Week of Sep 30

In Class this Week
We will continue sketching this week as we learn about 1 point and two point perspectives.  I have some objects that we can use to sketch for practice.  This is the last week of the six weeks, so make sure that you have everything turned in and up to date.  Also, leave your journals in class so that I can get them graded this week.

Week of Sep 16

IED classes this week will continue our research on the history of the development of your chosen product.  Be sure to include details on the specific changes, the reasons for them, why they were made possible, who benefited from the changes, and what problems those changes created.  You may make the presentation in Powerpoint, Prezi, Google Slides, or another presentation software of your choice, and you will load the presentation in to Moodle.  You will present your results on Wednesday. Be sure that both team members have a role in the presentation.

We recently watched the video about the industrial design company, Ideo.  Would you believe that we have a similar company that even has some ties to Ideo just a half of a mile from RRHS?  We are working on a field trip to visit M3 Designs in October. Look for more details to come soon.

STEM-related Clubs
If you are interested in helping us to start an engineering club, come to Mrs. Saksena's room (603) Thursday after school for the kick-off meeting.  Many options are open right now regarding what the club can do and how it operates.

Also, the robotics club is now going in full swing. If you are interested, we will meet in my room (601) Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday after school to plan and begin building our solution to the BEST challenge for this year.  You don't have to attend every meeting.  I planned multiple meetings because many of you have conflicts on one particular day and because we will need the time to complete our build and test before competition day, October 26, which will be held at RRHS!

Cyberpatriots is going to kick off this week in my room (601) on Tuesday.  Cyberpatriots teams compete in a competition in November where you will be given computer image(s) with security holes. Your task will be to find the security risks in the software and resolve them. CP teams learn about many different operating systems (like Windows 8, Ubuntu, and more) and what changes to their settings to make them more secure.

This Week at RRHS
Thursday is another late start.

Grades are due on Monday, and IPRs (Interim Progress Reports) will be distributed to students during 2nd period on Wednesday.

College Visits this week
Monday:       University of Chicago
Tuesday:       Abilene Christian University
                    Johnson & Wales University
Wednesday: California Baptist University
Friday:         Rice University

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to a new school year and Round Rock High School Engineering. I am excited about the engineering program and a number of the things that we will be doing this year inside the classroom and out. Make sure that you check this site regularly to keep up with, all of those things. I will notify you of what we will be doing in class, when there are activities that need to be completed outside of class, and field trips or special events that we will take throughout the year.

Check out the related pages above this post. I have one for scholarships that apply to engineering students, internships and work opportunities as well as college recruiting visits. You may even feel free to browse some of the older posts on those pages as many of the items are either ongoing or recurring events. You may find that the links are useful for finding available scholarships and internships even if the stated deadline has passed.

I encourage students and parents alike to sign up for the IED reminders at Remind 101.com The instructions to sign up can be found here, but this is a Twitter-like (short) text delivery system which I can use to send out reminders about assignments, deadlines and other key class information. You can sign up with your mobile phone and/or your email account, depending on which you would prefer, and it does not give me your information. The only thing that I see is a name that you give and which list you are signed up on (in this case, IED). Please make sure to sign up so that you can keep up.

Finally, fill out my information contact form and let me know how to best reach you and also some information about your student that will help me guide them better as we explore engineering and prepare for the future.

This week

We began sketching last week as being able to communicate via pictures and drawings is important to engineers.  Take note as we go along of the difference in the front view, on which we are currently working, and other possible views.  All work should go in your journal.  While I'm at it, remember to sign, date, and number each page in your journal as we go along.  I will conduct the first journal grade next week. following the drawing unit, we will study the different fields of engineering and then the history of engineering development of a product of your choosing.  Students will get practice presenting both of these reports later on.  

Laptop Distribution

All 9th and 10th graders at RRHS will be issued their own laptop as part of the 1:1 initiative.  We will distribute laptops to the current sophomores this Thursday & Friday in the 1100 bldg library.  Freshmen will be issued their laptops next week. 

Open House September 9

Make plans to attend the RRHS Open House next Monday, September 9 at 6:00 p.m.  The evening will kick off with a PTSA meeting, and you will then follow the student's schedule through all 8 periods.  It is a quick opportunity for you to meet the teachers and learn about the different classes that your student are taking.  If you are unable to attend in the evening, we are having a reverse open house offered the morning of Thursday September 12 from 8:00 until 9:00.  You will need to make appointments with the teachers for that morning event.

This week

I am waiting on the solder practice kits before we can finish the foundation unit. Keep in touch with remind101 (see instructions to sign up) to know what videos to watch.

I will do the first journal check this week. Make sure to update your table of contents, sign (or initial) and number each page of your journal. This Friday is the last day for grades before progress reports.