TIGER NEWS
June 22 , 2020
HARMONY SCHOOL of TECHNOLOGY
3203 North Sam Houston Pkwy West, Houston TX 77038
Tel: (281) 444-1555 Fax: (281) 444-1015
What is the plan for next school year?
Dear Harmony School of Technology family,
After the release of the Texas Tribune article and the statement from the Commissioner of Education, I know that you have many questions about what the new school year will look like. At this time, TEA has not released guidance on opening school, nor have we received information from Harmony Central office on our opening procedures. We will inform you when a plan is ready.
Most likely we will have hybrid options where children can be educated remotely if the parent so chooses. CDC recommendation is to keep social distancing in classroom, hallways, cafeteria and throughout the school. Based on guidance from TEA, the CDC, and other health entities, it may be necessary to reduce the number of students that we can have in a classroom.
You can find the aforementioned Texas Tribune Article and the released statement from the Commissioner of Education below.
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/18/texas-schools-reopening-fall/
Some key takeaways from the article include:
- “Texas students will be returning to public schools in person this fall, Gov. Greg Abbott told state lawmakers Thursday morning.
- The state's top education officials confirmed the plans in a statement to The Texas Tribune.
- "It will be safe for Texas public school students, teachers, and staff to return to school campuses for in-person instruction this fall. But there will also be flexibility for families with health concerns so that their children can be educated remotely, if the parent so chooses," said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.”
Thank you for your patience as we work to ensure a safe learning environment for our students, teachers, and staff.
July 06-10, 2020
July 13-17, 2020
LET'S CAMP!
Register @ bit.ly/utd-hsc20
Each camp costs $50 (special low rate just for Harmony & SST students). Cancellation fee is $10 per camp. Email csk12@utdallas.edu for cancellations. Each camp will be limited to max 15 campers. Additional sections will be added if needed. Minimum 5 registrations are needed for a camp to run - otherwise, you can join another camp OR get full refund. See the next page for the camp descriptions.
Few guidelines to select the coding camps:
Alice → JavaScript → Python/Java/C++ is a good sequence to learn coding.
Alice and Web-page Design camps do not have any prerequisites.
Alice is a good place to start if you have not done any coding.
It is OK to start directly with JavaScript if you have played with some Scratch or Alice or any other coding tools.
Do NOT sign up directly for Java/C++/Python camps directly, if you have NO background in coding.
Alice camp requires a Mac or Windows laptop, but ChromeBook is OK for all other camps.
Alice : Animation & Games using Alice
This camp is perfect for students who have not done any programming so far. It uses drag and drop programming, which means no syntax errors! You can convert your idea to code quickly and see it in action! You can code 3D animations or games with ease. Alice comes with a powerful graphics library that minimizes coding effort.
Please setup Windows/Mac/Linux laptop with Alice 2 software - downloaded & installed from http://www.alice.org/get-alice/alice-2. Download the appropriate one listed below English Gallery Complete: Windows / Mac / Linux, then follow the instructions specified in Installing Alice 2. Once installed, Alice behaves exactly the same way in all environments.
JavaScript : Enjoyable Coding with JavaScript
Pre-requisite: Animation & Games using Alice
This camp is perfect for students who have done a little bit of programming using Alice/Scratch/Robots, etc., but have not spent much time with C/C++/Java yet. While many high school students may be OK to start here without any prior programming experience, all novices are strongly encouraged to complete Alice camp first. This camp uses the Khan Academy JavaScript environment, which features a web-page with coding area and virtual canvas area for output. As you type the code, output appears/changes. This friendly environment comes with a powerful graphics library that minimizes coding effort. There is no software to install and all the work is done in a website. Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser is required since IE does not work well.
Web page design
Students will learn basic page building techniques for creating professional quality web sites — perfect for family or school projects. From storyboards, digital art and page building to navigation, design and page linking, students will gain mastery of digital techniques for designing web sites, step-by-step. Prior programming knowledge would be helpful, but not required.
Programming in Java
Prerequisite: Enjoyable Coding with JavaScript
It is a bad idea for novices to learn Java as a first language – We recommend everyone to climb the steps as explained in utdallas.edu/k12. In other words, it will be better if you have already mastered the basic programming concepts and have done some free-form coding. That will make assimilating Java a bit easier. This camp will cover the following concepts using hands-on projects:
Java fundamentals
if and switch statements
loops
static methods
arrays
Programming in C++
Prerequisite: Enjoyable Coding with JavaScript
It is a bad idea for novices to learn C++ as a first language – We recommend everyone to climb the steps as explained in utdallas.edu/k12. In other words, it will be better if you have already mastered the basic programming concepts and have done some free-form coding. That will make assimilating Java a bit easier. This camp will cover the following concepts using hands-on projects:
C++ fundamentals
if and switch statements
loops
functions
arrays
pointers
HST Admin & Coordinator Team
Please contact us if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions.
If you have any questions regarding our programs, please contact the correct coordinator.
• Assistant Principal – Mehmet Cellik- mcellik@harmonytx.org
• Assistant Principal – Lynn Hagemier- lhagemier@harmonytx.org
• Principal Resident – Mehmet Cellik- mcellik@harmonytx.org
• Instructional Coach – Kari Waterworth- kwaterworth@harmonytx.org
• Testing and Federal Program Coordinator – Dilek Suslu- dsuslu@harmonytx.org
• Operation Manager - Samra Didic- sdidic@harmonytx.org
• Engagement and Support Coordinator – Ayse Tas- aysetas@harmonytx.org
• ESL Coordinator – Maria Piralla- mpiralla@harmonytx.org
• Student Discipline Coordinator – Deirdre Johnson - djohnson@harmonytx.org