COVID-19 Protocol

Daily Guidelines & Procedures

Updated Protocol as of August 2022

Paradigm Development Center (PDC) staff and students are not required to wear a face mask.

COVID-19 Testing

PDC is no longer administering COVID-19 testing on-site to our community. PDC administers COVID-19 testing for PDC staff, interns, & students only.

After a positive diagnosis, a negative COVID-19 test is required to attend or work in person at PDC.

Hand Washing & Hand Sanitizer

Staff and students are required to wash their hands after field trips into the community. Hand washing also occurs before meal eating and after using the restroom.

There are hand sanitizers for students and staff to use throughout the school. Students and staff will be frequently encouraged to use hand sanitizer. Additionally, hand sanitizer will be provided to staff and students after outdoor sessions.

COVID-19 Symptoms

Cough, fever or chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, and congestion or runny nose.

Staff exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 will be isolated and asked to leave, immediately. If the staff member is having symptoms related to allergies, they will need to get a note from their primary care physician (PCP) that states the symptoms are directly associated with allergies. Otherwise, the staff member will be required to begin the process to get a COVID-19 test at Paradigm Development Center or at a Houston Health Department affiliated test site. The test results need to be emailed to houstonpdc@gmail.com.

Students exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 will be isolated and their parents are required to pick them up, immediately. If a student is having symptoms related to allergies, they will need to get a note from their primary care physician (PCP) that states the symptoms are directly associated with allergies. Otherwise, the student will be required to begin the process to get a COVID-19 test at a Houston Health Department-affiliated test site or take a government approved COVID-19 home test. The test results need to be emailed to houstonpdc@gmail.com.

Parent Responsibilities

Please note: You and/or your family are obligated to contact the PDC school director at director@paradigmdevelopmentcenter.com or (281) 755-6631 if or when your student, yourself, or a live-in immediate family member is exposed to or tests positive for COVID-19. You and/or your family are obligated to contact the PDC school director if or when your student, yourself, or a live-in immediate family member begins to express symptoms of COVID-19. 

If your student continues to attend in-person PDC classroom sessions, please keep the following in mind. PDC staff, students, and student families are directly affected by what each staff and student brings into the school, every day. Please stay mindful and proactive in efforts to keep yourself and your family aware of what you/they are touching and consistent with hand washing, wearing face masks, and social distancing.

PDC Staff Responsibilities

Please note: You and/or your family are obligated to contact the PDC school director at director@paradigmdevelopmentcenter.com or (281) 755-6631 if or when you or a live-in immediate family member is exposed to or tests positive for COVID-19. You and/or your family are obligated to contact the PDC school director if or when you or a live-in immediate family member begins to express symptoms of COVID-19. 

PDC staff will sanitize and disinfect public areas and surfaces to stay proactive in efforts to control the transmission of COVID-19. PDC staff will stay mindful and proactive in efforts to keep in-person attending students aware of what they are touching and consistent in handwashing & sanitizing.

If you continue to attend in-person PDC classroom sessions, please keep the following in mind. PDC staff, students, and student families are directly affected by what each staff and student brings into the school, every day. Please stay mindful and proactive in efforts to keep yourself and your family aware of what you/they are touching and consistent with hand washing, wearing face masks, and social distancing.

PDC’s Responsibilities

PDC will keep staff and student families updated if or when a PDC staff, student, or live-in immediate family member tests positive for COVID-19.

PDC will continue to execute this protocol until June 1, 2023. On this day, PDC will review this protocol and send an update to staff and student families. Due to the quickly evolving nature of COVID-19, PDC reserves the right to update this protocol at any time. [Last updated August 2022]

Educational Resources Relating to COVID-19

World Health Organization course -  https://openwho.org/courses/introduction-to-ncov

Harris County Public Health - http://publichealth.harriscountytx.gov/Resources/2019-Novel-Coronavirus

If you have questions or concerns, contact the PDC school director at director@paradigmdevelopmentcenter.com or (281) 755-6631.  

