Oct 1 - Last Week of the Six Weeks

This is the last week of the first six weeks.  The year is going by so fast that it's hard to believe.  I always like to look back to the start of school and see much we have already accomplished.  If you have any missing work, be sure to get that in to me (or have me check your journal) this week.  Wednesday will also be the second WOW day of the year, another opportunity for you to make up missing work before the grade deadline this Friday.

We started sketching last week and will continue through this week.  On Monday, we will finish the isometric sketches and look at two different types of 3-d sketches: obliques and perspective.  Engineers use these sketches to draw representations of their design ideas for further study and communication with others.  After the sketching, we will go in to a study of more technical drawing - orthographic projection multiview drawings.  Those are not sketches, but precisely proportioned and aligned drawings that communicate information to others.

Make sure that you are leaving your journals in the room as well as keeping them up to date.  I record the third journal grade this week.  Every journal page should have a number, date, and signature (or initials), and you should update the table of contents every day at the end of class.


If you haven't paid the $35 lab fee, please do so this week.  This money is critical to pay for the supplies and equipment that we use in the engineering classes.  If you are unable to pay at this time, please let me know.  I can tell you if you have paid or not, so just shoot me an email or ask in class if you are not sure.

Future Aggies Design Exhibition
I submitted registration for 19 RRHS students to participate in the FADE design competition on Friday, an exciting and great group of students.  The schedule for the day is now posted on the link above (and in a previous post below).  We will not be given details of the design challenge until October 10 when all teams are simultaneously informed of the task, leaving us with exactly one month to complete the challenge.  While we don't know the exact task that will be given, we do know that it will be based on one of the 14 Grand Engineering Challenges.  For those of you registered, look over those challenges and familiarize yourself with the possible tasks that may be given to us.  More information about teams and details will be sent to you this week.

FADE Registration Deadline Changed to THIS Thursday

There are a lot of you interested in FADE (Future Aggies Design Exhibition), and that is exciting.  I just got word today that the original deadline of October 5 has been moved up to this Friday, September 28.  I need to put together the teams and have definite commitment by Thursday so that I have time to fill out the forms.

I have hard copies of all that you need, but they are linked here as well.  I need 4 things from you:

• The FADE Behavioral Agreement
• Texas A&M Medical Waiver
• RRISD Permission & Waiver -   This is actually 2 forms: the medical waiver & permission form and an academic permission form.  The academic form needs to be signed by all of your teachers to indicate that you are aware of your responsibility to keep up with your school work and pass classes in order to take part in this extra-curricular activity.
• Give me information needed for the registration form by filling out this registration form.  

There is no cost to you.  All charges will be covered through the engineering activity account and grants (Let's hope!). 

The schedule for the day has been posted on the FADE web site.  Check that site for updates and more information as it becomes available.  The schedule for the day will be as follows.

7:00 am - 8:00 am	Team Check-in
8:00 am - 11:00 am	Design Competition
11:30 am - 12:30 pm	Lunch / Student Panel
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm	Campus Tour
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Department Tours
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm	Dinner / Awards Ceremony

In order to make it to College Station by the registration time, we will need to leave RRHS at 6:00.  Lunch and Dinner are provided by A&M, but you may want to bring money for breakfast and snacks during the day.  

Let me know if you have any questions.  

Sep 24

Be ready to present your product evolution presentation on Tuesday, and remember to upload them to Moodle before Monday night at 11:55 p.m.  The link to our Moodle is in the links I have provided on the right-side of this page.  This will finish up our What is Engineering? unit.

Next, we will learn to draw isometric sketches, perspective sketches, and orthographic projection drawings.  Engineers use different types of sketches & drawings to communicate ideas to each other and to clients.  Learning how to draw them will ensure that we can read or understand them as well. That unit will take us through the next two weeks.

Also, this week will see our first WOW period.  On Work it Out Wednesday, students will  have a tutorial opportunity during the school day in order to make up missing work or get extra help.  Check with teachers for any classes which you are failing and request a WOW pass.  Thursday is again a late start day.  

Parents, be sure to check over your student's progress reports that were given to them on Friday.  If you have any questions, let me know. 

