Science Notebook
SUHSD Curriculum & PD Science Newsletter
Upcoming Science Zone Trainings (PSEUDO 53955)
SUB-REASON: Conference
2/11/15 Science Zone 1A (BVH, SYH, SUH^) @ District Office Board Room2/11/15 Science Zone 1B (BVM, GJ, NCM^) @ PDC
2/12/15 Science Zone 2A (CPH, ELH, MVH^, OPTIONS) @ MVH MPR
2/12/15 Science Zone 2B (CPM, ELM, MVA^) @ MVA Library
2/17/15 Science Zone 3A (CVH, MOH, ORH^) @ ORH MPR
2/17/15 Science Zone 3B (CVM, MOM, RDM^) @ RDM MPR
2/18/15 Science Zone 4A (HH, OLH, SOH^, PAH) @ OLH MPR
2/18/15 Science Zone 4B (HTM^, SOM, ALTA VISTA)@ HTM Computer Lab
^Host Site
Contact: Ana Garcia or Melanie Brown
Science Instructional Guides - New Structure
Curriculum Dimensions of Written, Taught and Tested
Science Performance Tasks
Q&A
- Q: Do Science Performance Tasks need to be in Data Director?
- A: Yes. The following are useful resources housed in the R&E Performance Task Canvas Course:
- Data Director Performance Task Matrix.
- How to enter rubric scores in DD by period.
- Other relevant videos.
- Click here to go to R&E Performance Task Canvas Course.
Q&A
- Q: When is the deadline?
- A: May 22, 2015
Science Fair Screening Goes Electronic!
Email: stephen.rodecker@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: www.sweetwaterschools.org
South Bay Performance Task Showcase
During second semester of 2014-15, students in IMI, IMIII and Biology will have an opportunity to work in groups to formulate responses to two questions that are relevant to everyone in our region:
- How will the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan (CVBMP) affect residents of the South Bay?
- What kind of university should be built in east Chula Vista?
Performance tasks in IMI, IMIII and Biology will be related to one or both of these topics and should help guide students and teachers as they pursue answers to the many subordinate questions that arise through the inquiry process.
Representatives of the Planning Department for the City of Chula Vista have provided a number of primary-source documents that can aid teachers and students in their research. Those are accessible via Google Drive folders linked here:
Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan
University in east Chula Vista
Exemplary student products will be displayed in local businesses throughout the South Bay upon completion and judging. Starbucks has emerged as our lead partner in this effort; regional managers have embraced our goal of showcasing exemplary work.
The rubric teachers and others will use to score student work is linked here:
Performance Task Showcase Rubric
Please let a member of the math or science curriculum team know if you would like support in guiding students to engage in this relevant, challenging, true performance task. Chula Vista City representatives have told us they genuinely need to hear student perspectives on both topics and look forward to providing winning teams access to Council members and others with the authority to make binding decisions.
See the link below for information about the annual Siemens Math/Science/Technology competition, whose structure can be adapted to the purposes of this project.
Email: katrine.czajkowski@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: www.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 1130 5th Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, United States
Phone: (619) 585-4481
TEACHER OPPORTUNITIES
2015 TEACHER WORKSHOPS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE
Email: mreinbold@sandiegozoo.org
Website: www.zooconservation.org
Phone: (760) 291-5448
SDSEA 24th Conference coming February 28th 2015 @ Grossmont College!
SDSEA is proud to host a Next Generation Science Conference for educators at levels K-12. Join us as we explore new directions from the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Be "in the know," get great practical ideas, new resources, strategies, and model lessons for your classroom!
Click here for more information and registration details.
Good Opportunity for Middle School STEM Programs
The Commerce Department’s National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) has several grant opportunities for middle school science teachers to spend a summer working with internationally recognized NIST researchers.
The NIST Summer Institute for Middle School Science Teachers program is a two-week workshop, in Gaithersburg, MD. NIST also is announcing grants in the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) six-week program. Deadlines are looming, so check out all the details soon.
Adrienne Hawkins
240-381-6597
Phone: 240-381-6597
ASU Graduate Program For High School Teachers of the Physical Sciences
ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS & CHEMISTRY TEACHERS:
Would you like to apply for in-state tuition to earn the Master of Natural Science (MNS) degree in physics at Arizona State University (ASU)?
The deadline to apply is APRIL 1, 2015, so that you can start next summer.
LOWER-COST! Teachers in 15 western states can apply for IN-STATE tuition, a considerable savings! This is a NEW opportunity, through WICHE.
