Dear Parents-
It is hard for me to believe that this
school year is already half way over and we have been very busy with several
activities. Again, this December we participated with eight million other
students from around the world in the Hour of Code. This is a global movement in
over 180 countries. The organizers feel that-Every student should have
the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving and
creativity.
During this
quarter some of our older students continued their work on Genius Hour, which is based on a business practice that Google uses
with their developers. They are allowed
to use 20% of their time, provided that work has the potential to advance the
company.
Our guidelines/rules for Genius
Hour are as follows:
-You must start with a real-world
question or problem.
-You answer/solution must require
research. It must require more than a Google Search.
-Your final project must be
sharable.
I am really looking forward to
seeing where these students take these projects.
Students have each crafted an
Action Plan that clearly states what they hope to accomplish. This
includes: the goal, the procedures, a
definition of what their completed project
looks like, and how it will be evaluated. We are really looking forward to
sharing our work sometime after spring testing.
Other
groups are working on research projects and with all of these projects the
process is our focus. There will be mini lesson on strategies such as: choosing
an appropriate topic, note taking, developing a quality product and other items
that may appear throughout. Our younger students are each working on Animal
Projects and have been exploring an animal of their choice.
Finally,
Virtual Literacy Circles where we are using Edmodo and Google Hangout free
technology programs to communicate with one another and other classes from
around the world. In December we had two Virtual Literacy Circles up and
running with several more this spring. These Virtual Literacy Circles do a
wonderful job of honing literacy and technology skills and are a big hit with
the students.
As
a reminder, I have an open door policy and if you have any questions and/or
concerns please contact me through email snyderf@manateeschools.net.
Sincerely,
Miss
Snyder
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