The Sweet Spot – Issue 004
The Sweet Spot – Issue 004
Recent news for December 16, 2025
Welcome to the fourth issue of The Sweet Spot, a newsletter for Sugar Labs-related news in development, student and teacher work, events, how to get involved, and other related news and information.
Help Sugar Labs continue to make a positive difference in the world with a year-end donation
As we close out the year, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your support of Sugar Labs. Your contributions have enabled us to continue developing and improving the free/libre and open-source learning platform that has empowered millions of students worldwide.
As we approach the new year, we're counting on the generosity of folks like you to help us achieve more in 2026. Our community relies on donations to fund our operations, support new initiatives, and maintain our commitment to creating and promoting Constructionist learning tools for students, parents, and teachers.
There are many ways to make a financial contribution. Here are some of the recommended ways to give to Sugar Labs:
- https://www.every.org/sugar-labs
- https://github.com/sponsors/sugarlabs
- https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/sugarlabsinc
- https://causes.benevity.org/causes/840-843289298
- Send a check: 2028 E Ben White Blvd STE 240 PMB 1271, AUSTIN, TX 78741, USA
And if you’re not in a position to give financially, we understand that too. Please consider liking us on Every.org and sharing the link to our landing page.
Contents of this issue
- Fall board elections: How to participate
- Contributors: Complete this survey to help assess Sugar Labs and shape our future
- Adding dark mode to the Sugar Labs homepage
- 2025 summer coding: GSoC/DMP/SSoC contributor reports
- From beginner to number one on the contributors chart: My open-source journey
- Explorations of gen-AI in education: Four live conversations
- New sugarlabs.org homepage
- (Volunteer) Help wanted
- Upcoming events and meetings
- About Sugar Labs
- Social and communication links
- Back issues of The Sweet Spot
Updates
Fall board elections: How to participate
December 1, 2025 by Safwan Sayeed
We recently announced that Sugar Labs will be running an election this fall for three seats on its board of directors. This is your chance to have a say in our organization's direction and future plans. The eligibility requirements are simple. The only step you need to take is to submit a ballot application using the link below. If you've made contributions to Sugar Labs within the past year, you're likely eligible to be a member and therefore eligible to vote in this election. Those interested in running for a seat on the board are encouraged to add their name to the candidate list on the wiki. We encourage all members to participate and make their voice heard. Stay tuned for more information and details on how to get involved.
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/news/all/fall-board-elections-2025-how-to-participate
- Apply for your ballot: https://forms.gle/2F5PjLHZpzPq2ssL7
- Become a candidate: https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Oversight_Board/2026-2027-candidates
Contributors: Complete this survey to help assess Sugar Labs and shape our future
In collaboration with DataKind, we're excited to invite you to share your thoughts on how Sugar Labs can create the most meaningful impact. Your input is crucial in helping us prioritize our efforts and make a difference. If you’ve ever been involved with Sugar Labs, please take a few minutes to complete this online survey. Your feedback will help shape the future of Sugar Labs, so don't miss out on this opportunity!
Adding dark mode to the Sugar Labs homepage
October 28, 2025 by Syed Khubayb Ur Rahman
The fall season has brought many new contributors to Sugar Labs. One such new contributor, Syed Khubayb Ur Rahman, recently shared how he implemented a new Dark Mode feature to the Sugar Labs website and what he learned from the process.
Interested in contributing a blogpost to the website? Students, teachers, and developers alike are invited to share their experience for publication on the website. Information about how to get started is published on https://github.com/sugarlabs/www-v2, and if this seems intimidating, you may send an email to info@sugarlabs.org with your article pitch.
2025 summer coding: GSoC/DMP/SSoC contributor reports
Various contributors: Aditya Kumar Singh, Aman Chadha, Aman Naik, Anvita Prasad, Bishoy Wadea, Diwangshu Kakoty, Elwin Li, Harshit Verma, Justin Charles, Krish Pandya, Mebin Thattil, Muhammad Haroon, Nikhil Bhatt, Om Santosh Suneri, Safwan Sayeed, Saumya Shahi, and Shubham Singh.
Sugar Labs participated in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) and Dedicated Mentorship Program (DMP) again this year. Also, because we had an overwhelming number of quality applications, we piloted a program that we are calling Sugar Summer of Code. Altogether, we had seventeen contributors. Projects varied from GTK4 updates to LLM-powered debuggers. Check out the contributors' weekly reports on our homepage.
