SD Unified Science

@SDUSDScience

Science: bit.ly/sdusdscience

STEAM: bit.ly/sdusdsteam

Please share photos and other exciting news from your class with us! We would love to feature it here, on our site and on social media.

This month we are are working to assemble banks of assessments for each course tied to the Critical Concepts and Proficiency Scales. These will include assessments from the GVC and will also supplement and enrich the curriculum with additional assessment opportunities.

To contribute to these assessment banks, please use the forms below:

6th: https://forms.gle/j3oRau45DNKhe6oi8

7th: https://forms.gle/A5qh8JomGStZb2r96

8th: https://forms.gle/XQCBX7EimgmFzx4V7

Bio:LE: https://forms.gle/M8RBFSjMDm3Xyufd7

ChemES: https://forms.gle/uKby4y2AcGWAFTLX7

PhysU: https://forms.gle/tAs9dhxTMieBwujk8

Questions/ Comments/ Concerns? Submit this form: https://forms.gle/TWmDC8Xntx6JiveTA

If you would like to see more frequent updates on secondary science standards based grading, learning, and reporting, to help review resources, give input etc, please visit this document, which will be updated each Thursday

Researchers from the National Science Foundation are working to develop and test performance tasks for 8th-grade students. We are looking for:

• Teachers to pilot the performance task next year (training included)
• Teachers to give feedback on the tasks and video clips of test implementation (2 hr online session)

Both opportunities are paid via stipend.

Please email tlerner@sandi.net if you are interested

Watch this video to see what X-STEM is all about.

When: April 19, 2022, 9:30AM-2:00PM

Where: San Diego Convention Center

Who Should Attend: Middle & High School Students (grades 6-12)

How to Attend: Advance Registration is Required - there is NO COST to attend.

REGISTER and Learn More HERE

Parking for school buses is FREE

April 19-20, 2022

9am-2:30pm

We will be in person at Scripps!

There are 6 spots in 6-12 available. Flyer

Substitute costs reimbursed by CA Environmental Literacy Grant.

Email Crystal to register (or have your teachers email Crystal). crystal.howe@sdcoe.net

A 'back-of-the-envelope' approach allows one to estimate answers to seemingly difficult problems using only basic principles, and some guesswork. It's a skill vital to all of science. Consider for example...

• How many piano tuners live in San Diego?

• Can you estimate the energy of a chemical bond from gas mileage?

• Can humans in principle sustain themselves on a photosynthetic skin?
  

• Is it better to walk or run when it’s raining so as to avoid getting wet?

Workshops are help via zoom April 9, 10 and 17

Details: https://sites.google.com/physics.ucsd.edu/envelope

When: Friday, May 6th from 10:00am – 11:00am

Who: All 3rd – 5th grade and middle school educators and students

What: Go behind the scenes at an Amazon Fulfillment Center (FC) to see how computer science, state-of-the-art engineering, and incredible people fulfill customer orders at Amazon. If you are learning in person, only the teacher needs to register and project the tour to the class.

Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1092663191752533261

Salk's Education Outreach offers free training and equipment for San Diego county middle school & high school teachers to perform biotechnology activities in their own classrooms on their own schedule. We have three types of activity kits available for free-loan to teachers who have taken our free training course: DNA extraction of wheat germ, gel electrophoresis modeled using food coloring, & PCR. You can read more about each kit here.

To help us plan the best times to host these workshops please take our brief 2 minute survey: https://forms.gle/EumCWKLMKLnRGvSA6

April 13 & 16, May 11 & 14, and June 8 & 11

Wednesdays on Zoom 3:30pm-4:30pm

Saturdays 9:00am-11:00am at locations around San Diego.

Cost for NINE hours of training: $25

Flyer

Register at: https://form.jotform.com/213385410309147

Teachers can plan now to join Ilumina's The Future is Bright campaign to observe DNA Day on April 25, with events happening all April long. This year, educators can participate in one of two ways:

· Strawberry DNA extraction kit - Teachers can order materials for 32 experiments that can be done in class or sent home; or receive a single kit to demo in front of students. Kits are in limited supply and are shipped in early March.

· Illumina STEM professional - Match your classroom with a guest speaker to learn about their career.

Visit the DNA Day website for more details and to explore all the events and resources. There is no cost to participate.

Through our Bat Walks initiative, BCI is developing a network of trained volunteers to provide interactive and in-person bat encounters to local communities. The training is designed to teach staff and vetted volunteers from nature-based organizations how to lead bat walks. The training includes an online classroom portion where participants have 2 weeks to complete, as well as one in-person session to practice with the bat detectors. The in-person session will be Thursday April 21st from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at Mission Trails Regional Park.

