Page DISTRICT STEM EDUCATION PROGRAM Cherry Creek School District 5416 S. Riviera Way Centennial, CO 80015 720-554-5605 A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR: Welcome back to the 2013-2014 school year. For students who are new to Cherry Creek Schools, welcome to a very active and exciting school district, where learning is the focus. I certainly hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation and are rejuvenated by the time spent exploring the beauty of your various summer destinations. We are excited to share the many accomplishments and activities of our students and staff members in STEM education over the past few months. Many of our graduating seniors have gone on to pursue STEM careers as a result of their experience in Cherry Creek Schools. We are proud of the many success stories that continue to emanate from various schools. In the spring of 2013, we had one Overland High School student and two Smoky Hill High School students selected to attend the University of Colorado's BA/BS, MD program. These students were three of ten students selected from a highly competitive statewide process. Upon selection, these students undergo a rigorous process of preparing to fill a seat in medical school at one of the nation’s top-ranked institutions, the Anschutz Medical Campus. The process will take at least eight years and requires students to work toward their goal during each summer month. There are several other examples of the success of our students, district-wide. Each of our schools have budding scientists, engineers, technologists, mathematicians and physicians. The skills that are required for students to be successful in these careers are rooted in what, Harvard Professor, Tony Wagner has identified as the "Seven Survival Skills." They are: Critical thinking and problem solving Collaboration across networks and leading by influence Agility and adaptability Initiative and entrepreneurship Accessing and analyzing information Effective oral and written communication Curiosity and imagination Our job then as educators is to provide the environment where these skills can be nurtured, grown and refined. To that end, many of the Seven Survival Skills require students to be flexible in problem-solving and to be able to read and write complex texts in a variety of subjects and genres. Research has shown that one of the distinguishing skills of students, who meet or exceed the benchmark score on the ACT, is their ability to read increasingly complex texts. As we transition to the Common Core State Standards, reading complex texts will play an increasing role as the skill which allows access to complex ideas which foster innovation. Our new superintendent, Dr. Bull, has made this focus on literacy a priority for all students and all schools. We are excited about the career possibilities and are committed to providing the very best STEM education experience for our students. We look forward to a great school year! District STEM Education Program contacts: Dr. Richard Charles, Director 720-554-5605 Barb Bortz, Administrative Assistant 720-554-5605 Denise Goldin-Dubois, Secondary STEM Coach 720-554-5604 Sherri Dennstedt, Secondary STEM Coach 720-554-5603 August, 2013 “Tomorrow’s workforce educated today” Volume 1 – Issue 2 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Do you have STEM news you would like to share? Please email your information to Barb Bortz, Administrative Assistant for the District STEM Education Program @ [email protected]
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DISTRICT STEM EDUCATION PROGRAM
Cherry Creek School District
5416 S. Riviera Way
Centennial, CO 80015
720-554-5605
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR:
Welcome back to the 2013-2014 school year. For students who are new to Cherry Creek Schools, welcome to a very active and exciting school district, where learning is the focus. I certainly hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation and are rejuvenated by the time spent exploring the beauty of your various summer destinations. We are excited to share the many accomplishments and activities of our students and staff members in STEM education over the past few months. Many of our graduating seniors have gone on to pursue STEM careers as a result of their experience in Cherry Creek Schools. We are proud of the many success stories that continue to emanate from various schools. In the spring of 2013, we had one Overland High School student and two Smoky Hill High School students selected to attend the University of Colorado's BA/BS, MD program. These students were three of ten students selected from a highly competitive statewide process. Upon selection, these students undergo a rigorous process of preparing to fill a seat in medical school at one of the nation’s top-ranked institutions, the Anschutz Medical Campus. The process will take at least eight years and requires students to work toward their goal during each summer month. There are several other examples of the success of our students, district-wide. Each of our schools have budding scientists, engineers, technologists, mathematicians and physicians. The skills that are required for students to be successful in these careers are rooted in what, Harvard Professor, Tony Wagner has identified as the "Seven Survival Skills." They are:
Critical thinking and problem solving
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
Agility and adaptability
Initiative and entrepreneurship
Accessing and analyzing information
Effective oral and written communication
Curiosity and imagination
Our job then as educators is to provide the environment where these skills can be nurtured, grown and refined. To that end, many of the Seven Survival Skills require students to be flexible in problem-solving and to be able to read and write complex texts in a variety of subjects and genres. Research has shown that one of the distinguishing skills of students, who meet or exceed the benchmark score on the ACT, is their ability to read increasingly complex texts. As we transition to the Common Core State Standards, reading complex texts will play an increasing role as the skill which allows access to complex ideas which foster innovation. Our new superintendent, Dr. Bull, has made this focus on literacy a priority for all students and all schools. We are excited about the career possibilities and are committed to providing the very best STEM education experience for our students. We look forward to a great school year!