PDC reserves the right to update this protocol at any time.

Camp Paradigm 2020: The Genuine Strength & Patience of Women

Camp Paradigm Moms & Grandmoms

Due to the Coronavirus, Camp Paradigm 2020 - Week One was facilitated online. I wanted to take some time to recognize the amazing character and qualities of the women that helped facilitate this all-girls camp crew in the challenging online format.

Accessibility

So, if you didn't know already, there are a super-duper amount of challenges that arise when asking a camper with learning disabilities to engage in a series of online tasks throughout a day with presence, enthusiasm, and sustained concentration. Facilitating online learning and activities can be very difficult for most special education camp instructors and parents. This is because there are inherent issues with the online learning format such as technological problems. Some examples of this are internet connection & bandwidth gaps, camera & voice issues, comfortability with laptops & applications for the parents. All of these technological components supply the supports for camp activities. 

Parents are required to become familiar with these components in order to assist their campers in accessing online camp settings. This is without mentioning the actual disabilities that are inherent within a camper’s level of autism and the individualized challenges that each camper's diagnosis brings to the table. With that being said, Camp Paradigm Week One - Online was no small task to pull off especially for campers that had not already established the trusting and enthusiastic relationship that we like to cultivate in the face-to-face environment at Paradigm Development Center (PDC).

Supports

During Camp Paradigm Week One - Online,  the moms and grandmothers of the all-female campers were so impressive.  Their level of patience, presence, and interaction with their campers enabled them to take part in each and every activity and to enjoy the overall amount of fun that was designed for them. These moms had to coordinate with Camp Paradigm staff on materials, expectations for each activity, facilitating with the controls of logging in & changing from one virtual room to another virtual room (breakout rooms), repeating directions and questions,  and prompting their campers appropriately to gain depth of thought and responses. These women organized their “at-home” environments in such a way that their campers had the ability to do yoga. This requires space for stretching and these women prompted their campers to participate and to put forth effort into each of the moves and stretches. These women made sure that the campers were back from breaks on time after ensuring their campers had an appropriate amount of relaxation during the breaks. This allowed campers to maintain their peak concentration during the camp activities and interactions according to the daily camp schedule.

Enthusiasm

One of the greatest things that we noticed about the Camp Paradigm Super Moms and Grandmas was the level of enthusiasm, willingness, and openness to each online camp activity. This really drove the interaction to a level of engagement that is not accomplishable without the strength & patience of the women present. This is especially impressive knowing the amount of stress, concern, lack of understanding of where an activity might take us, and what it might look like and its finality. Oh, these women showed out with their extraordinary amount of relationship skills and leadership skills.

Patience

So, let’s discuss patience real quick. We all know the huge challenges that can arise from technological failures, connection issues, the lack of good video quality, and/or problems with audible communication. During Camp Paradigm Week ONE online, there were times when some or all of these tech failures disrupted camp sessions. All of these tech failures seemed to naturally take place at times when communication was at its greatest need and these moms and grandmas made do. They stayed in the moment, stayed present and patient, and saw through each one of these particular challenges to a point of the successful conclusion of all activities.

Relationship

As I pointed out at the beginning of this blog post, TEAM Paradigm staff prefers to cultivate trusting personal relationships in a face-to-face setting. Why? Because we have learned that many autistic folks rely on the background standing of trust in the people that they're interacting with. In this case, that wasn't completely possible as some campers were new to the Paradigm Development Center programs. The moms and grandmothers of our campers were crucial in bridging the gaps in pre-existing relationships while at the same time actively building new relationships between their camper and other campers. This was completed through all of the explicit interactions that were designed into the Camp Paradigm daily schedule. I witnessed these women going above and beyond what most people feel they’re able to accomplish. 

I am so proud to have been a part of what occurred during Camp Paradigm Week ONE online. I am so proud to know these families and to see the extent of love and support they have expressed for their kids and grandkids at every level. We love our Camp Paradigm families!

