Dateline Masthead
Contra Costa County Office of EducationFebruary 2013
In this issue
3rd Annual CCCOE STEAM Colloquium
Contra Costa Public Information Network
2013 East Bay Business and Education Leadership Summit
Digital Citizenship Webinar Series
The Distinguished Speaker Series
School Crisis Training
Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs & the Adolescent Brain
It Takes a Community! Education Summit.
Judges Needed--Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair
High School Mock Trials (Law Professional volunteers needed)
Open House--Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair
The 10th Annual Get Real Academy
Emergency Shelter-in-Place Preparedness Grants
The Captain Planet Foundation
Healthy and Sustainable School Food Journalism Awards
Fourth Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest
Fifth Grade Story Contest
Respect Others' Opinions
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
Welcome to Dateline!
 
Greetings!

 

Welcome to the February 2013 issue of Dateline. This informative newsletter is for all those in Contra Costa County who work in education. Please tell your fellow teachers and administrators, as well as your friends who would be interested in joining our mailing list (click here, or the link button at the left column).  

Professional Development / Opportunities

3rd Annual CCCOE STEAM Colloquium
Full STEAM Ahead: Pathways to the Future is the title of the 3rd Annual CCCOE STEAM Colloquium, which is a forum to discuss and share best practices in STEAM  (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education. Participants will include STEAM educators, business leaders, and community organizations. The colloquium will feature outstanding breakout sessions and keynote speakers.   

Date and location: February 8, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., San Ramon Valley Conference Center, San Ramon  

For info and sponsorship opportunities: Contact Hilary Dito at (925) 942-3396, and be sure to follow STEAM Colloquium updates on its Web page, as well as Twitter #steamcolloq

Fee: $40 per person; $30 per person (teams of three, pre-registered at same time), attendees can register on Eventbrite.com

Contra Costa Public Information Network (CCPIN)
 
Social Media for Public Agencies: The Update Beyond Your Status Updates will be the topic of the next CCCPIN meeting. The guest speakers of this insightful program will be Liz Payne, multimedia producer, City of Walnut Creek and Isa Polt-Jones, public information representative, East Bay Regional Park.

Date and location: February 7, 10:00 a.m.-Noon; CCCOE, Pleasant Hill

For info and RSVP: Contact Peggy Marshburn at (925)-942-3420, visit this Web page for flyer

Fee: Free

2013 East Bay Business and Education Leadership Summit

The East Bay Business and Education Leadership Summit will focus on increasing the region's ability to supply skilled workers through purposeful alignment of high-school transformation strategies with post-secondary education and training that links learning to the East Bay economy in high-wage, high-skill, high-demand sectors. Learn about the thriving systems that are preparing students for success in the STEM workplace and build connections between education, workforce development, and the economy to enable our region--and the state--to have a more competitive global presence

Date and location: February 27, 7:15 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Hilton Concord

For info: Visit their website

Fee: Free

Digital Citizenship Webinar Series

A webinar series, produced in partnership by the CCCOE, AT&T, and Region IV CTAP, will cover the issues surrounding digital citizenship. These presentations are directed to school-district or school-site administrators, teacher leaders, and technology managers. The one-hour sessions are presented by nationally recognized guest speakers, representing such services as NetSmartz and Common Sense Media. Each webinar will leave time for questions from the participants.

Dates: February 26, 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Digital Passport Resources) and February 27, 4:00-6:00 p.m. (Engaging Students through Problem Solving Resources)

For info: Visit their website

Fee: Free

The Distinguished Speaker Series

This month's Distinguished Speaker Series keynote presenter will be Calvin Terrell, a nationally known consultant on preventing bullying and violence in our schools: How to Create a Learning Culture in the classroomIn addition, there will be various breakout sessions to choose from.

Dates and location: February 23, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.; Saint Mary's College, Moraga

For info: Contact Laurie Aguirre at 925-631-4936, or visit their website

Fee: $65; Graduate academic semester units are available for a special rate of $165/unit (maximum of six units per year).

