The D-Tech News
November 29, 2023
MP2 Mid-Way Point
We are nearing the mid-way point of MP2, and your child will be receiving their progress check grades. This is an indicator of their progress so far in the class. I have noticed that there are many missing assignments throughout all of the classes. If students turn in late work, they have to fill out a form that alerts me that I need to go in and grade it, as much of work is collected digitally. In addition, it is the expectation that students complete missing work at home or make arrangements to come in during lunch. Please look over Skyward with your child and make sure they have a plan.
National Computer Science Week is Next Week!
We will be celebrating Computer Science Education Week next week by engaging in coding activities next Monday-Wednesday. This is a week where schools across the nation come together to focus on computer science and get kids involved in programming.
The Weeks In Review
8th Grade Entrepreneurship Unit
Students have been working on projects they can sell to use their profits to donate to charity, as well as help with an end of the semester treat. Some of the kids are super into this and working hard to create projects, while others have not made much progress and have not used their time wisely. We are going to take a pause from having every person work on the production side of things, but will be sharing flyers with the items available for sale in the coming week.
Students are going to start working on creating amusement park rides, haunted houses, historical buildings, stadiums, etc. in Minecraft EDU. Minecraft is a favorite activity of students in the past, and I am excited to see what they are able to come up with!
Students Created Logos for Our Sale
Students Have Used the Cricut and Heat Press
We are still in beginner stage with getting to know our heat press. It has been a bit quirky, but we are problem solving.
3D Snowmen
Heat Press and Laser Projects
Luna is sewing pillow ornaments, we have custom beanies being creating, as well as laser ornaments.
Clifford Smart Ornaments
Treehouses
Students in 3rd-6th Hours have been designing and constructing treehouses for famous clients. They had specific criteria and constraints to follow. You can check out our slides below to see the unit unfold. Throughout the process, students have worked pretty well in the workshop, they have followed safety rules, and they are truly engaged. As they work, they have the opportunity to earn reward tokens which can be turned in for premium supplies. They 5th and 6th hour classes did so well on Tuesday, that they all got a bonus pick from the table! It should be great to see them all come together! They have this week and 2 days next week to work on their builds.
Operation Game Wrap-Up
Most of the students in 5th and 6th hours completed their Operation Game and video. Some students are still making plans on using their lunch to work on finishing this up. Overall, the students did a nice job of creating a functioning game. They had fun playing each others game too!
Career Week
We are going to host a few career talks the week before we head off to Holiday Break, the week of Dec 18-21. I will be sending home a survey soon to seek out interested parents, guardians, family members, etc. that would be willing to come in and talk about their careers, pathways, etc. Ideally, I think it would be neat if we could do a short career talk with a Q and A and then do a small challenge or activity that connects with it. I have a lot of activities in my brain...so don't worry if that is something that may scare you off. I most likely will be looking for people that would be willing to do a morning session 9:10-12:25 or the afternoon session 12:50-3:00. So check your calendars, think about it, and look out for an email coming home soon to sign up!
I am a Middle School Design Tech Teacher, innovative teaching and learning cheerleader, and advocate for teaching to and from the heart! http://www.theedtechcheerleader.com