STEM Schools Progress Rubric

More Than a Recognition Program   The STEM Schools Progress Rubric is a strategic planning document that is valuable for any school or program within a school that wants to improve STEM teaching and learning.   To get the most out of the STEM rubric, consider the following: The rubric is an instrument to be used by the whole school rather than an individual. It requires the input and perspective of various stakeholders within the school as well as outside such as parents, business partners, and community members. Begin by identifying your current level of performance for each Key Element. The provided Quality Indicators serve as benchmarks for coordinating areas upon which to focus within your School Improvement Plan. Be patient. There are many attributes associated with quality STEM instructional design. Finding what is right for your school and community will take time. Involve all stakeholders, both  within and outside of your school, and keep record of what works well with your student population. Let STEM develop your culture of learning. Student achievement through inquiry is highly rewarding and often leads to expanded student interests and deeper understanding of content. Nourish extracurricular opportunities that may arise and encourage academic exploration across content areas within your school. Obtain your copy of the STEM Schools Progress Rubric by visiting the NC DPI STEM webpage.

The 2021 City Nature Challenge takes place in two parts:

The Goal: Photograph and identify as many plant, animal and fungus species as possible in the time frame of April 30-May 3, 2021.

Join us to embrace the healing power of nature and encourage the collaborative aspect of the CNC. This will allow people to safely document biodiversity in whatever way they can, even from the safety of their own homes if necessary. We urge all participants to carefully follow public health guidelines provided by your local governments, as they are changing in real-time.

For more information: go to- www.citynaturechallenge.org

or reach out to jennifer.s.crawford@stanlycountyschools.org 

April is Citizen Science Month! The power of citizen science Citizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research – whether community-driven research or global investigations.    Citizen Science Month is an annual event to celebrate and promote all things citizen science: amazing discoveries, incredible volunteers, hardworking practitioners, inspiring projects, and anything else citizen science-related! Explore resources, ideas and examples for CitSciMonth events.

"We Rise"

Kernersville Virtual Choir Project

KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — In a year that was so seemingly disrupted by the COVID pandemic, the Kernersville Virtual Choir Project brought together 190 voices creating an incredible community vocal performance.  “We Rise” was written by Kernersville-based composer Adam Mitchell, music teacher at Cash Elementary School. The collaboration brought together at least six different schools and community organizations with singers ranging in age from 9 to 80 years old.

“This project took over 600 hours to write, arrange, learn, record, mix, master, and produce,” said Mitchell. “Each singer learned and rehearsed the song during virtual rehearsals with their director. They then recorded audio and video on their own. After all of the recordings were complete, I compiled, mixed, and mastered the audio before sending on to the video production team to complete the video.”

The song is available for download and streaming with proceeds going to support the participating choirs.

Check out “We Rise” on Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, iTunes, Spotify and YouTube Music.

Anyone interested in performing the song can purchase the score on JWPepper.com.

Living with Nature  North Carolina Zoo’s free distance learning event   Available to schools and home school groups. this event will be broadcast live on Zoom, highlighting Zoo experts, and will include an activity to promote interaction between the participants and the presenters.What do you need to know about the event? The event has been designed with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in mind for grades 6th -12th. The event is at 10:00 am (EST) and is  30-minutes in length. Participate live or watch the recording at a later date. There are pre- and post- activities related to the event available for teachers to use in their classes. You must preregister for the event. This year we are using Zoom for registration. To Register: Green Practices (e.g., pollinator gardens and up-cycling) - Wednesday April 28, 2021 10:00 am (EST) (To register) This announcement is being sent on behalf of Leslie Wilhoit.  If you have any further questions please contact Leslie Wilhoit at 336.879.7718 or email: leslie.wilhoit@nczoo.org.

