Nominations are needed soon for the following awards and offices--                           

Regional Outstanding Educator: Each region may choose to identify an outstanding science educator. The individual must be a KATS member, in its region for recognition KATS Kamp. Nominations are due to one of the members of your Regional representatives by February 1, 2019. The Regional Representatives will provide the name of the selected individual to a Nomination and Awards Committee by February 8, 2019. The winner will be contacted for biographical information to be used in publicity related to the award. A nomination consists of contact Information of the nominee, a written narrative describing the outstanding contributions/events that indicated the nominee is deserving of the recognition, and any other information that you feel is important in consideration for the award. 

 

Distinguished KATS Member Award: This award is designed to recognize KATS members who have made significant contributions to KATS and science education. The award is presented to one individual each year at KATS Kamp. Nominations are due February 1, 2019 to Carol Bonham.  A  Nomination and Awards Committee will select the awardee.  A nomination consists of contact Information of the nominee, a written narrative describing the outstanding contributions/events that indicated the nominee is deserving of the recognition a written narrative describing the outstanding contributions/events of the nominees to the KATS organization any other information that you feel is important in consideration for the award.

 KATS Outstanding Contributions to Science Education in Kansas:  At the August 25, 2012 Board Meeting, KATS established an award to recognize outstanding contributions to science education by an organization or individual(s) Selection of the award winner is done by the Nomination and Awards Committee from nominations from by KATS members. The award is not an annual award; zero or more awards can be made in any year depending on the quality of qualified nominations. The award winner will be recognized at the KATS Meeting, formal presentation of the award will be at a venue identified by the award winner. Nominations are due February 1, 2019 to Carol Bonham.  A nomination consists of: contact Information of the nominee, a written narrative describing the outstanding contributions/events that indicated the nominee is deserving of the recognition any other information that you feel is important in consideration for the award.

As past president, I will be also be taking nominations for any openings on the board including the following:

Region I Elementary

Region II Secondary

Region III College

Region IV College

Region V Elementary

Region VI Secondary

Please send an email to me carolb@prattcc.edu if you have any nominees or any questions. Thank you for your assistance!

Carol Bonham Past President KATS

Hello,

We are happy to announce two great partnerships for upcoming virtual K-12 science professional development opportunities. Many have reached out this year requesting Kansas Science Standards opportunities for district and building K-12 science leaders in your setting.

 

KSDE is partnering with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) to provide an online science professional development opportunity for PK-5 elementary science educators in Kansas. This is a first come first served opportunity for up to 45 participants sponsored by KSDE. https://www.smore.com/p0y74

 

KSDE is also partnering with Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska education departments to support K-12 science educators with a number of different topics that have emerged in each of our settings. We have learned collaborating across states can help educators grow their networks and find more resources. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_UQv3u-6HnC5r5MVxKzmWBI-Nu14qyO1/view?usp=sharing

 

Graduate credit is available for both partnerships and this would be a great opportunity for a number of different science education needs I often hear working with buildings and districts across the state.

 

• This opportunity is particularly helpful for rural school districts where travel for professional development may be more difficult.
• Elementary educators teaching science have special considerations and the NSTA partnership will help support this grade band in much more depth.
• Learn how to better use the resources you have in your school district no matter how old or new they may be. PD is still needed to know how to make better use of those resources!

 

Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration.

 

 

Lizette Burks, Ed.D.

Science Education Consultant

Career Standards & Assessment Services

(785) 296-8108

lburks@ksde.org

www.ksde.org/science

Kansas State Department of Education

Hello,

Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 MAPS EPSCoR Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute ( https://epscoroutreach.ku.edu/) for Kansas High School Biology/Environmental Sciences teachers that will be held June 17-21, 2019 at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (near KSU).  Teacher participants will earn a stipend of $750 for actively participating in the week’s activities and writing curriculum.  In addition, a travel allowance will be provided for those living more than 1 hour away from the field station.

 

Please share this information with your High School Biology/Environmental Sciences colleagues and encourage them to apply (or apply yourself if you teach Biology/Environmental Sciences and/or didn’t go last year)

 

Apply here: https://goo.gl/McoVSk

 

Check out the blog article about how Amy Hammett (2018 attendee) is using what she learned at the institute in her classroom:  https://goo.gl/AC2JCN

 

And here is a promotion video about last year’s institute for you to share (if you want J):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpgw3POGZpQ

 

For additional information, visit our blog: https://goo.gl/kfqyAS or website: http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu/

 

If you or they have any questions contact Peggy pschultz@ku.edu or me.

 

Thanks!!

 

Rosemary Blum

Education, Outreach and Diversity Director

Kansas NSF EPSCoR

http://www.nsfepscor.ku.edu

785-864-6120

rblum@ku.edu

 

University of Kansas

2021 Constant Ave.

Lawrence, KS 66047-3729

Fax:  785-864-3093

Greetings!

We are excited to announce details of the 2019 Kansas KidWind Challenge. Please take a look at the details below and check out the attached informational flyer. This year, we’ll be expanding the Challenge to include four regional and one statewide KidWind Challenge. For those who have participated in the past, we recognize the events are being held earlier in the year than usual and apologize for any inconvenience. This will allow teams from across the state to better participate and provide more time for preparation before the national KidWind Challenge.

 

2019 Kansas KidWind Challenges

• ·        SW Kansas – 2/7/19 (Thu): Dodge City (Village Square Mall) – register
• ·        NE Kansas – 2/14/19 (Thu): Manhattan (Unger Complex) – register
• ·        SE Kansas – 3/1/19 (Fri): Burlington (Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant) – register
• ·        NW Kansas – 3/7/19 (Thu): Oakley (Northwest Kansas Educational Service Center) – register
• ·        Statewide – 3/30/19 (Sat): Topeka (Kansas Museum of History) – by invitation to top teams
•  

We’ll be hosting two informational webinars on Thurs, Dec. 13 and Mon, Jan. 7 at 3:45pm, so please consider attending. The webinars will be recorded, even if you can’t make either of them. Click on the hyperlinks above or visit www.kansasenergyprogram.org/kidwindchallenge to sign up.

