Life in 903

Life in Mr. Udells Classroom

Its that time of year again

Warm weather and the home stretch Spring 2017

Spring BreakChicago style Project Lead The Way (PLTW)

End of Course exams are

Over two days of Spring Break my family and I visited Chicago. We coming up. These are stand-
visited many of the typical tourist attractions: Shedd Aquarium, Mu- ardized tests provided by
seum of Art, Willis Tower (it still pains me to call it anything but the PLTW. Important to you
Sears Tower), and the Bean. Id like to believe we visited some lesser- though is that if a student
known or off the beaten path that reinforce how I think we need to scores 7,8, or 9 out of 9 they
look at education; learn the essentials but seek out the different, the are able to earn college credit
unique, the unknown. for taking this class in high
school. Stay tuned...
My family also visited Maggie Daley Park. Never would anyone be-
lieve a park like this believe it would exist in an urban setting. Not so Scheduling for
much Central Park but more an adventure park done beautifully. We
classes is done...
also visited the Chicago Public Library. I know for a fact a library
isnt at the top of everyones to-do list for Spring Break fun. But, it
was the building that caught my eye as a fan of beautiful architecture. Administrators are putting on
We decided to check it out on a Wednesday morning before many the final touches of next years
other places were open. It did not disappoint. We didnt sit down and schedules. Students and
read much at all. Instead we wandered up and down all of the floors teachers are eager to see what
finding an amazing hidden gem I wonder if many of the regular li- they have next year. From
brary-goers even have explored. On the top floor is a vast open sky- what I hear our Technology
light-filled room that makes you feel so small yet comfortable and at classes are growing again, and
peace. more specifically our Engi-
neering classes are growing as
Without simply exploring and breaking free from the traditional we well. Thank you to the stu-
never would have been able to see the hidden gems of this city. I urge dents for being such incredi-
you to find those gems in your travel, in your education, and in the ble ambassadors for the clas-
loved ones you call family and friends. ses we teach here.
Introduction to Engineering & Design

Students are working on several different projects helping them to master dimen-
sionsing and INVENTOR. While a standard LEGO piece may seem simple and childish
students have found out it is anything but simple. Using a dial caliper to measure to the
nearest thousandth of an inch students had to fully sketch a LEGO piece inside and out
including EVERYTHING. Students often asked, Do we have to include The answer
was always yes. Think its a simple task? Take a long hard look at a LEGO piece and youll
see what I mean. After fully sketching and dimensioning their LEGO piece students were
tasked with re-creating that piece in INVENTOR. When complete students had a chance
to 3D print their piece to check their measurements and the printers tolerances. A learn-
ing experience , for sure.

Coming up students will be starting their final project working through the entire
design process that we have worked on all year long. I will be stressing to them how each
component feeds off of the next oneso dont procrastinate and dont miss a section.

Aerospace EngineeringWe will be wrapping up our JET portion of our curriculum

soon. I dont think even five pages would be fitting to summarize all that we have done.
Lets just say we have touched on: the history of jet engines, applications of jet engines,
procedure and protocol of flying a turbine engine, similarities and differences of a jet en-
gine versus a prop plane, and additional airplane navigational procedures. What I think
most students enjoyed the most was attempting to re-create the Miracle on the Hudson.
Students researched the exact conditions of one of the most famous successful crash land-
ings in aviation history. From those specific details (all the way down to the cloud ceiling
and temperature that day) students recreated that particular flight in Flight Simulator and
attempted to land in the Hudson successfully as did Sully.
Civil Engineering & Architecture

Students found out first hand how difficult it is to take an idea from their head, put it onto
paper, revise it, and turn it into a 3D model on the computer. Students have been toiling
away learning REVIT, our schools architecture software while designing their home.

Along the way we have had a chance to do our own researching and take a stand on a local
issuethe Monterey Dam and whether it should stay or be removed. After research-
ing ,students debated and took a vote deciding that removing the Monterey Dam was the
most logical, practical solution in this case. Students gained local attention with their letter
to the editor of the Janesville Gazette turned into a front-page article documenting the stu-
dents research. Because of the controversy surrounding the Monterey Dam decision by
the Janesville City Council we were able to turn that into a teachable moment discussing
how to deal with adversity and criticism of others when expressing their opinions. I must
say the students continually surprise me with their compassion and deep thoughts.

Looking forward we will soon be heading outside to use the transits to do some surveying.
Well also be using our Solar Pathfinder and solar arrays to look at some renewable re-
sources and their viabilities in the construction industry.

Communications classes

Students are still learning and applying their skills to Photoshop, Illustrator and other de-
sign programs. Its always energizing seeing students apply what they have learned to as-
signments for other classes. They must be learning something!

Communication Technology students are working on their vinyl graphics we will be cutting
out soon. They chose to step it up a little bit and make 2 and 3 color graphics. Well see if
they think it was worth the work when theyre done.