- Loren Marvin, Lead Teacher at Paradigm Development Center

Lego Challenges

World Guinness Records: Post-It Notes

Water Balloon Baby

Water Balloon Baby: Caring For Others

Computer Science: Characterization Coding

Camp Paradigm: Frequently Asked Questions

Camp Paradigm FAQs

Does my camper have to wear a mask?

All campers and staff are required to wear masks indoors. Campers may take their mask off during indoor activities when they are seated and socially-distanced from one another. Masks are not required for campers outdoors UNLESS social distancing is unable to be practiced.

What will drop-off and pick-up look like each morning & afternoon?

Parents are required to stay in their cars at drop-off and pick-up. At drop-off, parents must stay on the campgrounds until after their camper completes the COVID-19 screening process. Parents are welcomed to log into the Camp Paradigm Virtual Space to observe their camper.

What kind of screening process will my camper need to go through?

All campers and staff will be screened (using a COVID-19 screening questionnaire) & they will have their temperatures taken each camp day. 

What is Camp Paradigm staff doing to reduce the risk of my camper contracting COVID-19?

Please read the Camp Paradigm COVID-19 protocol here.

What medical resources are near Camp Paradigm?

America's ER Medical Centers 
13902 Spring Cypress Rd, Cypress, TX 77429
(281) 503-8160

AFC Urgent Care 
10850 Louetta Road, Suite 1500 Houston, Texas 77070
(281) 666-9981

Will there be a Camp Paradigm Virtual Space option?

Yes. Parents or siblings may request the Camp Paradigm Virtual Space daily login to observe their camper.

Where do I go to stay updated on the Camp Paradigm's COVID-19 protocol?

Click here, then bookmark this page for quick future reference. 

How is social distancing going to be exercised at Camp Paradigm?

All campers will have their own tablespace, chair, and supplies. (e.g., lunches, thermometer, water bottles, paper towels, soap, art supplies, eating ware, laptops, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, etc.)

During each camp day, there will be one staff member with the responsibility of observing staff and campers for symptoms of COVID-19 and they will ensure social distancing is being practiced. 

Will my camper go on field trips?

Campers and staff will not leave the campgrounds. Campers will have the opportunity to participate in virtual field trips. Additionally, Camp Paradigm has guest speakers/instructors lined up to interact and/or instruct in the areas of financial literacy, job readiness, and running a small business.

When can I make a payment for Camp Paradigm?

• Payment for Camp Paradigm Week One can be made on June 29, 2020. [Week One: July 6, 2020 - July 10, 2020]
• Payment for Camp Paradigm Week Two can be made on July 13, 2020. [Week Two: July 20, 2020 - July 24, 2020]
• Payment for Camp Paradigm Week Three can be made on July 27, 2020. [Week Three: August 3, 2020 - August 7, 2020]

Payments can be made through Zelle or Venmo (using 281-755-6631 or houstonpdc@gmail.com). Payments can also be made using cash or a check. There is a $50.00 fee for returned checks.

For more information on Paradigm Development Center's Summer programs, click here.

Camp Paradigm 2022 - COVID-19 Update

Camp Paradigm 2022

COVID-19 protocol & Guidelines

[Last updated June 2022]

Camp Paradigm is scheduled for three separate weeks with the first camp starting on June 27, 2022. Camp Paradigm executes and enforces the Health & Safety protocol stated in the Texas Health & Human Services protocol for Youth Day Camps. Camp Paradigm adds some requirements that will be enforced daily, from the start of the camp day to the end of the camp day during every Camp Paradigm week. All staff and camp families will receive a webpage link to the Camp Paradigm COVID-19 Protocol [emailed June 16, 2022].

• All campers and staff are encouraged to wear masks indoors when social distancing is unable to be practiced. Masks are not required for campers and staff outdoors.

• Parents are required to stay in their cars at drop-off and pick-up.

• There will be no unscheduled visitors allowed in or around the school or camp spaces.

