GTA Award Winner, CCL Resources, Lots of Educator Opportunities!
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⛄Happy January!
Hello, {{Constituent First Name}}, Please see this month's updates from the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub.
STEM Hub News
🎓Pre-Register Today! The 2024 College & Career Expo - April 19, 2024
Is your school interested in bringing 11th & 12th graders to the 2024 College & Career Expo on April 19th? Please take a moment to complete this Pre-Registration Form to confirm your school's participation!
✂️Elementary STEM Nights!
Are you interested in hosting a Family STEM Night at your Elementary School?
STEM Nights involve hands-on, high-quality STEM learning experiences for Elementary-aged children and their families.
The 14th annual Eagle Watch will be held at The Dalles Dam Visitor Center on Jan. 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In years past, up to 40 eagles migrate to roost near the dam and can easily be viewed from the Visitor Center. Educational activities for children & families will be provided by the CG STEM Hub!
📣GTA's STEM Educator of the Year Winner Announced!
Jack Perrin is Founder and Director of Gorge MakerSpace in White Salmon whose mission is to empower and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to explore and build their creative skills. Since 2014, Jack has been selflessly bringing youth and adult classes to the community, leading youth robotics in White Salmon, and finding new ways to reach students less represented in STEM careers like girls and Latino students. To quote his nomination: “Jack not only has a deep passion and expertise for STEM but more importantly he truly cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He is tireless in his pursuit of developing the future workforce.”
Jack is well known in the Gorge for his STEM leadership. Besides his work at Gorge Makerspace, he also is engaged with groups like Career Connect SW Gorge Advisory Board and the Columbia Gorge STEM Hub. His participation with these organizations keeps him at the forefront of new STEM initiatives and opportunities so that he can maintain better outcomes for his students.
📣Educator Spotlight - Highlighting Achievements of Local Educators
Charles Webber is the instructor responsible for all of the technology-related courses at The Dalles High School, including serving as the VEX robotics coach. He became a Finalist for GTA’s STEM Educator of the Year award! He has led multiple VEX robotics teams to success, exhibiting amazing growth throughout the last several seasons. He provokes teams to think in effective ways and has done an exceptional job at letting his student’s talent shine.
As a quote from his nomination, “Charles is a beacon of inspiration. Despite facing significant resource constraints, he consistently leads his students to victory in numerous competitions. Beyond his success in these endeavors, Charles has also facilitated the academic advancement of several students, securing them full scholarships to prestigious universities, as well as making sure there are paths for other students to acquire the necessary skills to secure entry-level tech positions.”
🐝Elementary Educators: Bee Bot Training - Thursday, Feb. 1st (Virtual)
Join the STEM Hub virtually on Thursday, February 1st from 6-8 pm to learn about computer science fundamentals as well as how to incorporate BeeBots into core content areas!
Be sure to periodically check our website, Facebook and our newsletter for upcoming Professional Development opportunities in our region!
🤝 Wasco County 4-H is hiring a Full-Time Temporary Education Program Assistant 2
This position’s primary responsibilities are to develop, oversee, and implement STEM educational activities focusing on disaster preparedness and any of the following topics: renewable energies, robotics, or maker/tinker programs. The EPA2 provides hands-on and learner centered education programs to upper elementary, middle and high-school aged youth.
💻OR High School STEM Teachers: FREE, Paid PD Opportunities
Portland Metro STEM Partnership (PMSP) and Greater Oregon STEM Hub (GO STEM) hold numerous professional learning opportunities for the High School Science for All, aka "Patterns" courses (Physics, Chemistry, Biology).
New Course! Patterns Chemistry - Units 5-6 In-Person Workshop: Spend 2 full days in a hands-on workshop getting to experience key components of Patterns Chemistry, Units 5-6 (chemical reactions and stoichiometry). Rural Oregon teachers can apply for a travel stipend of up to $500 for those traveling up to 300 miles and up to $1000 for those traveling over 300 miles. Please complete this Patterns Workshop Stipend Application when you register for the workshop. There will be two locations for this workshop.
