PSCSTA Programmers Rain Code in April

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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Def Hacks April 13-14

From our friends at TeamsCode! The Seattle team at Def Hacks (defhacks.io) is hosting the third annual 24-hour hackathon at Microsoft HQ on April 13th-14th (see Def_Hacks_Seattle_Flyer) . The hackathon is an MLH Member Event, and has a strong emphasis on FinTech as Even (evenfinancial.com) is a sponsor and co-host. We will have mentors and recruiters from multiple companies, free meals and snacks, lots of swag, and over $2,000 in prizes! If you’re interested, learn more at defhacks.io/hackathons/seattle, apply by…

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TeamsCode Contest set for March 16

The time has come for TeamsCode to host its fifth biannual programming contest at Mercer Island High School. This contest is a great opportunity for students to learn and compete in a Computer Science competition. There will be an Intermediate and Advanced division. The rules of the competition are on the TeamsCode website and are very similar to those of the PSCSTA competitions. There will be free food and free prizes. The date is set for March 16, 2019, and…

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New Logo!

CSTA, the national organization of which PSCSTA is a chapter, has made some changes in the last few years, including adding additional support for local chapters. This year they are helping to rebrand all chapters with consistent logos. You may have noticed we have received our new logo at the top of this page! Stay tuned for more substantive changes to PSCSTA so we can better serve the K-12 teachers (and there by the students) in computer science in the…

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PLU Programming Contest 2/2/2019

Pacific Lutheran University will be hosting a High School Programming contest on Saturday, February 2nd. Registration will open early January (most likely Monday, January 7th). Information about the contest can be found at https://www.plu.edu/computer-science/hs-prog-contest/  

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TechOut! Sponsored by Amazon on May 5

Inviting girls to learn about engineering and technology The invitation to TechOut is now live! Teachers and parents, please pass this along. Who: Girls grade 7-12 What: FREE! A day for girls to have fun and explore careers in technology and engineering. Learn from women in tech, participate in hands-on activities and workshops, network with peers and mentors. When: Saturday, May 5th, 2018 10:00am – 2:30pm Where: University of Washington Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science and Engineering How:…

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TeamsCode – Programming Contest March 31 (Judges Needed too)

TeamsCode is hosting their third biannual MIHS Programming Contest for interested Middle and High school students on March 31st (at Mercer Island High School near Seattle). You can find out more about the contest here and their past events at or you can view the flyer. They are also in need of judges that would help score each team’s solutions to their problems. Please contact Alan and Chris through their website for more information.

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Bring a Friend to the Unconference March 24

An Unconference is an informal and yet (slightly) structured way for a group of people to share out ideas in small, organic groups. Unbeknownst to us, we did one of these a few years ago and it was quite a hit, and has been requested as a topic since. So… Our next PSCSTA meeting will be an Unconference! When: March 24, 12:00 (arrive and socialize), 12:30-2:30 for program with more social time at the end Where: Paul G. Allen Center…

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January workshop on teaching diverse students a success!

PSCSTA is thrilled to have hosted Crystal Hess, Computer Science Instructor at Shoreline Community College, for her workshop entitled “Teaching Diverse Students with a Lens on Equity” on January 20. Nearly 20 PSCSTA members and other local CS educators joined us for this session where attendees were challenged to reflect on their teaching practices and how we all could work to create safe and equitable learning environments for all our students. Attendees participated in discussions about their own experiences with…

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Jan 20 Workshop: Teaching Diverse Students with a Lens on Equity in the CS Classroom

When: Jan 20, 12:00 (arrive and socialize), 12:30-2:30 for program with more social time at the end Where: Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) Gates Commons (6th floor) Registration: https://pscsta-jan2018.eventbrite.com This workshop, run by Crystal Hess, is designed to engage critical thinking about how to build a collaborative learning community in the classroom that focuses on advocacy for students from marginalized or underserved populations. Participants will engage in activities, discussion, and reflection to generate critical thinking…

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