• Staff exhibiting symptoms in the form of sneezing, a stuffy nose, or coughing will put on a mask, immediately. If their symptoms continue OR their symptoms develop into symptoms described under "COVID-19 Symptoms" below they will be isolated, given a PDC-administered COVID-19 test, and asked to leave.

• Campers exhibiting symptoms in the form of sneezing, a stuffy nose, or coughing will put on a mask, immediately. If their symp;toms continue OR their symptoms developm into symptoms described under "COVID-19 Symptoms" below they will put on a face mask, immediately. If their symptoms continue they will be isolated, given a PDC-administered COVID-19 test, and their parents are required to pick them up.

COVID-19 Symptoms

Cough, fever or chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle or body aches, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, diarrhea, headache, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, and congestion or runny nose.

• There will only be up to 15 campers and 7 staff per week in Camp Paradigm buildings at any time.

• All staff will receive training on appropriate hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, and respiratory etiquette. 

COVID-19 Testing

Campers and camp staff may be asked to take a COVID-19 rapid test if or when they are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. 

Visitors

There will be no unscheduled visitors allowed in or around the school spaces. Schedule visitors are required to socially-distance themselves while visiting Camp Paradigm.

Leaving & Returning During the School Day

If staff or camper leaves the school during the school day, they must immediately wash their hands before touching anything anywhere in the school.

Hand Sanitizer

There are hand sanitizer bottles for students and staff to use throughout the school. Campers and staff will be frequently encouraged to use hand sanitizer. Staff and campers will wash their hands after outdoor sessions.

In Closing

This protocol is not a guarantee a camper or staff will not contract COVID-19. Camp Paradigm staff will execute this protocol to reduce the risk of a camper or staff contracting COVID-19. Camp Paradigm staff reserves the right to add to and edit this protocol at any time. Please review this protocol, periodically.

By signing this form, I acknowledge I have carefully read through the COVID-19 protocol for Camp Paradigm. As a Camp Paradigm parent, I will do everything I can to assist Camp Paradigm staff and students in reducing the risk of contracting COVID-19. Most importantly, I will let the camp director know if or when my family has been exposed to or in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

 

Camp Director

Maranda Marvin

director@paradigmdevelopmentcenter.com

Call or Text (281) 755-6631

Houston Autistics: Andrew

Autistics living in and around Houston, Texas are actively contributing to society on a day-to-day basis. Houston autistics are employed in full-time and part-time jobs, they are creating art, writing books, inventing new things, entertaining us, making music, and volunteering to assist those in need. This blog section is, specifically, set up to highlight Houston autistics and all of their many talents and skills.


Andrew is a 22-year old Texas-born autistic living in Montgomery, Texas. He enjoys Motocross, football, and wrestling. He works at the Holiday KOA Campground in Conroe in maintenance. Andrew also volunteers at Paradigm Development Center as a reading assistant, teaching assistant, and facilities worker.

Andrew is great at following directions and his friendly personality causes others to enjoy being around him. He enjoys verbal and text conversations about a range of subjects. He loves getting out and doing things with good people. He, especially, enjoys watching the Houston Texans and his Motocross friends in action on their bikes.

As it relates to coping with everyday life, Andrew likes to take time for himself to think things through when he is stressed or upset. 

When asked, "What do you like most about Houston"? Andrew answered, "The Houston Texas football team"!

Featured Blog Posts

Paradigm Development Center (PDC) seeks to gather positive information about Houston's Autistics in and around the Houston Metro. Through these blog posts, PDC will highlight work experience, volunteer opportunities, school-related experiences, talents, and strengths.

These posts will be shared on Houston Autism Resources & Support (HARS), within the PDC website, and on other social media pages.

To be featured as a Houston Autistic, fill out this form. After you submit the form, TEAM Paradigm will review the information and contact you via email. Please attach one picture (with you in the picture) that reflects an interest of yours (e.g., in your work uniform, a sports jersey, college gear, video game shirt, gardening, outdoors, etc). This picture will be included in your featured blog post.

