The Mohling Foundation is well aware that all science teachers are extremely busy, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore we are making one final deadline extension for applicants to be in for the 2020-21 school year. Applications must be postmarked by October 25,2020 or emailed to us by midnight on the same date. 

Please click on our link here on the KATS webpage for access to the Mohling Foundation website to get more details. While this year’s offering looks a bit different than in years past, it is nevertheless a unique opportunity to continue professional growth and extending your network, plus getting lots of perks and free materials. 

For more information, contact mohlingfoundation@gmail.com

Ad Astra Kansas Galaxy Forum--“ARTEMIS and BEYOND” event scheduled for October 24

The theme of the annual Ad Astra Galaxy Forum on Saturday, October 24, at the Cosmosphere  will be The Artemis Program--NASA's plan to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024.  A hybrid event, it will include both in-person and virtual presentations. The Forum will feature an overview of NASA's program by Artemis-connected speaker and native Kansan Michael Staab; also, a closer look at our only natural satellite, plus an update on the next rock on our space exploration bucket list—Mars. And more.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, our award structure has changed for this year.  The good news is that we continue to offer an award and also that it remains at $700. Continue to use the application form on our website, which can be accessed by clicking on the link on the KATS website. Follow the instructions and apply no later than October 10, 2020. Look over the requirements and be certain you qualify. Including that you have NEVER attended an NSTA conference. 

The winner agrees to complete the following over the next school year.  2020/2021
- Join NSTA at the Professional level $80. 
- Register and participate in NSTA virtual Engage conference Nov 13-15. 
- Register and attend the NSTA National Conference, Chicago 2021, currently planned virtual. 

- Join or extend KATS Membership. 

- Attend and make a presentation at the annual meeting of KATS, April 2021. 
- Purchase teaching items from NSTA Science Store. 
- Provide original receipts to the Mohling Foundation for award monies spent, no later than May 2021. 
For additional information regarding the Mohling Foundation, go to Wendell Mohlingfoundation.com. If you have questions email Carol: mohlingfoundation@gmail.com. 

Applications must be postmarked by October 10, 2020 or submitted electronically and received by no later than October 10, 2020. 

Good Luck. 

Good afternoon,

 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology K-12 team knows that times are trying right now and the pandemic presents many unknowns. We hope these STEM resources and professional development opportunities might be helpful to your members, and hope you will share them.

1. We are hosting free monthly webinars with a variety of topics. Our very first one (Sept 22^nd or 24^th) is specifically on Remote Learning Resources. Link to webinars: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/webinars-2/ (We welcome you to post these to your professional development calendars.)
2. Our popular “Science & Nature Activities for Cooped Up Kids” resource provides grade-appropriate science activities, whether students are learning in person, online, or blended. A growing number of fun and interactive lessons are available at: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/science-nature-activities-for-cooped-up-kids/.
3. Find a variety of curricula, downloads, guides, and other activities organized by grade-level here: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/get-started/
4. Keep learning by taking the one of our Online Courses: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/courses-and-ceu/
5. Finally, we can offer customized webinars to your members on topics ranging from nature-based STEM learning, citizen science, and hands-on science investigations. Please reach out to me and we are happy discuss your needs and options.

 

Wishing you all much success as you guide your students through this pandemic and beyond!

Susan

 

 

 

Susan Licher

Program Assistant, K-12 Programs

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

159 Sapsucker Woods Road

Ithaca NY 14850

Cornell staff are working remotely at this time. Email is the best contact.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12

Find us on Facebook and  Twitter.

 

Susan Licher <ssl266@cornell.edu>	5:20 PM (4 hours ago)
to newsletter@kats.org, me

Information about Bioscience Collective

Free USABO Preparation Course from BioScience Collective

x

BioScience Collective <bioscicollective@gmail.com>	Sep 9, 2020,

 

Dear KATS Members, Hi! I hope you are doing well. We are writing on behalf of the BioScience Collective, an organization created to inculcate a passion for biology in students by allowing them to participate in research-based discussions and experiment analysis, and by helping them prepare for biology competitions. To assist students across the United States (and beyond) who are passionate about biology, we are offering a free live stream prep course for the USA Biology Olympiad (USABO) from the first week of October to the first week of February. Once a week, we will do an hour-long live stream on different topics found on the USABO open exam. By the end of the course, students will have learned an extensive amount of information and be ready to take the USABO and other competitive exams. The live stream will be taught by students who are very experienced in Biology and have reached the rank of semifinalist (consisting of the top 10% of participants) on the USABO.    We attached a flyer to this email, and we would really appreciate it if you could send it to your members in order to maximize the number of students who can benefit from our course.   This is the form to sign up: https://forms.gle/nRBjU9V1szJ9uN3m8.  The form is also linked in the flyer attached to this email. The exact date and time that we will conduct the live streams will depend on the preferences of the students who sign up.  Thank you so much for your consideration, and for your work in furthering science education. Please reach out to us at bioscicollective@gmail.com if you have any questions.  ---Officers of Bioscience Collective  What we offer.pdf

 

My name is Aida Farough and I'm faculty in the Geology Department at K-State. We have recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for professional development (PD) of science teachers in Kansas: Geoscience Career Ambassador Training (GeoCAT) workshop.

