WHAT: Please join Honorary Chair Rick Warren, Vice President ISV Global Support, IBM and friends of Saturday Academy for the 2009 Discovery Luncheon. At the organization’s largest annual event, more than 300 guests will learn about the nonprofit’s 26-year role furthering education in the community; hear from young people and community members impacted by its programs; and raise critical support for scholarships, apprenticeships, classes and other programs.

WHEN: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 11:30-1 p.m. [Guests may arrive as early at 11:30 a.m. for an optional social time and the luncheon and program will run from noon to 1:00 p.m.]

WHERE: Oregon Zoo Cascade Crest Banquet Center 4001 SW Canyon Road Portland, OR 97221

COST: No cost; donations accepted; reservations required; table sponsorships available

WHY: Saturday Academy has served more than 145,000 children across the Portland metro area since its founding in 1983. Its goal is to nourish the natural curiosity, innovation, and wonder in children. Saturday Academy connects kids with technology and professionals in their fields, otherwise unavailable to them. Students explore topics with hands-on activities, yet without tests or homework. The result is a pipeline of young people interested in advanced careers critical to our state's future economy.

COME LEARN TO PROGRAM JAVA...

The most popular & scalable computer language in use today and the language used on the AP Computer Science Exam. This session is hands-on, it is designed for immediate feedback throughout the course, allowing for students to have fun creating with Java and removing much of the frustration normally associated with computers. See how rewarding & accessible programming can be. Students will learn clean coding techniques and proper use of advanced tools.

Register for a free ticket with the Event Brite link above.

Ages: 11-18 Requirements: Please bring a laptop setup with code & eclipse from the "more information" link below. Note: we will be pairing durning the event, so kids will share laptops. This means we might not use your actual laptop and that if you don't have a laptop you can still join and participate.

Adults: Every child must be accompanied by an adult. Adults are welcome to particpate as well, although we ask you to pair with other adults instead of with your kids.

On Wed 19 March there will be a more adult focused session on the techniques: http://calagator.org/events/1250465770

More information: https://github.com/TeachingKidsProgramming/TeachingKidsProgramming.Java

About the speakers...

Lynn Langit - Big Data Architect and Educator. Former FTE at MSFT (4 years). Awards – SQL Server MVP, Google Cloud Developer Expert, MongoDB Master. Lynn has done production work with SQL Server, MongoDB, AWS and Google databases and more. Lynn has over 150 BigData screencasts on her YouTube channel (SoCalDevGal). In addition to her work with Big Data, she is also the co-founder of a non-profit, ‘Teaching Kids Programming.’

Llewellyn Falco learned to jump horses in the 7th grade while living in France. Back in states, while studying drafting in high school, he started fire eating, sleight of hand magic, and once rode a unicycle 6 miles. After learning to juggle torches, he joined a acrobatics group in college where he specialized on the trampoline and walking a slack rope. He can calculate the cube root of any perfect cube under 1,000,000 in his head, as well as pick a standard lock. He can rollerblade down a flight of stairs, backwards. Later, he has learned to play the doumbek (a type of drum), to accompaniment a belly dancing girlfriend. Llewellyn studied Tai Chi for 2 years, can throw a knife at 20 feet, and a playing card at 50. He has taught swing dancing, and loves to salsa. He is also an accomplished speed chess player. In the last year, he has been scuba diving over 20 times, become a guitar hero, and broke his personal record of paddle balling over 200 times. Llewellyn attributes his success to the large amount of caffeine he has consumed, and enjoys computer programming in his spare time.

In this workshop, attendees will experience our Intentional Method of introducing children (ages 10+) to programming (in java) using recipes . We use Agile techniques such as pair programming, randoris, short iterations, re-factoring & test-driven development in teaching. Pair instructors model Agile practices while teaching. Learn how to teach technical processes using Agile techniques. Although we’ve mostly used our method with children, we have also successfully taught adults using similar methodologies.

Note: on Tue 18 March there is a version of this event for kids to try it out along with their peers and parents: http://calagator.org/events/1250465864

Note: There will be hands-on sections of this presentation. While not everyone will need a laptop, please bring one if you can, and set it up with the courseware & eclipse from our github account

full link: https://github.com/TeachingKidsProgramming/TeachingKidsProgramming.Java

short link: http://lfal.co/tkpjava

About the speakers...

Llewellyn Falco learned to jump horses in the 7th grade while living in France. Back in states, while studying drafting in high school, he started fire eating, sleight of hand magic, and once rode a unicycle 6 miles. After learning to juggle torches, he joined a acrobatics group in college where he specialized on the trampoline and walking a slack rope. He can calculate the cube root of any perfect cube under 1,000,000 in his head, as well as pick a standard lock. He can rollerblade down a flight of stairs, backwards. Later, he has learned to play the doumbek (a type of drum), to accompaniment a belly dancing girlfriend. Llewellyn studied Tai Chi for 2 years, can throw a knife at 20 feet, and a playing card at 50. He has taught swing dancing, and loves to salsa. He is also an accomplished speed chess player. In the last year, he has been scuba diving over 20 times, become a guitar hero, and broke his personal record of paddle balling over 200 times. Llewellyn attributes his success to the large amount of caffeine he has consumed, and enjoys computer programming in his spare time.

Lynn Langit - Big Data Architect and Educator. Former FTE at MSFT (4 years). Awards – SQL Server MVP, Google Cloud Developer Expert, MongoDB Master. Lynn has done production work with SQL Server, MongoDB, AWS and Google databases and more. Lynn has over 150 BigData screencasts on her YouTube channel (SoCalDevGal). In addition to her work with Big Data, she is also the co-founder of a non-profit, ‘Teaching Kids Programming.’

Bedtime routine conflicting with your coding & networking nights? Come meet other parents in the STEM fields while our kids play on the monkey bars.

Our next get together is Monday, October 20 from 1:30-3:30pm at Piccolo Park in SE.

Portland parents who work, or aspire to work, in science, technology, engineering or mathematics -- meet with kiddos in tow every third Monday from 1:30pm to 3:30pm at a Portland area park. We can chat and network while the little ones play.

We are also interested in doing other times and days that work for others' work and nap schedules. Come like our page and make suggestions on park get togethers!

Join GA and SoGal this webinar for parents.

The pandemic is challenging for parents but also presents an opportunity to focus on and participate more in children’s development. Spending quality time with your children strengthens the relationship, and while adding another task to your new normal stay-at-home routine may seem daunting, there is both immediate and long-term payoff. You will likely notice changes in your child including being more affectionate with you, cooperating with your requests, and having fewer tantrums.

During this webinar, our experts will share tips and resources on how to find activity for strengthening relationship with your children.