JSM Virtual Makerspace

 Hello everyone, 

As many of you know, there is now a virtual makerspace available through your Google Classroom.  Make sure you check out all the neat things you can do virtually.  There is also a Makerspace challenge for you to take part in.  

This weeks challenge is:

Build a shelter that will protect you from rain, wind, sun and bugs

• you can use materials that you can find around your house ex. Paper, recyclables, aluminum cans, cardboard…

• SHARE!!  when you are finished, take a picture and upload to the virtual makerspace

A huge THANK YOU to all of the @JSMelementary staff who have worked tirelessly this week to make sure that students first few days of school was filled with smiles, wonderment and excitement! pic.twitter.com/rFAMp1K75X

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) September 4, 2020

Make your home a mini-makerspace!

 To all our students and families,

Please continue to check the CBE website for updates on COVID- 19 and CBE procedures.

All the students at JSM have used the Makerspace at JSM with Mr.Patry this year.  We have made sock puppets, Lego and K'nex to build and learn.  You may have Lego which is great and you can build really awesome things.  

Take a look at this Lego Challenge Calendar and see if you can complete the 31 day challenge.

Another wonderful building tool that you may have at home is CARDBOARD!  Cardboard can be used for all sorts of maker projects.  Have you ever heard of Caine's Arcade?  Watch the video about Caine and what he made with cardboard.  After, challenge yourself to make a plan and build your game out of cardboard.  When it's done, play with a family member!  Brainstorm super fun ideas, make sketches, build and test creations. You can use anything you have at home to make a marble mazes in pizza boxes and a whack-a-mole game to robots, or space stations!  What will you make?

Take a picture of your game so you can share it with Mr. Patry when you see each other again.

No Sew Sock Doll success! Students have been busy building and making their creations! #mightylearners #MakerEd #earylearning #makerspace #wearwcbe pic.twitter.com/HoYdDerOJr

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 3, 2020

Students have been eager to finish working on their no-sew sock stuffy creations. We are looking to finish these up in the next couple weeks. Students have been working for the design process and providing informal feedback to each other to make their creations even better. Once the stuffy is complete, it will be needed for another task in the makerspace!

Hard to believe that 2019 is coming to a close.  When the students return in January, we will be going back to our Sock Puppet Stuffies that students started designing.  If students have any material that they feel would add to his/her stuffy design, they can bring the materials in.  If not, there are plenty of supplies in the maker space to add to the designs. 

We will see you all on January 9th, 2020!

Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Mr.Patry

JSM Winter Celebration

JSM Presents: pic.twitter.com/HehiPe0b5c

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) November 28, 2019

Today we remembered our Indigenous and Non-Indigenous veterans. Students honoured Charles "Checker" Tomkins, the Cree Code Talker who served an integral part in WW2

Peace is... https://t.co/cbkoBD3Gxh#wearecbe #CBEIndigenousEd #NationalIndigenousVeteransDay#RemembranceDay

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) November 8, 2019

Can you break the code? Students were introduced to Charles "Checkers" Tomkins and his vital role in WW2 as a Cree Code Talker @Indigenous_cbe #WeAreCBE #IndigenousVeteransDay #RemembranceDay #language #CreeCodeTalker pic.twitter.com/NJna7CSuxn

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) November 4, 2019

Students witness the offering/exchange of tobacco to Na’a and promised to:what they were going to harvest from the land would be used in a good way, be thankful, and continue to care and acknowledge the land. #reciprocity #cbeindigenous #wearecbe #mightylearners pic.twitter.com/b0BoFEk6va

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) October 24, 2019

K'nex in the Makerspace

Students have been exploring and building with K'nex which are building sets that allow students to follow a set of instructions or create and build his/her own designs.  Students had a great experience building insects, 3D cubes and other creations!

Exploring k’nex in the makerspace. Choose either free build or a plan #mightylearners #makerEd #knex #playbasedexploration pic.twitter.com/478kJK7S41

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) September 30, 2019

Making insects wth connects. “I made a spider!” #mightylearners #makerEd #knex #playbasedlearning pic.twitter.com/pX8QKO7jvb

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) October 1, 2019

Makerspace LEGO challenge #playbased #lego #design #taskcards #mightylearners #kindergarten #gradeonetwo #wearecbe pic.twitter.com/QL4lDJy1Do

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) September 18, 2019

Maker. Outdoor Education (M.ODE)

This school year, students will have the opportunity to work with Mr.Patry each week in the Makerspace or outside around the school.  The time spent outdoors will emphasize there is no such thing as bad weather; rain and snow are seen as natural parts of the playing and learning environment.  Forests or other natural parts of the environment can become the classroom, a natural way for students to discover the world around them.  The goal to spend time in the outdoors aims to help students to identify with nature, boost physical and mental health and help children gain self-confidence and respect for the world around them. 

