2016-2017 fox chapel area school district state of the schools
Computer Science Curriculum Revised to Address Coding, Programming, and Robotics
District staff members developed a new and redesigned computer science curriculum at the elementary and middle school levels that includes coding, programming, and robotics beginning in kindergarten. Students use these tools to first learn the basics, and then they use and apply them in cross-curricular projects. This past year, for example, Dorseyville Middle School students used their district-provided iPads and Hummingbird Duo Robotics Kits TM to create a museum-type display to demonstrate what they learned by creating circuits, coding the Hummingbirds, and researching their topics about westward expansion in the United States. A group of fifth graders discovered they could take their new-found knowledge of coding and robotics – and some recycled materials gathered in their art classes – to create robotic-driven“ junkbot” works of art. Even the youngest students learned the rudiments of coding, computer science, and robotics through games such as Puzzlets TM and Bee-Bots ®.
At the high school level, a new Advanced Placement course, Principles of Computer Science, was implemented and was geared toward students who may benefit from programming skills, yet may not be intending to major in a computer science field. This college-level course provides a broad-range of concepts that allows students to use technology in programming as a means to solve computational problems and is designed with a focus on multidisciplinary creative problem solving and real-world applications. Additionally, the high school continues to offer classes in robotics, engineering, electronics, and architecture and high school students use these tools and concepts in other curricular areas.
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• High school senior Ellen Pil advanced, for the second year in a row, to the semifinal round in Student Congress at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Championship Tournament. This accomplishment placed Ellen in the top 60 students in the nation. In addition, five other Fox Chapel Area High School students advanced to the national tournament.
• High school art teacher Sarah Stewart was selected as one of 53 participants in the 2017 National Gallery of Art Teacher Institute on Art of the Renaissance held in Washington, D. C. The six-day seminar brought together teachers of art, English, history, math, and related subjects from 22 different states.
• High school math teacher Kristine Yacamelli was selected to receive the University of Chicago’ s Outstanding Educator Award. She was nominated by 2016 Fox Chapel Area High School graduate Anja Schempf, a student at the University of Chicago.
• High school social studies teacher Jen Klein was named an“ Outstanding Teacher” by Denison University. She was nominated by 2016 graduate Cami Walter.
• Middle school art teacher Nanci Goldberg was chosen, for the second year in a row, to take an educational trip with other educators through Classrooms Without Borders. In the summer of 2017, she traveled to Israel as part of an arts and culture trip.
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