to keep your student at home, please encourage them to take advantage of MASH and Flex Time to ensure that the loss of educational time is kept to a minimum.

As I mentioned, now that the first quarter is over, I encourage you to take a moment to reflect with your student. Are they happy with their grade? What can they do to improve? What student-centered skills (note-taking, asking questions in class, emailing a teacher for clarity, etc.) do they find helps him/her to be successful? Insightful reflection is a major part of success in the real world, and here at BHS. Please continue to reinforce these practices at home as well.

NASA’s App Development Challenge (ADC) is searching for middle and high school coding teams to create an app about the Artemis II mission, where NASA will be sending humans back to the Moon.

Teams, over the course of 10 weeks, will create a video showcasing their application, which utilizes trajectory data to visualize the Artemis II mission and display critical navigation and communication information. Favorable video submissions advance to present their app in an interview with engineers and scientists working with NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) team. After interviews, NASA will select and invite the Top Team(s) to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a culminating event experience in April 2025.

To participate in the ADC, lead educators must register their student team by September 25, 2024 in NASA STEM Gateway. During the challenge, October 2-December 11, 2024, teams will participate in live virtual connections with NASA subject matter experts to learn more about coding, app development, and the Space Communications and Navigation Program.

The ADC is an ideal activity for an afterschool club to enrich student knowledge in computer programing and project planning. To help promote the ADC at your institution feel free to distribute our flyer, add this slide to a power point or let people know about the live information sessions below:

• 9/12/2024 6 p.m. CST ADC Information Session #3
• 9/19/2024 3 p.m. CST ADC Information Session #4

If you are unable to attend a live event you may watch this recording, visit our website or email the ADC team at JSC-ADC@mail.nasa.gov.

Additionally, I invite you and educators you know to join NASA CONNECTS, Connecting Our NASA Network of Educators for Collaborating Together in STEM, a free online community of practice that provides access to new NASA content, resources, and events while connecting educators with NASA team members and other educators from around the world. Email hq-stemcop@mail.nasa.gov to join today!