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 2
DISTRICT NEWS - SECONDARY STEM COACHES
Sherri Dennstedt : As our first year as a STEM Science Cohort ended last May, we were able to complete three Claims,
Evidence and Reasoning (CER) probes, implement STEM lessons and projects in at least one unit
per semester, and had two days of professional development together. We are becoming experts
in Next Generation Science Standards science practices and reflected on our growth and areas of
need for the Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning work with our students.
During the 2013-2014 school year a second cohort which will include teachers from Laredo, Smoky
Hill, Overland, Cherokee Trail, Falcon Creek, and Sky Vista will be added. This cohort will focus on
becoming experts in NGSS science practices, CER’s, and planning for STEM opportunities.
Both cohorts will have two lab days in which teachers will observe a master teacher using effective instructional
practices and will integrate the NGSS science practices in the lesson. In addition, all teachers will go through a coaching
cycle three times during the school year and unit plan with their PLC team or department to create STEM opportunities.
Denise Goldin-Dubois: The STEM Math Cohort continued to learn more about the impact of
implementing the Common Core State Standards. Coaching cohort teachers focused on creating
and planning for student centered classrooms where students are doing the reading, writing,
talking and problem solving. The Math Cohort 1 had a fabulous lab day in April, and spent the
morning in Jermy Zeman’s classroom at Liberty Middle School and spent the afternoon debriefing
about their work with Learning Targets. We look forward to adding four more schools (Cherry
Creek High School plus one of the feeder middle schools, Smoky Hill High School and Laredo Middle School) for Cohort 2
this year.
Sherri and Denise are also participating in the STEM Certification Professional Development opportunity which is a
partnership between Colorado State University and Cherry Creek Schools offered to teachers in the district to enable
them to become STEM certified (see more information
below).
_______________________________________
STEM Certification in the District
Approximately fifty Science,
Technology, and Math teachers
attended the STEM Capacity Building
and Teacher Professional Development Workshop during
the week of June 10, 2013 as part of the STEM Certification
Program. This workshop was the first of three that each
teacher will need to participate in to become STEM
certified. This program was possible due to a partnership
between Cherry Creek Schools and Colorado State University. The first workshop experience emphasized the
intersection of engineering, mathematics, and biology in a biomedical engineering theme. The five-day intensive
professional development brought high school and middle school, science, math and engineering/technology education
teacher teams together to learn how to implement an inventive approach to a long-term biomedical engineering design
project. Workshop elements included instruction on how to “blueprint” curriculum, use engineering and scientific
notebooks for assessment, as well as, planning, designing, and implementing an aligned common core standards-based
biomedical engineering design project. Teacher teams who completed the workshop are fully prepared with all
necessary lessons and instructional resources to deliver a fully integrated biomedical engineering unit.
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 3
ELEMENTARY COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
On May 18, 2013, approximately 250 students and families showed up for the first Scratch Day hosted by Cherry Creek Schools. It was an amazing day! Students had the opportunity to meet, share, and learn with Colorado Scratch Programmers. Scratch, mostly intended for students ages 8-16, is an object-oriented programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, and art, and share your creations on the web. When sharing their creations with the Scratch online community, students are making a shift from consuming from the internet to being positive contributors to the Internet. As young students create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work
collaboratively. Computer programming is quickly becoming a necessary skill for jobs of the future. Thanks to Jon Pierce, Instructional Technology Coordinator for organizing this event. To start Scratch programming at your school, speak to your principal and inquire about opportunities to promote computer programming.
