Uncategorized – PSCSTA http://pscsta.org Supporting Computer Science Teachers and Students in the Puget Sound community Mon, 29 Apr 2019 04:54:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.3 http://i2.wp.com/pscsta.org/wp-content/uploads/cropped-PugetSoundSm-centered.png?fit=32%2C32 Uncategorized – PSCSTA http://pscsta.org 32 32 PSCSTA Programmers Rain Code in April http://pscsta.org/2019/04/pscsta-programmers-rain-code-in-april/ Mon, 29 Apr 2019 04:52:04 +0000 http://pscsta.org/?p=2330 The PSCSTA Spring 2019 Programming Contest held on April 20 at the Microsoft Commons in Redmond was an enormous success. With approximately 180 students from 85 teams, this was the largest number of students we have ever had for a spring event. Special thanks to our keynote speaker George Moore, Chief Technology Officer, Azure Global Retail Engineering, Microsoft Corp for his speech on computer science and the work of tomorrow Thank you to Grace Waylen, Matt Paulson, Kenny Chan, Rachel…

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]]> The PSCSTA Spring 2019 Programming Contest held on April 20 at the Microsoft Commons in Redmond was an enormous success. With approximately 180 students from 85 teams, this was the largest number of students we have ever had for a spring event.

Special thanks to our keynote speaker George Moore, Chief Technology Officer, Azure Global Retail Engineering, Microsoft Corp for his speech on computer science and the work of tomorrow

Thank you to Grace Waylen, Matt Paulson, Kenny Chan, Rachel Huang, Patrick O’Steen, and Kevin Wang from TEALS for sponsoring this event by providing the venue, food, t-shirts, coordination and promotional assistance.

An additional shout out to all those who helped make the event happen: Lawrence Tanimoto for organization and communication; Kory Srock our master of ceremonies who also found our speaker; Alec McTavish, the Master Of Google Spreadsheets, for registration; Daniel Lafferty and Amanda O’Neal for handling permission forms and check-in; Lauren Bricker for financial management and raffle prizes, Tracey Sconyers for food management, Earl Bergquist for t-shirt design, photography management, and trophies; Brett Wortzman for sage advice; Anna Burago, Ioulia Levenkova, Lawrence Tanimoto, and David Wyde for packet creation; and our lead and head judges Michael Hawker – Lead Judge; Chad Magendanz (Head Intermediate/Novice Judge), Andrew Fitz Gibbon (Head Advanced Judge).

Photos from the contest:

Intermediate/Novice winners

GoldIndecisionMontlake Terrace High SchoolStephen Yang
Silver The CodersEastlake High SchoolSheshank Shankar
BronzeNaomiNewport High SchoolNaomi Bashkansky

Advanced division

GoldVoidTesla STEM High SchoolTony Li
Maxwell Wang
Surya Gorantla
Silver Delete System 32Newport High SchoolAndrew Liu
Terrance Li
Eric Liu
BronzeQuick SortThe Bear Creek SchoolNelson Sun
Peter Li

Please contact us for a copy of the results.



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]]> NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing http://pscsta.org/2013/09/ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing/ http://pscsta.org/2013/09/ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing/#respond Mon, 23 Sep 2013 04:00:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=22 As many of you know, the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women who are active and interested in computing and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award recipients receive cool prizes as well as access to scholarships, internships, and a community of like-minded, technical young women. Girls with all levels of experience are encouraged to apply: the award recognizes aspirations as well as accomplishments! Educators who endorse their student’s applications are eligible to win the NCWIT Educator…

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]]> As many of you know, the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women who are active and interested in computing and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award recipients receive cool prizes as well as access to scholarships, internships, and a community of like-minded, technical young women. Girls with all levels of experience are encouraged to apply: the award recognizes aspirations as well as accomplishments!

Educators who endorse their student’s applications are eligible to win the NCWIT Educator Award (Paul Osborne and Sam Procopio are past winners in Washington). Educator Award winners receive up to $1000 toward professional development. This year, educators also will be entered into a drawing for each student they endorse. The more students you encourage to apply, the more likely you are to win a laptop or tablet!

The award application at http://ncwit.org/awardWA/ is now open and will close October 31st. Please encourage girls you know to apply and pass on this message to parent newsletters, teachers and other groups who work with girls.