FADE Design Competition & Texas A&M Field Trip

Check out the information on FADE (Future Aggies Design Exhibition).  This event is option and will take place after school hours, so it is optional.  If you are interested, let me know.  I will have permission forms this week that you will need to fill out and have parents sign.  The deadline for us to sign up teams of 4-6 students is next Friday, October 5 this Friday September 28.  On October 10, we will be given an engineering challenge to solve from the Fourteen Grand Engineering Challenges, although, I don't know right now exactly what that will be.  The student teams will then have one month, until November 10, to create a solution to the challenge that we are given.  On November 10, which is a Saturday, we will travel by bus to the campus of Texas A&M to present our solution and see how other students solved the same problem.  The cost is free to students participating, and lunch and dinner is being provided for all participants.  For now, start forming teams of which you want to be a part and let me know that you are interested.  I will have sign-up and permission forms on Tuesday.

If you are interested, I need the information on this form in order to get you registered.  Please fill this out to let me know that you want to participate and to give me the needed information. I must have registration and permission forms back by this Thursday.

September 18

Progress reports will be sent out on Friday, so look for those to come home before the weekend.  If you have questions regarding your grades, please let me know as soon as you can.  Also, next Wednesday (Sep 26) will be our first WOW.  If you have some missing work or low grades, take advantage of that  in-school tutorial times to make it up.

This Thursday will be a Late Start.  School starts at 9:25.

We are finishing up our study of the design process.  Students will create a presentation on the evolution of a common item of their choosing (cell phone, printer, automobile,  camera, and many more) with a focus on the details of when, how, and why the product changed over time.  Next week, we will begin a short unit on sketching in more detail than we looked at it last week.  We will learn to make specific engineering types of sketches called isometric and perspective sketches. 

September 10

There are several events that you should be aware of this week outside of our engineering classes.

First of all, parents are invited to attend the Open House on Monday, September 10.  Parents will gather in the 1100 (new) building cafeteria for a short PTSA meeting and instructions at 6:00.  Beginning at 6:30, you will follow your student's schedule with 10 minutes in each class to meet the teachers and hear a brief overview of each class, grading, objectives, etc.  Students were given an invitation letter today during 2nd period and should have written their schedule down on that letter to give to you.  Please come to see us Monday night, and get a copy of your child's schedule and a campus map so that you will know where to go.


For IED, we will continue learning just about the process of design and exploring how design in an intentional and systematic way to solve problems.  Afterward, you should start looking at things differently and start to recognize the reasons why some of the products you use look the way that they do.

Don't forget to check out the other pages that I have linked through this site displayed as tabs above the blog posts.  One is a collection of scholarships that are available to RRHS engineering students to apply for and get assistance in paying for college. I have added a link to the college visit schedule for our school.  On Thursday (Sep 13), Rochester Institute of Technology will be here and wanting to talk to our junior and seniors.  Check with your counselor to sing up for a time to talk with them.  RIT is one of the colleges that offers college credit for participation (with an appropriate EoC and course grade) in PLTW courses.  You can start out college with 4 hours of credit already earned for successful completion of each of our PLTW courses. 

September 3

I hope that you enjoyed your long weekend.  This week, we will continue setting up the journals and practice sketching.  Wednesday we review brainstorming, a process engineers use for generating ideas to solve a problem.  Then, on Friday, we will study a structured design process.

This Friday is the deadline to bring your $35 lab fee to me.  If you are unable to get the lab fee to me this week, please let me know.

Mark your calendars for next Monday, September 10, which will be RRHS Open House.  Parents will have a short PTSA meeting and then a chance to run through your child's full schedule, meeting all of us as your student's teachers.  It is always a good time but very fast-paced.  Typically, parents will spend about 8 minutes per class period in each room.

Be sure to go to sign up through Remind 101 for quick updates via email and/or text message.  That will allow me to send out quick reminders and short updates from time to time.

Finally, we will see our first "late start" day this Thursday.  Check the RRHS page for the late start bell schedule.  Classes start later, at 9:25, in order to allow teachers to work and plan together in PLCs.  This schedule occurs on most Thursdays this year (but not all). 

This has started out as a great year.  We all are looking forward to an exciting year of Dragon Engineering!