Richmond ES Hour of Code 2018 Success

I had a great week learning and coding with students.  I watched students think, create, collaborate and share. All the tenets of my enrichment programming wrapped into one!

Here is a video hilighting some of the FUN!

**The 'Hour of Code™' is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.”

Hour of Code ar RES, December 2018

This week RES students will be participating in Hour of Code during enrichment classes. The week of December 3rd - 7th, 2018 all RES students in grades kindergarten through four will have a hands on introduction to computer programming with Hour of Code activities during their enrichment classes! 

Computer programming helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity in people of all ages. Kindergarten, first and second graders will use  Scratch Jr. app for iPads, while third and fourth graders will choose from a variety of tutorials on Code.org.

                                   

Introducing Hour of Code! Here is a great video explaining some of the benefits of coding:

STUDENTS:  Here are the links for Hour of Code at school this week....some great choices:
Dance Party
https://hourofcode.com/danceparty
Minecraft
https://hourofcode.com/mchoc
Star Wars
https://hourofcode.com/star-wars
Animate your Name
https://hourofcode.com/scratchanim

or choose your own challenge (make sure to note the grade level):
https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

FAMILIES and TEACHERS: Here are links to continue the learning beyond this week at school!  ALL of the included links and recommendations are FREE!
Scratch Jr. iPad app
Scratch Jr. Android app 
More ways to learn from Code.org
Scratch  


Do you have questions about coding?  Do you want to figure out ways to help your kids use computers and tablets to create things versus consume content?  I would be happy to chat with you about this...just reach out to Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

“The 'Hour of Code™' is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week [csedweek.org] and Code.org [code.org] to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.”

RES Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop Success

The Thursday before November break RES families came together for the fourth year in a row to celebrate creativity and engineering at the RES Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop.
What is an Inventor’s Workshop? The workshop was a family-friendly event to MAKE, create, learn, invent, craft, recycle, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, science and technology.  Students worked with their families to create. Activities were facilitated by engineers and teachers. Families had an opportunity to learn together as they experienced the fun of making / building / constructing / designing and more.

I am so thankful for all of the school and community volunteers that made this evening possible. Volunteers from the Society of Women Engineers ran stations to build jitterbots, create rockets and lead our youngest makers in building marble mazes and floating objects for the wind tunnel. ECHO brought an amazing 34 foot Lego car racing tack and a 10 foot high wind wall that had students laughing and cheering all evening. Radiate Art Space brought a variety of spin art machines and created amazing art with students. CHMS educator, Quinn Keating brought a 3D printer and taught families how to use software that drives this tool. RES educators were on hand to support learning and challenge students as they learned to code in Scratch and build with various materials. Cardboard Tek donated some PinBox 3000s for the evening so students could get excited by the design possibilities they will get to have later in the school year.

Here is a video that captures some of the fun of the evening:

Welcome to the Enrichment Classroom! Open House 2018

I am excited to meet with families at the RES Open House.  If you cannot be here or did not have a chance to visit the enrichment classroom....here is a peak into our room!

All students in fourth grade will be designing PinBox3000s this year during enrichment

We played with an 3D Augmented Reality iPad application called Quivervision

The puppet theater 

The kitchen area

A take a break spot

Kindergarten interests showcased

The classroom library is always open!

Save the date for the Flynn trips and plan to chaperone!

 And here are the videos which were playing while students and families explored the space:

If you ever have questions or ideas about enrichment, please do not hesitate to contact me throughout the year at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Kindergarten Enrichment Students Drive Their Learning

The Kindergarten enrichment programming is a play based exploratory environment that supports social and academic learning driven by student choice.  A key component of the program is that each kindergarten student gets an opportunity to create a station which other students in their class will visit during exploratory play. Each student conferences with Mrs. Rankin to discuss their interests, passions and ideas.  During that conference we develop a plan for their student driven center.  We develop a list of materials that will be needed and what students will 'do' when they visit.  Over the course of the rest of the year each student will have an opportunity to share their center with their class. 

It is truly amazing to see all of the topics that students come up with and how they want to learn with their classmates!  During their share week students have a chance to answer questions from the whole class about why they chose their topic and what we will be doing.  They really step up to present and classmates are respectful and excited to learn from their peers.  Student driven centers began two weeks ago, and we have already learned about horses, how to make snowflakes, art, stars, space, gymnastics and fairies!  It promises to be another amazing year in enrichment exploring and learning from and with each other.