You can use this flyer and small poster to advertise.

Here are a few reasons you should encourage girls to apply:
– the application process gets girls thinking about the role of computing in their futures
– schools and school boards pay attention to courses that result in students getting awards
– the prizes are substantial
– 20 girls will be recognized in Washington state so there are a lot of awards to go around
– nominators become eligible for the educator award
– UW CSE will be hosting the award ceremony again and we’ll use the opportunity to expose winners to more cool computer science

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/09/ncwit-award-for-aspirations-in-computing/feed/ 0 10/11 at UW: Counselors for Computing http://pscsta.org/2013/09/1011-at-uw-counselors-for-computing/ http://pscsta.org/2013/09/1011-at-uw-counselors-for-computing/#respond Thu, 12 Sep 2013 23:17:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=24 What: A conference for middle and high school counselors about computing. When: Friday, October 11th 8:30am – 3pmWhere: UW Paul Allen Center for CSEWhy: More and more students are interested in computing and this is a great opportunity for counselors to learn how to guide them.Registration Please, please share this letter to counselors and this letter to administrators in your school or with your kids’ schools! Dear PSCSTA Members: Greetings from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). I manage the…

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]]> What: A conference for middle and high school counselors about computing.
When: Friday, October 11th 8:30am – 3pm
Where: UW Paul Allen Center for CSE
Why: More and more students are interested in computing and this is a great opportunity for counselors to learn how to guide them.
Registration

Please, please share this letter to counselors and this letter to administrators in your school or with your kids’ schools!

Dear PSCSTA Members:

Greetings from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT). I manage the Counselors for Computing program, which brings professional development to counselors in places where changes in CS education have implications for guidance. We are presenting a program at UW in conjunction with the UW Computer Science and Engineering department and the Washington School Counselor Association on October 11, 2013 and would appreciate your help in getting get the word out to counselors in your school.

In addition, if you as a CS teacher feel moved to speak to counselors (or if you can recommend someone else), let me know and we’ll send an invitation along.

Regards,

Jane Krauss
NCWIT Counselors for Computing
jane.krauss@ncwit.org
www.ncwit.org

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/09/1011-at-uw-counselors-for-computing/feed/ 0 2013-2014 calendar posted http://pscsta.org/2013/09/2013-2014-calendar-posted/ http://pscsta.org/2013/09/2013-2014-calendar-posted/#respond Wed, 11 Sep 2013 05:17:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=25 Our meeting schedule for the year is now live!  We have an exciting series of hands-on workshops, fun discussions and students events lined up. Meetings will continue to be held from 10am to noon on Saturdays in the 6th floor Commons of the Paul Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering.  Socializing and networking will occur noon to 1pm. Clock hours will be provided for the workshop portion! Our first meeting is coming up on September 21st.  We will send…

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]]> Our meeting schedule for the year is now live!  We have an exciting series of hands-on workshops, fun discussions and students events lined up.

Meetings will continue to be held from 10am to noon on Saturdays in the 6th floor Commons of the Paul Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering.  Socializing and networking will occur noon to 1pm.

Clock hours will be provided for the workshop portion!

Our first meeting is coming up on September 21st.  We will send out another reminder as well as parking instructions next week.

Here is a preview of meeting dates and topics covered (blue events are for students):
Sep 21, 2013 Scratch 2.0
Oct 19, 2013 Physical Computing Lab
Nov 16, 2013 Nifty Lessons
Dec 14, 2013 WINTER PROGRAMMING CONTEST 
Jan 11, 2014 AP CS Labs
Feb  8, 2014 STEM OUT!
Mar 15, 2014 AppInventor Lab
Apr ??, 2014 SPRING PROGRAMMING CONTEST 
May 17, 2014 State of CS Education
Jun 21, 2014 End of Year Wrap Up & Social  

We will discuss the date of the April contest during our September meeting.  Thanks to all of you who have provided feedback through the member survey.

