Thursday, April 28, 2016

The World of Robotics at Robbins Elementary

   Moore County Schools has made positive strides and a significant push for robotics this year. The county has provided each school with two EV3 robots and many teachers have stepped up to the plate to be coaches for this year's teams. For this post, I have decided to spotlight the robotics team at Robbins Elementary and the hard work they have done. This year's team is coached by Marlana Evans, the media specialist, and Brian Barlow, the P.E. teacher. Both have done a fabulous job in ensuring the best possible experience for students and are anxiously awaiting the May 6 showcase. Below are some highlights from our interview about their robotics team and experiences they have shared.



1. What has been the most rewarding part of doing a robotics club at Robbins?
The most rewarding part about Robotics Club at RES has been watching the students learn to program and predict the challenge courses. It was amazing to see how quickly they learned these skills and were able to apply them.

2. What have you enjoyed most about doing robotics club?
I have enjoyed watching and teaching students how to interact as a member of a team. Watching them work together to solve challenges is really amazing!

3. Has doing robotics helped your students with teamwork?
YES! Participating in Robotics has helped our students communicate more effectively with each other by giving clear and concise instructions. They have learned that working together is more efficient!

4. How do you think robotics ties into the curriculum?
Robotics ties to the curriculum because it helps students to problem solve, pull from back knowledge, and think logically through a problem.

5. Are you and the kids excited about the showcase coming up?
SO EXCITED! We feel ready and the kids are so excited to see what other schools have created!



Thank you to all of the elementary schools that are participating in this year's showcase. We are so excited to see the boards and how the student teams do! The showcase will be held at Pinecrest High School from 9:00-1:30 on May 6, 2016. We hope to see you all there!!



~Deanna Boesch

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Evolution of Moore County Schools STEM Camp


Moore County Schools has maintained a focused effort to increase Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in their schools over the past four years.  This coming summer will mark the 4th annual Summer STEM Camp.  For the past three years the camp, this free camp for rising 3rd-8th grade students, has taken place at Southern Middle School.  The camp was funded through a STEM Grant from the Mebane Foundation.

This year, with the conclusion of that grant, the camp will be a paid option for parents that are looking for fun, educational activities for their children to participate in over the summer.  We are fortunate to offer two camp dates this year.  The first camp will be held at Southern Middle School in Southern Pines, from June 20-23.  The second camp will be held at Elise Middle School in Robbins, from July 11-14. Camp will cost $160 and will include lunch and snacks daily, as well as a T-shirt.  For this year's camp, we plan to learn about 3D modeling, computer programming, robotics and computer coding.  It will be a blast.

If you would like more information please email me at jcallahan@ncmcs.org.  If you would like to register your rising 3rd-8th grader, please go to the link here.