Webinar on NGSS and Environmental Education Set for 3/17/14

The National Wildlife Federation, State Environment and Education Roundtable, Campaign for Environmental Literacy, and North American Association for Environmental Education are co-hosting a webinar on the development and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards as they relate to environmental education.  The webinar will be held on Monday, 17 March 2014, from 11:00am to 1:00pm PST.  To RSVP on-line and receive registration information, visit NGSS and Environmental Education RSVP Link .

LA County 2014 Math Field Day Registration Deadline 4/7/14

The 2014 Mathematics Field Day for 4th-8th graders, sponsored by LACOE, will be held on:

Date: Saturday, April 26, 2014

Place: Glendale High School
1440 E. Broadway
Glendale, CA 91206
Time: 7:30 A.M.-1:00 P.M.
Fee: $125.00 for each team of 4 students and one adult; registration deadline is 7 April 2014. 

 

If you have any questions, please contact: Anthony Quan at (562) 922-6896 or e-mail: 

Quan_Anthony@lacoe.edu 

or Sandy Dowden (Dowden_Saundra@lacoe.edu) or call (562) 401-5486.

Please refer to Math Field Day Packets on the LACOE website for more information regarding a detailed DESCRIPTION AND REQUIREMENTS for Math Field Day participation.  http://www.lacoe.edu/AcademicEvents/MathFieldDay.aspx

NSTA Virtual Conference on Implementing NGSS on 3/8/14

The National Science Teachers Association will be hosting a virtual conference on how to apply the Next Generation Science Standards in K-12 classrooms on Saturday, 8 March 2014, from 7-3:30pm PST.  Cost for members is $79, with non-members paying $99 to participate.  For more information and to register, visit NSTA Virtual Conference - NGSS .

Environmental/Science Scholarship Applications Due by 4/14/14

The Mojave Environmental Education Consortium (MEEC) is seeking applicants for its Environmental/Science Scholarship. Scholarship(s) will be awarded to five qualifying graduating high school senior(s) in the amount of $2,000.00 each. Recipient must attend a high school located within MEEC’s boundaries of the High Desert portion of San Bernardino County, the Palo Verde Valley of Riverside County and the High Desert region of North Los Angeles County, including the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Eligible students must declare a major in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, or other closely related Science or Engineering field.

Applicants are required to provide the following:
1. A completed application form (see link below)
2. Transcripts and SAT/ACT scores (unofficial copies accepted)
3. 500 word personal essay on – “My Career Goals and Why I would like a Career in the Environment, Science, or Engineering field ”
4. Application packages must be received no later than 5 PM, on April 14, 2014.

Applicant packet may be mailed or dropped off at:
MEEC – ATTN: Scholarship Committee
14306 Park Ave, Victorville, CA 92392

Additional Scholarship Applications are available through Samantha Murray, MEEC Program Specialist, at (760) 245-1661 ext. 6717, or visit MEEC Environmental Science/Engineering Scholarship to download an application.

MEEC Accepting Applications for Teacher and Student of the Year by 4/11/14

MEEC is pleased to announce its 9th annual search for nominations for “Teacher of the Year” and “Students of the Year”.

Teacher of the Year: Three winners will be selected to receive this prestigious honor; one first place winner, who will receive $500 in cash and a plaque, and two MEEC “Teachers of Excellence” recipients, who will each receive $300 in cash and plaques. This year’s awards banquet will be held on May 8, 2014 at 6 PM at the beautiful Spring Valley Lake Country Club in Victorville, California. To this end, MEEC is soliciting your nomination of the educator from your school that you feel would be most worthy of this prestigious recognition. MEEC is looking for an educator who makes continuous and enduring contributions to environmental education, demonstrates capacity for creating and implementing successful environmental activities, shows creative approaches, promotes individual and societal environmental responsibility, and encourages youth to make informed decisions about environmental issues. Please take the time to formulate a brief letter describing your nominee and his/her contributions to environmental education. Please mail your submission to MEEC, 14306 Park Ave, Victorville, CA 92392. Letters may also be faxed to (760) 241-6271 or emailed to smurray@mdaqmd.ca.gov. Deadline for entries is April 14, 2014.

Student of the Year: Each Student of the Year recipient will receive $60.00 in cash, as well as a $60.00 Staples gift card. The awards banquet will be held on May 8, 2014 at 6 PM at Spring Valley Lake Country Club in Victorville. To this end, MEEC is soliciting one Student of the Year nomination from each school site. The nomination can come from either a principal or teacher. When selecting the student nominee, the nominator must take into consideration the work that the student has done in leadership toward environmental issues and stewardship. The following stipulations will serve as a guide for assisting you in the nomination process:
1. The student will be nominated by a teacher or principal from his/her school.
2. The student nominee must have spent a minimum of 12 hours in conservation and environmental education activities.
3. The student has educated peer students, school employees or community in environmental issues or conservation.
4. The student must have above average academic standing (>2.0 GPA for secondary, and the equivalent for primary grades).
5. The student must display leadership qualities, possess good character and a good reputation among peers, and not be a disciplinary problem.

Please take the time to complete the nomination form found at MEEC Student of the Year Nomination Form, and mail your submission to MEEC, 14306 Park Ave., Victorville, CA 92392. Forms may also be faxed to (760) 241-6271 or emailed to smurray@mdaqmd.ca.gov. Deadline for entries April 14, 2014.