School Crisis Training

California Government Code and California Education Code require schools to have emergency and crisis response plans and to use the Incident Command System, a component of the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS). This workshop is designed to provide participants with the awareness, knowledge, and skills to assist school personnel in developing crisis response or disaster preparedness plans that meet the federal and state requirements including SEMS. It will help schools connect with community agencies that most often respond in an emergency situation.

Date and location: February 13, 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; CCCOE in Pleasant Hill

For info: Contact Madelyn Blair at (510) 670-4199, or visit the event's Web page

Fee: $40.00, participants can register via this link; light breakfast and lunch will be served.

Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs & the Adolescent Brain

This training will cover a number of topics including the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the adolescent brain (with the focus on tobacco and marijuana); the power of dopamine; and drug education/intervention strategies for reaching today's youth.  

Date and location: March 8, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m..; CCCOE in Pleasant Hill

For info: Contact Emily Justice at (925) 942-5328, or visit the CCCOE Tobacco Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Program's Web page

Fee: $22.09, participants can register via Eventbrite; coffee, water, and lunch will be served.

Upcoming Events / Field Trips

It Takes a Community! Education Summit

Students in grades 7-12 are invited to It Takes a Community!  Education Summit. This event is for first-generation African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American, Pacific Islander Students and their families and will include workshops on STEM careers, preparing for college financial aid, and more 

Date and location: February 23, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.; CSU East Bay, Hayward Campus 

For info: Call (510) 885-3516 or visit their website 
Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair 
(volunteer judges needed)

Judges are needed to ensure the 400+ science fair projects, expected to be submitted by middle and high school students this year, have an opportunity to be reviewed by our valued community members, including business and industry, at the Contra Costa County 2013 Science and Engineering Fair. Judges' commitment of eight hours is critical to the process which includes morning review of poster boards and afternoon interviews with students. Along with the orientation and judging, breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Date and location: March 22, 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; Los Medanos College, Pittsburg  

For info: Visit their website
High School Mock Trials (Law Professional volunteers needed)

The CCCOE is looking for additional members of the California Bar Association and second- and third-year law students to serve as scorers and judges at the upcoming 32nd Annual Contra Costa County Mock Trial Program. New volunteers will be joining more than 100 practicing and retired Bay Area lawyers, district attorneys, public defenders, and judges, as well as Bay Area college law students, who will be returning as Mock Trial scorers and judges.

Dates and locations: February 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, and 26, 5:00-7:30 p.m.; Martinez courthouses  

For info: Contact Jonathan Lance, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3429 or visit the Mock Trial website 
Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair

The 2013 Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair welcomes all to attend and view numerous projects submitted this year by county middle- and high-school students. Attendees can observe the presentations and experiments up close, as well as talk to the students who entered them.

Date and location: March 17; 10:30-11:30 a.m.; Los Medanos College, (Science Building), Pittsburg

For info: Contact Liz Ritchie at (925) 684-4995 or visit the Science & Engineering Fair's website

Fee: Free

The 10th Annual Get Real Academy

The 10th Annual Get Real Academy, presented by Soroptimist International, is a life-skills conference for high school senior girls focusing on life after high school. Seminars throughout the day will include such topics as money management, women's health, domestic and workplace violence issues, insurance, career success, and job search tips. Sign-ups are now being taken.  

Date and location: March 1, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.; Embassy Suites, Walnut Creek
For info: Contact Bert Vigil at (510) 517-1314
Deadline: February 13
Fee: Free 
Grants / Scholarships
Emergency Shelter-in-Place Preparedness Grants

The Contra Costa County Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) provides up to $2,000 grants to improve the preparedness of Contra Costa County schools and agencies in responding effectively to shelter-in-place emergencies. The proposed drills and exercises must have a stated list of objectives and goals that must be addressed. 