Maker Mondays

Maker Mondays at Richmond Elementary school is an after school program that gives students an opportunity to design, create and make in our makerspace.  During our time together students do guided tinkering projects, such as lighting up their creations with LEDs (as shown in this video) as well as the freedom to create from their own imaginations!  Students also enjoy using our Take-Apart station to understand how things work as they dismantle and investigate broken keyboards, computers and more!  The makerspace offers an exploratory environment where students can make and learn through hands on discovery. Students of all ages work side by side--learning from each other--supported by their teacher-- and independently driving their own learning through choice.

Jeh Kulu us Coming to RES!!!

Richmond Elementary School is excited to WELCOME BACK Jeh Kulu--African Dance and Drumming Ensemble--for an Artist in Residency in April 2018.

All students in Grades K-4 will have an opportunity to dance and learn from Jeh Kulu during their PE classes on April 17th to 20th This residency was made possible by a grant from the Vermont Art Council, as well as fundraisers supported by the PTO (To donate to make sure every class gets this opportunity, please click here:  Go Fund Me Page:  https://www.gofundme.com/artistsatRES . Thanks!)

Science Fair Resources

The science fair is coming! On Thursday March 15th RES students in grades K-4 are invited to come and share their great science fair projects with our community.  The science fair is a great way for students and families to work together to explore and learn about topics that interest them.


Entry forms will be sent home Friday February 9th and will be due back by Friday February 23rd.

Not sure where to get started?  I highly recommend starting with your interests! Is there a topic you studied in school that you would like to learn more about? Is there something you have always wondered about--maybe how it works?  Do you have a special collection you would like to share?

The RES science fair is a non judged family event...which means adult help is welcome and appreciated..AND kids can work together to create projects too!

Not sure where to get started? Here are a few resources!

I love this website. It has tons of great project ideas and even lets you answer a survey to narrow down the choices to your interests!
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

This site also has great examples, and includes some great videos which will support visual learners too! Although they are also a business trying to sell science materials, it includes many great free resources in the 'Experiments' section:
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/

And one more of my favorites!
https://sciencebob.com/category/science-fair-ideas/

In addition, the RES school  library is full of science project ideas and resources.  Did you know you can check out additional books with a family account?  See Mrs. Redford to set this up.

And lastly, I have several science project idea books, and am happy to discuss and brainstorm ideas with kids or families....just stop by and see me, OR email me to set up some time.

Happy Experimenting, Discovering and Learning!
Have FUN!

RES Science Fair--COMING SOON! SAVE THE DATE! CREATE A PROJECT!

RES SCIENCE FAIR

Thursday March 15th, 2018

Students in Grades K- 4 will be sharing their great science projects in the RES gym!  The Farm to School program will be offering a dinner during the event so that both participating families and those looking for a night out can grab a great meal!   Raffle prizes will be awarded to students who ask great science questions! Everyone is welcome!

RES Farm to School Dinner

Time: 5-6:30pm

Location: RES Cafeteria

SIgn Up To Help Us Meal Plan at:  https://goo.gl/forms/nqQ6ReYT4s3s0Eu92

RES Science Fair

Time: 5:45 – 6:45 pm

(participants may set up projects any time after 5:15pm)

Location: RES Gym

Community Building and 3D Printing

Each year it is so exciting when I am asked to collaborate with other teachers on projects.  I am currently collaborating on a technology and community building project with our technology integration teacher.  It is exciting to collaborate because often I am learning a new skill along side students.  It is also exciting because I believe by modeling collaboration we teach students how to effectively collaborate themselves.

This project began as a discussion about how to best utilize a 3D printer in the elementary school setting.  We knew we wanted students to build something meaningful (not just a trinket)...but we also recognized that there would be a learning curve to utilizing a new tool and we did not want to make something so complex that success would be beyond some students.  Mr. Langevin had the brilliant idea of building something for younger students--perhaps a playdoh tool for use in the kindergarten classroom.  We settled on this idea and began to develop lesson plans that would get us to that end goal.  Our essential goals were to build community in our school and give voice and choice in student learning, while at the same time learning to use an awesome new technology tool.  During these lessons we wanted third graders to:
--Learn to 3D design in Tinkercad (https://www.tinkercad.com/)
--Develop a relationship with a kindergarten student
--Create a design for their new kindergarten friend that aligned with their interests
--See their iterative design process through to completion
--Give their creation as a gift and way to build community
We wanted kindergarteners to:
--Develop a relationship with older students in the school
--Feel welcomed by our school community
--Receive a personalized gift that they could use to play, explore and create at school