We all know that we cannot serve students from an empty cup.  Every educator has been repeatedly told to put on their own oxygen mask first but for most, virtual, hybrid, and in-person teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic has been overwhelmingly stressful. Many adults do not know where or how to begin to address their own SEL needs but are charged with leading these efforts for children. We are here to help! ALL educators are welcome to join in this 8-session series to learn practical techniques to manage stress, rekindle daily joy through the arts, and explore how to apply lessons learned in this series to the classroom through Arts Integrated SEL lessons for students. We look forward to sharing this valuable content with you and know that your students will be better served when you engage in a little SELf Care!

OPEN TO ALL EDUCATORS OF ANY SUBJECT!

Sessions include:

• TEACH Happier with Suzanne Dailey April 20 @ 4-5pm
• Life-Hacks for Grounding Yourself  co-presented with the NC Symphony April 27 @ 4-5:30pm
• Mindful Moving with Sayward Grindley May 4 @ 4-5pm
• Mindful Meter with Brandon Roeder May 6 @ 4-5pm
• Mindful Making with Michelle Harrell and Ophelia Staton May 11 @ 4-5pm
• Mindful M-agination with Triad Stage Learning Programs May 13 @ 4-5pm
• NC Museum of Art (NCMA) Virtual Teacher Workshop: Roots and Leaves Expressive Arts Experience May 18 @ 4-5pm (Registration Coming Soon!)
• The Mindful Classroom with Elizabeth Peterson May 20 @ 4-5pm
• A+ U Elective Videos created by the A+ Schools of North Carolina Self-Paced

Join Friday Institute Executive Director Dr. Hiller Spires for a conversation with TIME’s 2020 Top Young Innovator—Gitanjali Rao.   Rao was recognized as America’s Top Young Scientist and received an EPA presidential award for inventing her device “Tethys”, an early lead detection tool. She is also the inventor of “Epione”, a device for early diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and “Kindly”, an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and natural language processing.   Rao was honored as Forbes’ “30 Under 30 in Science” in 2019 and TIME’s “Top Young Innovator” and “Kid of the Year” in 2020 for her innovations and STEM workshops she conducts globally, which has inspired over 38,000 students in the last two years across four continents. In her sessions, Rao shares her own process of innovation that can be used by students all over the world. She is an experienced TED speaker and often presents in global and corporate forums on innovation and the importance of STEM. WHEN: Wednesday, April 7 TIME: 9:00am Register: https://bit.ly/3tUImAf

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking PEYA and PIAEE award applications for projects on a variety of environmental topics, including (but not limited to), projects on: 

• Climate Change 
• Making a visible difference in Environmental Justice communities 
• Reducing food waste and loss and excess food recovery efforts
• Reducing contributions to ocean and marine litter
• Solutions in recycling
• Using science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to teach environmental education
• Environmental sustainability
• Sustainable agricultural practices
• Healthy school environments

The President’s Environmental Youth Awards (PEYA) recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship projects from grades K-12 by promoting environmental awareness and encouraging community involvement. EPA will select up to two winners in each of EPA’s 10 Regions – one regional winner for grades K-5, and one regional winner for grades 6-12. The winning projects will be highlighted on EPA’s website. All student projects must be sponsored by at least one adult over the age of 21. And, if the sponsor is not a teacher, the project must have a teacher as a co-sponsor. The application and eligibility information are available on EPA’s PEYA page.

The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) recognizes outstanding K-12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education. Up to two teachers from each of EPA's 10 regions, from different states, will be selected to receive this award. Teachers will receive a Presidential plaque and an award of up to $2,500 cash to be used to further professional development in environmental education. Winning teachers’ local education agencies will also receive awards of up to $2,500 cash to fund environmental educational activities and programs. Next years’ winners will be highlighted on EPA’s website.

The application and eligibility information are available on EPA’s PIAEE page.

Applications for both awards programs are due no later than April 30, 2021.

NC DPI STEM Consultant

Howard Ginsburg

howard.ginsburg@dpi.nc.gov

If you are currently not subscribed and would like to receive future releases of STEMtastic News, please visit the NCDPI Subscriptions webpage and register for the NCDPI STEM newsletter. You will first be prompted to enter your email to create an account. Once your account is created, return to the NCDPI Subscriptions webpage to choose your interests.