NCWIT Aspirations Award Recipients

We have multiple students recognized for the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award!

Per NCWIT’s website:

“The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC) honors 9th-12th grade students who self-identify as women, genderqueer, or non-binary for their computing-related achievements and interests, and encourages them to pursue their passions. Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing, as demonstrated by their computing experience, computing-related activities, leadership experience, tenacity in the face of barriers to access, and plans for post-secondary education.”
National Winner – DaiGianna Williams
National Honorable Mention – Yamilett Estrada-Reyes
Northern Illinois Affiliate Winners – Claudia Jimenez, Sadie Bunting, Fay Lin, Yamilett Estrada-Reyes, Violetta Dabros, Aniyah Bonds
Northern Illinois Honorable Mention – Gina Gomez

All students were nominated by computer science teachers who noticed their outstanding work in the classroom. Every class is an opportunity for students to achieve the amazing!

More information on the award can be found here: https://www.aspirations.org/recognitions/AiCAward

Engineering Fest This Weekend at CAF!

Get tickets here!

Don’t miss our ninth annual Engineering Fest! Drop by anytime between 9:30am and 4pm on February 22 and 23 to build and learn, view exhibits, meet engineers and discover systems that move us around Chicago. Kids ages 12 and younger are FREE.

This weekend is full of engineering excitement—come participate in numerous stations and activities including:

• Youth tours: Take a short walking tour near the CAC and learn about the systems that help people move around the city. Stops include the Michigan Avenue Bridge, an L station and the Riverwalk.
• Book readings: Learn how people keep moving through the city after a big snowfall through readings in English and Spanish of “Katy and the Big Snow” by Virginia Lee Burton. Then, think like an urban planner and decide where buildings, railroads, streets and more should go in our collaborative, mixed-media city!
• Build and test an elevator: Elevators were essential to the development of the skyscraper. Learn about this amazing invention, then build and test your own!
• Build and test train tracks: Did you know that each CTA car weighs 57,000 pounds, without any riders? Learn about the strong structures that hold elevated trains and create your own train track.
• Meet an engineer: Get feedback on your train track and elevator designs from experts in the field and learn about the variety of careers that help a city GO!
• Plus so much more!

NCWIT Awards Posted!

If you applied for any of the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing awards, please login to your NCWIT account and check to see if there are any award designations. Some students are seeing the awards noted in their account, but never received an email about it. If you received any designation for any of the categories, please email Mr. Solin at jbsolin@cps.edu.

CodeDay Chicago Winter 2020

CodeDay is an overnight event that brings together musicians, artists, and coders to join forces on making awesome projects. Over the course of 24 hours, you’ll form teams with kids from all around Chicago, learn from industry pros, participate in an international hacking competition, make a pixelated Bob Ross painting, and sing midnight karaoke. If you’re a beginner, no problem! We’ll have workshops and mentors to help you learn the basics.

Use the promo code “CPS” to get a ticket for 50% off. Sign up now at codeday.org/chicago.

Summer Digital Scholars Academy – FREE College Credit at UIC

See details below from UIC…

Building off of the success of UIC CHANCE’s summer STEM Academy, we are creating the Digital Scholars Academy, which is an intensive, 5-week long program for high school juniors to run June 17th-July 24th, 2020. Through an application process, students can take one of two college level UIC Computer Science Courses (CS100 and CS111) or engineering, and will receive 3 college credit hours upon completion. In addition to coursework, all students will participate in enriching and immersive learning experiences throughout the session that will connect into Chicago’s dynamic tech community. This includes field trip/workshop days at DPI and to tech hubs in the city to learn more about the application of CS and engineering from entrepreneurs, technologists, business and civic leaders. The course is free.

Attached is more information, including a link to apply. The second attachment is information for an open house being held on Monday for students and their parents to learn more about the program.

DPI_Digitial Scholars Flyer.pdf

Open House Flyer.pdf

African-American History Month in CS

You can find a link below to find information on just some of the many notable African-American contributors to the field of computer science.

https://blog.newrelic.com/culture/black-history-month-computer-science-infographic/

ChiCyberCon

Details at https://chicybercon.com/#about-1

STEM Opportunity for Girls

Hello, we want to share a STEM opportunity in Illinois for high school girls. The program is called Girls Go CyberStart and registration is now open until Friday February 14th, 2020. There is a huge shortage of cybersecurity experts in the United States. To bridge this gap, Girls Go CyberStart’s mission is to give high school girls the chance to discover whether they have an aptitude for computer science and cybersecurity through a fun, free and interactive online program full of digital challenges. Through Girls Go CyberStart, students can explore exciting career opportunities in the cyber field. For more information on the program and registration details, go to https://www.girlsgocyberstart.org/.

Girls Go Cyberstart teams are competing for cash prizes!!!!

Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program

https://girlswhocodesm.smapply.io/

Early admissions deadline is this Friday!

Summer hands-on engineering experience for rising high school Juniors and Seniors

Applications are open for the UIC Women in Engineering Summer Program (WIESP) for rising high school juniors and seniors. The application is open until March 31st. Details can be found at go.uic.edu/WIESP2020 and in the attached PDF. The experience emphasizes hands-on projects and field trips. Applicants will receive a stipend at the end. Applicants must apply and supply recommendations.

WIESP2020.pdf