Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/432611
Lincoln Street School kindergarten through 8th grade students participated in an Hour of Code during their weekly STEM — Science, Technology, Engineer- ing and Mathematics — club. Computer Science Education Week is Dec. 8-14 and students are encouraged to learn computer programming skills. Using the website, code.org, students learned basic programming skills. They also used Made with Code to light up dif- ferent trees in the nation's capital. For more information, visit www.lin- colnstreetschool.org. LINCOLNSTREET COURTESYPHOTO Congratulations to Cort Mitchell, 8th grade teacher from Gerber School, for being named Feature Teacher. The awards are made possible through a partnership between the Tehama County Department of Education and Edward Jones financial advisor Tyler Smail. For more information, visit tehamaschools.org. GERBER SCHOOL Students participate in Hour of Code MITCHELL NAMED FEATURE TEACHER The students at Red Bluff Union High School launched tennis balls Tuesday from homemade catapults at the football field. The Advanced Place- ment Physics classes in- corporated the concepts of motion, forces, energy, momentum, projectile mo- tion and elastic potential energy into their designs and calculations. The students also re- searched the history of these devices, sketched de- signs, built various models and perfected their ma- chines over a two-month span. The goal of the proj- ect was to launch a tennis ball exactly 30 yards. The two most common catapult designs were tre- buchets and ballistas. Trebuchets use the idea of a counterweight to pro- pel the lever arm. Some groups used more than 100 pounds of counterweights in their designs. Ballistas use the power of elastic potential energy. Groups used bungee cords, large rubber bands and even garage door springs to power their devices. The most creative cata- pult was designed by Vicki Raetz, Haley Rosser and Molly Shea. It used a pres- surized system to power the catapult. Using an air pump they reverse pres- surized a foot bike pump, which when released force their lever arm forward. It ended up being one of the top three most accurate projects of the day. Twenty-three different groups launched tennis balls with great success and 75 percent of the proj- ects had an average dis- tance of between 27 and 33 yards. There was also some heartbreak, several groups suffered broken lever arms or axles, especially devices with heavy weight or large torque from springs. Proj- ects that broke on the day of received no point de- ductions but were ineligi- ble for extra credit. While teacher Lukas Kennedy admits there was definitely some parent in- volvement, he says that it only increases the learn- ing and connection to the community. "Parent involvement on projects, homework, test preparation, etc. is a key component to our kids' success now and in the fu- ture," Kennedy said. "Plus the parents admitted hav- ing fun helping to build the catapults." RED BLUFF HIGH COURTESY PHOTO Red Bluff Union High School students test homemade catapults Tuesday at the football field. Physics students build, test catapults COURTESY PHOTO Lincoln Street students participate in an Hour of Code. By Anne Flaherty The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Fed- eral Communications Com- mission agreed Thurs- day to dramatically boost spending to bring high- speed Internet access to schools and libraries in poor or rural areas, a move that would likely increase Americans' phone bills by about $2 a year. Educators hailed the 60 percent jump in spending to $3.9 billion as critical to making sure much of the nation's population doesn't get left behind, particu- larly as other countries in- vest heavily in broadband connections. FCC Chair- man Tom Wheeler said he estimates that two-thirds of American schools still don't have access to high- speed connections, which can affect a child's ability to do homework, research college scholarships and acquire basic job skills. "We are talking about a moral issue," said Wheeler. "The greatest responsibil- ity — the greatest moral responsibility — that any generation has is the prep- aration of the next gen- eration," and "16 cents a month is a small price to pay for that great responsi- bility that we all have." The FCC's E-Rate pro- gram provides discounted telecommunications and Internet access to qualify- ing schools and libraries. The program is paid for through a larger "univer- sal service fund." Service providers are required to contribute to that fund, but the cost is often passed on to consumers as a required monthly fee. E-Rate spending had been capped at $2.4 billion a year, but the FCC says de- mand is much higher. In 2013, the regulatory agency said it received $4.9 billion in E-Rate requests from lo- cal communities. The lat- est vote increases spending by $1.5 billion for a total of $3.9 billion a year. The FCC's two Republi- can commissioners voted against the plan because they said businesses, which often pay for em- ployee phones, would bear the brunt of the added cost. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said he believes the pro- gram is plagued by waste that could be fixed with fis- cal reform. "The commission shies away from making any hard choices and instead just pours more money into a broken system," Pai said. The Obama adminis- tration endorsed the plan when Wheeler discussed the details last month. Edu- cation Secretary Arne Dun- can called Thursday's vote "a huge step forward" in the administration's program to expand digital learning resources in schools. Education advocates have long called for the FCC to authorize more E- Rate spending so that lo- cal governments could plan ahead for costly in- stallations or upgrades. Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Edu- cation and former governor of West Virginia, said the vote was the "best holiday gift possible" for educators. "Access to the Internet is as important to learn- ing today as traditional textbooks were fifty years ago," said Wise. "With in- creased funding for high- speed Internet connec- tions, U.S. teachers and students will spend more classroom time teaching and learning rather than waiting for webpages and videos to load." INTERNET IN THE CLASSROOM More schools to get high-speed boost PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! CALL SANTA AT THE NORTH POLE 100JacksonStreet, Red Bluff (530) 529-1220 NEW Membership Specials CallorComeIn for details NeedaDoctor? Wehavetherightoneforyou. This Complimentary Service... will help you find a doctor who is right for you. 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