April Newsletter
Mrs. Nicole Penn Classes
BREAKING NEWS/SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
TSA is going to Nationals thanks to the Enrichment Fund of Guilford County Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Fund's Future Thinkers Doers and Innovators Grant! Five state finalists will be attending the National level competition in Dallas, TX. TSA (Technology Student Association) is an organization that provide opportunity to compete and sharpen technology skills and aptitude developed in class. This year we participated in Future City Competition in Raleigh, NC with the support of the eCybermission Grant, TSA State Competition, and on May 2nd- Take Flight Robotics Competition. TE Connectivity has been another major sponsor that has helped with competition fees and special event t-shirts! TSA events are done via class and perfected in our afterschool tutorial sessions.
6th Grade News
We had fun conducting our DNA extraction via our webinar with Ms. Poles at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. This is the first ever event done in Guilford Cty Schools in which we interacted live via Skype. More job simulations are underway. We completed simulating being an Electrician. Up next- we will simulate being an Architect and Builder by making model Greenhouses and/or Eco Homes powered by LED lighting, solar panels and other eco-friendly fuels.
7th Grade News
Just finished our robotics unit. In only 3 weeks we had 7th grade students and a few 6th graders represent Kiser at the first County wide Robotics competition sponsored by Honda Jet and Greensboro Science Center. Tutorials using the NXT were applied to real world situations such as using robotics to clear run ways, draw caution flags, fix antennas, and more! Next, students will apply lessons learned about simple machines to develop a Jelly Bean Dispenser machine that use at least 1 simple machine and/or 1 compound machine which will follow up with Roller Derby Challenge reinforcing use of math concepts used with the robotics lesson such as Newton Laws of Motion, Gears, Force/Distance and more. Last project will be designing Hot Air Balloons and the Solar Car Designs.
8th Grade News
Following NXT robotics tutorial, students are becoming very familiar with the different types of energy sources, electrical circuit design and will now use knowledge learned to rotate through various choice board activities in Energy/Power, Transportation (designing and underwater autonomous robot or solar/fuel cell cars) and Construction in which Energy sources are used in all areas (scaled model school or home of their dreams). Final projects will utilize research conducted on flight and apply it to the design of water bottle rockets, small engine rockets, and more!
Want to learn more about participating in TSA next year!!
Contact: Mrs. Nicole Penn, NBCT/CTE TED Teacher
Special Note: There are still a few more costs associated with our trip to Nationals. Please consider visiting our DonorsChoose page by clicking on the link below. Thanks!!!
TSA Nationals DonorsChoose Page
Email: pennn@gcsnc.com
Website: kiser.gcsnc.com
Location: 716 Benjamin Parkway, Greensboro, NC, United States
Phone: 336-370-8240
Facts: Did you know that Technology Education/Technology Engineering & Design used to be known as Industrial Arts Education and now a more automated form of "Shop" class?