CALIFORNIA is included!
Physics and chemistry teachers say that the ASU summer MNS degree program is of great value.
- founded on Modeling Instruction, an effective implementation of STEM.
- aligned with NGSS.
- hands-on, minds-on, practical courses for the high school classroom; Interdisciplinary courses make it useful for chemistry teachers too.
- Almost 70 high school teachers have earned the MNS degree since it was founded in 2001 by Prof. David Hestenes.
- Teachers love the courses. Teaching is satisfying because students learn more.
- It can qualify you to teach Dual Enrollment physics courses.
- It is similar to Finland's Master degree for high school physics teachers, in that courses combine content with research-based pedagogy, and teachers do research. (Finland is tops in the world in test scores of 15-year-olds, as you know.)
- Most teachers take 3 summers, but some finish in two. Flexible; no cohorts.
- Courses begin on June 8, 2015. 2 sessions in summer. 2nd session ends on July 31.
Visit http://modeling.asu.edu/MNS/MNS.html for info & a tentative list of courses through 2016.
To apply to ASU, click on "ASU logistics and the application process".
Questions? ask jane.jackson@asu.edu, 480-965-8438.
Apply for in-state tuition at
http://physics.asu.edu/graduate/mns/financial
-------------------------
FINANCIAL AID for TEACHERS NATIONWIDE:
- Teachers in high poverty (usually Title I) schools nationwide can get FORGIVABLE Stafford loans. See http://modeling.asu.edu/MNS/MNS.html
- New out-of-field physics teachers nationwide can apply for TEACH grants of up to $2000 per summer if you teach in a high-poverty school. See http://modeling.asu.edu/MNS/MNS.html
- Possibly NCLB Title II-A funds in your school district. Ask your principal.
- Teachers in small rural schools can ask their principal for funds from the Small, Rural School Achievement program (REAP) of the U.S. Department of Education. http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/freedom/local/reap.html
-------------------------
Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program
Box 871504
Dept.of Physics, ASU
Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7565
For 24 years, Modeling Instruction has helped teachers attain knowledge and skills needed to benefit their students. Modeling Instruction is designated as an Exemplary K-12 science program by the U.S. Department of Education. The American Physical Society
recognized it with the 2014 Excellence in Physics Education Award.
The American Modeling Teachers Assn (AMTA) is expanding the work:
http://modelinginstruction.org
Email: jane.jackson@asu.edu
Website: http://modeling.asu.edu
Phone: 480-965-8438
Great Opportunity to Secure Big Stipend and Learn About STEM
The Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN-UCSD) is currently in the process of recruiting teachers for this upcoming summer’s Research Experience for Teachers program and looking for applicants from the San Diego area.
The website with all the details and application is here: http://blog.cian-erc.org/cian-programs-applications/research-experience-for-teachers-ret-2/
Selected teachers would be participating in our labs at the UCSD CIAN campus. A stipend of $5,400 is being offered as well as a classroom supply budget of $1,500. The only eligibility requirements are that the teacher be teaching in a STEM topic and that they will be employed by the same school in the coming school year.
Ameé J. Hennig
CIAN-ERC Education & Outreach Manager
University of Arizona
1630 East University Blvd., #501B
Tucson, AZ 85721
520.621.8253
amee@optics.arizona.edu
Email: amee@optics.arizona.edu
Phone: 520.621.8253
Opportunity to Secure up to $4000 by Engaging Students in Khan Academy Work.
All the technology you and your students love and use -- mobile games, medical devices, YouTube videos -- are all made with code. Imagine what your students could invent!
Thanks to a partnership with DonorsChoose.org and Google, you can earn $1,000 or more for your classroom by helping your students complete an online, self-guided, introductory coding course.
Any public high school teacher can participate! Whether you're teaching English, math, or art history -- if your students can type, they can get started with this tutorial. You can offer extra credit, start an after-school coding club, or spend a week on programming in your classroom. Your students can discover the magic of coding in a 12-hour course at their own pace.
Here's how it works:
- Step 1: Register your class at https://www.khanacademy.org/donors-choose and invite your students to join it. Help them complete the Intro to JS course by March 17, 2015.
- Step 2: In April, you’ll receive a DonorsChoose.org gift code equal to $100 per student (e.g. if you help 15 students, you’ll receive a $1,500 gift code).
- Step 3: You’ll receive a wrap-up survey for your students. If 10 or more of you students self-identify as part of groups traditionally under-represented in computer science, we’ll send you an additional $1,000 gift code as a thank you.
