Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year!

 Hello Computer Science Students! 

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year! My name is Mrs. Kamenar and I will be working with you during your Algebra 2 class this year. This year, I am starting my 20th year teaching math and computer science at Waukesha North. This year I will be teaching Algebra 2 Math, App Development 1 & 2, AP Computer Science A, Programming the Web 1 & 2, and Yearbook. In addition to teaching, I am also the head women's cross-country coach and yearbook advisor. I hope that everyone was able to find some time to relax this summer. My summer included a trip to Australia with my family, playing with my kids, hiking, running, a computer science conference in Las Vegas, and playing with my dog Ranger.

My goal is to keep you up to date with what's going on in the classroom through this blog. Between the blog and our class schedule of events that will be posted on our BlackBoard class website, it is my hope that all students and parents will be informed about what's going on in the classroom.

Where Can Students Find Everything?

One of the first things to keep in mind is that all of our class material will be found through our Blackboard class website.  This site will contain links to our content, assignments, and other resources.

App Development 1

In this class, we will learn how to make apps for iOS devices (iPads, iPhones).  This year, we will begin working with the SwiftUI language.  To get us started, students will focus on some of the basics.  We will take a look at how to add text, and images, and make color modifications within an app.

Programming the Web 1

In this class, students will learn the basics of web page design using HTML and CSS. This week, we will
take a look at our coding environment and will talk about the different layout choices web designers can use when creating a website. This class is offered in partnership with WCTC, which means that students who enroll in this free program and complete the course successfully are eligible to earn WCTC college credit. 

AP Computer Science A

In this class, students will be exposed to a variety of concepts related to computer science.  We will explore programming with the Java programming language.  In alignment with the AP Board course overview, "AP Computer Science A is an introductory college-level computer science course. Students cultivate their understanding of coding through analyzing, writing, and testing code as they explore concepts like modularity, variables, and control structures." This class is set up to prepare our students to complete the AP exam in May.  We will start off the year by talking about the basic components involved in computing, as well as write our first simple program.

School Schedule

Here is the schedule we will be following for the year.  Students who would like to get some extra help are able to come in during our homeroom flex sessions that will take place Wednesday through Friday.

What's Going On? April 22nd through April 26th

Thought for the Week

 

Programming for the Web 1

This week, students will focus on wrapping up lesson 10 and completing lesson 11.  For our lesson 10, students learned how to create "minimalist cards" using Flexbox techniques.  During class on Monday, students will wrap up this assignment by adding color to our last row.  Once this is complete, we will spend some time talking about some different layout techniques, including fixed-width layouts, liquid layouts, and hybrid layouts.  We will create a sample of each of these types.  Once this is complete, students will take some time to apply their knowledge on the "Mt. Olympus" website.

AP Computer Science Principles

Time is running out to submit our AP Create Tasks to the AP Board.  All Create tasks must be uploaded to
the digital portfolio site by April 30th at 10:59pm.  PLEASE DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY!!! If you do not submit your project by the due date, you will forfeit 30% of the AP Score!!!!  Please see Mrs. Kamenar ASAP if you have any technical issues.

During class this week, we will spend some time reviewing "Big Idea 2" on Data.  Students will use their "5 Steps to a 5" book to review the important concepts covered in this section and practice some multiple-choice questions.  We will also begin our review of "Big Idea 3" on Algorithms and Programming.

What's Going On? April 8th through April 12th

 Thought for the Week 

Modified Schedule for the Week. As a reminder, Freshmen and Sophomores will complete the ACT Secure and Juniors will complete the ACT on Tuesday, April 9th.  This will lead to a modified schedule for the rest of the week.  Monday will be a "Tuesday"-style schedule.  On Tuesday, we will complete standardized testing.  The rest of the week will proceed as scheduled.

Programming the Web 1

For the first part of this week, students will work to complete their midterm project, "Border Collie
Rescue". Students will have through the end of class on Thursday to complete this project. Students who need additional time are encouraged to come in during JIT to have additional time to work in the lab. At the end of the week, we will move on to Lesson 9 where we will learn how to adjust the placement of some of our elements using floating and positioning. Along with this lesson, students will complete the following:

• Read Chapter 15 in the Learning Web Design textbook
• Complete the Lesson 9 Reading Guide
• Lesson 9 Review Questions
• Project 9A: 15-1 (page 395), and 9B: 15-3 and 15-4 (pages 414 and 416)

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will focus on "data".  We will wrap up our Activity 3.1.1: What's the Point, where we are making graphs based on data in a Google Sheet.  We will use the analysis tools in order to match each set of data with the trial description.  For the rest of the week, we will take a look at various ways to analyze a large collection of data.