*ONLY first names will be used in the blog post.

Follow PDC on Facebook.

Follow PDC on Instagram.

Follow PDC on Twitter. 

Downtown Houston: A Great Educational Setting

School Year 2019-2020: PDC's First Field Trip

On September 13, 2019, PDC embarked upon quite the experiential adventure into downtown Houston. We parked in the Phoenicia Market & Cafe garage. One of our teachers had a discussion with students about the realities of parking in downtown areas of cities. These realities include the difficulties of finding parking, the costs associated with parking in downtown, and the moral dilemma attached to parking in a "for customers only" lot. After this conversation, they took the elevators down to the market and cafe to meet up with our other group. Before they ventured into the market to peruse the scrumptious array of decadent foods, desserts, and drinks we stopped by the cafe stage to pose for silly pictures. FUN! After everyone walked around the market, thoroughly impressed by food items from countries we have not yet learned about, we sat down to eat.

After filling our stomachs, we pondered two questions. Should we go to Discovery Green park and run the risk of overheating, unnecessarily, OR should we go on over to The Shops @Houston Center and browse through the shops. Our younger students really wanted to go to the playground, so we all decided to play and relax in the park. [Check us out walking over to Discovery Green]. After we walked over to Discovery Green, we stopped near the water spouts for a bit before continuing onto the playground. On the way to the playground, we all took a moment to recognize the clouds in all their glory as they shaded us from the powerful rays of the Earth's sun. We saw people walking their dogs, young moms with young children, and corporate workers eating their lunch. PDC staff & students settled in and slowed down from the hustle & bustle of the school week. #BreatheInBreatheOut

After this relaxing jaunt in the park, we headed over to The Shops @Houston Center. which is a mall. Road construction required us to go down a block before we could cross the street. Once we entered the building, we jumped onto an elevator and pressed "M" for the mall. We thought something was awry when we continued to stop on floor "4" even though we kept pushing "M". We didn't know what was going on so we all stayed on the elevator which continued to rise up and down retrieving and discarding people. We finally stepped off onto the ground floor. We then walked across to another set of elevators and pushed "M". To our surprise, we again ended up at floor "4". Well, needless to say, we were all a little beside ourselves and took this as an "opportunity" to ask someone where the mall was. This person told us the mall was on floor "4". So, we learned that the elevator buttons and the floor number may not always line up. #RealWorldExperience #PayAttention

We walked off of the elevators laughing at ourselves! 

We began our trek through the stores in the mall. After a bit, we sat in the food court area for 30 minutes and talked. Then we, again, walked the mall heading toward the sky bridge. Sadly, the sky bridge entrance was closed. The students were really looking forward to going across the sky bridge. A teacher said, "Let's go find out why it is closed". Everyone walked up to a super nice security guard and we asked him why the sky bridge was closed. He said, "Because it is going to be torn down". A teacher asked, "Is there another sky bridge nearby"? He said, "Yes" and told us how to get there. Some of the students wanted to check out one more store, so we decided to do that instead of walking over to the other sky bridge. We will check that bridge out next time. 

After all this walking, we were all ready to head back to Paradigm Development Center. So we did! 