Questions? See the full details, which also explain how to get help if any coding questions come up. Together we can help more students learn to code AND bring more funding into the classroom.
Pamela Fox
Khan Academy Computer Science Curriculum Lead & Lover of All Things Code
STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
2015 Kyoto Laureate Symposium
UCSD is preparing to acknowledge recipients of the 2014 Kyoto Prize, an international award presented to people who have contributed significantly to the progress of science, the advancement of civilization, and the enrichment and elevation of the human spirit.
Read more about it here:
As you will read below, this year's Kyoto Laureate Symposium will be held at UCSD on Wednesday, March 18, 2015 from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. UCSD is hosting the Basic Sciences Symposium by Laureate Edward Witten. Dr. Witten's talk should appeal to physics students studying cosmology or the science of the origin and development of the universe.
This event is free to the public, and UCSD reserves about 500 seats for local high school students and teachers. Click here to see the event flyer. Busing is provided (or reimbursed) by the local Kyoto Symposium Organization.
If you would like to bring/send some students to this event, please click the link below and provide information before next Wednesday (2/11/15). What an inspiring opportunity for us!
http://goo.gl/forms/YGdJ0ANA5p
Email: melanie.brown@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: http://goo.gl/forms/YGdJ0ANA5p
SUMMER CANCER ACADEMY at UC San Diego School of Medicine
Girls who will have completed at least a year of biology or chemistry and will enter 11th or 12th grade in the Fall of 2015 are eligible to apply. Completed applications must be submitted electronically by February 13, 2015.
All applicants MUST attend a meeting on February 18, with a parent. Meeting will be at the San Diego County Office of Education in order for their application to be considered.
A complete application includes the application form and essay as well as two teacher recommendations. All program information and application forms are available on the following website: http://repromed.ucsd.edu/oncofertility/
You can also see the research posters that girls in the previous academies submitted as their final work.
This is a rigorous academy for committed, motivated and interested students. The Academy includes, reading homework, debating, quizzes and research work. The Academy will meet on seven Saturdays (one in May) and the others in July and August. In addition, the Academy meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 5 to 8 and a few additional dates for field trips and special lectures. All meetings are in various locations on the UC San Diego Campus.
For more information, contact:
Patricia Winter
Oncofertility Science Academy at UC San Diego, Coordinator
Email: patriciawinter@gmail.com
Website: http://repromed.ucsd.edu/oncofertility/
Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve Saturday Speaker Series
The Art of War: Food Web Interactions in Salt Marshes
Guest Speaker: Jeremy Long, Biologist, SDSU
Saturday, February 21st, 2015: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
As a result, marsh plants have evolved sophisticated defense strategies and consumers (organisms who need to eat) have evolved counter-strategies. Come learn about "the art of war" in local and national marshes, including how scientists are using hip hop to communicate science to a broader audience.
FREE - Open to ALL - Click here for flyer.
301 Caspian Way
Imperial Beach, CA 91932
Website: www.TRNERR.org
Location: 301 Caspian Way, Imperial Beach, CA, United States
Phone: 619.575.3613
Special Services Newsletter is HERE!!!
Memorial Details
Rooney Tree Memorial Fundraiser
In honor of Mrs. Rooney, ORH will be fundraising to create a memorial area around the Rooney Tree at ORH. Please visit the following link if you would like to make a donation to the project or share the link on social media (facebook, twitter, or email to friends). Funds will be mailed to ORH ASB and the special education students will then create the garden memorial. Thank you for your help and support.
http://www.gofundme.com/therooneytree
Kind Regards,
Sara Williams
Special Education Teacher
Otay Ranch High School
sara.williams@sweetwaterschools.org
619-591-5107
Email: sara.williams@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: http://www.gofundme.com/therooneytree
Phone: 619-591-5107
District Science Contacts
- Roman Del Rosario (Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Professional Development)
- Katrine Czajkowski (Lead Curriculum Specialist)
- Melanie Brown (Science Curriculum Specialist)
- Ana Garcia (Science Curriculum Specialist)
- Stephen Rodecker (Science Curriculum Specialist)
- Christine Fax (Special Services Science Support)
- Ivette Sanchez (English Learners)
- Christine Yarzabek (Apple Support)
Email: ana.garcia@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: www.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 1130 5th Avenue, Chula Vista, CA, United States
Phone: (619) 691-5586
Science Notebook
Volume 2, Issue 3, February 5, 2015