Tech Ed

As you may have seen, we are looking for a new technology teacher to continue our automotive and wood technology courses.  I want to assure everyone that there is no plan to cancel tech ed. WHS is committed to having a tech ed program.  We are actively searching for a qualified teacher in time for the start of the school year so that we can offer all the regular courses.

==Update==

We were very fortunate to be able to invite James Burke, an experienced auto and wood teacher, to join our faculty.  Mr. Burke brings a great deal of teaching experience, as well as practical experience from a successful contracting career to our program.  We look forward to the enthusiasm and vision that Mr. Burke brings to our program.

Tapping into community resources

WHS is fortunate to be in a community with such a wealth of community resources.  From the perspective of the Sci/Tec Department, one of the greatest resources is the people in the community.  Wellesley is home to a number of individuals who have careers in science and technology.   Working with the Wellesley Science Committee, a community group dedicated to the support of science education at WHS, we hope to better utilize this resource, to help our students have a richer science and technology experience.  We have many ideas about how to go about this, but would love to hear other suggestions.  Feel free to email me (Doug Brown), or leave a comment to this blog.  Below are some of the ideas we hope to explore this year.

Mentoring - We are establishing a requirement for our students to carry out an independent research project.  Currently, students who take the honors curriculum in grades 9-11 spend fourth quarter working on a project.  Being able to provide mentors who could help students plan experiments, interpret data, and identify resources would greatly enhance the experience.

Guest speakers - Providing students with an opportunity to hear from individuals who are pursuing careers in a variety of scientific endeavors helps to show students relevance, and gives them a chance to hear about scientific ideas and practices in more detail.

Getting Ready for WHS 07-08

Well, it is that time again, the back-to-school flyers are out (of course they were out in June too), and it it time to start thinking about the upcoming school year.  There are a couple of items I would like to suggest for students that will make life easier in Sci/Tec, and in the school in general.  None of these items are essential, but they will make your (and your teacher's) life easier

A USB flash drive.  Throughout your courses you will be writing reports, creating presentations and doing other work on a computer both as an individual, and as part of a group.  You will probably do this work in multiple places (school, home, library, friend's houses, etc.)  Having a flash drive allows you to carry around your files, so that you can work on them in multiple places.  It also allows you to save research (rather than printing out all 100 pages of it), and it allows you to easily transfer a presentation to the classroom computer.  A 512mb can be bought for under $20.00, and should have sufficient space to hold your files.

An Email Account.  Communication with your teachers and classmates is an essential part of your education.  Email allows you to contact your teacher and your classmates outside of school.  Scheduling makeups, discussing absences, checking on missing work and assignments is much easier through email (you have a written reminder of your discussion), and often teachers are available in the evenings.  Email also allows you to exchange ideas and questions with your classmates, allowing you to work on group projects when people's schedules prevent them from getting together.  If you don't have an email address through your internet provider, you can get a free email account through yahoo (www.yahoo.com), google (www.google.com) or hotmail (www.hotmail.com).  Be sure to check with your parents first before creating an email account.