Science Newsletter
August 19, 2015
WELCOME BACK! AS ALWAYS, DON'T FORGET TO...
Get connected!
And for those of you Tweeters (Twitterers?), you can connect with other EPS science teachers using the hash tag #EPSstem. I would also encourage you to use this hashtag to show off all of the cool things that are going on in your class! And don't forget to follow the official EPS science page @EPSscience while you're there.
There might be random awesome gifts given to frequent social media users. (hint, hint)
Updated curriculum documents
- 6th grade SOAR guide (Unit 1 is complete, the rest is under construction) (also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gyG7ghAs93HtjQ76XEulJ69HRiBePpsf70oMwD7pluk/edit?usp=sharing)
- 6th grade timeline (also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gGnRqT-F924_FMd8262jIIycY28_CUVGKVjnSilxiSM/edit?usp=sharing)
- 7th grade SOAR guide (Unit 1 is complete, the rest is under construction) (also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iGcXrhsdJbTXJ5axhVeRy95Gb2stGyHTyk_xEFdXQe0/edit?usp=sharing)
- 7th grade timeline (also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1riDGFqo6y05IYnHUtAtXksxeMqAvlOkFDUuy_sVPask/edit?usp=sharing)
- Middle school benchmark calendar
- Chemistry and PreAP Chemistry Scope and Sequence Guides (also available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PFmKvC4xjvS6ehLEJfsVx9eIt7n4lnfFVZBj8BcwaSc/edit?usp=sharing)
- High school benchmark calendar
- These, as well as guides for other courses under development
- Please invite me to your PLCs to continue work on these documents
Benchmark Development Meeting
Workshop: Brett Moulding- Moving from Standards to Instruction
Workshop: Using the OASS to Teach for Deep Understanding (Part I)
Note: Teachers who attend the Brett Moulding workshop on August 27th OR August 28th are not required to attend this workshop, but are still welcome!
SOAR Guide Planning Meetings
8th Grade: October 27th, 8:30-3:30, Oklahoma A (all teachers invited)
Bring teachers guides, a copy of the OASS standards for your grades, and other resources used at your grade level
The district will pay for subs
Getting to Know You, Getting Know All About You
A common concern that I heard last year was that teachers did not have adequate opportunities to connect with one another across the district. In order to help facilitate increased communication, I would like to help you all get to know one another better. I have created a questionnaire that includes some fun, interesting questions that will help us all get to know one another a little bit better and create connections. The questionnaire can be found here. Please take a minute to fill it out (c'mon, don't be a party pooper!).
Each week, one elementary and one secondary teacher will be selected to be featured as the "Science Teacher of the Week". If the teacher is a member of the #EPSsci Facebook group, facts about the teacher (taken from the questionnaire) will be posted on the Facebook group, and teachers can guess who the Teacher of the Week is. The answer will be revealed in the following Science Newsletter, along with the information that the teacher revealed about him- or herself in the questionnaire.
For the sake of being a good sport, I will go first. :) My responses are in the section below.
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know (and More!) about Brandi
What are your hobbies? Photography (I'm especially interested in macros), reading, genealogy, travel; I have been wanting to get into geocaching, but I haven't been able to find the time
What did you want to be when you were younger? archaeologist, astronaut, journalist, anthropologist, pediatrician; being a teacher never even crossed my mind until I was a junior in college
Are you related to anyone famous? My 6th great-grandfather was Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Also, I recently discovered that Robert II King of Scotts was my 18th great-grandfather, which, by my calculation, makes me a princess. My husband didn't seem as impressed by newly self-declared nobility as I was, though. In any case, neither men were famous, but I I think it's still pretty cool nonetheless.
Do you speak languages other than English? I studied Spanish through AP Spanish in high school, and I minored in it in college. Then I spent a month studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico last year, mostly to study the educational system, but also to sharpen my Spanish skills. I still speak Spanish like an Oklahoman.
If you could go on an all-expenses paid shopping spree at any store, which would it be? Amazon.com. I HATE shopping, so I buy almost everything from Amazon. I cannot wait until the day I'm able to buy my groceries online and have them delivered.
If you could have any one superpower, what would it be? Manipulating space-time would be pretty handy. It would help me be able to travel more cheaply. Plus, I always wondered what things were like in the past, and what they'll be like in the future, so I could find that out.
Invite me to your PLCs!
Important Dates
- Benchmark development meeting: August 25th, 3:30-5:30 Oklahoma B
- Science Advisory Board meeting: August 26th, 3:30 Oklahoma B (by invitation)
- Brett Moulding workshop: August 27th OR 28th, Oklahoma City
- Saturday follow-up session: September 12th, 9:00-4:30 EPSAC (Every Day STEM for All participants)
- Smart Starts: September 15th (first-year teachers)
- Teaching Science for Conceptual Understanding Part 1: September 17th or 18th, 8:30-3:30. All district science teachers must attend one of these dates.
- HIV Parent Night- Secondary Parents: September 17th, 5:30-6:30
- Biology SOAR Guide Development Meeting: October 26th, 8:30-3:30 Oklahoma A
- 8th Grade SOAR Guide Development Meeting: October 27th, 8:30-3:30 Oklahoma A
- Saturday follow-up session: November 14th, 9:00-4:30 EPSAC (Every Day STEM for All participants)
- Smart Starts: November 17th (first-year teachers)
- Middle school benchmark windows: October 7-14, December 14-18, March 7-11, May 9-14 (no May benchmark for 8th grade)
- High school benchmark windows: October 7-14, December 7-11, March 7-11, May 9-14 (no May benchmark for Biology/PreAP Biology)