CSTA-MN November Newsletter
Kate Lockwood
CSTA-MN Newsletter: November 2025
🚀 Welcome from CSTA-MN!
Hello CSTA-MN Members and Friends!
Happy November and Native American Heritage Month! It’s almost fall break time! And winter break will be here before we know it! It’s also almost CS Ed week!
In this issue, we recap our October meeting, highlight some local organizations working to bring computing to indigenous populations, and kickoff the call for proposals for MN+CS 2026!
📅 Upcoming Chapter Meeting: Telling Your CS Story
Our next CSTA-MN Chapter Meeting is scheduled for November 19 at 3:45 PM via Google Meet
This month, we will be talking about how to share your computer science story by submitting proposals for conferences and writing articles for publication. We’ll be joined by an editor for Hello World magazine and one of the conference organizers for MN+CS. It’s so important that we continue to create the opportunity for computer science classroom teacher focused PD in Minnesota!
When: Wednesday, November 19, 3:45 PM CST
Agenda Highlights:
Local resources for celebrating Native American Heritage Month in your CS Classroom
How to prepare submissions for articles and conference presentations so we can share the great things happening in Minnesota CS classrooms
➡️ Save the Date: Add the meeting to your calendar
Future meeting dates and topics:
December 10, 2025: Author discussion with Cait Levin, author of Imposter while we encourage members to read the book, it is not required to participate in the discussion
Thank you to everyone who joined us in October to learn about Cybersecurity and Hour of AI! Here is the slide deck from October
💡 Professional Development & Resources
Looking to expand your teaching toolkit or find new resources? Check out these opportunities:
1. Relentless Feater
Relentless Feather is a Native-led 501(c)3 nonprofit that creates pathways for Native youth to see themselves in tech by blending culturally grounded education with Native-centered CS lessons. By combining coding education with lessons in Native history, treaties, and federal laws, Relentless Feather offers a unique approach that empowers students both culturally and academically. Reach out to Relentless Feather founder and CSTA-MN Board member Feather LaRoche (fea...@relentlessfeather.org) for more information about bringing Relentless Feather to your students.
2. Hour of AI
Thank you to Code.org for joining us at our October meeting to share about the Hour of AI! Hour AI is a collection of both teacher and student-facing resources about AI. If you’re interested in adding AI activities to an existing computer science course or advocating for the incorporation of AI across the curriculum, check out the carefully curated resources at Hour of AI.
Here are the slides that were presented during the meeting - there is some great information about how to advocate for Hour of AI at your school/district
3. CS Ed Week Preview
Hopefully, our last meeting got everyone excited about CS Ed week and bringing new activities to your classroom and school. If you want even more information, join CSTA national for a CSEd Week sneak peek for even more CSEd Week fun!
What: A first look at this year’s CSEdWeek
When: November 18, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Register: Register at the CSTA website
4. Cyber.org
Thank you to Cyber.org for presenting on all of their curricula and PD opportunities during our October meeting. Cyber.org has searchable lessons and courses for all grade levels from K-12, including classroom curricula and parent-facing materials. Cyber.org is a great partner for teachers looking to equip students with cybersecurity knowledge!
Learn more in the Cyber.org information packet
5. Code Savvy Opportunities
Join Code Savvy for a free professional development workshop: Introduction to text based coding with Python!
When: Thursday, November 20, 2025, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Register: You can learn more and register here
Now is the time to register your Technovation team(s)! Learn more and register at this link.
6. MN+CS Call for Proposals
MN+CS is officially back for a second year! This conference, co-sponsored by CSTA-MN and the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a day full of professional development by and for Minnesota CS classroom teachers! Presentation proposals are now open! Apply to share your expertise with your CS teacher colleagues.
Save the date: MN+CS conference March 13-14, 2026
Proposals due: Friday, December 12, 2025
Submit a proposal: Fill out the proposal submission form here
Submission support: Attend the November member meeting for tips on submitting a successful proposal, or reach out to a chapter board member any time!
7. CSTA New England Virtual Conferece
CSTA New England is inviting all chapters to attend their virtual conference! There are a lot of great sessions including:
Coding Connections: Bringing Joy to PK–10 CS Through C.A.S.T. – Culinary Arts, AI, Sound & Technology Integration
Data Jams: Using Creativity to Unlock Data Literacy
Into the Breach: A Hands-On Cyberattack Simulation for CS Educators
Cost is only $10 to attend.
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025, 8:00 AM – 4:45 PM ET
Registration: Learn more and register here
8. Free MDE Online Class: Computer Science for Every Classroom: A Course for Minnesota K–12 Educators
All MN educators can enroll in a 10-hour virtual course for K–12 teachers with a variety of experience levels in computer science and/or computer science integration. The course supports the development of effective K–12 CS educators by developing their skills and pedagogical understanding in order to provide equitable and effective CS instruction to all students. The three primary goals of the course are to develop a deep understanding of computer science content and pedagogy, to cultivate an equitable and inclusive learning environment for all students, and to design and implement engaging and effective CS learning experiences. You can self-enroll in the Computer Science for Every Classroom: A Course fro Minnesota K-12 Educators.
⭐ Member Spotlight: Rick Ballew
This month, we celebrate Rick Ballew, a Middle School Computer Science & Engineering teacher from Bloomington Public Schools.
Rick likes to use computer science to help his students tell their stories. Whether it is his students using HTML/CSS to create webpages about themselves, Scratch to create choose your own adventure style narratives, or JavaScript for his students to create animations, his students use computer science to share their voices.
Rick is also a co-president for CSTA-MN.
Thank you, Rick, for your commitment to our students!
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📚 Book Corner 🌈
Turkey Day will be here soon, but what to do after the stuffing and pie have been cleared? Do some computer science? Absolutely!
Come learn about different activities you can do with the young people in your life! From robotics to Star Wars and from Scratch to Python, something for everyone!
Looking forward to seeing you at the Book Corner, where we bridge computer science and reading!
📣 Stay Connected
Join the conversation and connect with other Minnesota CS educators!
Have newsletter items? Email kloc...@spa.edu
Minnesota CSTA Chapter Advancing computer science education for all students.
Contact Minnesota CSTA Chapter