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/09/2013-2014-calendar-posted/feed/ 0 Online Practice Problem Resources http://pscsta.org/2013/09/online-practice-problem-resources/ http://pscsta.org/2013/09/online-practice-problem-resources/#respond Sun, 01 Sep 2013 00:05:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=26 The following list of online resources for student practice problems have been added to the PSCSTA.org Resources page.  I was aware of Coding.bat and PracticeIT, but found Programr.com today and thought I would make sure these were shared with all. http://www.programmr.com/ (Java, C#, C++, Android, Python, Processing, HTML, and many others) http://practiceit.cs.washington.edu/index.jsp (Java) http://codingbat.com/ (Java and Python) If you are aware of other such resources, please share and I will update our listing. Greg Kilpatrick

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]]> The following list of online resources for student practice problems have been added to the PSCSTA.org Resources page.  I was aware of Coding.bat and PracticeIT, but found Programr.com today and thought I would make sure these were shared with all.

If you are aware of other such resources, please share and I will update our listing.

Greg Kilpatrick

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/09/online-practice-problem-resources/feed/ 0 2013 Scholarship Winners! http://pscsta.org/2013/07/2013-scholarship-winners/ http://pscsta.org/2013/07/2013-scholarship-winners/#respond Tue, 02 Jul 2013 17:47:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=27 We would like to congratulate the following students as the 2013 scholarship recipients from the Puget Sound Computer Science Teachers Association: Angela Rocchi Tahoma Senior High School CS Teacher: Crystal Hess Judy Zhou Garfield High School CS Teacher: Earl Bergquist Mary Martin Holy Names Academy CS Teacher: Sam Procopio Thank you to everyone for your entries. Look for our next scholarship offering in the spring of 2014.

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]]> We would like to congratulate the following students as the 2013 scholarship recipients from the Puget Sound Computer Science Teachers Association:

Angela Rocchi
Tahoma Senior High School
CS Teacher: Crystal Hess

Judy Zhou
Garfield High School
CS Teacher: Earl Bergquist

Mary Martin
Holy Names Academy
CS Teacher: Sam Procopio

Thank you to everyone for your entries. Look for our next scholarship offering in the spring of 2014.

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/07/2013-scholarship-winners/feed/ 0 Tentative 2013-2014 schedule and member survey http://pscsta.org/2013/06/tentative-2013-2014-schedule-and-member-survey/ http://pscsta.org/2013/06/tentative-2013-2014-schedule-and-member-survey/#respond Sun, 30 Jun 2013 22:04:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=28 Happy summer, everyone! We had a productive meeting on June 22nd during which we put together a tentative schedule for next year: Sept – Scratch lab Oct – AP CS Labs lab Nov – Nifty Lessons (volunteer through membership survey) 14/Dec – Winter contest at UW Jan – Physical Computing lab  8/Feb – STEM out! with Amazon Hoppers Mar – AppInventor lab  Apr – Spring contest at ?? May – State of CS Education  Jun – Planning for 2014-2015 The…

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]]> Happy summer, everyone!

We had a productive meeting on June 22nd during which we put together a tentative schedule for next year:

  • Sept – Scratch lab
  • Oct – AP CS Labs lab
  • Nov – Nifty Lessons (volunteer through membership survey)
  • 14/Dec – Winter contest at UW
  • Jan – Physical Computing lab 
  • 8/Feb – STEM out! with Amazon Hoppers
  • Mar – AppInventor lab 
  • Apr – Spring contest at ??
  • May – State of CS Education 
  • Jun – Planning for 2014-2015
The finalized schedule including dates will be published in August.  Please fill out our short member survey to provide feedback on the proposed sessions and to help pick a date for the spring contest.
During our meeting, we decided to put together committees to formalize responsibilities around events, finances and communications.  This will streamline our processes and help maximize our impact.  We hope many of you will choose to participate in a committee!  Committee participation will not be a huge time commitment and is a great way to contribute to our community.  You can volunteer in the member survey described above.
Detailed meeting notes are available here.

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/06/tentative-2013-2014-schedule-and-member-survey/feed/ 0 PSCSTA Scholarship Reminder http://pscsta.org/2013/05/pscsta-scholarship-reminder/ http://pscsta.org/2013/05/pscsta-scholarship-reminder/#respond Tue, 21 May 2013 03:01:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=30 This post is to serve as a reminder to all students wanting to apply for the $500 scholarship. Applications are due Friday, May 24th. Please check out the scholarship tab for more information.

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]]> This post is to serve as a reminder to all students wanting to apply for the $500 scholarship. Applications are due Friday, May 24th. Please check out the scholarship tab for more information.

