Vermont CSTA Newsletter - November 2024 (Nov 26, 2024)

Vermont Computer Science Teachers Association

Vermont CSTA Membership Drive

Vermont CSTA welcomes 24 new members so far this month!

Since the start of our membership drive kick-off earlier this month, we have officially doubled our membership.

The membership drive will continue through CSED week (Dec 9 -14). It you have not done it yet, this would be a great time to renew. your membership. As promised, we will be drawing daily prizes every day during CSED week from our member list.

prize graphics

That leaves 2 more weeks to encourage a colleague to join the worlds's largest computer science department.

Remember, CSTA is the place for ANYONE in your school who is passionate about computer science education – whether you're teaching CS full-time, integrating coding into your math or science class, running an after-school robotics club, or simply interested in bringing computational thinking into your classroom.

Graphics of prize

The free basic-level CSTA membership combined with Vermont chapter membership connects you to:

- A vibrant community of educators sharing resources, experiences, and best practices
- Professional development opportunities, including Vermont-specific events
- Access to curriculum resources, lesson plans, and teaching materials
- Events where you can network with fellow educators who also support computer science in Vermont schools

Plus, when you join during our membership drive, you'll be eligible for our CSED week prize drawings which include Amazon gift cards, circuit supplies, coaching cycles, circuit boards and robots you can code, and other teaching resources.

Ready to join? Follow these steps at https://csteachers.org/

For more info, check out this helpful membership benefit chart.
There is no charge for Basic CSTA membership or for Vermont Chapter membership.
If you need help reach out to info@vermont or any of our chapter leaders. Together, we can strengthen computer science education across Vermont!

Stay tuned for opportunities to Celebrate Computer Science in Vermont during CSED Week Dec 9 - 14.

Computer Science Strand @ Vermont Fest

Did you attend the Vermont CSTA strand at VermontFest? Not only did we kick off our membership drive, but our members -Kristen Wilson, Ben McVety, Lucie deLaBruere, and Tina Smith also offered a series of workshops filled with great ways to integrate computer science. Check out the Vermont-CSTA website for links to the resources from these workshops and look for some repeat sessions at upcoming Vermont CSTA PD events.

CS in Your Library or Elementary Classroom
~Lucie deLaBruere and Tina Smith

AI- It’s Not Magic - It’s Computer Science
~Lucie deLaBruere

CS in Upper Elementary/ Middle School with Co-spaces
~Kristen Wilson & Ben McVety

CS for High School students using Co-spaces
~Kristen Wilson & Ben McVety

Resources available here

INVENTION FAIR COMING TO VERMONT

Vermont Day School is working with the UNH Young Inventors Program to bring an Invention Fair to our state. Last year after the Vermont Fair at VDS, two students from Vermont participated in the Invention Convention Nationals. This year VDS is hoping to expand participation to students all over Vermont. They have set the location of the local fair to BETA Technologies in South Burlington on February 8th. Through partnership with UNH everyone gets free curricular resources to support students as they invent and create. To learn more you can check the VDS Invention Fair website or email Darcie Rankin at drankin@vtdayschool.org. Registration is due by Jan 15th, but it is recommended you sign up as soon as possible so that you have lots of time to invent!

This programming is great for after school clubs, science classes in K - 8, enrichment for all classes or for individual students to work at their own pace at school or home.

Are you ready for CSEdWeek? Check out the CSTA resources at

https://www.csedweek.org/. Stay tuned for some Vermont specific opportunities next week.