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/aditya-singh
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/aman-chadha
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/amannaik247
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/anvita-prasad
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/bishoy-wadea
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/diwangshu-kakoty
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/elwin-li
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/harshit-verma
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/justin-charles
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/krish-pandya
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/mebin-thattil
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/muhammad-haroon
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/nikhil-bhatt
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/om-santosh-suneri
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/safwan-sayeed
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/saumya-shahi
- https://www.sugarlabs.org/authors/shubham-singh
Explorations of gen-AI in education: Four live conversations
May 2025
In May, we hosted four live conversations exploring artificial intelligence in education. In particular, we looked at what is “artificial intelligence”, what AI-related things Sugar Labs has done in the past, and the role of generative AI in education. We invited Sugar Labs community contributors, both new and familiar, as well as Ken Kahn, PhD, author of The Learner’s Apprentice: AI and the Amplification of Human Creativity.
- Generative AI development showcase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKyf_awMK4w
- Role of generative AI in education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn1jeQgKTOA
- Sugar Labs and artificial intelligence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3NRnztAETU
- Introduction to events this Spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-qJ4dz13lY
New sugarlabs.org homepage
April 25, 2025
Led by new contributor Safwan Sayeed, a group of volunteer developers built a new homepage for Sugar Labs from the ground up. Check out the Launch Party on YouTube and explore the code behind the website. Take a look at the new homepage itself, which serves not only as an outreach platform but also as an ongoing portfolio showcasing our organization's journey and future plans.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v76Mw9wqO6E
- https://www.sugarlabs.org
- https://github.com/sugarlabs/www-v2
(Volunteer) Help wanted
Sugar Labs is seeking volunteer assistance in the following ways. Sustained, committed help in any of the following areas will help us grow as an organization. If you are passionate or curious to learn more about any of these roles, and are able to commit the time necessary, then we encourage you to apply. Send a notification of your interest to info@sugarlabs.org, including some information about yourself, what interests you about the volunteer role, and what experience/qualities make you a good candidate for the position.
Sugar Labs is a growing organization. We don't currently have the resources to hire people to fulfill these roles. Our hope is that we one day will be able to, but, for now, we are looking for volunteers who can work with the executive director and the board to work diligently to improve our operations. What we can provide, in return, for your help, is assistance in conducting your role and mentorship (especially in the case of technical roles). Plus, you'll gain the experience and satisfaction of working with an organization that aims to do good in society.
Please see: https://www.sugarlabs.org/volunteering
Upcoming events and meetings
Sugar Labs hosts events and meetings for the community. The current list of scheduled events and meetings are as follows:
Special events
- There are currently no special events scheduled.
Regular meetings
- Music Blocks meetings – Every Sunday at 7:00 EST (12:00 UTC) via https://meet.jit.si/ResponsibleMasksForecastHastily
- Sugar Labs Board of Directors meetings – Every Wednesday at 13:00 EST (18:00 UTC) via https://matrix.to/#/#sugar:matrix.org
About Sugar Labs
Sugar Labs® is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a global mission to create educational opportunities in technology to youth around the world. Volunteer mentors and contributors work together to develop activity-focused software for children. All software is developed with learning as the primary goal, necessitating the need for source code to be published publicly for study, licensed under a Free/Libre license for explicit permission to share and remix, and openly worked upon within a community where students are invited to make contributions, under guidance of experienced mentors. Donations to support the work of Sugar Labs can be made at .
Social and communication links
Below is a complete list of all the official social media and other communication channels for Sugar Labs. If you are on any of the social media platforms, such as Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or X/Twitter, we encourage you to show your support for Sugar Labs by following us. If you are interested in testing and development, GitHub and Matrix are where you can report issues and ask questions.
Communications on our official channels must abide by our Code of Conduct.
- Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/sugarlabs.bsky.social
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SugarLabsforall/
- GitHub – https://github.com/sugarlabs
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sugarlabsforall/
- LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/sugar-labs
- Mailing lists – https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Mailing_Lists
- Mastodon – https://mastodon.social/@sugar_labs
- Matrix – https://matrix.to/#/#sugar:matrix.org
- Medium – https://medium.com/@sugarlabs
- Snail mail and phone – https://www.sugarlabs.org/contact-us/
- Twitter/X – https://twitter.com/sugar_labs
- Wiki – https://wiki.sugarlabs.org
- WhatsApp – https://wa.me/16177024088
- YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@SugarlabsOrg-EN
Back issues of The Sweet Spot
You can find this issue and past issues of The Sweet Spot at https://www.sugarlabs.org/news/community-news