Kickoff Conference

The Kickoff Conference at the New Mexico Tech in Socorro will be held on October 13-14.

For each student and teacher attending the Kickoff, the Supercomputing Challenge will provide room and board. Attendance at the Kickoff is not required for participation in the Challenge. Attendance at the Kickoff will be limited to 350 students.

Saturday Lunch time speaker, How to Relieve Computer Stress

Holly Rae Bemis-Schurtz
Holly Rae, Downtown Desert Yoga in Las Cruces, will present a 15 minute class called 'Yoga for the Digital Life.' She is an educational consultant and yoga instructor who has learned first-hand about injuries one can experience from our digital learning and working environments. In this guided, hands-on practice, she combines her experience as a virtual employee with simple yoga postures, breathing, movement, and mindfulness.

Holly is a former middle school technology teacher who received her MA in Curriculum and Instruction at New Mexico State University in 2006. When she's not working as an educational consultant you can find her with her family or at the yoga studio practicing the art of chillness. Her areas of expertise include social media, online teaching and learning, and faculty development. She has been practicing yoga for six years and has been teaching yoga to both kids and adults for the past two years. She is a certified Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RTY 200).

Dinner time speaker

Christa Brelsford will speak after dinner on Saturday. She is working on her doctoral dissertation on water resource economics at Arizona State University while also employeed in the Energy and Infrastructure Analysis Group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"I believe that scientists can provide useful information to administrators," she says. "I'm looking at how institutions --- the laws, rules, and habits that govern the distribution of water on the Colorado river --- might change in response to increasing water scarcity in the southwest."

Sunday Lunch time speaker

Jordan Medlock, the winner of the 2011-2012 Supercomputing Challenge will share his past project and current research.

Teachers' classes

Paula Avery, Instructor University of Phoenix, will be working with students and teachers at the Kickoff. Her presentation to teachers will include tips on teaming, technical writing, mentors, deadlines, anecdotal stories, collegiality, and presentations. Her talk to teachers is titled Taking the Challenge of Problem-Based Learning and Common Core Standards.

Schedule

The general schedule.

Housing

Housing will be provided at local hotels in Socorro on a first come first served basis.

• Comfort Inn housing list:
  AIMS@UNM, Alb Academy, Annunciation Catholic, Bloomfield, Capital, Cleveland, Down to Earth School, Edgewood Elementary, Edgewood Mid, Jackson Mid, Manzano, Moriarty, Quemado, Rio Rancho Cyber Academy, Santa Fe Prep, Sat Sci & Math Acad, West Las Vegas
• Econo Lodge housing list:
  ATC, Alamogordo, Artesia, Aspen, Desert Academy, Grants, La Cueva, Los Alamos High, Los Alamos Mid, Melrose, Mountain Elem, NM School for the Arts, Portales Junior High, Taos, TMP, Wingate
• Super 8 housing list:
  Centennial, Chaparral Mid, Gadsden Mid, Mesa Mid, Picacho Mid, Santa Fe High, School of Dreams Academy

Proposals

Remember that Supercomputing Challenge teams need to bring a Proposal with you to the Kickoff. See Proposal hints. A Proposal template is to be filled out for each team, unless they are following the GUTS curriculum.

Be sure you have registered for the Supercomputing Challenge.

Class materials

To learn more about previous years' kickoffs, visit our archive