Nature scavenger hunt that leads to other discoveries and questions “what is this orange stuff?” #mightylearners #learningoutside #takemeoutside #gradesonetwo pic.twitter.com/KnZN3b4riB

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) August 26, 2019

Making in the Classroom

Teachers and students have been busy designing and making in their classrooms this month. Please visit Ms.Anderson's Classroom  and Ms. Jones' Classroom to see some of the awesome creations!

Bee-Bot's in EDC

Introduced Bee-Bot to the EDC students. Fun to explore coding at a young age #learntocode #mightylearners #EDC #beebot pic.twitter.com/Mwq8OXTxnu

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) May 1, 2019

Introduced Bee-Bot to the EDC students. Fun to explore coding at a young age #learntocode #mightylearners #EDC #beebot pic.twitter.com/mdg2eTMqHh

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) May 1, 2019

Kindergarten Space Exploration: Build your own Rocket ship

Kindergarten using their rocket ship plans to make their rocket in the makerspace #kindergarten #makerspace #design #blueprints #mightylearners #WeAreCBE pic.twitter.com/gXdAqVUXYO

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) March 14, 2019

Grade 1 Community Mailbox Design

Prototype drawings for mailbox designs #gr1 #makered #makerapace #designthinking #mightylearners pic.twitter.com/6i0dLYx0ez

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 11, 2019

Classroom Mailbox Design challenge: paper prototypes beginning to take shape with the maker materials #gr1 #designers #prototypes #makerEd #WeAreCBE pic.twitter.com/8yHFZ1kDI5

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 13, 2019

Classroom Mailbox Design: Day 3 construction continues using #Makedo tools #gr1 #makerEd #makerspace #mightylearners #WeAreCBE pic.twitter.com/yffXQfwyqo

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 13, 2019

Classroom Mailbox Design: Day 3 construction continues using #Makedo tools & exploring 3D shapes #gr1 #makerEd #makerspace #mightylearners #wearecbe pic.twitter.com/OABlnmQSCt

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 13, 2019

Grade 1 students finishing up their 2nd community mailbox prototype #mightylearners #designthinking #makerEd #MakerSpace #WeareCBE pic.twitter.com/EA8lmegxBM

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) March 11, 2019

Community mailboxes being constructed using #makedo #cardboardconstruction #MakerSpace #grade1 #mightylearners #WeareCBE pic.twitter.com/NwboxuEpap

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) March 13, 2019

Grade 1/2 Friendship Bench Prototype Designs and Build

Design a Friendship Bench: students designing & prototyping a friendship bench for the school #GR2 #empathybaseddesign #makerEd #classroom #makerspace #WEAreCBE #mightylearners pic.twitter.com/x5gzhHIIN2

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 13, 2019

School Friendship Bench prototypes painted and on display #GR2 #empathybaseddesign #makerED #classroom #makerspace #mightylearners #WeAreCBE pic.twitter.com/5nUYQQrb3N

— James Short Memorial (@JSMelementary) February 13, 2019

Makerspace Mystery Bag Challenge

The James Short Makerspace is ready for students to begin making and exploring.  Last Friday, teachers were introduced to a design activity and were given a bag of mystery materials (an assortment of recyclables and other random items) and a challenge card stating a building challenge to do with those materials. The “mystery” materials were used to complete the challenge. This design challenge is one of the ways that we will involve JSM students in the makerspace. It was a great opportunity to see the teachers create some interesting and cool ideas, which they shared with each other. Stay tuned for future student creations!

Building a Community of Makers

The makerspace is beginning to take shape.  The space is being organized so the students can immerse themselves in the maker materials and supplies. Just like inside the classroom, surrounding students with books motivates them to read. Surrounding them with tinkering tools motivates them to create!

The makerspace materials have been in boxes and behind closed doors. Soon, the materials will be moved into an easily accessible area in the Maker Space.  To make the learning visible, there will be spaces in the area to showcase  student work and tinkering ideas.

As we continue to move forward and organize our Maker Space, it is also important to provide opportunities for our teachers to actively engage in the learning.  Today was the first opportunity for teachers to take part in a Lunch and Learn session which explored Ozobot.  Ozobot is a pocket-sized coding robot that uses colour patterns to travel over surfaces.  This learning opportunity allows for teachers to engage in the same style of learning that they are potentially designing for their students.  This was the introduction to Ozobot and the next session will focus on how can Ozobot be used in storytelling.

What is a Maker and what happens in the "space"?

If you search a thesaurus for the word “make” you will find many great synonyms: create, cause, assemble, manufacture, achieve, invent, generate, produce, craft, build, construct, or generate. And that is exactly what happens in a Makerspace. It is a learning environment where you are limited by your imagination. A makerspace mixes Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math and sprinkles it with imagination for an exploration of “what if!”