Hour of Code with Parents and Community Members

         

Belleville Public Library

                          

2018

It was so much fun creating with some of the Belleville community members and parents! 

Hour of Code 2018

Belleville Elementary School

2018

Watch our kick-off video here

First day of School! September 2018

The year is off to a great start! This year’s theme is ‘This is the Year’ and it sure feels like it!

Our sidewalk chalk greeting was quite the hit with the students, families, and staff!

I love, love our ‘new’ building and my new teaching space!

The students have more room to work and collaborate.

2018 First Day of School Idea!

  

Recently I came across the idea to welcome students back to school using sidewalk chalk. As our staff comes together as one, this activity looks like it could be team building. Mostly I cannot wait to see the smiles of the students when they read the enthusiastic words!

I sent this out to our Elementary School staff and the response was positive!

BYOC!

             Bring Your Own Chalk!

                                           photo by the Koshock crew

What: Let’s gather together to create a warm welcome for

our students by writing positive words on the walkways around the

elementary school.

When: The first day of school! Show up anytime after 7:15 a.m.

Where: Our NEW Belleville Elementary School!

Computer Science Unplugged

Students are exposed at an early age to STEM activities!
Kindergarten, first and second graders engage in computer science
‘unplugged’activities. Computational thinking, collaboration, critical thinking,  and communication are 21st-century skills that are needed for our students! 

Marquette partners with Code.org to help local teachers learn about computer science

                                    Josh Anderson, News Reporter • December 5, 2017 • 

I participated in this class!  That is me in the brown sweater!

As Wisconsin’s only regional Code.org partner, Marquette hosts classes that train local elementary, middle and high school teachers throughout southeastern Wisconsin how to teach computer science in their schools.

During Computer Science Education Week from Dec. 4-10, almost 120 thousand different events will take place to teach students about the field.

In Milwaukee, Marquette’s partnership with Code.org has allowed many local teachers to learn about computer science and teach it more effectively to their students.

Code.org is a national non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, especially among women and minority groups. They offer free resources that teach students of all ages the basics of computer science. In order to increase their impact, Code.org has partnered with over 50 regional partners across the United States.

The middle and high school classes consist of five days of classes in the summer followed by four quarterly workshops throughout the school year.

Dennis Brylow, an associate professor of mathematics, statistics and computer science, said teachers attending these classes often have little to no computer science experience.

During the workshops, Marquette faculty demonstrate how a class might be taught to attendees, who in turn develop their own lesson plans and present them to each other.

Marquette hosted an elementary class Saturday, Dec. 2.

Brylow, who taught the class, said it was held this weekend in preparation for Computer Science Education Week.

“They’re pretty brave to come volunteer for this, and they’ve got a lot to learn in a short amount of time,” Brylow said.

Gina Marchionda-Schneider and Ed Schreiber are teachers at Lakeshore Elementary in Fond du Lac who began using Code.org last year with their school’s computer coding club, but they said they attended the Dec. 2 class to learn how to use the curricula more effectively.

“We’ve been using (Code.org) without any support, so we wanted to actually meet people that would help us use it more efficiently and help kids faster,” Marchionda-Schneider said.

They both said they agreed that the Code.org content has been a great teaching tool for their students.

“They like the freedom of moving along at their own pace, and they like being able to do things on their own,” Marchionda-Schneider said.

“I’ve never heard a student say anything negative about it,” Schreiber said.

Mary Beth LaHaye also attended the elementary class Dec. 2. She is a math coach at Ronald Reagan Elementary in New Berlin and has been using Code.org resources with her students ever since it was released four years ago. She said through computer science, many of her students have found new levels of success.

“There are kids who might not be the best readers who are phenomenal at visual problem solving and learning from their mistakes,” LaHaye said. “I’ve had kids come up to me and say, ‘You know what, I made a mistake, but I know I can try again because it’s making my brain stronger.’”

The 2017 Hour of Code was such fun!

A big Thank you to our district Library Media Specialist

for working with me to make this a success!

2nd grade-6th-grade students and teachers were engaged!

It was a great opportunity for students to work
collaboratively

with their teachers, sometimes even teaching the teachers

how to code!

  Collaboration

                                                                                and Creativity!

     

That's the Wildcat Way!