DISTRICT STEM NEWS
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 4
Cherry Creek School District is pleased to announce the approval of the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program which
will be hosted on the Overland High School campus. Students from across the district will be able to participate in this
program which will involve taking courses leading to CNA certification. Interested students should speak to their home
school counselors regarding this opportunity. The photograph of students shown below was taken in the new CNA
Certification Lab at Overland.
The courses required for certification include the following: 9th Grade Exploring Health Sciences (1 semester) AP Biology (1 year) 10th Grade Principles of Health Science (1 year) Microbiology (1 semester) Genetics (1 semester) 11th Grade Advanced Health Science (1 year) Biotechnology (1 year) 12th Grade Nurse Aide Certification Course (1 year) Capstone (1 year) Required Co-Curriculars Anatomy and Physiology (1 year)
DISTRICT STEM NEWS
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 5
Thanks to John Eyolfson, District K-12 Science Coordinator, and Judy Bogart, District Elementary Science Coach, approximately 200 elementary teachers completed Phase III Life Science Implementation training for grades K-5, during the 2012-2013 school year. This training, which is part of FOSS, (Full Option Science System), integrates science with reading, writing and math. The program engages students with hands-on instruction resulting in multi-sensory learning, reflective thinking, and how to work together.
The Life Science unit has students and teachers engaged in working with live animals. Teachers learned the proper care, handling and return of the live species which included chicks and crawfish.
With the guidance of teacher, Laura Arndt, student engineers learned about and designed blades for a wind turbine and
competed to see who could generate the most electrical energy.
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind, also called wind energy, into mechanical energy in a process known as wind power. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind turbine or wind power plant. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or pumping
water, the device is called a windmill or wind pump. Similarly, it may be referred to as a wind charger when used for charging batteries. (Wikipedia)
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 13
Smoky Hill High School students at “Robotics at the Hangar”
(Alex Chavez & Rhett Parsons)
During National Robotics Week, students from Dan Cornell’s Digital-Evolutions, Smoky Hills’ Creative Studio, presented at Robotics at the Hangar hosted by Wings over the Rockies and SHARC (Smoky Hill Area Robotics Club). The conference showcased cutting-edge robotic developments occurring within Colorado from local companies, enthusiasts, inventors and area clubs.
Smoky Hill students demonstrated the cutting-edge technology and software used for prototyping and conceptual design. Each student also provided one-on-one instruction to the conference attendees throughout the day.
HIGH SCHOOL STEM NEWS
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 14
(John Choi )
One of the conference’s feature exhibits, titled “Robot Moves”, was designed by John Choi. This exhibit was a real-time motion capture system allowing attendees to control virtual robots with their body movements.
HIGH SCHOOL STEM NEWS
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 15
(Alex Chavez)
Robotics at the Hangar was an amazing success with thousands of attendees and the students really shined!
Congratulations to Smoky Hill’s Skills USA State Winners!
Twenty Smoky Hill High School students completed at the Skills USA State Championships held in February, 2013. Listed below are the results from the event:
John Choi & Cole Connell - 1st place 3D Animation
John Dexter - 1st place in Technical Math
Anthony Chavez - 1st place in Photography
Arin Simon- 3rd place in Photography
Jimmy Song & Ryan Sigar - 3rd place in Film Production
Allyson Sears - 3rd place in Advertising and Design
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 17
Students from Cherry Creek Schools competed at the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), competition over Memorial Day weekend, 2013
Thirty Colorado students from the Colorado Math Circle qualified to compete as part of two teams that headed to the ARML competition which took place May 31, 2013 to June 2, 2013 at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The students enjoyed the experience and competed well at this national competition. The students from Cherry Creek School District that qualified are as follows: Braden Moore Grandview High School Christopher Hoyt Smoky Hill High School Mina Mungekar Smoky Hill High School Julian Cannon Overland High School Jacob Imola Cherry Creek High School Avi Swartz Challenge School Colorado Alternates: Ria Kim Smoky Hill High School Sirey Zhang Cherry Creek High School The Colorado Math Circle offers math enrichment to high school and middle school students interested in
expanding their knowledge of mathematics. Through math talks and problem solving sessions, students learn
about number theory, geometry, graph theory, combinatorics, knot theory, olympiad problems, and many other
topics. In a collaborative group setting, math enthusiasts have an opportunity to meet others who share their love
of mathematics.