Past Downtown Experiences

~~~ In previous years, our students were taught lessons about the Metro rail and they rode the Metro rail from the Northline Metro Transit Center to various stops in downtown Houston. One of these stops included our field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts to enjoy Vincent Van Gogh's special exhibit. Our students have walked through & ate lunch in the Houston downtown tunnel system, many times. Our students have observed transient people and learned about some of the different reasons they may be without shelter and money. And our students have walked up Main street, through different shops, checked out different murals, and learned how to cross the street near Metro rail crossings. Last year, at the Houston Hobby Center, the students enjoyed a wonderful visual and music performance. And after one of our lunch adventures in the downtown tunnels, we all walked over to the police museum, then relaxed next to one of the many downtown water fountains. Downtown Houston has been a great place for our students to learn about one-way streets, public transportation, sky bridges, reasons for the lack of public restrooms, and how to use parking meters. They have also practiced ordering and paying for their lunches.~~~

                    

                     

Preparing Students For Life!

Paradigm Development Center (PDC) is an affordable education option for families of students with learning disabilities. In addition to daily academics aligned with Texas Education standards, students at PDC engage in workforce & college transition classes, independent living skills, volunteer opportunities, field trips, computer science & robotics, art & nature education, fitness & well-being, and social & emotional awareness activities.

Why is PDC affordable?

PDC offers small student enrollment for real one-on-one assistance and attention. Small student enrollment requires fewer teachers. PDC teachers are able to be more focused on individual students. 

Daily Academics @PDC

PDC curriculum and day-to-day lesson plans align with the Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) standards. PDC employs the learner-centered curriculum design when developing curriculum & lessons. Lessons revolve around student needs, interests, and goals. Students receive one-on-one and group lessons. Student-Teacher ratio is 3:1. To learn more about PDC teachers, click here.

Each student takes grade placement tests. Student education plans are written and parent interviews are required to discuss the plans. Progress reports are sent out at the end of the first semester. End-of-year reports and grades are emailed to parents at the end of the school year.

Preparing for Life After Grade School

Through PDC's Vocation & Independent Life (VIL) program, students engage in work readiness and independent living skills activities. Each year PDC students take a career assessment, practice filling out job applications, engage in brief speech activities, and are asked to think about life as an independent person. Independent skills activities include Money & Consumer Math, phone interactions, how to change a light bulb, hammer a nail, how to shop for groceries, gardening, healthy eating, checking tire pressure, etc.

Office skills & activities such as typing, data entry, and Google applications (G Suite) are also a part of PDC's Vocation & Independent Life (VIL) program.

Computer Science & Robotics

Students enrolled in PDC's academic program engage in computer science & robotics activities and projects. PDC's growing technology program includes Google's Computer Science education platform, a MakerSpace, 3D printer training, and the Mindstorms EV3 robotics education curriculum. Students learn the basics of computer science, develop their own video games, create 3D designs, and build customized robots.

Volunteer Opportunities & Field Trips

Students enrolled in PDC's academic program volunteer at non-profit organizations and businesses in the Houston Metro area. During the 2019-2020 school year, students will volunteer at a resale shop, a kitten rescue, horse ranch, and a grocery store. These opportunities expose students to workplace settings and responsibilities.

Students also enjoy school field trips at least twice a month. During the 2019-2020 school year, students are going hiking, fishing, horse riding, on mock job interviews, to two museums, the Hobby Center, and other places. 

Art & Nature Education

PDC students are introduced and exposed to seven elements of art, drawing, painting on canvas, mixed media projects, and holiday-focused art. At PDC, we believe some of the best learning and awareness of self & others occurs in nature. The nature education program includes lessons on insects, animals, life cycles, plant life, the environment around us, camping skills, and how to stay safe outdoors.

Fitness & Well-Being

Every morning, during Calm & Concentration, students & staff gather in the recreation room on exercise mats and are led into 10-minutes of breathing exercises followed by 10-minutes of Yoga. After lunch, daily, students & staff participate in Yoga, REFIT®, or other physical activities. These exercises & activities help to reduce anxiety, increase attention & concentration, and they assist in bringing minds to a calmer emotional state.

