"Minecraft Club is a fun and lovely place for everyone to play Minecraft together. It teaches us many things like team work and how to build a community together." -Angelo D.

"Minecraft Club is where you can all hang out and vibe and make some new friends. Everyone here is super nice." -Jayla M.

"Minecraft Club teaches us how to work with each other better and teaches us how to survive in stressful situations." -Muhammad T.

"The JDHS Minecraft Club is a lovely place to hang out and interact with others during these hard times. It brings a sense of happiness and distraction from difficulties we may face in our environment. It allows us to be in a new place and join others as we come together in the JDHS Minecraft server!" -Brit L.

"When the world stopped, Minecraft Club helped us find a way to go. Minecraft Club is a fun way to meet new people and hang out while playing one of my favorite games. It's a great de-stressor from school work and I'm super glad I joined!" -Salwa O.

"When the club started in like November it was neat and pretty humble. Honestly I didn't expect the world/server to become as populated with builds and people. The members are pretty nice and kind to each other and often provide help when someone asks for it. Really in essence the club is very cool and you should check it out." -Enrique H.

"Minecraft Club is a really great place to make a new friends, hang out, and just chill. It’s an oasis in this pandemic." -Zarrukh N.

Mr. Ahmed is a chemistry teacher who loves video games, comic books, memes, and thrift shopping. He's been playing Minecraft for over 10 years and loves bringing video games into the classroom.

At the request of Minecraft Club members, Mr. Ahmed also runs a YouTube gaming channel for students to enjoy! Be sure to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/MrAhmedGaming

(Also those drawings above were made by members of Minecraft Club!)

It wouldn't be Minecraft without build creations! Minecraft Club has built a nice town and virtual community in our server. Here are some of the builds below:

Beyond building, Minecraft Club has had quite a few adventures! From fighting dragons to adopting dogs, here are some of them below:

Students aren't the only ones having a fun time in Minecraft Club! From time to time, our server has hosted teachers who were interested in seeing what Minecraft Club has to offer. Whether they were an expert gamer or thought that Minecraft was the same thing as Fortnite, students were more than happy to provide visitors with a tour and teach them how to play.

"Playing Minecraft for the first time was an entertaining experience. I'm happy to say that no one got angry at me for destroying things when I wanted to help build or got frustrated when I didn't know any of the controls. We had a good laugh when I accidentally stole some valuable items from a chest. (I gave it back!!) And I flew and fought some wild pig!! I won. It was really enjoyable!!! And definitely looking to join the club again." -Ms. Li

"Amazing visit! I learned how to get stuck in a hole, BUT also how to get out of it. Thanks for inviting me to join the in-game fun and showing me all your cool buildings. Very excited to see the future builds! 9/10 experience (join Student Council if you want that last star)" -Ms. Grace

"Honored to have gotten to see this incredible world! I appreciated the fireworks upon my arrival as well as the gifts. It was especially lovely to be a part of the magical moment where those chickens had MULTIPLE baby chicks and I hope they have since grown to be big, strong, and happy adult chickens. I may not have really understood what was going on during my visit, but I was certainly impressed. 10/10" -Ms. Howell

In April, John Dewey High School's Minecraft Club entered the 2021 Minecraft Education Challenge. In this build challenge, students were tasked with designing a sustainable and equitable New York City. Check out our submission below!

Big congratulations to Minecraft Club for winning part 1 of the competition! 5 members of Minecraft Club will be representing the Brooklyn team in a live Battle of the Boroughs competition during the first two weeks of June.

For more information on this year's Minecraft Education Challenge, please visit: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/minecraft

Besides playing Minecraft, we also watched it! Minecraft: Story Mode is an interactive, animated TV series on Netflix. During Minecraft Club's watch party, students voted on decisions that impacted the story.

There is still time to join! Minecraft Club uses Minecraft: Education Edition which is available for free for all students in NYC public schools. This version of Minecraft is accessible through Windows, Mac, iPad, and Chromebook. If you would like to join, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/jpL8TE7xQB2KoN4Q6

Minecraft Club is planning to host a end of the school year party on our server and would love for you to attend! If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail Mr. Ahmed at mahmed@johndeweyhighschool.org