Each week our makerpace team meets over lunch. We have a rolling agenda that is shared and editable by our team. Right now we are focused on ordering materials which entails a line by line review of our original ask. We are making sure we are spending these dollars in the best ways that we can. We are putting some funds aside to order more materials if necessary. We have made some changes on brands after getting feedback from professionals in the field who've been where we are. Several schools we talked to have made the switch from Makerbot to MakerGear. We are super lucky to have MakerGear right down the road. The company is located in Beachwood which is right on the other side of town. We made the decision to purchase one 3d printer along with a two year warranty. The company was great and provided us a quote with a discount on filament. We also had to adjust our carving/engraving purchases. The Glowforge was high on our list and still is. It is an incredible tool. However, it's on backorder and we won't be able to get it in until next school year. We decided as a team that we would put Glowforge aside for now and move forward with a Carvey. We were impressed by what it could do at many of the other makerspaces we visited. We feel the carving/engraving is a must as it will produce many products that we can create to sell at our Ranger Shop. One of our main goals of the space is to promote community and school spirit! The whole purchasing process is completely intriguing. First, we need an official quote. We need to purchase from partners that offer purchase orders as an option for payment. We need to submit to our bookroom. Then they submit to our finance people. Then the invoice is generated, a purchase order is put up, the money comes out, and the order moves through. It is not like the amazon ordering I'm used to. Click, click, wait two days, and open box! Not the case at all when ordering school materials. This is all the better though because I am learning that my passion and excitement are leading to impulsiveness and impatience. I need many reminders to slow down, think, reevaluate, and then talk with my team. It's an incredible learning process which I am excited to share with the students. Here are some of our purchases!
So, not only are we working on spending our money wisely, we are also trying to promote our incredible space. It's hard to promote something that isn't there yet though. We are calling in the kids for help on this one. We are asking our drama teacher to rally up some kids with energy and a willingness to get really cheesy! They will create a video to be shown in all classrooms and on the monitors in community spaces like the library, cafeteria, and hallways. Here are some of the statements they will use to promote the space -
- Dresscode problems? Go to the Makerspace and fix that hole in your pants!
- Need a case for your cell phone? Design and print one!
- School project blues got you down? Makerspace that!
- Ever wanted to learn how to code? Or design a video game?
- Did you forget your BFF’s bday? Hurry, go make them a light up card and a friendship bracelet!
- Hang out. Free time. Remember the L Room?
- You don’t have to be super quiet.
- Carve or engrave a gift for your fav teacher!
- Did the travel bug bite you? Take a trip anywhere on earth with our virtual reality goggles!
- Wanna create a video/podcast?
- Need to charge your phone? Oh yeah, we’ve got that covered. You can even use solar power!
- Help us name our new creative space! The winner gets an exclusive preparty with ten friends!!!
- Ask Mrs. Chanter, Mrs. Spurlock, Mr. Petto, Mrs. Storey, or Mr. Kozar all about it!
- A cool space that revolves around learning!
- like legos or knex or coloring or just creating? Come on down!
- Look for snapcodes in the hall to submit your idea to name our space!
After the video is shown, we will open up the voting via Google Forms. We are hoping to have a name soon! Stay tuned!
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