Happy 2020! Last year's blog count was a pitiful six :( The goal for this year is 2 blog posts per month, so 24 for the year. It's already been a busy start to the year. Last week, we had a visit from Department of Education Secretary Frank Brogan, and this week we received a 2019 AP CSP Female Diversity Award:
We were one of only 4 schools in Oklahoma to be recognized for AP CSP. The criteria are as follows:
Schools receiving the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have achieved either 50% or higher female representation in either or both of the AP computer science courses, or the percentage of female computer science examinees meets or exceeds that of the school’s female population. Out of the 20,000 institutions that offer AP courses, 818 achieved this important result during the 2018-2019 school year--nearly 20% more than the 685 schools recognized last year. In 2019, Blanchard High School was one of 639 recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles. An additional 36 schools received the award for both CSP and CSA.
This award is for last year's class- this year I have both CSP and CSA, and by this criteria, we'll receive this again next year for both (something only 36 high schools in the country did this year)- that is just wild. Last year 81% of my CSP class were girls. This year, it's 60%. My CSA class this year is 68% girls. By comparison, by Computer Science I classes are only 35% girls.
Last school year (2018-2019), my sophomore English class wrote a novel. It's a post-apocalyptic collection of connected short stories, and I'm super proud of their work.
You can actually purchase a copy of the book on Amazon HERE
As we were doing final edits on the book in the spring, partly to motivate me, I submitted a proposal to present at the next OTA Encyclo-media, and I was accepted. I'm a little behind in posting this, but I got to present about our class novel a few months ago.
It was a great experience, and I hope to have more opportunities like this one in the future. I plan on recording my talk and posting it here, but I'm currently battling a Thanksgiving cold, and I hope to have that done before we leave for Christmas break.
Above is a link to my presentation, if you have any questions please email me, I'm happy to answer any questions:
(Look for video link in a few weeks!)
When it comes to curriculum, I am a definite fan of OERs (Open Educational Resources), but I also think that there's a place for teacher-created resources as well. I opened a Teachers Pay Teachers store this August, and so far here's what I have made available:
My classroom is still very much a work in progress, even though it's already November. I'm hoping to get it 100% where I'm happy with by before we leave for Christmas break. Switching the entire room arrangement (and switching subjects) made it a bigger undertaking than in year's past. Here's what's new:
I switched the desks around so that the one with the solid front faces the door, and added faux wood bulletin board paper.
I also added it to the back cabinets. I think I like the lighter wood better, but it had been on the cabinets for two years and was looking rough. Since I took my graffiti quote wall down, I added a smaller one to the upper cabinets, featuring my favorite Edward Abbey quote.
The letter board wall got some extra accents.
And I got some hexagon bulletin boards for the white board behind my desk.
I made a super cute hall pass, that I'm more impressed with than the students.
And a designated spot at the front of the room to display what I'm reading.
And lastly, a very on trend letter board ledge quote, that I DIY'ed.
I still need to re-hang my lights (third time's a charm!) and fix my new graffiti wall- hopefully soon!
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