Mrs. Krapf

AT logo designed by Kevin H., former AT student.

What we're up to...

AT students had a busy and exciting 2018-2019 school year! Students began the year researching, planning and presenting their own class field trips to a mock Board of Education and Administration. 5th and 6th grade students learned the principles of traditional animation and tried their hand at create traditional animations using PowerPoint. 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students participated in the national NatGeo Challenge for the first time this year. Students worked in collaborative groups to research the problem of plastics in waterways and presented a plan to prevent or remediate plastic pollution in a specific waterway around the world. 7th and 8th grade students also became entrepreneaurs, and created and marketed a new invention, or developed and marketed an innovation to an existing invention. All students developed their CAD and 3D design skills on TinkerCAD by creating their own bubble wands. Unfortunately, the 3D printer's extruder broke when we started to print the bubble wands, so they will be printed at a later date. The highlight of the year for all students was the iFly field trip to learn about STEM careers and wind tunnel applications, and to experience a one minute flight in the wind tunnel. We are looking forward to another exciting year in 2019-2020!

Scratch Escape Room Games! The 8th grade class is currently designing and coding their own Escape Room Games in Scratch. Later in the year, the 6th and 7th grade AT classes will also create their own Escape Room Games in Scratch. In May the classes will be putting their logic skills to the test on their field trip to an actual Escape Room Game in Philadelphia.

University of Pennsylvania - The 7th and 8th grade AT classes are planning on visiting the University of Pennsylvania in April for a Scavenger Hunt, Self-Guided Campus Tour, and to meet with a former Bell Oaks alum and current UPenn student.

The 6th and 7th grade classes are ready to open their own Tour Agencies! During the first marking period, they planned their own custom Walking Tours of their favorite cities around the world (and in literature). They then created either an informational Brochure or Website for their tour.

Our field trip to the Franklin Institute with the 4th grade AT classes and the 5th-8th ELL classes was great! Students saw the imax film Robots, all about how we use robots today and where the future of robots is heading. We then explored the Franklin Institute's exhibit on robotics. Students were able to learn about the history of robots, as well as interact with robots. From playing tic-tac-toe, to blackjack, to battlebots, students were very engaged with the robotics exhibit. Students were then able to explore the rest of the museum with their groups and chaperones. We are looking forward to working on a robotics project with the ELL classes after PARCC.

6th & 7th grade are currently working with the LEGO EV3 Mindstorms kits. They are building and programming their way through the Introduction to Robotics lessons. At the end of this unit, they will program their robots to successfully complete an obstacle course.

5th grade has learned the principles of effective logo design, and is currently designing their own logos to represent the Academically Talented program. Once they finish their designs, we will choose finalists for a district-wide contest.

The 8th grade class completed projects with the two Raspberry Pi 2 micro-computers and two Arduino microprocessors. One group attempted to push the Raspberry Pi 2 to its limits by "over clocking" it. Another group used the Arduino starter kit to make a mood lamp. Another group is still working to 3D print a robot and then use on of the Arduino's to build and program the robot.

The 5th, 6th, and 7th grade classes have been successful in designing 3D objects using Tinkercad. We will continue printing cars after replacing a wire in the printer that shorted. Once all cars are printed, the classes will compete for fastest car.

The 8th grade class has completed their LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots. Students worked in small groups to they build, program, and test their robotic designs. Video overviews of each project will be posted soon.

All classes are finishing up this year's Genius Hour projects. Students have conducted their research and are in the final stages of preparing their presentations. 8th grade will begin presentations after Spring Break, and 5th-7th will present after PARCC.

The 5th - 8th grade classes had an excellent trip to Eastern State Penitentiary. Prior to the trip, students had learned about and researched the US criminal justice and prison systems, past and present. By the end of the unit, students began researching and proposing legal changes to improve the current criminal justice and prison systems.

The 7th and 8th grade AT classes visited the University of Pennsylvania at the end of the 2015-2016 school year, and were able to speak with Derek Cano (Bell Oaks alum and UPenn student) about life at UPenn.

Our 2nd DonorsChoose.org project was funded! We receieved two Arduino micro-controllers and two Raspberry Pi 2s! This will allow the students to expand into the fields of computer programming and robotics!

Our DonorsChoose.org project for a 3D Printer was funded! Our printer has arrived and students have been busy learning about and using 3D slicing software, as well as learning how to operate, calibrate, and print on the printer!

Genius Hour! Our first Genius Hour was a success. Students presented their projects at the end of January, and have begun working on their second Genius Hour projects. Students will be beginning their next Genius Hour projects at the end of first marking period.

Socratic Seminar! All classes have been actively engaging in discussion on current event topics and social studies topics in Socratic Seminar.