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/05/pscsta-scholarship-reminder/feed/ 0 Saturday April 27th Programming Contest is now taking Wait List Registrations http://pscsta.org/2013/03/saturday-april-27th-programming-contest-is-now-taking-wait-list-registrations/ http://pscsta.org/2013/03/saturday-april-27th-programming-contest-is-now-taking-wait-list-registrations/#respond Tue, 26 Mar 2013 05:26:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=33 In the first day, we have maxed out the number of teams for the Programming Contest!  But we encourage any students interested to register to be placed on our wait list (here).  If teams cancel or fail to have their payment received by April 11th, we will invite teams to join the competition by email in the order they are received.  Good luck!For those Registered teams and their Teachers/Advisors: – Make sure that the $30 registration fee is mailed in early…

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]]> In the first day, we have maxed out the number of teams for the Programming Contest!  But we encourage any students interested to register to be placed on our wait list (here).  If teams cancel or fail to have their payment received by April 11th, we will invite teams to join the competition by email in the order they are received.  Good luck!

For those Registered teams and their Teachers/Advisors: 
– Make sure that the $30 registration fee is mailed in early so it will be received by Thursday, 11th April. Please send checks made out to PSCSTA with team member names to:    PSCSTA (Puget Sound Computer Science Teachers Association)
    4616 25th AVE NE #573
    SEATTLE, WA 98105
– The competition will be held at the same Amazon.com location as last year:
Amazon.com Dawson North
345 Boren Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
   – Street or lot parking is available in the neighborhood.  
   – Enter the north building from the south side under the sky bridge.

Full details at the Programming Contest tab above. And contact the PSCSTA Planning Team at pscsta-planning@googlegroups.com if you have any questions.

Upcoming events:

  • AWEsome Evening Celebrating Women in Engineering Monday, April 1st.  details linked here
  • CS Review day at UW for AP CS and UW in the High School CSE 142 students on Saturday May 4th 1pm – 4pm.  Details and registration here 
  • AppDay is Thursday, May 23rd at Rainier Beach HS, details & registration at AppDay.org
  • CodeDay Seattle is May 25th-26th, details at seattle.codeday.org

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/03/saturday-april-27th-programming-contest-is-now-taking-wait-list-registrations/feed/ 0 Programming Contest Details and our Next Meeting is Saturday, March 23rd http://pscsta.org/2013/03/programming-contest-details-and-our-next-meeting-is-saturday-march-23rd/ http://pscsta.org/2013/03/programming-contest-details-and-our-next-meeting-is-saturday-march-23rd/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2013 02:24:00 +0000 http://pscsta.susanrevans.com/wp/?p=34 Registration for the April 27th PSCSTA Programming Contest will open Monday, March 25th at 9:30am.  We are limited to 30 teams this Spring, so only the first 30 registered teams can attend, any thereafter will be notified and placed on a wait list in case the first teams have not paid by Thursday, April 11th – after that wait list teams will be invited accordingly.  Mark your calendar and prepare your students for registration.  Cost is $30 per team, and…

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]]> Registration for the April 27th PSCSTA Programming Contest will open Monday, March 25th at 9:30am.  We are limited to 30 teams this Spring, so only the first 30 registered teams can attend, any thereafter will be notified and placed on a wait list in case the first teams have not paid by Thursday, April 11th – after that wait list teams will be invited accordingly.  Mark your calendar and prepare your students for registration.  Cost is $30 per team, and a number of need-based scholarships are available.  The latest details and the registration link will appear on our Programming Contest tab .

Next PSCSTA Meeting: 

  • Topic: SICSCE Report and Exploring CS & CS Principles Update hosted by Stuart Reges
  • Date: Saturday, March 23rd, 2013
  • New Time: 10am – Noon followed by Noon – 1pm socializing & Networking 
  • Place: UW, Paul Allen Center for CSE  (Directions & Parking)

A report on what was going on at the annual SIGCSE convention held in early March along with the latest news about the two courses being proposed for high school computer science (Exploring CS and CS Principles).   
 
Other Upcoming events: 

  • AWEsome Evening Celebrating Women in Engineering Monday, April 1st.  details linked here
  • AppDay is Thursday, 23rd May at Rainier Beach HS, details & registration at AppDay.org

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]]> http://pscsta.org/2013/03/programming-contest-details-and-our-next-meeting-is-saturday-march-23rd/feed/ 0