The Sophie Math program, hosted by the math circle, offers summer workshops specifically for high school and
middle school girls. Meeting three hours a day, these one-week workshops introduce math topics beyond the
standard classroom curriculum. Through problem sets, group activities, and slide presentations, participants learn
about math history, biographies of famous mathematicians, as well as number theory, combinatorics, and
geometry.
Each year the math circle also sponsors and coaches the thirty-member Colorado ARML Team, which competes
against regional high school teams from around the country in the national ARML Competition at the University of
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 18
Congratulations Grandview High School – State VEX Tournament Champions!
Grandview’s VEX robotics teams competed in the Colorado State VEX Championships on Sunday, February 17, 2013. Grandview’s Team 979C, as a
part of a three team alliance, finished as the Tournament Champions! Winning the state competition qualified them to compete with the best 400 teams in the world at the 2013 VEX World Championships held in April, 2013 at Anaheim, California. A great experience was had by all. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors aimed to build the most innovative robots possible and worked together to obtain the most points possible. In addition to just having a great time and building amazing robots, through their participation in the VEX Robotics Competition and their work within their team, students learn many academic and life skills.
The VEX Robotics World Championship is a gathering of top robotics teams from around the world to celebrate their accomplishments and compete with and against the best of the best. The 2013 VEX Robotics World Championship included top teams from over 230 VEX Robotics Competition tournaments which took place in cities around the world from May 2012 to May 2013.
Thanks to Jay Moore, Technology and Computer Science Coordinator at Grandview. In addition to VEX, Jay is also a sponsor for TSA. Grandview has four VEX teams. Tournament Champions, Team 979C include: Danny Kalenian, Brenden Inzana, Austin Piko, and Zach Colton (not pictured)
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 19
High Schools in the district compete at the Colorado State TSA Competition
Grandview, Cherokee Trail and Overland High School’s TSA teams competed in the Colorado State TSA Competition on February 21st – 23rd, 2013 at the Marriott, Denver Tech Center. Several team members who placed continued on to compete in the national competition which was held in
Orlando, Florida at the end of June.
What is TSA?
The Technology Student Association fosters personal growth, leadership, and opportunities in technology, innovation, design, and engineering. Members apply and integrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts through co-curricular activities, competitions and related programs. Students can work individually or as a team in such areas as agriculture and biotechnology, website design, dragster design, flight challenge, film technology, CAD with 3D modeling, desktop publishing, and extemporaneous speaking radio controlled transportation or scientific visualization. TSA provides rules and guidelines to its student members and advisors for 30 middle school level and 34 high school level competitive events. Competitions feature problems in communications, design and engineering, environmental systems, manufacturing/construction, and transportation. In both team and individual events, students are challenged to use and improve their skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics areas. All competitions are aligned
with STEM standards, the 16 career clusters, and ten core leadership skills (communication, creative thinking, critical thinking, decision making, ethics, evaluation, organization, problem solving, self-esteem, and teamwork). Only TSA members have the opportunity to compete at exciting state conferences and then at the annual National Conference. Expert judging by technology educators and industry representatives inspires the best from participants. Members are rewarded not only with medals or trophies, but also with memories of the camaraderie and the challenge of a TSA Conference.
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 21
Cherokee Trail’s Colorado State TSA competition results:
Sponsors, Paul Clinton and Ben Nuebel, Technology teachers at Cherokee Trail and their teams
placed 2nd in the state overall. Approximately fifteen students from Cherokee Trail attended the
National TSA Conference.
