<div dir="ltr">I want to add my voice to Roland's. The NCSS Challenge is a very worthwhile activity that is very well run. At our school, we run it as an out of class activity for interested students across year levels. We have lunchtime sessions where the students come and code so they could feel part of a group.<div>
<br></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br></div><div>Ziad Baroudi</div><div>Avila College,</div><div>Mount Waverley</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 21 July 2014 20:05, Roland Gesthuizen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:rgesthuizen@gmail.com" target="_blank">rgesthuizen@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Hello All,</span><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<br></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">The annual National Python Competition starts Aug. 5th. Details can be found at:</div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<a href="https://groklearning.com/challenge" target="_blank">https://groklearning.com/challenge</a></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
The NCSS Challenge runs for 5 weeks in Term 3 starting on August 5th and teaches students how to program as they compete. Last year, thousands of high school students (and some primary school students) and teachers competed in the Challenge from hundreds of schools across Australia and New Zealand. I will be registering all our year 11 students and a swag from around the college. Cannot speak highly enough of how well this activity is run.</div>
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">If you are still wondering what is computational thinking and why it is important, then listen to Nicky Ringland and the ACCELN crew tonight as we lift the lid on decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithm design.</div>
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <a href="http://acceln.wikispaces.com/" target="_blank">http://acceln.wikispaces.com/</a> (showtime is 8:30 tonight, Monday 21 July Melbourne time)</div>
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Still not convinced? Then check out the ACEC2014 conference program to see how others are tackling this and how it will fit into our new national curriculum. It’s a cumin down the line .. </div>
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"> <a href="http://acec2014.acce.edu.au" target="_blank">http://acec2014.acce.edu.au</a></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">
<br></div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Regards Roland Gesthuizen</div><div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><br></div><br><br><div>
<div style="font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">
—</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">
<b>Roland GESTHUIZEN<br></b><a href="http://about.me/rgesthuizen" target="_blank">http://about.me/rgesthuizen</a></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">
<span style="color:rgb(255,127,23);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,'Liberation Sans',FreeSans,sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19px;margin:0px;padding:0px 10px 0px 0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:url(https://www.qsite.edu.au/sites/default/themes/qsite/images/link-out-active.png);background-color:rgb(240,240,240);text-align:center"><a href="http://acec2014.acce.edu.au/" style="margin:0px;padding:0px 10px 0px 0px;border:0px;font-size:13px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:url(https://www.qsite.edu.au/sites/default/themes/qsite/images/link-out-active.png);background-color:rgb(240,240,240);color:rgb(255,127,23);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,'Liberation Sans',FreeSans,sans-serif;line-height:19px;text-align:center" target="_blank"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px 10px 0px 0px;border:0px;font-size:13px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:url(https://www.qsite.edu.au/sites/default/themes/qsite/images/link-out-active.png);background-color:rgb(240,240,240);color:rgb(255,127,23);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,'Liberation Sans',FreeSans,sans-serif;line-height:19px;text-align:center;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">
<span>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; </span></div><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word">
<span>indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead</span></div></span></a></span></div></font></span></div></div></div><br>_______________________________________________<br>
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