Science Newsletter
October 9, 2020
OCTOBER PLNS NEXT WEEK FOR 5TH, 8TH, AND BIOLOGY
UNIT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS
CBA #1 FOR GRADES 5, 8, AND BIOLOGY
Thank you to all those 5th grade teachers that provided feedback on the Fall CBA. The final version of the 5th Grade CBA in both English and Spanish will be made available to teachers on the Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment website on November 2. The assessment window for the 5th grade CBA is November 9 to November 12.
Click here to assess the SAISD Assessment Calendar.
HIGH SCHOOL GIZMOS TRAINING - OCTOBER 9 OR OCTOBER 15
The Gizmos Training Flyer is now available that shows the training schedule for Friday, October 9 for all high schools. Please register in Performance Matters prior to the trainings and if for any reason, you are unable to sign up for your assigned content, you are more than welcome to sign up for another content as the beginning portion of the presentation is a general overview regardless of content.
Prior to the training, teachers are asked to watch the “Pre-Gizmos” video and then create their accounts using their campus unique registration url found in the Gizmos Accounts Spreadsheet. We will eventually be syncing Gizmos with Classlink but that will take several weeks to finalize so for the first few weeks, we will be accessing Gizmos directly through the Gizmos website.
Please note the session titled as “Middle/Elementary School” is only for teachers at Advanced Learning Academy, Young Women’s Leadership Academy, Estrada Achievement Center, Brewer Academy, and Young Men’s Leadership Academy where elementary and middle school grade levels are offered.
For those teachers who are unable to attend tomorrow’s training sessions, there will be a make-up session next Thursday, October 15, from 4:15 to 5:45. Teachers can click here to register for the make-up session in Performance Matters.
ARTEMIS ACADEMY FOR GIRLS
The Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College has served our area since 2014 with unique space themed STEM opportunities for teachers and children. While providing STEM connections for our entire community is central to our mission, we have specifically sought out and promoted opportunities in STEM careers for girls. Since 2016, we have hosted the Scobee Girls STEM Summit each summer making connections between professional women in STEM careers and the middle and high school girls interested in this conference style program.
This past year, the Alamo Chapter of AFCEA has generously provided funding for both the Scobee Girls STEM Summit and the week-long Artemis Academy for Girls that will lead up to the summit. While the summit is free to middle and high school girls, the Artemis Academy is recruiting girls currently in the 5th though 7th grades, who will be rising into middle school grade during the 2021-22 school year. While there are no fees for our participants, we ask of a commitment of their time to apply for this scholarship and, if accepted, to the virtual STEM activities leading up to the summer programs.
An informational session will be offered on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 6:00pm to discuss the program and answer questions that girls and their parents might have in order to apply.
The evenbrite link is included in the "Artemis Academy For Girls Flyer" and leads to this url: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artemis-academy-for-girls-information-session-tickets-124279506349TEA COMMITTEE APPLICATIONS
Applications Now Available for:
Science TEKS Review Committee
Instructional Materials Reviews
STAAR and/or STAAR Spanish
SCOBEE PLANETARIUM OFFERINGS
UT AUSTIN'S FABFEMS FRIDAYS
UT Austin’s Women in Engineering Program FabFems Fridays
UT Austin’s Women in Engineering Program (UTWEP) is hosting 4 “FabFems Fridays” this fall from 12 – 12:45 p.m. Anyone is welcome to join in! Info and registration links below. NOTE: the target audience is high school students considering engineering as a major and current engineering students. All FabFems Fridays will be recorded and posted in our Career Chats playlist on YouTube.
Friday, October 16 - FabFems Friday: Celebrating Engineers in Medicine, Healthcare & Medical Technology
Join UTWEP for a panel discussion with Cockrell School alums and engineers with medicine, healthcare and medical technology career paths and experiences. Hear their educational and career stories, successes and struggles. Get inspired! And get your questions answered.
Register: https://utexas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5D3qrLOHSk-hXWVDpv655A
Friday, November 6 - FabFems Friday: Celebrating Engineers in Law
Register: https://utexas.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5-wfOt5sTcaoFoSf1tgDdQ
Join UTWEP for a panel discussion with Cockrell School alums and engineers with law career paths and experiences. Hear their educational and career stories, successes and struggles. Get inspired! And get your questions answered.
Friday, November 13 - FabFems Friday: Celebrating UT Austin Women in STEM Student Organizations
Join UTWEP for a panel discussion with student leaders from the Women in STEM Leadership Collaborative (student organizations and programs from across UT Austin that serve and support STEM students who identify as women). Hear their educational and career stories, successes and struggles. Get inspired! And get your questions answered.
Register: https://utexas.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0udOqhrTsiH9YhzqAKfWjdTeL73wBgtGaf
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NETWORKS
All professional development materials and videos can be found on the Science Professional Development Webpage.
October 15, 4:15 to 5:45, PLN Flyer
January 21 (STAAR), TBD
8th Grade PLN:
Registration Link
October 13, 4:15 to 5:45, PLN Flyer
January 20 (STAAR), TBD
Biology PLN:
October 14 , 4:15 - 5:45, PLN Flyer
January 20 (EOC), TBD
EPIC SATURDAYS
October 24:
Let's Create an Online Adventure
Bring the joy of solving puzzles and hunting for clues into the science curriculum and right to your students device. Come join this session on how to put a spin on the popular escape room challenges and learn how to create virtual escape rooms.
9:00 - 11:00 Registration Link
11:00 - 1:00 Registration Link
February 20: TBD
DEPARTMENT CHAIR MEETINGS
November 10, January 12, February 9, March 23
Middle School (4:45 - 6:00)
October 20, December 1, January 26, February 23, March 30
Academic Coordinating Teachers ACTs (4:00 - 5:30)
February 11
Angela Paskell, Director of Science
Email: apaskell1@saisd.net
Website: www.saisd.net/science
Location: 406 Barrera Street, San Antonio, TX, USA
Phone: 210-554-2525
Twitter: @SAISD_Science