Home School Support Network

Encouraging and Equipping Home School Parents

Cyber Defense Competitions for Home Schoolers

The Home School Support Network (HSSN) Online Academy has been educating and equipping students to participate in cyber defense competitions since 2014. Two of the most prestigious competitions that our students have participated in are: US CyberPatriot the National Youth Cyber Education Program and the Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition (PCDC).

The US CyberPatriot program runs online competition events for middle school and high school students that focus on operating and defending individual computer operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu Linux, as well as Cisco network appliances. Cyber security is a strong focus area. HSSN has fielded multiple teams per year since 2014 in the US Cyber Patriot program with students from around the lowcountry of South Carolina ranging in age from those in 6th through 12th grade.

The Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition is a three day event hosted by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) Atlantic in collaboration with the South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). The first day of PCDC is when High school teams are invited to compete based on their performance in the US Cyber Patriot Program’s state round. These PCDC events are very competitive and result in head-to-head between some of the best trained high school teams from around the state of SC. The format of these events are red-on-blue live competition and require teams to operate and defend a complex set of networked computers while defending against live attackers. The event attackers are professionally trained penetration testers and red team members primarily from within the Department of Defense (DoD).

The Home School Support Network Online Academy provides students with basic system administration knowledge and skills training at HomeSchoolSTEM.com. Local Charleston area students have an opportunity to join a HSSN Cyber Team that meets regularly to receive more advanced training and preparation for events like those hosted by US CyberPatriot and PCDC. Our HSSN Cyber Teams regularly finish in the top five teams in SC in the US Cyber patriot events.

Leave a comment below or join or Cyber Team Info Mailing Lists to learn more about how to get home school students in these competitions.

Registration is Open

Registration is Open

We have opened up registration for the new Introduction to Computers and Security on demand class. Computer and Security Class for Teens

This class is intended for middle and high school students interested in enhancing their knowledge, skills, and abilities in Information Technology or Cyber Security. All students can benefit from this course regardless of their future education or career plans. Students will learn how computer systems work. They will learn how to troubleshoot computer systems using system administration skills on Microsoft, Apple, and Linux operating systems. The class will be delivered via recorded instructional videos with additional assignments and quizzes. Students and parents will have access to grades using the Home School Support Network (HSSN) Online Academy Learning Management Software (LMS).

What are parents of previous students saying about this course?

“My son has been involved in this since last summer and has learned so much and has built friendships along the way. Hank Osborne is a godly man who has been a wonderful encouragement to my son and he has inspired to him learn more.” Laura F. (Charleston, SC)

UPDATE: The class has been published as of June 30, 2015. Visit the Online Academy page for more information about this course.

Check HERE to register now!

Internships with US Navy Labs – High School and College

Internships with US Navy Labs – High School and College

There are two programs aimed at providing paid internships to high school and college students with the Department of Navy (D0N) through the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The first program targets high school students and is called the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP). The second targets both undergraduate and graduate college students and is called Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP). These programs are great opportunities for students to experience the types of environments and work they can expect to participate in once they graduate from college. I work for SPAWAR Atlantic for my day job and have an opportunity to interact with these interns during the Summer. This is an outstanding opportunity if your child is interested in Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology (STEM).

Here are the basic facts:

What: Paid Internships with the US Navy

Who: High School Students (age requirements…see notes below under SEAP) and College Students

When: Summer 2015 (Application deadline 12/19/2014)

Where: SPAWAR Atlantic, Charleston, SC *

*Additional locations in the following states:  AZ, CO, CA, CT, DC, FL, HI, IN, MD, MS, NJ, PA, RI, TX, VA

It is my understanding that the programs try to announce the internship recipients by mid-February each year. The application is fairly comprehensive so I recommend your child get started ASAP if they are interested. Some of the information that will be required during the application process:

  • Contact Information Citizenship & Demographics Program Information Education
  • Awards & Honors
  • Career Goals
  • Academic Interests
  • Research Experience Technical Skills Employment
  • References
  • Publicity Information

Student will also have to provide a copy of transcripts.

There’s more information about these programs and more on the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) web site. 

High School Students

Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)

 

 

 

 

This program offers over 350 students internships for an 8 week period during the summer at one of 25 locations around the country. High school students who have completed at least Grade 9. A graduating senior is eligible to apply. Students must be 16 years of age for most laboratories. Some laboratories may take students as young as 15. The SEAP Participating Labs page for SPAWAW says that SPAWAR requires students to be at least 17 years of age, but I am told that this can be waived for some positions. I would recommend that interested students who will 16 by the Summer go ahead and apply. Please visit the SEAP web site to get details and apply for the program. The deadline to apply for Summer 2015 internships is December 19th, 2014.

College Students

Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP)

 

 

NREIP provides competitive research internships to approximately 275 college students (200 undergraduate students and 75 graduate students) each year. Participating students  spend ten weeks during the summer conducting research at approximately 29 DoN laboratories. Please visit the NREIP web site to get details and apply for the program. The deadline to apply for Summer 2015 internships is December 19th, 2014.