Social & Emotional Awareness

At PDC, students engage in numerous group activities that challenge them to recognize their strengths & weaknesses, understand the importance of social interactions & expectations, and they are provided many opportunities to practice emotion regulation.

Transition Classes 

PDC offers transition classes that focus on preparing students for the workplace, college, and independent living. These classes are open to students not currently enrolled in PDC's 2019-2020 academic program. All students with and without learning disabilities may enroll in the transition classes. Click here for more information.

Afterschool Program

PDC's afterschool Computer Science & Robotics Club meets every Friday. Click here for more information.

Summer Programs

During the Summer months, PDC offers 3-day Computer Science, Robotics, Money Math, and workplace readiness workshops.


Camp Paradigm is PDC's Summer camp. The theme the past two years has been STEAM + Nature Education. During PDC's 2019 STEAM + Nature Summer camp, campers 10-19 years old engaged in group activities focused on awareness of self & others, Technology + Art activities, Lego robotics, recreational activities such as yoga, REFIT®, outdoor activities, games, STEM challenges, and nature-related activities. In addition to these activities, campers also engaged in independent living activities such as automated phone service interactions.

www.paradigmdevelopmentcenter.com

(281) 755-6631

houstonpdc@gmail.com

Summer Workshop: Money Math

Workshop Schedule

July 11, 2019 

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm (Knowledge/Skills Survey & Review)
Base-ten Math system, skip counting, and simple addition and subtraction 

5:40 pm to 6:30 pm (Learn & Practice)
Identify coins & dollars, values, and count basic coins and dollars up to $5.00 or $10.00 (Depending on the ability & pace of the student)

6:40 pm to 7:30 pm (Learn & Practice)
Cent & dollar sign placement and Money Math addition and subtraction

July 12, 2019

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm (Practice)
Continue counting coins and dollars up to $5.00 or $10.00 or continue cent & dollar sign placement and Money Math addition and subtraction (Depending on the ability & pace of the student)

5:40 pm to 6:30 pm (Practice)
Change-making up to $5.00 or $10.00

6:40 pm to 7:30 pm (Practice)
Change-making up to $5.00 or $10.00

July 13, 2019

1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (Practice)
Counting money and change-making up to $5.00, $10.00, or $20.00

2:40 pm to 3:30 pm (Practice)
Cent & dollar sign placement and Money Math addition and subtraction

3:40 pm to 4:30 pm 
Students will engage in brief role-playing scenarios as a grocery store cashier.

If time permits, students & instructors will discuss necessities versus luxuries. 

At the end of the workshop, parents will receive an email with the specific workshop lessons and activities students engaged in. Additionally, each student will receive a Certificate of Completion.

Computer Science: Scratch, Coding, & Projects

An Introduction

In our efforts to introduce all of our students to the foundations of Computer Science we have participated in multiple “Hour of Code” sessions. These activities have served as a basis for each student gaining an understanding of how coding can be strung together to make and control things in an animated, game-like format.

We have designed small projects, using MIT’s Scratch platform, to both teach and provide an environment for them to show their mastery over more and more complex programming concepts. Scratch allows us to use the elements of coding for anything from animating a story to creating playable games to share with others. In doing so, students are able to use their own creative and expressive abilities to bring their imaginations to life in many fun but rigorous ways. The end products become instant gratification for them, but also instant proof of their individual levels of mastery over the taught concepts.

Scratch uses a structure of “building blocks” that represent the numerous commands that would be expressed through written code in other platforms or languages. This way they do not have to be bogged down with the tedious discipline of proper syntax, just to have one little error make their programs not run properly or at all. Because they use “object-oriented” representation of real code, they can assimilate to other languages later, using the same logic from their building blocks. The students have covered programming fundamentals that include queries, conditional statements (If-Then, If-Then-Else, When _ is pressed-Do), Boolean operators, Wait commands, communication blocks for sequencing events, Loops, Conditional Loops, and more.

As we are always looking for multiple ways for our children to express themselves, this is one serious way that also gives them the confidence that they can take on such daunting things like the world of Computer Science. In comparison, much of the regular education world is not being exposed to this growing field of expertise, and their students will have to desperately catch up to ours some day.

Projects completed during the 2018-2019 school year include customized video games, student name animation, story-telling, a click game, and the students animated a life goal.