To date third graders have created Tinkercad accounts, met with their kindergarten buddies to learn their interests and began to design their playdoh tool.  It has definitely been an exciting month in enrichment! I am not sure if I enjoy seeing students stretch their learning and risk taking through the use of the new Tinkercad tool or watching the relationships in our school community grow---they are both awesome!  We hope to have playdoh tools completed in January.  I have also enjoyed listening to students make connections to the measurement unit that they are studying in math as they determine the correct size for the 3D printing.

Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop 2017 Success!

On Thursday November 30th the RES community gathered with volunteers from the Society of Women Engineers, ECHO Science Museum, Radiate Art Studio, and CHMS and JES educators to celebrate making, creating, building and learning.  Students and their families had an opportunity to try a range of hands on activities that encouraged them to Make, Create and Share!  The evening was a true celebration of collaborative learning and FUN. 
Here is a video that gives you a small peak into the great events of the evening.

This event could not happen without the help of volunteers inside and outside of our school community.  I am so grateful to be surrounded by people that believe in student hands on learning and are willing to give time to create this type of experience.

Special Thanks for all of their time and talent to:
Chef James-Awesome Farm to School Dinner
Chris Whitaker--ECHO Science Center, STEM Education Coordinator
Rebecca Garavan and Heather Drury--Radiate Art Space Founders and Marble Painting Artists
Basak Simal,Joan Hathaway (and family), Pam Gillis--Society of Women Engineer's Engineers and Rocket and Jitterbot Inspirations
Willie Lee-- BRMS Technology Educator and Vinyl Cutter Extraordinaire
Quinn Keating--CHMS Technology Educator and 3D Printing Master
Dave Bouchard--JES Enrichment Teacher and Little Bits Synthesizer Sound Enthusiast
Beth Redford--RES Library Media Specialist and Coding Guru
Tonya Darby- RES Third Grade Teacher and Lead Learner in all things Electronic
Katie Lefrancois--RES Fourth Grade Teacher and and All Around Student Creativity Supporter

Hour of Code 2017 at RES This Week!

The week of December 4 -8th, 2017, all RES students in grades kindergarten through four will have a hands on introduction to computer programming with Hour of Code activities during their enrichment classes! 

Computer programming helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity in people of all ages. Kindergarten, first and second graders will use  Scratch Jr. app for iPads, while third and fourth graders will choose from a variety of tutorials on Code.org.

Introducing Hour of Code! Watch this quick video to see some celebrities learning to code alongside students just like you!



STUDENTS:  Here are the links for Hour of Code at school this week:

Some great choices:
Code Crazy Creatures:  https://hourofcode.com/cacrazy
Animate your name: https://hourofcode.com/scratchanim
Moana: https://hourofcode.com/moana
Monster Maker: https://hourofcode.com/grokmonster
Lego Robot: https://hourofcode.com/bits
Minecraft: https://hourofcode.com/mchoc
Star Wars: https://hourofcode.com/star-wars
Flappy Bird: https://hourofcode.com/flap
Frozen: https://hourofcode.com/frzn

Choose your own Coding (but check the grade level and how hard it is):
https://hourofcode.com/us/learn

FAMILIES and TEACHERS: Here are links to continue the learning beyond this week at school!  ALL of the included links and recommendations are FREE!
Scratch Jr. iPad app
Scratch Jr. Android app 
More ways to learn from Code.org
Scratch  

Need more motivation to keep kids coding? Watch this short film encouraging coding!




Do you have questions about coding?  Do you want to figure out ways to help your kids use computers and tablets to create things versus consume content?  I would be happy to chat with you about this...just reach out to Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop--Save the Date!

Richmond Elementary School , in conjunction with

the Society of Women Engineers, ECHO Science Museum, Radiate Art Space and  MMUSD Educators is proud to present the third annual:

COUGAR CUB INVENTOR’S WORKSHOP

Thursday November 30th, 2017

5:30 – 7:30pm

RES Gym, Library and Art Room

Cost: 2$ per project (to cover cost of disposable resources, scholarships available)

 

Join Us Before for a Farm to School Dinner !

