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.