What's Going On? April 2nd through April 5th

 Thought for the Week

Programming the Web 1

During our class on Tuesday, students will spend some time reviewing what we have learned during the first half of the semester.  Starting on Thursday, students will have 4 class periods to complete our midterm.  For the midterm, students will have the opportunity to show off their skills by recreating a site.  To complete this assignment, students will need to show they can place text and images on a webpage.  Students will also show off their ability to add style changes via a CSS style sheet.

AP Computer Science Principles

On our return from break, students will spend some time learning about the exciting world of copyright! 
Students will learn the difference between the different types of Creative Commons licenses and learn when it is ok to use someone else's work and when it is not.  We will also receive our "5 Steps to a 5" books this week, so we can start a more targeted process for preparing for our AP Exam.

What's Going On? March 11th through March 15th

Thought for the Week

Programming the Web 1

At the start of this week, students will work on applying font changes to our web pages using CSS.  On Monday, students will turn in their lesson 6 reading guide, and on Tuesday, students will complete our multiple-choice assessment.  We will be working on three book-based tutorials to apply CSS styles to our pages.  For the rest of the week, students will learn about the different ways to apply color styles to our pages using HEX values.  We will also learn how we can apply different link colors using pseudoselectors.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, we will continue with learning about how data is transmitted in a computer.  We will talk about the binary and hexadecimal number systems that can be used to store information on a computer.  We will also talk about how text is encoded in ASCII and how to convert between ASCII and binary numbering systems.  At the end of the week, students will learn about how data is transmitted over the Internet.  We will talk about how a message is broken down into packets and then routed from one place to the next.

What's Going On? March 4th though March 8th

 Thought for the Week

Programming the Web 1

We will start off this week with some work days where students can work to complete our lesson 5
assignments: 5A - Black Goose and 5B - Allco Services.  At the end of this week, students will learn about how to apply more styles of our web pages using CSS.  Students will learn how to add colors, font changes, and more to enhance the look of our pages.  Along with lesson 6, students will have a reading assignment, a reading guide, and 10 multiple-choice questions.  Additionally, students will demonstrate their ability to add style changes to our web pages through three tutorial-based web assignments.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will have the remainder of their class time to complete their official Create performance tasks.  By the end of class on Wednesday, students should have their code completed, or nearly completed, to submit to the AP board.  During class on Wednesday, I will lead students through the official submission process.  This will include submitting the program code, video, and personal project reference sheet.  All of these items must be uploaded to the AP portfolio site before April 30th at 11:00pm.  As I have been telling students, PLEASE do not wait until the last possible moment to submit the project!  

Once we have wrapped up our class project time, we will move on to learning about data.  We will explore the different types of numbering systems used by the computer, including binary, hexadecimal, and ASCII.

Looking Ahead

In preparation for the new block schedule next year, we will do a trial run.  Students will participate in the block schedule experience during the week of spring break.  See the schedule below to know what you can expect.

What's Going On? February 26th through March 1st

 Thought for the Week

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Programming the Web 1

Monday's class will be dedicated as a work day for students to wrap up our lesson 4 web assignments.  Once this is complete, we will take on Lesson 5.  This means that we will also get to work with the industry-standard program, DreamWeaver.  Students will learn how to use this powerful software to enhance the look of our web pages.  It will also ease our workload but providing some built-in tools to proofread our work.  Along with this lesson, students will read chapters 7 and 10 from the textbook and complete the accompanying reading guide (due Thursday).  Students will also have two web assignments where we will show off how to work with images and turn them into links.  We will conclude the week by completing our lesson 5 review questions.

AP Computer Science Principles

This week, students will continue their work on their AP Create performance task.  Students have a total of
9 class hours to complete their project but may work on their code outside of class.  That being said, the majority of the project should be done in class.  At the start of the week, students will have just over 6 hours of class time left to work on the project.