"Concrete is Not Cement" Workshop in Mojave 4/3/14

CalPortland Company Presents… “Cement is Not Concrete!” A K-12 Teacher Workshop presented by Women In Mining.

Learn the difference between cement and concrete at this teacher workshop presented by Women In Mining, and receive a FREE curricula guide with tables listing specific minerals and rocks, their characteristics, plus lesson plans, glossaries, and a historical timeline of cement notes! Plus, participants will tour the CalPortland Plant to see how cement is made from raw materials, and blasted from the mountain side into important building materials. As an added bonus, participants will also tour the large renewable energy wind turbine site that provides more than 25% of the plant’s energy, and receive FREE energy curriculum!!

WHEN: Thursday, April 3, 2014
TIME: 4:00 PM—7:00 PM
Registration 3:30-3:45, tour leaves promptly at 4PM
WHERE: CALPORTLAND COMPANY
9350 Oak Creek Rd, Mojave, CA 93501

COST: FREE! FREE DINNER, FREE CURRICULUM!
This workshop is exclusively for teachers and not available to the general public.
Participants must wear closed-toe, sturdy walking shoes and long plants.

This fascinating workshop meets California Education Standards and
incorporates a variety of lessons using history, language arts, science and more. Workshop is limited to the first 20 teachers that signup so hurry and register today!
Registration Deadline: March 21, 2014

To reserve your spot, call (760) 245-1661 ext. 6717 or email
Samantha Murray, MEEC Program Specialist at: smurray@mdaqmd.ca.gov

International Studies STEM Degrees Offered

A growing trend in engineering education is "internationalizing" study abroad for STEM students who have traditionally been under-represented in these programs.  One such program is offered at Northern Arizona University, where students get a B.S. in a STEM subject, and a B.A. in a foreign language (Chinese, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish), spend their fourth year abroad to study and participate in an internship, and return for their fifth year at NAU, all at a cost not much in excess of the 4-year program.  The Valparaiso International Engineering Program has a similar approach.  For more information, visit Globalizing STEM Degree Programs .

Science and Engineering of the Olympics

With the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia just concluded and still fresh in the minds of students (and teachers), here is a resource from NSF and NBC Learn that provides 10 video segments on science and engineering principles involved in many of the competitions. This is a follow-up from a similar 2010 endeavor. Science and Engineering of the Winter Olympics.

California State Summer School for Math and Science Applications Due 2/21/14

COSMOS is a four-week residential program for talented and motivated students who are completing grades 8-12. Students who love math and science have a chance to spend four weeks at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz or UC San Diego this summer. They will learn about astronomy, biomedical sciences, computer games, engineering, robotics and more.

 

Students will work side-by-side with outstanding UC researchers and faculty, exploring advanced topics that extend beyond the typical high school curriculum. COSMOS courses are hands-on and lab-intensive, emphasizing current research underway at the University of California campuses.

 

Applications are due by no later than 21 February 2014, and successful applicants will be notified in April.  For more information, visit the COSMOS website at COSMOS

Forest Ecology Teacher Workshops 4/26-4/27/14 - Scholarships Available

Thanks to Samantha Murray at MEEC!

Scholarship Applications are now available for the Boeing sponsored "Forest Ecology" teacher workshop scheduled for April 26 and 27, 2014. The application is attached and the deadline for submission is April 9, 2014 @ 5:00 PM.

The Forest Ecology workshop is a study in forest ecology designed to provide educators with the necessary tools and resources to foster student understanding of and appreciation for the forested lands throughout North America. Educators will be working directly with CalFire and National Resources Conservation Service foresters located in the San Bernardino Mountain area of Lake Arrowhead which were ravaged by wildfires.

This two-day teacher workshop will provide twenty (20) educators with valuable tools, including Project Learning Tree's "Exploring Environmental Issues: Focus on Forests" curriculum, which provides an opportunity for hands-on study of forest resources while addressing concepts in biology, civics, ecology, economics, forest management, and other subject areas. Project Learning Tree (PLT) is one of the most widely used environmental education programs in the United States and abroad. PLT continues to set the standard for environmental education excellence. Educators will receive the PLT PreK-8 activity guide and/or the secondary thematic modules (Forest Ecology, Focus on Forests, Solid Waste, Risk, Places We Live) for use with older youth. Through the activities found within this module, educators will have their students examine ecological systems of a forest; analyze interdependencies within a forest ecosystem; and explore factors, such as fire, that shape the development of forests. In addition, students will develop critical thinking skills and discover the importance of scientific analysis when making decisions about forest issues.

Twenty (20) Teacher Scholarships will be awarded to attend a two-day, overnight training session located in the Lake Arrowhead area of the San Bernardino National Forest. Scholarships include all meals, lodging (Best Western, Big Bear Lake), curriculum materials, and a $50 transportation stipend. Scholarships are limited and are on a first come, first served basis. Sorry, no spouses or partners may accompany the workshop attendee due to limited arrangements.

A $50 REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT will be required for all scholarship recipients upon acceptance of application to confirm your attendance at this workshop. Your check will be returned to you upon check in on April 26.

For more details, visit:  Forest Ecology Teacher Workshop - MEEC