Professional Development Newsletter
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What is this newsletter about?
The following dates are important in the month of March. Click on the blue words to be taken to helpful websites with more information.
- American Red Cross Month - Is celebrated all month long. It started in 1943 with the Presidential Proclamation. The Red Cross is a crucial organization, not only for the United States, but, in times of disaster for several other countries in the world as well.
- National Nutrition Month-Focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. The 2020 theme is "Eat Right, Bite by Bite."
- Music in Our Schools - The National Association for Music Education has chosen the month of March to be the time of year to focus on music education in schools all across the United States.
- National Women's History Month - This is a month long event and each year a new theme is chosen. This year's theme is "Valiant Women of the Vote."
- March 1st - The Peace Corps Founded - On March 1, 1961 president John F. Kennedy Founded the Peace Corps with an executive order.
- March 1st - Yellowstone National Park - on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone became the very first National Park in the world.
- March 1st - Nebraska Becomes a State - On March 1, 1867 Nebraska became the 37th state to enter the union.
- March 2nd - Dr. Seuss's Birthday - "Green Eggs and Ham!" On March 2, 1904, one of the greatest children's book authors was born ~ The great Theodor Seuss Geisel, also named Dr. Seuss!
- March 3rd - National Anthem Day - President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act that made the song "The Star- Spangled Banner" the song of the US on March 3, 1933.
- March 3rd - The Missouri Compromise - The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed by Congress to put an end to the controversy about the extension of slavery. It was repealed and in 1857 declared unconstitutional.
- March 3 - Alexander Graham Bell's Birthday - Bell is noted for inventing the telephone among many other things. He was born on March 3, 1847.
- March 4th - The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln - Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated into office as the 16th president of the United States on March 4, 1861. Visit this website to learn about the former president and his first address "We Must Not Be Enemies."
- March 4th - The Anniversary of the US Congress First Session - This event took place on March 4, 1789 in the state of New York. It was the first session of Congress under the Constitution.
- March 5th - The Boston Massacre - The Boston Massacre took place late at night on March 5, 1770. A large group of men and boys started to taunt the British sentry that was on duty. Before long, more British soldiers showed up and rounds of gunfire were shot into the crowd of people. A total of 5 people died and 6 more were hurt.
- March 5th - Winston Churchill and "The Iron Curtain" Speech - The speech was given on March 5th 1946 in Missouri on the Fullerton college campus. Many people believe it was the beginning of the Cold War.
- March 6th - The Fall of the Alamo - On March 6, 1836 during the Texas Revolution about a 145 rebels entered the Alamo Mission. After a 13-day battle, the Alamo fell to the Mexican troops.
- March 6th - The Supreme Court and The Dred Scott Case - On March 6, 1857 ruled that the currently free man return to slavery. The Supreme Court also ruled that The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that congress had no right to take it upon themselves to prohibit slavery in the territories.
- March 7th - The 2020 Iditarod Begins - This race takes place solely in Alaska. Mushers with 14 dogs begin the race in Anchorage and take between 8-15 days to complete, ending in Nome.
- March 8th - International Women's Day - It was organized in 1908 and has been celebrated around the world since March 8, 1975 with the support of the United Nations.
- March 10th - The Birth of the Telephone - On March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell spoke the very first words ever heard through a telephone. He said "Mr. Watson, come here; I want you."
- March 11th - Ezra Jack Keats's Birthday - The children's book author wrote more than 85 books and won the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for the classic children's book "The Snowy day." He was born on March 11, 1916.
- March 12th - Virginia Hamilton's Birthday - Born on March 12, 1936 she was another award winning children's book author. In 1975 her book "M.C. Higgins, the Great" won a Newbury Medal.
- March 13th - Uranus is Discovered - On March 13, 1781 the astronomer, William Herschel discovered Uranus. Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun. He is considered the founder of modern astronomy.
- March 14th - Albert Einstein's Birthday - He was born on March 14, 1879 and was regarded as one of the greatest minds of all time. There is so much to learn about and from him.
- March 15th - Julius Caesar was murdered - Caesar's friend Brutus stabbed him in the back and killed him on March 15, 44 B.C.
- March 17th - St. Patrick's Day - A young man, aged 16, named Patrick was taken to Ireland and held as a prisoner for six years. He managed to escape, returned to Britain, and joined the Catholic Church. He returned to Ireland in an attempt to convert them to Christianity.
- March 19th - The Arrival of Spring - The day spring arrives in the Northern hemisphere. Followed by even warmer weather and eventually summer!
- March 20th - National Agriculture Day - This is the day when farmers, producers, organizations and numerous other agricultural associations celebrate all that is provided by agriculture.
- March 23rd - Liberty Day - Patrick Henry gave a famous speech on March 23, 1775. The speech was "I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death." That speech is still a very important part of American history today. To learn more about it, visit this website.
- March 25th - The Shirt Factory Fire - One of the most important fires in history happened on March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. Still until this day, it is the worst fire in NYC history. 145 women died because of the lack of fire exits.
- March 30th - The United States Buys Alaska - On March 30, 1867, the US, under the direction of the Secretary of State William Seward, signed a treaty with Russia to purchase Alaska. The price - $7 million dollars.
- March 30th - The 15th Amendment is Adopted - On March 30, 1870, the 15th Amendment was adopted into the US Constitution. It only applied to men and stated the following "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
HELPFUL WEBSITES:
https://www.teach-nology.com/monthly/march/marchevents.html
https://www.educationworld.com/a_special/march.shtml#iditarod
March Motivation: Why We Do What We Do...
Interesting Facts and Cool Tech Tools that are Fun to Use in the Classroom
Many of us aren’t aware that pulling pictures off of Google and using them to publish our own work is down right illegal. This means most pictures are copyrighted, even if they don’t have a copyright symbol on them. We need to do whatever we can to keep our students on this side of the law, teach about copy-right and fair use, and be sure they are not accused of plagiarism.
Read this short article to find out more!
Common Sense Media is an excellent site for Copyright information, lesson plans, and free resources.
Here are some safe sites to pull pictures from that aren’t copyrighted (they are all “royalty-free”):
If you have any questions, please let me know! My email is: madey@houston.k12.mo.us.
Submitted by: Mandy Adey
Upcoming Curriculum Work Days:
March:
18th-K-2 Social Studies
19th-MS Social Studies
25th-3-5 Curriculum Workday
27th-HS Science
30th-6-12 Practical Arts
31st-HS Social Studies/World Language
April:
1st-K-12 Health
8th-HS Science
Previous Month's PD Newsletter
Contact Information:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. Romans 8:28-30
Email: mward@houston.k12.mo.us
Website: https://www.houston.k12.mo.us
Location: 423 West Pine Street, Houston, MO, USA
Phone: (417)967-3024
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Twitter: @HoustonMOTigers