First STEM Club Meeting

Monday December 10th - 8th Period.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

STEM Club coming to SMS

The Technology department will be working with science and math teachers to form a STEM club.

Details are still being worked out. The club will take place after school as well as during selected period 8 classes. Topics to include drone and robot courses to help kids learn to code in a fun and creative way. The club will build upon Somerset Middle School’s mission to introduce coding in a way that is relevant to any child’s interests–be it robotics, Minecraft, or advanced text languages.

The goal is to allow kids to program drones and robots as they simultaneously learn to code and reinforce subjects they currently learn at school. When they program a drone to navigate through an obstacle course for example, they practice geometry and angles.

For further details please speak with someone from the Engineering / Technology Dept

Hour of Code Week

To all students:

The Engineering and Technology Department will be providing the opportunity to every student at Somerset Middle School to learn Computer Science by taking part in an Hour Of Code.

If any parent or student would like to learn more about the Hour Of Code initiative you can head over to their website:

https://code.org/

Or check out this excellent video: What Most Schools Don't Teach

Grade 7 - Design Process Stage Testing - New Record for this year

Our new record holder for the most weight held so far is......

For safety we did not have Aaron take any more  photos because the pile of books went  beyond what this pictures shows. He held the plates (60lbs), 9 Blue books and 22 Red books. There are still plenty of stages to be tested so someone else could hold more but Aaron did set a pretty high bar to reach.

Here is the next set of stage pictures.

Stay tuned for more testing.

Grade 7 - Design Process Stage Testing Video

Video of some of the testing results. Stay tuned for more  results.

Grade 7 - Design Process - Our first results

The following two stages were tested today. Can you guess which held the 50lbs??

Stay tuned for more pictures and testing results.

Final Term 1 Push

With so many students working to finish their Engineering / Technology Department projects I thought we'd post a few photos to show them hard at work.

To all Grades - Grades Close Nov 8th

To all grades

Grades close this Thursday, Nov 8th. If you haven't completed any of the assigned projects, be sure to talk to your teacher(s) so you don't miss anything. The teachers will be working to get grades into ASPEN as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions, be sure to speak with your teacher ASAP.

Grade 6 - Full Scale Drawings

To All ODD section students

All 6th graders should now be working towards finishing their 3 full scale drawings.

Please keep in mind that all drawings need to be completed before the end of the term. If you have any questions, concerns or would like additional time and/or help, be sure to see your teacher during the Computer Lab to get all the help you are asking for.

Grade 8 - Scratch will replace Micro:Bit

To all ODD section 8th grade classes

Due to shipping issues outside of our control the 8th grade classes will not use the Micro:Bit for their programming segment. Simply put the order placed in early July of this year has been delayed multiple times. Instead we will revert back to what we used last year, Scratch Programming, to cover the curriculum

If any student has any questions regarding this change feel free to speak with the teacher.

Grade 6 - Measuring in Inches

To all ODD cycle 6th grades classes:

Project 1 - Measuring in Inches has begun. Students shall complete the measuring worksheets -> 1", 1/2", 1/4", 1/8", 1/16"

Each sheet adds the next level of accuracy and shows the students how to properly obtain the correct measurement. After all worksheets have been completed properly the students will be taking a test. 


If you have any questions be sure to get them answered as soon as possible.

Grade 7 - Design Process - Stage Project has started

To all ODD section 7th graders. The stage project is now underway. All students should be working to complete the first part of the Stage Project.

Those steps are:

1. Identifying the Problems
2. Researching for ideas
3. Developing three potential ideas
4. Selecting the Best solution.

If you have any questions be sure to speak with Mr. Falcon as soon as possible.

New Wide Format Printer on display at the Middle School during Back To School night

On Thurs (9-14-18) the Engineering / Technology Department took delivery of their new Wide Format Printer.

 After the installation process was completed, Mr. Medeiros and Mr. Falcon received their initial training with both the printer and the new software.  As a test Mr. Medeiros along with the Installation Technician, created the banner that ended up being used for Back-To-School night. 

In order to really test the resolution of the printer Mr. Falcon created the QR code, seen at the bottom of the poster, to provide a very easy way for parents to visit this website.

As the night progressed we received nothing but positive feedback regarding the poster. Many parents looked forward to hearing what interesting projects the student will be working on that will make use of this new learning tool.

Stay Tuned.

Grade 7 - Google Apps and Drive project has begun

To all ODD section classes

The Google Apps project has begun. All students will be given 2 classes to complete this project before moving on.

Any student(s) who have questions or need help should speak with the teacher ASAP in order to obtain the help they need.

Grade 8 - Screen Capture Project has started.

To all ODD section 8th grade classes:

The project which has students collect 10 images from the internet has begun. The students will capture them using the proper keystrokes, then using Paint save them onto their pc. They will then import them into a new Google Doc, and  label them with the proper titles. All students will be given 2 days to complete this project.