For info: Contact Lori McDonald at (925) 313-9296 or visit CAER's 

website

Deadline: February 11 (extended) 

The Captain Planet Foundation

The Captain Planet Foundation funds grants to promote understanding of environmental issues for school-age children. Grant amounts range from $250-$2500, with applications reviewed three times a year.

Next Deadline: February 28

For info: Visit their website 

Resources / Contests

Healthy and Sustainable School Food Journalism Awards
Together with prize-winning journalist Michael Pollan, the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and Alice Waters of the Edible Schoolyard Project, the Earth Day Network food journalism competition seeks to mobilize a healthy school movement across the nation. Articles submitted for its competition must focus on the benefits of and best practices that advance the goal of healthy and sustainable school food. 

First prize: $1,500. Second prize: $1,000. Third prize $500. Fourth Prize (x3): $300. Plus, $200 for your journalism class and the opportunity to have your work publicized on our websites and through our extensive networks.

For info: Visit their website

Deadline: February 28 

Fourth Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest
 
Join the Judiciary of California and Constitutional Rights Foundation in celebrating the Bill of Rights with the Fourth Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest.  The contest is open to K-12 students nationwide.  Six winners will each receive a $50 gift certificate.  In addition, up to five entries will receive honorable mentions.  Winners and honorable mentions will be announced on Law Day, May 1, 2013.

For info: Visit their website and/or download the contest flyer 

Deadline: March 15 

Fifth Grade Story Contest 
The Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club will once again sponsor the 27th Annual Fifth Grade Story Contest. Current fifth-grade students attending schools in Contra Costa or Alameda counties are eligible to compete for a number of cash prizes.

For info: Contact the Berkeley Branch of the California Writers Club via email or visit their website

Deadlines: March 15

Fee: $1 per submission, only one submission per student 

Choose Civility

Respect Others' Opinions - The Choose Civility Principle for February

"If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."

-- John Stuart Mill

 

"Respecting others' opinions is part of a larger attitude of respect - respect for the whole person. Respect for opinions is not an easy art at all. It requires self-esteem, self-control, sensitivity, tolerance, fairness, and generosity. It applies both to stated opinions and to opinions that are left unspoken."

 

There are two ways to show disrespect for others on account of what they think. One is to tell them their opinions are crazy, stupid, worthless... The other is to assume that what we think must be what they think also. Respecting others' opinions doesn't mean being untrue to our own. It simply requires us to recognize that others are entitled to look at the world differently, and when they share their views they can expect a fair hearing.

 

Present your opinions as just opinions, rather than transcendental truths. Invite feedback. Ask "What do you think?"  Make room for disagreement. You may learn something by listening to an opposing view. There are forms of qualified disagreement, which in most circumstances are preferable to absolute disagreement. If, however, the opinion in question is repugnant to you, feel free to reject it outright: "I'm sorry, I believe this is wrong";  "You know, this really goes against my principles."  You are entitled to your preferences, but others are also entitled to hear them expressed in a civil way.

  

Excerpt from P.M. Forni's book, Choosing Civility

 

About CCCOE's Monthly Focus

Choosing Civility, by Dr. P.M. Forni, lists twenty-five rules of considerate conduct. Over this school year, the CCCOE will consider ten of these principles. For additional information about our Choose Civility initiative, please visit our website.

CCCOE Logo

Published by the Contra Costa County Office of Education Communications Office
77 Santa Barbara Road, Pleasant Hill, California 94523
Joseph A. Ovick, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
Editor: Peggy Marshburn; Writer/Layout: Jonathan Lance, (925) 942-3429;
Diane Morrell, Designer; June Stephens, Web Developer 
 
Dateline is distributed during the school year to all public schools in the county by the Communications Office. Information must be received by the first of the preceding month. Publication does not signify the Contra Costa County Office of Education endorses the event or program mentioned.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Lance
CCCOE