5-6pm, RES Cafeteria

Chili, Mac-n-Cheese, Salad and a Sweet Treat

Donations to benefit RES Farm to School Programming

What is an Inventor’s Workshop?

This workshop is a family-friendly event to MAKE, create, learn, invent, craft, recycle, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, science and technology.  Students will work with their families to create!  Activities will be facilitated by engineers and teachers, but tasks will be open ended and creative.  Families will have an opportunity to learn together as they experience the fun of making / building / constructing / designing and more! A variety of activities will be available to challenge students from Grades K – 8.

Activities planned for our workshop include:

Cardboard Challenge:  Create with cardboard! The possibilities are endless!

Making a keyboard with bananas!  MaKey MaKey Boards are electronic devices that convert many regular objects into keys on your computer to control programs like Scratch or videos games.  Objects that are conductive, even slightly, like fruit or people, can be used with the MaKey. 

*New this year*Build and Launch a Rocket!  Using makerspaces materials we will build rockets that reach for the stars as they travel several stories into the night sky.

Creating lighted artwork with throwies!  LED Throwies are LEDs connected to coin batteries to create artwork with light.  They can be added to greeting cards or origami, or used to create nightlights or glowing badges. We will have a station to add LEDs to our rockets

Creating interactive circuits with littleBits!  littleBits are electronic modules that snap together with magnets to make circuits.  Each bit has a specific function (light, sound, sensors, buttons, motors, etc), and modules snap together to make larger circuits. We will have a teacher on hand to use synthesizer Little Bits to create awesome sounds.

Checking out a 3D printer in action!  CHMS and RES students have been using a 3D printer during technology/enrichment classes. Come and watch a 3D printer in action and explore the Tinkercad software we use to make our designs.

Make it Fly!: Create objects to fly in the wind tunnel and fly gliders with BRMS middle schoolers and staff.

Creating abstract art with a digital microscope!  DinoXcope Art is artwork created using a digital microscope to photograph intentional arrangements of materials.  

Programming interactive games with Scratch!  Scratch is a visual programming language.  Use colorful interlocking building blocks of code like legos to build interactive games and programs.

Green Screen! Green screen technology is used to create background scenes for pictures in films and photographs.  Come and create your own awesome photo.

JitterBots!  Back due to popularity, you can create your very own jittery robot!

      SNAP Circuits, Art Creation with Radiate Art Space, ECHO Engineering Challenge, Keva Planks, Robots…and more!!!!

Please contact Darcie Rankin, RES Enrichment Teacher at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org with questions.

We hope to see you there!

Open House 2017

It was so great to see so many families at the RES Open Houses this week.  I got a chance to see old and new members of our school community, and am so excited to work with all of you to make enrichment programming at RES awesome! If you did not get a chance to stop by the enrichment classroom....here are a few images of what visitors saw:

 Welcome to Room 32.

Save the Date!

 Flynn Performance dates can be found here:  https://enrichmentatres.blogspot.com/2017/09/flynn-trips-for-2017-2018-school-year.html
AND the Cougar Cub Inventor's Workshop Thursday November 30th and Science Fair Thursday March 15th dates are scheduled!

We explored some of the robotics that we will be adding to the enrichment curriculum this year, in particular in Grade 3.

 Families interested in after school robotics club had a chance to try out the tools and sign up for more information!

 Spanish information and curriculum was available.

 The classroom library is ready for readers and writers.

 We welcome all of the newest school members by learning their names and interests on this bulletin board.

 The kitchen is ready for exploratory play.

 Art easels, sand bins and light tables--ready to go!

 Puppet theater and building materials in abundance.

 You can sign up for the enrichment blog to get updates!

 The makerspace was open for exploration.

 Handouts were available to learn about materials we are collecting to make the makerspace great.

Families created spinning tops in the makerspace!

A video of kindergarten and first grade students showed some of the great building and teamwork that has been happening over the last few weeks.

Questions about enrichment programming or the makerspace can be directed to Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

Flynn Trips for 2017-2018 School Year--Save the Dates!

All students at RES attend a student matinee at the Flynn Theater in Burlington Vermont each year.  These shows are a great connection to the performance arts in our community and beyond!  Flynn field trips are a popular trip to chaperone--so save the date now and join us for a great show!

