Chess
About the Teacher
Mr. Calderon is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelors degree in Psychology (Pre-Med) and a Masters degree in counseling from St. Edwards University. He has been a middle school teacher for Pflugerville I.S.D. at Westview Middle School for 7 years. He has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math and science. He has also been a cheerleading coach and a boys soccer coach for at Westview for 4 years. The Westview Middle School Cheerleading team achieved a National Championship in 2010 and a Regional Championship in 2012. The boys soccer team also recently won the district championship for P.I.S.D. in May of 2012. Mr. Calderon is also a GED instructor for Austin Community College where he has personally achieved over 120 graduates from program. Mr. Calderon’s philosophy in teaching and coaching is to create a positive, comfortable environment where students have the ability to learn and excel. He is an avid chess player and always enjoys a quick game to keep his students engaged. During his off time, Mr. Calderon enjoys spending time with his daughters (Victoria -15 and Isabella-7) bike riding, swimming and golfing. As an ongoing project of 6 years, Mr. Calderon has volunteered time to collect blankets and clothing for Austin’s homeless as well as donations for the Boys Scouts Club #2 in his home town of Chihuahua, Mexico. He is excited to join this wonderful organization and looks forward to spending time this summer with his new students.
A note from the teacher & some of the things the campers learned while in camp
The objective of this week was to explore the different types of engineering fields and what engineers do. Campers had a chance to get hands on experience in building and troubleshooting different types of vehicles while designing aerodynamic cars and planes to improve speed and decrease drag on moving vehicles.
Monday – Campers began this week by studying simple machines such as the use of a lever, pulley, wheel, and balance. The focus for the day was the different types of engineering, specifically mechanical engineering. Young People developed their own pulley system to lift different types of loads and they learned to use the lever to minimize effort.
Tuesday -Campers continued exploring the world of mechanical engineering and design by using step by step instructions to build a functioning wind up car. Each camper worked in a team, taking turns in hands on building and eventually decorating the cars to make them aerodynamic. At the end of the day, a challenge allowed us to see which car was the fastest.
Wednesday– Campers began to explore the world aerospace engineering by creating a teachers worst nightmare. A perfect paper airplane!!! We began by exploring the different designs that would fly through the air- from a paper wad, to a flat sheet of paper, or a paper airplane. Campers also began working cutting and designing a helicopter.
Thursday – Campers continued their exploration of the world of aerospace engineering. Young People completed and flew their helicopter. Campers then began designing and building parachutes. The parachutes were made of common household goods such as paper towels, yarn and paper clips. Students ended the day with a competition of the most aerodynamic vehicle.
Friday – Young People ended their magnificent week, with a different type of engineering. Software engineering and mechanical engineering was the challenge of the day. Campers started their day by using a 49 page instruction manual from a laptop and our LEGO Robotic set. After building the “Terrabot”, students were taught how to program the robot to follow different commands. The commands or program were then downloaded onto the robot via infra red light. Students ended the day with a race to see the fastest robot. Watch out, Microsoft, we have some future engineers on their way!