Summer Workshop: Robotics

Paradigm Development Center (PDC) had a three-day Robotics workshop! The workshop dates were June 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Students engaged in the design engineering process while building and programming the Mindstorm EV3 robot.

Introduction to Robotics

Here are the lessons and activities they completed over three-days:

Day One

Day one was started with a short video on some of the specific and relevant 21st-century applications of Robotics in the United States and around the world. Students dived in by asking great questions that led Mr. Marvin into a Robotics introduction (what it is and how it is being used today). Then, they worked on trainer robots to get a better understanding of the use of specific parts such as the "brain", cables, gears, types of motors, and sensors. Then, they built a robot using EV3 Mindstorms.

Robot Parts

motors
allows the robot to move.

• electric 
• pneumatic
• liquid

gears

used to transfer motion.

sensors 
measures or detects physical properties. 

gyroscope sensor
a tool that can measure the "rate of change" or if it moves in a direction it can tell you have fast it moves in whatever direction. For example, our telephones have gyroscopes that allow us to change the direction of our screens.

push button sensor 
when the button is pressed scream all day until it is unpressed. Right now this thing can't do anything without an electrical feed going through it.

wheels 
round wheels and a spherical wheel.

microprocessor
tells the motor what to do.

The students disassembled two robots down to parts gears, shafts, tires, and cables.

Student question: How do robots know where to go? 

An Introduction To Sensors

Teacher (Mr. Marvin): "What are the two most important things you need to be able to see as a human being?".

Eyes. Your eyes are connected to your brain by an optic nerve. A robot's optic nerve is a cable that can send a signal to the robot "brain". Every robot has to have a brain. The microprocessor is the brain.

Motors and gears that have sensors can be used to control robots. If the motors do not have gears you can use pneumatics like air pressure and tubes to move the robot. After movement is accomplished, then one may ask, "How does my robot know where to go?". Just like the human body, robots need sensors (senses).

Day Two

A Programming Lesson

The students built their robots with a light sensor. Then, the students added intelligence to their robots by programming them.

Mr. Marvin walked the students through the online Mindstorms platform programming tabs. A student said, "That looks like what we did last week in Video Game Design."

Mr. Marvin covered basic programs and, briefly, covered complex programs (that use Physics and Calculus Algorithms). 

The K-Turn

Objective: Learn and program how to tell the robot what to do.

The K-turn, also known as the three-point turn is the standard method of turning a vehicle around to face the opposite direction in a limited space, using forward and reverse gears.

The students were told the objective was not to get it right the first time. The goal is to figure out what they needed to change to cause the robot to do what they wanted it to do.

Questions to ask: What does the robot need to do? How can we move the robot a specific distance?

Students performed Math calculations in order to go from the circumference to distance. Students learned and applied knowledge about the relationships of the circumference of wheels to distance traveled.

Here is a run-through test for the K-turn.

Day Three

Students performed mathematical calculations using (a-b)c to program their robot motor outcome value based on the distance to objects. 

Mathematical Relationship

(a-b)c is a relationship between things. Mr. Marvin talked with the students about variables and assisted each student through the mathematical calculations. He reminded the students, "Just like yesterday, we changed the numbers around to have the robot perform a K-turn. Today, we are performing the same operations to program the light sensor that will allow the robot to follow a black oval-shaped track".

Students built the black oval-shaped track with the understanding that they couldn't make the corners too sharp or the robot (light sensor) would have problems following it. 

Student question: Do we have to do Math all the time?

Teacher: The computer does the math, we only set up the relationship. We have to tell the computer what relationship we want to use for our numbers. For example, (a-b)c is the algorithm for speed adjustments based on distance.

Light Sensors

Mr. Marvin told the students a couple things about light sensors. He gave them a better understanding of what light sensors do. A light sensor has a light and a sensor. The light emits light and receives light. The sensor processes the percentage of light return. It knows how bright the light is and it processes the percentage of light return. With this understanding, students input their numbers into the Mindstorms programming platform.

The students performed a run-through to test the light sensors. 

On the last day, each student was given a certificate for successfully completing this workshop.