🧪K-12 Science Teachers: FREE 3-day Teacher Training focused on field-based science inquiry - Sessions in February & August
In this 3-day workshop, educators can participate in hands-on field opportunities and classroom time to develop curriculum and strategies to promote student-driven field-based science inquiry projects. Training is sponsored by the Diack Ecology Education Program of the Oregon Science Teachers Association and the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School (JGEMS). Meals and lodging will be provided.
January 24th - 4:30-5:30 pm: Shark Tank Middle School Edition
Learn about an innovative and exciting activity for middle school students inspired by the popular TV show and Justin Shaifer, aka Mr. Fascinate. The activity revolves around students developing their unique ideas or solutions to real-world problems. Learn More
February 15th - 4:30-5:30 pm: Empowering Teachers, Engaging Students: STEM Education for a Better World
Learn how teachers serve as pivotal change agents in shaping a better world by nurturing curious and capable minds in science and engineering.The webinar will feature examples across the sciences to inspire how to create diverse, engaging, and meaningful STEM learning for every student. Learn More
Educator Resources
🔬Lending Library - Featured Resource: Snap Jr. Circuits
What is it? Students learn basic properties of electricity and electronics, including circuitry fundamentals and how circuits are used across the tech devices we use everyday!
STEM Teaching Tools are short briefs co-written by educators and researchers designed to bring together ideas and resources to address common challenges as educators adopt the new vision for science education in the NRC Framework and resulting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
🐝Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom: Educator Resources
Microgreens Virtual Educator Workshop: January 23rd, 3:30-4:30 PM
Enhance your life sciences curriculum by exploring microgreen life cycles. Register
K-4 Literacy Project - Starting in March 2024 - June 2024
The Oregon AITC’s Agricultural Literacy Project goal is to improve the reading and agricultural literacy of Oregon's K-4th grade students. Learn More
🚌Oregon Parks Forever - Field Trip Grants for 3rd-5th Grade Classes
Oregon Parks Forever has funds available to pay the transportation costs for field trips for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes to any park or forest in Oregon! Known as the Ticket2Ride Program, schools and organizations are invited to apply - it takes just to a few moments to apply!
Want to learn more about how to take the amazing lesson plans and resources you work hard to develop, share and implement in your classroom with the world as Open Educational Resources? Want to find out more about how to share them on Oregon Open Learning?
👨🔬Virtual Career Talks Within The Renewable Energy Field
SD Pathways is a program of the National Renewable Energy Lab(one of the U.S. Dept of Energy research labs) that brings STEM in-person and virtual career talks from professionals within Architecture & Construction, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and STEM fields into high school classrooms, clubs, or other student groups.
CCL Hub Educator Resources: Curated content for career awareness, exploration, and training. Learn More
Career Journeys Video Series: Explore career stories from a variety of professionals throughout Oregon. Learn More
Magic School AI: An amazing AI tool for teachers that can help connect content to careers and answer that age-old question, “When am I going to use this in the real world?” Magic School AI has many other features including: lesson planning, rubric generation and assessment generators!Learn More
📓Career Connected Learning (CCL) - January Lunch & Learn Sessions!
Work-Based Learning - January 17th, 12-1 pm Learn More
ACTE WBL Professional Development Webinar - January 25th, 12-1pmLearn More
👨💻Get Ready for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month (February)!
National CTE Month is a nationwide initiative that spotlights the importance of CTE in providing students with the skills and knowledge essential for success in various careers. It's a time to showcase the achievements of CTE programs, the accomplishments of students who have learned about specific careers and identified them as a significant interest, and the contributions of educators, postsecondary, and workforce partners.
CTE Month is supported by a variety of CTE groups and organized by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).
📪Do you have a STEM event or STEM news you’d like us to share in our next newsletter? We’d love to partner with you to create a greater awareness around STEM & Career Connected Learning initiatives that are happening in our 5-County Region and beyond.
Submit your event here and a member of the STEM Hub will review it!
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