Monday, July 31, 2017

Here we go again!

It is that time of year again!  Tomorrow is my first day back to school then August 10th the students return.  We have a new Principal- Mrs. Giancola who is bringing a wealth of ideas and positivity to the table.

My goals for this year are to increase the quality of the projects I give my students, create a culture that allows them to think  for themselves, and expect a lot out of them while supporting them in every way I can.  I have already begun working on re-doing some projects from past years- increasing expectations and providing more opportunity for flexibility, creativity, and self-research.

I am excited to meet the new students, catch up with the past ones and help them all grow beyond my expectations. Wishing all fellow teachers a great year and hoping my students have inspirational teachers who believe in them like I do!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Schools out for Summer

Wow! It has been such a long time since I posted.  It has been so busy (as the school years tend to be).  I am now waiting on students to finish up exams and reflecting on the year as a whole.  I had three Next Generation Tech (NGT) finalist teams this year and out of those one got the "Everyday Hero" honorable mention and the other placed third winning $1,500.  I had 15 students earn industry certifications, our articulation with SPC college is now official, 19 students who completed the program, two scholarship winners, and two students that won "Yes, I Can" awards. All of the recognition has been wonderful but it doesn't compare to the outstanding projects the students created.  Getting to sit down and grade games created that not only look good but are mechanically entertaining.  I am in awe of how much the games improve from one year to the next and I can't wait to see where the program goes in the next few years. 

It's always wonderful and also kind of sad this time of year.  That time when seniors go off to bigger and better things- students that I will miss; who I've seen grow so  much in a short amount of time.  With that comes the summer which means time to refresh, reflect, adjust, and dedicate time to my own personal learning.  I am excited about attending the Project Based Learning (PBL) World Conference in Napa Valley in June as well as downtime reading, relaxing, painting, playing video games, and paddleboarding.

We at CAS are also entering a new chapter where our current principal is retiring and a new one was announced.  I am not only excited about the possibilities with this new principal but love how passionate she is about the students.  I can't wait to see how much our students accomplish under her leadership.  Next year my focus will be on increasing work based opportunities, improving and refreshing current projects, researching the latest trends in gaming and hopefully adding some application development projects.  I am always full of ideas and excitement and cannot wait to continue this journey called teaching.