 

More information about the events can be found at www.kansasenergyprogram.org/kidwindchallenge.

 

If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.

 

Regards,

Ryan

 

Ryan Hamel, PE, CEM, CMVP

K-State Engineering Extension – Kansas Energy Program

2323 Anderson, Suite 300 │ Manhattan, KS 66502

785-532-3351 (office) │ 913-231-2760 (mobile)

785-532-6952 (fax) │ www.kansasenergyprogram.org

 

Please find a link below to access the most recent KSDE Science Newsletter.

In this issue:

• Driving Question Boards: A Strategy to Support Phenomena Driven Learning
• Nation's Highest Honor for Science Teachers: Accepting Applications
• Kansas Association of Teachers of Science: Sumbit a Proposal to Present
• Elementary and Secondary Science News and Resources

Thank you.   --lb

https://www.smore.com/a9sd4

NSTA is offering $95 off the price of registration to the St. Louis National Conference to anyone who is a member. If you get a membership to NSTA, it will cost you $79; but you will save $95 on the conference registration. You can get an NSTA membership any time - today, next week, next January, or when you register for the event.

KATS will be adopting a similar system. Between now and April 27th, 2019, anyone can register to be a KATS member for $35. If they have a membership before the April conference, then the price of "KATS 1.5" will be reduced by $30 (from $95 to $65). For most people, the most convenient option will be to renew their membership at the time they register for the annual KATS conference.

Some districts/administrators do not want to pay for a person's membership to an association. This will allow someone to join KATS separately and still pay less at the time of conference registration.

Some people want to attend our conferences but do not wish to be a member. The next KATS conference will still cost under $100 for a person who wants to attend but not join KATS. However, for only $5 more, you can get both.

Do not hesitate to email me as necessary. ( president@kats.org or telsen@usd259.net)

Sincerely,

Tim Elsen

KATS President

Hello all:

Fall 2018 Ad Astra Newsletter

There's a lot of cooperation going on in this newsletter--and it's all beneficial to the Ad Astra State. 

Three Kansas research universities collaborate on future space technology.

Interstellar symposium and propulsion workshop will come to Wichita in 2019 (Collaboration between NASA and the Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop (TVIW), hosted by Wichita State University and Ad Astra Kansas Foundation).

Call for abstracts to 6th Interstellar Symposium and Interstellar Propulsion Workshop is in effect.

Galaxy Forum goes to both ends of the solar system.

Ad Astra Kansas Space Day soars.

Kansas astronaut has "one wild ride"

Enjoy!

Jeanette

Know a great math or science teacher?

Nominate a teacher to receive the Presidential Award

for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching

  The National Science Foundation currently is accepting nominations and applications for the 2019 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) program. PAEMST is the highest recognition that a mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. This program recognizes teachers for their contributions to teaching and learning and their ability to help students make progress in mathematics and science.

This year's awards will honor science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/computer science teachers working in grades 7-12.

State Presidential Award finalists receive a $500 unrestricted cash award and an invitation to a professional development conference sponsored by Westar Energy, Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation and the Kansas State Department of Education.

National Presidential Awardees receive a citation signed by the President of the United States, a paid trip for two to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities, and a $10,000 award from the National Science Foundation.

To apply, teachers must first be nominated for the award. Teachers can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else, such as principals, teachers, parents or members of the general public. Once nominated, teachers will receive an email with instructions on how to access the online application.

The program is now accepting nominations for kindergarten through sixth-grade teachers for the nation’s highest honor for mathematics and science teachers.

The nomination deadline is March 1, 2019, and the application deadline is May 1, 2019.

Please consider nominating an outstanding mathematics or science teacher today! To make a nomination, go to www.paemst.org, and then click on Nominate a Teacher.

from:

Tamla (Tammy) Miller

Administrative Specialist

Communications and Recognition Programs

(785) 296-4950

tmiller@ksde.org

www.ksde.org

Science Friday has a wide variety of free educational resources for teachers that involve real-world data, current studies, and accompanying audio segments from the show or video. We're looking to continue to improve our resources and get feedback from the educator community on the resources themselves. 

Teachers can also apply to field test one of our resources as well. Teachers who are chosen as field testers will even earn a Science Friday beaker mug or vacuum insulated water bottle as a thank you for their time and opinion.

Our survey link can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LQWBNH5

Thank you for your time and have a great day!

Oct 3 EE & NGSS Workshop:  ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER!!

*Registration Deadline Extended to Sep 28*

Make Learning FUN & ACCESSIBLE for All

KACEE Professional Development Event:

Environmental Education & NGSS in Kansas City

Learn how to use the environment to engage children in learning  - both outside and indoors! 

Learn how EE and formative assessments can help you with the state science standards and making science more accessible and equitable!

          You’ll receive  Project Learning Tree and a Next Generation Science Standard E-Unit  for your grade level         

*WANT A SNEAK PEEK? Click HERE

 

EE & NGSS in Kansas City

     

Oct 3, 2018   4:30pm—6:30pm   Kansas City

  ~ Plus 14 additional ONLINE course work hours

Open to all PreK—8 Educators

$55 per participant

  One graduate credit hour available through Baker University for an additional $75

Click HERE for more information and to register

Registration Deadline *EXTENDED TO SEP 28!!*

 

    Questions? Contact Ashlyn Kite-Hartwich at 785-889-4384 or akite@kacee.org