In the online portion we cover all things bats and make sure you have all the information and guidance you need to lead a successful bat walk. Participating organizations also receive a Bat Walks kit with branded gear, resources, and an Echo Meter Touch 2 bat detector. At the in-person training we will hand out the kits. Bat Walks are a fun and easy addition to your programming and the training is totally free!

If you and others from your organization are interested please fill out our registration form:

https://forms.office.com/r/cb1Wcjaf52

The Watershed Connections - Reducing Pollution and Protecting San Diego Bay teaches students about the connection between water and land as well as common storm pollutants through a virtual experience. It is a presentation designed to build student awareness of their environment and the important water quality issues we face in San Diego. Our one-hour program is available for 2nd through 6th grade students located within the San Diego Bay Watershed. This program supports Next Generation Science Standards and the CA Science Standards.

If you would like to reserve a specific date and time for your school, please respond via email or phone so we can confirm your presentation. We would love to have the opportunity to share this interactive learning tool with your students! Feel free to contact us with any questions. Please kindly share this information with fellow educators and community members who may benefit from the program.

Contact Sierra Reiss sierra.reiss@rcdsandiego.org

Climate TOTE models the NGSS learning process by using the phenomenon of sea level rise as the basis for meaningful learning experiences for your students. Local tide level data from the Reserve and Scripps Institution of Oceanography as well as El Nino data from the National Estuarine Research Reserve form the foundation of the instruction from the research coordinator. Teachers will also be introduced to climate related field experiences for their students.

Climate TOTE goes further by helping you ensure for your students’ emotional/psycho/social resilience to climate change impacts. This hybrid training is free. Click on the flyer or email Anne Marie Tipton at annemarie.tipton@parks.ca.gov.

A BioBlitz is 24 hours of cataloging biodiversity with iNaturalist, nature walks, and other festivities.

The City Nature Challenge is April 29th - May 2nd with the 24-hour Cabrillo BioBlitz event beginning at 5:00 pm, April 29th - 5:00 pm, April 30th. While this is over a weekend, it might be a great extracurricular field trip for your students and their families. For more on the City Nature Challenge, check out their website here.

If interested in the Cabrillo event, please fill out this form for free entry into the park.

CLEAN is putting on their regular professional development webinar series again this spring. They host this to help teachers learn how to use the CLEAN collection to teach about climate and energy. We also have a new webinar this year highlighting climate change and mental health!

Here is a link to more information on their site: https://cleanet.org/clean/community/webinars/webinars.html

ScienceBridge offers lab curriculum and training for Biology teachers with exciting lab activities to do with your students.

Bookmark the new ScienceBridge website

ScienceBridge will hold an in-person teacher training for 2 of their kits on May 14th, 8:30am – 1:00pm at Mira Mesa High School. Please see the website for details.

The 2022 San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering is just around the corner. The Festival is the largest event of its kind in Southern California. It’s a collective effort between industry, business leaders, government, community organizations, public outreach centers, academia, schools and school districts, and parents. This year we are happy to feature Classroom Connections, a program matching classrooms with industry partners to cultivate STEAM excitement and career awareness. This year the Classroom Connections program will be made available to Grade 3, Grade 7, and High School science and select CTE courses. The program delivery will take place between March 14 – April 15. Depending on the COVID-19 protocols of your district, industry partners will have the opportunity to deliver the lessons in-person or virtually to the classes. Complete the 2022 Classroom Connections - Educator Survey to have your classroom matched with an industry partner.

SPARK is a student organization at the University of California, San Diego. This organization is a science theater outreach program with the goal of sparking students’ interest in STEM fields at an earlier age. The program is free and due to the Covid-19 pandemic is offered remotely via Zoom, Google Classroom, etc.

Our organization designed two science shows geared towards middle school / high school students. These interactive shows will provide students with a chance to be exposed to exciting scientific-centered scenarios that will hopefully foster their interest in STEM subjects, providing more insight into the fascinating world of science!

Click here for a brochure about the shows and their alignment with Next Generation Science Standards. For additional information please visit our website at: https://sparkatucsd.weebly.com/

Every year North Island Credit Union acknowledges exceptional students through their scholarship program. This year they are awarding 10 scholarships of $1000 each! Please see the information below if you would like to apply.

• Resident of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego or Orange Counties OR a North Island Credit Union member/dependent of a member who may live outside of our core service area
• Graduating high school senior enrolling into a two- or four-year college OR community college student transferring into a four-year university
• Minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA)
• Evidence of community and/or school involvement

Selection criteria include academic performance, school or community involvement, a letter of recommendation, and an essay submission.

For more information click here.

Applications are available through Friday, April 8, 2022. Interested students can apply at northisland.ccu.com/studentscholarship.

Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

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