Any student who needs extra help or has any questions should speak with the teacher ASAP to get the help you need.

To all Grades - Welcome back / Outlines going out

To All Students in all Grades

The Engineering and Technology Department would like to Welcome everyone back to school. We look forward to meeting each and every one of you.

Note:
Course Outlines will be passed out to all students. Students are to return the bottom section of the outline signed by a Parent / Legal Guardian and returned in TWO classes to receive full Credit. Except for excused absences, any outline not returned within the 2 class period will lose 10pts for each class they are late.

ex. If the student returns the outline on the fourth day they will receive an 80 instead of the 100.

Thank you

To all Grades - Have a Fun and Safe Summer

To all Students of SMS, have a fun filled and Safe Summer. 

To all 8th Graders, congratulations on your hard work!!!!! Have a great summer and may High School be everything you expect it any more.

Grade 7 - CO2 Launch videos

The 7th grade students who completed their C02 Dragster project launched them today. Below are some of the videos from those releases. All of the videos are on our YouTube channel.

Grade 8 - We have a Lego SumoBot Winner!!!!

Congratulations to all 8th grade students who competed in this years Lego SumoBot competition

Here is how the day played out.

To start, we had to determine a winner for 8-2 and four teams showed they were the teams too beat.

Block
ASADA
Circuit Breakers
Todd

The top two teams, Block and ASADA ended up tied after 9 round robin rounds so a single elimination ti-breaker was held with Block taking the win. That meant the EVEN cycle finals could begin.

The teams who qualified were

8-2
8-6
8-8

8-2 beat 8-6
8-6 beat 8-8
8-2 beat 8-8

Making 8-2 the winner of the EVEN cycle. That left only two teams, The winners from the ODD and EVEN cycle.

The team of Kyle and Megan from 8-1 proved too strong for 8-2,  winning three straight games in a solid fashion. Here is the winning match.

Congratulations To Kyle and Megan Winners of the 2018 SumoBot Compeition!!!!!!

Grade 7 - All Number System Worksheets are now Due

To all Even section 7 graders

All math worksheets that cover the three different systems are now due. Be aware, you MUST finish ALL sheets before you are allowed to start the second design process (dragster) project.

Any worksheet not completed at this time is now Homework and should be completed ASAP. If you have any questions, concerns or would like assistance in completing the worksheets make sure to speak with your teacher to receive the help you need to complete these projects. 

Grade 8 Lego Sumo competition Results So Far

If you are interested in seeing how your favorite team(s) are doing, follow this link to see all the rankings.

Tournament Schedule - Round Robin for Section 8-2

The above photo shows the craziest moment of the competition for far, how neither team went off is a miracle.

When 8th graders return from their trip we will conclude this competition.

Stay Tuned

Grade 8 - EVEN cycle Sumo Competition Schedule

To all EVEN section 8th grade students.

Here are the competition dates for the Sumo Competition.

Section 8-2   June 5th  (E day)
Section 8-4   June 5th  (E day)

Section 8-6   June 6th  (F Day)

Section 8-8   June 6th  (F Day)

Section 8-10 June 4th  (D day)

EVEN Section finals date TBD. 

Overall Finals - Winners of ODD 
and EVEN cycles will compete
on June 18th. Winner to be
announced at 8th grade
assembly on June 20th.

Your robot must pass inspection prior to your competitions. 

If you have any questions see Mr. Falcon ASAP to get them answered .  

Grade 7 - Different Number System Worksheets

To all Even section 7 graders

All math worksheets that cover the three different systems are underway. Be aware, you MUST finish ALL sheets before you are allowed to start the second design process (dragster) project.

Dec - Bin
Bin - Dec

Dec - Oct
Oct - Dec

Dec - Hex
Hex - Dec

If you need help, speak with the teacher as soon as possible.

Grade 6 - Scratch programming is in full swing

The 6th grade students have taken to Scratch very quickly with some students already starting to work on their Maze Game. Below are some pictures showing initial designs and ideas.

Grade 6 - Introduction to Scratch Programming

To all ODD section 6th grade classes:

Introduction to Programming using Scratch has begun with it's first project.

The programming areas we will be concentrating on are:

-Looping

-Conditionals

-Variables

-Expressions

Upon successful completion of the above projects students will be tasked with creating their own  Maze Game as a final project for this unit.

Grade 7 - Design Process project is now due

To all EVEN cycle 7 grade classes

The Design Process - Building a Stage Project - is now due. Students should have built and had their prototype tested. From there identify 2 parts of the stage that did not work as designed, 2 parts that worked as designed and if given the time, what improvements would you make to your design.

 
Any and all questions should be presented to the teacher ASAP.

Grade 7 - Design Process - Stage results

The project has very few requirements, and even fewer things to work with; hold up 50lbs 3 inches from the ground for 5 seconds using nothing but a manila folder and 24 inches of masking tape. Below are some of the best results so far from the EVEN cycle.

Below are some pictures of the many stages that have been tested.