Student Innovation Team
Announcement:
The 2018-19 Student Innovation Team applications will be accepted through the end of September. I have already received several. Due to the budget cuts and having to take over a lunch duty (the time S.I.T. meets), I have had to work it out with another teacher so that I could have one day off each week for the grades 3 and 4 S.I.T. I will not be able to have grades 1 and 2 this year. Sorry.
Grades 3 and 4 will have S.I.T. on Thursdays during recess. The interest was great, but unfortunately I will not be able to take everyone. Approximately 50% of the applicants will be accepted this year with some from last year being let go to make room for some new students to try it out.
If you didn't make it this year (especially the grade 4 students), don't give up. Apply next year (or state that you are still interested if I have your application on file). Grades 3 and 4 are combined in one day allowing for only half the students that I accept into the grade 5.
Grade 5 will have S.I.T. on Friday during recess (the only day I do not have a class during that time). Because grade 5 is by themselves, I was able to accept most students who turned in completed applications.
Please see the 'Archives' link above for a partial look at what has happened in prior years, and what you can expect. This also includes a list of our sponsors for each year.
The 2018-19 page is being created by a few of the current students. They are taking pictures, short videos, and creating animations for it. I will be sharing this page with one of them to bring everything over.
We will be having our third annual Tech Night on Monday, May 20, 2019 from 6:00 to 7:00 in the WES Commons.
Students will spend the year working on several different things, persevere through issues, figure out what is working, what isn't , and what they need to do to fix it (troubleshoot and problem-solve). Most will be required to keep records in a journal, allowing for reflection. These are life-long skills. They may post in the classroom or in a separate journal they can take with them.
The Student Innovation Team had their Tech Night on May 21, 2018. Most of the students who attended are shown in the picture to the left; two students left prior to the picture.
It was a great year! I'm going to miss my grade 5 students who recently headed to the Junior High. We'll have some great memories!
The current grades 3-5 students that would like to continue in the program will need to sign an acceptance letter for the 2018-19 school year and bring a new Parent/Guardian form home to be completed. They will not need to reapply.
Students have asked for links to some of the programs we will be using. This just touches the surface of the possibilities. These may also be used by friends.
1. Scratch (coding app that allows for animation and creating your own games - you do need to join if you want to save your work. It is free) https://scratch.mit.edu/
2. Hopscotch (coding program similar to Scratch but a little easier for younger students) https://www.gethopscotch.com/ Once you have had some practice and have played around a bit, here is a video that shows how you could make your own version of the Angry Bird game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFdRw9E6h5s
3. LittleBits Gizmos and Gadgets - How it works
5. Creating Google websites - tutorial created in Google slides. Click pause in between each slide if you are just beginning.
We are in need of supplies. The robots need AA or AAA batteries and we could use some more electrical wire (20-22 gauge). Thank you to Mrs. Letourneau for providing us with a roll. A couple more screwdriver/bit sets for building the robots and doing computer hardware is needed. Some have been recently purchased and reimbursed by the PTO (thank you so much!), but we could use a couple more.
The school provided a cabinet to store most of the S.I.T. equipment in. This has helped make the room much safer!
We are no longer in need of older computer systems. We now have eight that the students can learn about, take apart, and put back together again. Thank you to Jason Bersani and Mrs. Letourneau for your donations.
You could also Donate to the SIT by making a check payable to WES S.I.T. (Student Innovation Team). If you could let me know that you are doing this, that would be great!