Architectural Renovation: 1st place – Zach Rubottom, Chris Dosen, Ky
Walacavage, and Spencer Berends (5th consecutive year CT has won this event)
Parliamentary Procedure Individual: 1st place – Chris Dosen
CAD 3D Engineering: 1st place – Tyler Horvath
CAD 2D Architecture: 1st place – Adam Silkwood
CNR Production: 1st place – Tristan Bernard and Jordan Light Debating Technological Issues: 1st place – Denis Kasakov and Spencer Berends SciVis (scientific visualization): 1st place – Spencer Berends, Chris Dosen, and Zach Rubottom Transportation Systems: 2nd place – Anthony Ciaglia Parliamentary Procedure Team: 2nd place – Chris Dosen, Dakota Garcia, Amber Grubbs, David Menzies, Spencer Berends, and Marcus Winston CAD 2D Architecture: 2nd place – Ky Walacavage CNC Production: 2nd place – Kyle Jones and Archik Raje Promotional Graphics: 2nd place – Ellie Hassan Future Technology Teacher: 2nd place – Sarah Larson Tech Bowl (quiz bowl): 2nd place – Chris Dosen, Spencer Berends, and Zach
Rubottom Architectural Renovation: 2nd place – Adam Silkwood and Marcus Winston Fore! (High School Student works with elementary student to design a model mini-golf hole): 3rd place – Dakota Garcia and John Clinton (elementary student) Essay in Technology: 3rd place – Kylie Merrick Rubberband Powered Car: 3rd place – Ashton Matthews Underwater ROV (robotics): 3rd place – Gett Villanueva, Tyler Ivory, and Grant Cunningham Parliamentary Procedure Individual: 3rd place – Spencer Berends CNC Production: 3rd place – Tyler Horvath and Tyler Ivory Engineering Design: 3rd place – Sarah Larson, Jake Merrick, and David Menzies Future Technology Teacher: 3rd place – Austin Welsh Manufacturing Prototype: 3rd place – Kyle Jones, Zach Goldsmith, Alex Opipari, and Archik Raje SciVis: 3rd place – Dakota Garcia and Ky Walacavage Technology Problem Solving: 3rd place – Kylie Merrick and Rachael Larson Transportation Modeling: 3rd place – Austin Welsh
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 22
Overland High School Colorado State TSA competition results:
Sponsor, Debbie Gregg, Technology teacher at Overland, Institute of Science and Technology, and her students won the Giant Jenga Block tournament at the TSA competition on Friday, February 21st. Ten students from Overland attended the conference. These students participated in 3D Engineering Design and Drawing, 2D Architectural Design and Drawing, Rubber Band Cars, Flight Endurance, Promotional Design, T-shirt Design, Structural Design, Technology Bowl, and Project Showcase. A very good time was had by all.
Team members from left to right: Lizarlette Alvarez, Sawyer McLane, Jorge Leon Vazquez, Braden Armstrong, Victor Irechukwu, Ryan Oehrle, Joey Muller, and Peter Taenzer, (Ameen Sassi and Jose Gomez Tenario)
Cherry Creek School District – STEM Newsletter August, 2013 24
Eaglecrest High School’s Team 3200 - Raptacon, makes it to Final Four in Robotics Competition
Raptacon, won 7 straight matches upsetting the #2 seed alliance in the quarter finals, at the Colorado Regionals,
advancing to the final four. A few more pounds of pneumatic pressure and they may have been off to St
Louis! Congratulations to the members of the team for a job well done during three intense days of competition.
Ben Sheffer – pneumatics and drive team Joe Wilson – manufacturing and drive team Brandon Do – manufacturing and drive team Olagappan Chidambaram – programming and coach Phelan Seibert – electronics and programming Kevin Yang – programming leader Akash Gaonkar – programming and scouting Kyle Li – Lead scout and electronics David Leng – electronics and manufacturing Dennis Lim – manufacturing McKenna Genullis – design and spirit Jaden Hansen – manufacturing Andrew Wee – manufacturing Yoon Ji – manufacturing Nathan Wagner – electronics Nathan Do – manufacturing Hyun Ji – scouting Christina Yim – scouting
Lance Wilson, Valli Chidambaram, and Aaron Garfio are also members of the team from Thunder Ridge, Sky Vista and
