[Launch School] Community Update - May 22nd, 2023

Hi all! Brandi here again. I'd like to begin this community update by raising a white flag that I hope will be seen round the world. The [last update]( led to some really [fiery debate]( on slack. To my surprise, however, this thread took a turn. Solid evidence was brought forth by both sides, and voices were heard. It seems that it may actually be possible to appreciate any and all variations of The Office without your favorite of them all being invalidated. I feel like there's a life lesson in there. Maybe Clare and I could commemorate this civil discourse over a plate of sc-ON-es. [:wink:] Okay, now that that's taken care of, I wanted to do a quick shout out to all the mom's out there. I myself have had a bit of a heart attack after realizing that I'd missed Mother's day. To my relief, I'd only missed Mexico's Mother's Day which happens on May 10th. Most of the world celebrates sometime in May, so I figure now's as good a time as any. Cheers to all the mom's, mother-like figures, and anyone who gives off that mother-duck energy. Thanks, y'all. Of course we should also mention the other very important holiday that's on the same day no matter what country you're in...Happy Star Wars day! May the 4th be with you! [May the 4th be with You] Pictured is a very minimal orchestra that we got to see on May the 4th. The crowd was full of light sabers and baby Yodas. This sent me down a rabbit hole wondering what instruments actually are required to replicate the music from Star Wars. According to [Wikipedia](, to recreate the nine scores as they were originally recorded, you would need an impressive variety of instruments/singers including, but not limited to : a toy piano, highland bagpipes, a didgeridoo, a Tibetan throat singer, a wash board, and many other delightfully obscure instruments. P.S. If you didn't get to see Garbage dressed up for the special May the 4th [Coding Pawzzle](, get with it! P.P.S. Garbage is a cat. Okay, that's enough of that. Onto Launch School news! --------------------------------------------------------------- Important Updates Smooth Start We're really excited to announce our new Smooth Start program! Many students have told us that starting out at Launch School can be overwhelming. Smooth Start provides a way for new students in Core to learn their way around the different areas of Launch School, get accustomed to interacting with peers, and get their initial questions answered. By participating in Smooth Start, you'll learn how to benefit from the collective knowledge and diverse backgrounds of staff and your fellow students. Whether you need assistance with finding your way around, understanding the core concepts, tips on how to approach assessments, or simply a friendly ear to listen, Smooth Start will be a safe space for you. Smooth Start consists of small groups of up to 8 students together with an experienced student lead or staff member. Each group will have a private Slack channel where the members can ask questions and get to know each other. They will also meet once a week for 4 weeks via Zoom or a similar program. These meetings will provide ample time to address your queries, share insights, and build connections within the community. The first groups will start on Monday, May 29! If you want to join Smooth Start, you can sign up here. For our first round, we have 4 groups from which you can choose one that suits your schedule best. To keep the groups manageable and intimate, we must limit the particiation to students who are currently enrolled in Core, with preference given to students currently in JS101 or RB101. [Smooth Start] New Workshops The LS staff have been working hard an an entirely new series of workshops! The topics covered are a lot more diverse than previous, meaning that you shouldn't write them off just because you aren't in prep. These new ones are good for beginners and front-end wizzes alike! Imagine HTML & CSS basics, GitHub guides, soft skills pro-tips, and more. Find all the details [here]( Workshop Recordings If you have the Eastern Time Blues (I made this up. It's when you get sad because most events are scheduled to be ET friendly and that means more like 2am for you.), have no fear! There are now workshop recordings available on YouTube for your viewing pleasure in any time zone! As of now all of the prep series workshops for both the Ruby and JavaScript track are available. - [Ruby Programming Essentials]( - [JavaScript Programming Essentials]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Routine Updates Women's Group The next meeting for our LS Women's Group will include talk of the survey results that asked fellow women in the field about boundaries and professionalism in the workplace. They've put a lot of time into this one, so don't miss out. - When : Sunday, May 21st. 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern - Stay tuned to the [#ls-womens-group]( slack channel for the zoom link on the day of. Meetups Student's that make time for studying and socializing are always a great source of inspiration. Here we have meetups from : [#Vancouver]( top left, [#california-north]( top right, [#japan]( bottom left, and [#Utah]( bottom right. Be sure to join the slack channel for your area to stay in the loop for the next meeting of the minds. [Meetup Collage] As for upcoming meetups, it looks like there are three in the works : - [#portland]( seems to have decided on Saturday the 20th at 4pm. Meeting at Ecliptic Brewing. How Portland of them, amiright? It looks like this could change though, so keep an eye on the channel for the final verdict. - [#chicago]( is in the process of voting on a date for the next meet up. So far, June 10th is in the lead. Head to the channel to cast your vote and join them! - [#europe-africa-timezones]( is having a meetup on Saturday, June 24th around 12:30 in Vienna. This one is exciting, y'all. People are buying plane tickets. Maybe you aren't in the area but need a vacation? I'm sure they wouldn't mind! Student Articles It's been a busy few weeks! As usual, you can visit the [sharing tab]( for the most recent updates. If you're early in your LS journey or are debating taking the leap, check out Jacquie's [article](jacquiedesrosiers/becoming-a-better-learner-at-launch-school-45f5ef5b3750) for some inspiration and insight into the first course on the JavaScript track. It doesn't end there though, because Jacquie doubled down and gave us another article on [looping through arrays](jacquiedesrosiers/mastering-javascript-5-ways-to-loop-through-an-array-6ed1b58f55d4) in JavaScript. This guide is great for those early in the JS track, or Ruby track folks now moving into the front end curriculum. Smilja comes to us from the Ruby track with some post-first-interview wisdom for those of us looking for a bit of guidance. Check it out [here](smiljaklein/overcoming-the-rb109-live-interview-95b8e6c14e15). No matter where you are in your journey, pre-LS, core, capstone, or post-LS, we can all relate to life getting in the way. Irina lays it all out, getting vulnerable and [sharing her story](pinnacleone.irina/377b0c248beb). There's drama, there's inspiration, there's someone here to tell you to cut the excuses. Don't miss this one. Finally, we have one for you deep divers out there. Do you feel like you need to understand the how to really be satisfied? Stephanie did the heavy lifting for us in her article [What is Ruby, anyway? (Or: what did I just install?)](stephaniejura/what-is-ruby-anyway-or-what-did-i-just-install-aaeefb8afdb7). Interpreters, compilers, executables, oh my! Confused? Go give it a read. Capstone Info Channel Just wanted to drop a link for anyone who missed it, there's now a [#capstone_info]( channel on slack for all of your questions. This channel has valuable input happening from both Capstone staff and previous Capstone grads. Check it out! --------------------------------------------------------------- That's all, folks. Thanks for reading, and keep up the good work! --------------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to stop receiving emails from us, you can use the one-click link below to unsubscribe. [Unsubscribe From All Email]( [Unsubscribe From Weekly Summaries](