How to Use StudentSquare (and Lasercut before School)

How to Use StudentSquare (and Lasercut before School)

1. Use Classlinks or this link or this second link:

2. Sign in using Microsoft

3. Choose Messages on the left-side toolbar (is yours army green?)

4. New Message should be a choice up at the top (also army green?) 

5. From the pulldown, choose Group Conversation, not Direct Message. It will autocomplete your grown-up’s name and Jon Barber.

6. Send the message or something that looks like our message below, THE EARLIER THE BETTER (AT LEAST 12 hours before, if not days before).

7. IF ALL OF US (you, me, your grownup at home) HAVE SENT A MESSAGE, come early on an agreed-upon day (usually NOT Thursday)

8. DO NOT COME IN IF WE HAVEN’T MESSAGED WITH YOUR GROWNUP AND YOU BEFORE THE DAY.

9. Ask the adult in the cafeteria to come in (bring all your stuff).

10. Experience Lasercutter Bliss (not having to wait in a crazy-long line!)

Sample Group Conversation

 PowerSchool Check / Pop Tabs / Lasercutter Challenge

 

First Few Days in the Barber Shop 💈

Important Links are all on Schoology, like the Daily Slide and our class-shared Google Doc, called "Cool Beans." During the first few days, we go over procedures, readying our laptops and our minds for a safe, fun building environment: 

• First Day Google Form (1 pt)
• Intro to the Barber Shop Slideshow
• Laptop Check '26-'27 (15 pts)
• How to Adobe Illustrator for a lasercutter (This is MY basic video how-to for a scribble. Mech XT students will use these skills to make much more advanced lasercuts after you make a BETTER how-to, for sharing with Mr. B on Google Drive and this website, ScreenPal.
• How to CAD a nametag on TinkerCad ... older version, but it leads you to making a small nametag. I suggest making SURE that your letters intersect and are BIG, BLOCK, AND CHONKIER.
• How to CAD for a Wood Shop Project

Click below to access a copy on Google Drive for printing: 

• Henley Shop/Technology/Education Class Competencies/Syllabi/Pacing Guides 2026-2027 (in English)
• Henley Media Permission/Safe Shop Rules/TinkerCad Permission Form 2026-2027 (in English) (En Español). <= I WILL NEED 3 SIGNED SHEETS AND ONE COMMUNICATION FROM YOUR GROWNUPS AT HOME.

What you need for a laptop check

Laptop Check 2026-2027

 Students must bookmark these 11 sites in a "Barber Folder" on their toolbar. (Here's how):

1. Barber Shop Website 
2. Barber of Cville Blog 
3. Henley Homepage 
4. Google Drive 
5. Schoology
6. PowerSchool 
7. TinkerCad (Please don't log in yet ... we will log in as a class)
8. maker:bit / Microsoft Make Code (Please don't log in yet ... we will log in as a class)
9. Scratch 
10. Cool Beans (students must find this in Schoology and break it out of Schoology before bookmarking!)
11. Daily Slideshow (students must find the link in Schoology that says "BOOKMARK THIS LINK" and break it out of Schoology before bookmarking!)
12. We will be adding other bookmarks as the year goes on ...

II. Your charger has 2 pieces, and, therefore, needs 2 labels, one on each part. You need a flag on your removable cord affixed with clear packing tape (your first and last name!), and you need to tape over your label with clear packing tape:

New Way (this year)- notice the shininess of the packing tape!

Old Way (past years when your charger didn't have a label)

III. You also need to pin shortcuts on your taskbar to the 2 apps we download:

• Arduino IDE- We download this from Software Center (quick download)
• Adobe Illustrator- We download Adobe Creative Cloud from Software Center, THEN we install Adobe Illustrator from CC. These will both take a LONG TIME! Close as many apps and tabs as you can!

Arduino

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Illustrator

IV. Come show Mr. Barber when you're pretty sure you're going to get a good grade (not when you've done only a little of the Laptop Check ... I don't want to enter in a 4/15 F!!)

CAD Challenge- RINGS

CAD CHALLENGE- TO DESIGN A RING THAT FITS ONE OF YOUR FINGERS!! 

First, make a simple one with embedded letter holes ... then we are trying to make a bigger one that still fits.

Spring 2026 Barber Design Project Sign Up

Link to sign up

The "Barber Shop" at Henley Middle School Safety/Tutorial Videos

• How to use a drill (Dewalt Hand Drill AND Drill Press) 

• How to make an Adobe Scribble

• How to lasercut on Cardboard 

• How to use a belt sander 

• How to lasercut on wood 

• How to use the Chop Saw (miter saw, pull saw) 

• How to use a Dewalt Impact Driver 

• How to use the Band Saw

• How to 3d Print and CAD a Nametag

Holiday Ornaments

 

Lasercutting a 3D Snowflake

You don't have to do a snowflake! You could do a silhouette as an RGB Red outline and then engrave words or "logos" inside in RGB Blue. 

 

 

 

BLANK HALL PASS ASSIGNMENT

Weather Station

I finally got a Weather Station. Those who know me or have followed me on Social Media know that I obsess about weather, especially snow prediction. Well, I quit all social media associated with Zuck or Musk and now I'm on BlueSky, Reddit, and NextDoor only. BUT, you can now follow me because of my birthday present this year!

My folks got me an Ambient Weather Station WS-2902:

I waited until after school got out to try to install it and mount it and that ended up being a GOOD call. The software set up was pretty quick and easy ... it reminded me of installing my smart thermostat at my previous house. You use its wifi to start off and connect it to your phone. Assembling it was even pretty easy. Mounting it was a little more difficult. You have to have it completely level (there's a bubble on top for you to use to judge), it has to face North, and you have to both have it a little distance from the house, but close enough for Wifi to reach it. Getting it at least 6' off the ground complicates things a little.

My future Father In Law and I got it done in about an hour. Fortunately, he had a perfect metal pole for the job and he had some pole strapping that we used to attach it to a wooden fence pole.

Now, I'm sharing with AmbientWeather.net ... check it out: Link and my station is KVAAFTON89 on WeatherUnderground. 

Arduino Preview Lessons

I have my lessons on microcontrollers on my website on a special page.