Here are the current show plans by grade level:

Grade K

Shhhh We Have a Plan

May 9th, 2018

Noon

(11:15 Departure, Approx 1:45 Return)

Grade 1

Shhhh We Have a Plan

May 9th, 2018

Noon

(11:15 Departure, Approx 1:45 Return)

Grade 2 

David Gonzales (Cuentos)

November 13th, 2017

9:30am

(8:15 Departure, Approx 11:30 Return)

Grade 3

David Gonzales (Cuentos)

November 13th, 2017

9:30am

(8:15 Departure, Approx 11:30 Return)

Grade 4

Freedom Train

March 15th, 2018

9:30am

(8:15 Departure, Approx 11:30 Return)

If you are interested in learning more about the Flynn or supporting additional connections to these trips by financing classroom workshops...please contact Darcie Rankin at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org for information.

See you at the SHOW!

Happy 2017-2018 School Year

I am looking forward to a great year of learning with kindergarten - fourth grade students, RES staff and the community!

Students are the reason we are here! (Classroom Wall Sign)

As in the past few years every student will visit the enrichment classroom once a week to do a variety of fun and engaging activities that focus on their interests and strengths as well as learning NEW things. I welcome visitors to my classroom to share or observe and am happy to receive feedback and ideas that will make our classroom awesome. The best way to contact me is via email at darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org.

 Here is the current weekly enrichment whole class schedule:
Monday: Robinson, Girouard,Mumford, Darling, Berliner
Wednesday: Purvee, Ankerson, Babineau, Senning
Friday: Hackett, Ayer, Gilbar, LeFrancois

 Happy New School Year!

RES 17th Annual Science Fair Success!

Last Thursday evening over one hundred people gathered at Richmond Elementary School to celebrate science and learning!  The RES Family Science Fair is a tradition at our school that brings family and friends together to share their learning.  There are no awards, or winners......just students learning and sharing and excited about all of the great and amazing concepts that science brings to life.  Each year I am inspired by students--the extra work they do and the depth of their thinking is awesome!  This year we had a large range of projects. The below video is an attempt to capture some of their great work.

Robot Rodeo is coming to RES!!!!

One thing I am looking forward to sharing with students in January is that RES will again be a participant in the AWESOME Vermont Robot Rodeo.  After a great experience last year I requested another chance for students to play and explore with robots and this year we will be getting a DASH and DOT robot for the month of January.

Our robot, which has been visiting Newbury Elementary School in Newbury, Vermont in December  has already learned A LOT!  We are excited to meet our robots which they have named 'Harmony' and 'Nature Rocks'!

Students at Newbury Elementary learning with Harmony and Nature Rocks!

The concept of the Robot Rodeo is that students around Vermont get a chance to increase their understanding of robots and extend their Hour of Code experiences through the use of robots that travel from school to school.  Last year we were also honored to have students present their learning at Dynamic Landscapes--a local professional development conference for educators (it was so amazing to watch students teach and engage teachers!) You can see some of the great work going on around Vermont at the Vermont Robot Rodeo blog here:
http://robotrodeovt.blogspot.com/

And I will be doing guest posts on this blog as well as the Robot Rodeo blog as we share our experiences at RES!

Our robots will be arriving THIS WEEK! So stay tuned for updates.

Maker Mondays Coming Soon!

Flyers are being sent home this week (Wednesday) for a program I am working on called Maker Mondays!  I think this after school class will be popular so get your forms back quickly! Here is the information:

The Enrichment Program at RES is excited to introduce:

MAKER MONDAYS!

When: Monday Afternoons January 23, 30, February 6,13,20

Time: Immediately After School until 4pm

Where: The RES Makerspace

The Details:  Mrs. Rankin will work with students to design, create and make in the makerspace. During our time together we will have an opportunity to do guided tinkering projects (Creating our own spinning tops, jitterbots, and sewable circuits) as well as freedom to create from our own imaginations! If you are a student who loves to make things…or wants to learn something new in a fun and exploratory environment, then this is the after school program for you!

Cost:  This five week session will be $25 per student (Part 2 students are welcome to attend, provided they pay this additional fee). Partial and full scholarships are available.

Students:   All students in Grades K-4 are invited to attend, but class size is limited to 20.  Slots will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Questions? Contact darcie.rankin@cesuvt.org