Keep in mind that this PD is not only for Earth science teachers but all science teachers.

Dr. Aida Farough

Teaching Assistant Professor

HydroLearn Fellow: https://www.hydrolearn.org/

Lead PI on GeoCAT: https://www.k-state.edu/geocat/ 

Department of Geology

Kansas State University

108 Thompson Hall

Manhattan, KS 66506

office: 202 Thompson Hall

------------------------------------

See:  https://www.k-state.edu/geocat/   for details. 

Please use this link to access the September KSDE Science Newsletter: https://sites.google.com/view/ksde-science-newsletter-1/newsletters/september-newsletter

Next Generation Science Standards Conference for Grades 6-12

LIVE Online Two-Day Conference

Choose from 21 strategy-packed conference sessions for in-class, online and hybrid learning environments Learn More

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS - Training Your Grades 6-12 Science Teacher to More Effectively Incorporate NGSS into Their Science Instruction

LIVE Online Two-Day Institute

Train your science teachers to make the NGSS a more integral part of their instruction and assessments in grades 6-12 Learn More

Other Live Online PD Events

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES in the Classroom

REDUCING RECURRING BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS: Practical Strategies

Restorative Discipline Conference (Grades K-12)

RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE: Help Your Students Improve Their Behavior

About BER LIVE Online PD Events With the current health challenges, all BER in-person PD events are currently being presented in a Live Online format: Outstanding Instructors Practical Strategies Extensive Resource Handbooks Highly Interactive, You'll be able to Ask Questions Receive State CEUs or University Credit if needed 100% Satisfaction Program

Can't Attend? Order the recorded version and take the seminar online at your convenience.

In order to expedite your registration, use PRIORITY ID CODE: WK10CS when you register online at www.ber.org.

Bureau of Education & Research (BER) is the leading provider of professional development and PD training resources for educators in North America.

 Willie and the Salad Bonanza is a contest open to elementary, middle and high school teams, along with other K-12 community organizations such as 4-H, scouts, FFA or other teams, interested in the scientific principles surrounding plant growth.  The challenge is to grow the largest amount of spinach, kale, and looseleaf lettuce in the same container.  Plants may be grown hydroponically, or in soil, and the one yielding the greatest ratio of  biomass to volume wins.  Registration and details on the contest can be found at: http://olathe.k-state.edu/saladcontest 

If you’re interested in educating students about energy or reducing energy use in schools, consider attending our informational webinar on the K-12 Energy Benchmarking program, Thursday, May 28^th at 3:45 pm. If you’re unable to attend, a recording of the webinar will be posted to the Kansas Energy Program’s website for viewing.

 

Project-based learning opportunity for Kansas schools: We have started a new K-12 Energy Benchmarking program, where we will be assisting schools with benchmarking their energy use in Energy Star Portfolio Manager and then identifying opportunities for improvement. Now is a great time to get started for the next school year! Here’s how the program works:

• For the summer, we will focus on establishing a baseline for your building by obtaining utility bills (at least 12 months of electric, natural gas, and water) and entering the energy use data into the Portfolio Manager database.
• We will then work with you to figure out how to best incorporate this project at your school during the next school year. This part is flexible and totally up to you. Ideally, we would like a group or class of students to take over data entry, learn how to analyze the information, conduct energy audits, and present their findings to teachers and school administrators. We are here to help during this process!
• Energy auditing equipment will be available for loan (infrared cameras, light meters, data loggers, range finders, etc.)

 

Webinar description: Are you interested in learning more about the K-12 Energy Benchmarking program? Our upcoming webinar will provide an overview of the project, what to expect, activities for students, how to pay for energy efficiency improvements, and more. The webinar will be conducted via Zoom and is scheduled for 30 minutes, but we will stay on longer to answer any questions.

 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://ksu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0odeqqrzMoHNcvVY2uDS5M3pGP1jLC7cdz

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Regards,

Kurt

 

Kurt Foley

K-State Engineering Extension – Kansas Energy Program

2323 Anderson Ave, Suite 300 | Manhattan KS 66502

816-898-5711 (mobile) | 785-532-6952 (fax)

www.kansasenergyprogram.org