Science Byte
Zachary Community School District
April 2016
monthly message
Hi science teachers! Lots of exciting things are happening in our science department. We are preparing to launch a new portal in the future for science laboratory safety for our teachers. We are also planning informative safety trainings that will support us in promoting safe practices in science with our students. There is also lots of various professional development going on around the district. Keep up the great work! Your commitment to growing and learning as a professional will have a lasting and positive impact on your students. One upcoming PD opportunity is a special teacher workshop for teachers interested in becoming National Geographic certified educators. Those who participate in the training and certification will be the first in the state of Louisiana to have achieve this certification and among some of the first educators in the country. Breigh Rhodes, one of our science teachers, was selected to work with National Geographic in Washington D.C. last summer on this initiative. Please see the information below and speak to your principal if you are interested in attending this workshop. There is special funding available through Tammy Wood for 2 K-8 science teachers per school, but registration is open to all teachers PK-12.
Resources Worth a Look
NatGeo High Adventure Science
New High-Adventure Science Collection developed by NatGeo in partnership with the Concord Consortium
This is a newly published collection of lessons on natgeoed.org. This collection of lessons is built around the NSF funded High-Adventure Science project—a set of online curriculum modules for middle and high school science classrooms developed in partnership with our friends at the Concord Consortium. "The modules integrate computer models and real world data to help students examine contemporary unanswered questions in Earth science—think climate change, the availability of freshwater, land management, and more. Students explore evidence and discuss the issues of certainty—and uncertainty—with the models and data. Each lesson in the collection includes five activities with complete directions for classroom integration, alignment to national standards, and additional resources for student learning." from http://education.nationalgeographic.org/high-adventure-science/
Don't miss out on opportunities from NASA. Here's a complete listing:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/current-opps-index.html
NSTA Upcoming Competitions, Events, and Programs
http://www.nsta.org/publications/calendar/
NSTA's Freebies for Science Teachers
Louisiana Earth Day
Enjoy a day filled with exhibits, hands-on activities for children and adults, great food, and music!
For more information, visit http://www.laearthday.org/
Sunday, Apr 17, 2016, 12:00 PM
Downton near Old State Capitol, Baton Rouge, LA, United States
LSU Science Saturday "Using Space Robots to do Science in Antarctica"
Peter Doran, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
“Using Space Robots to do Science in Antarctica”
Saturday, Apr 30, 2016, 10:00 AM
130 Nicholson Hall, LSU
Other Dates to Remember
Proposal Deadline for NSTA 2017 National Conference: 4/15/16