Dateline Masthead
Contra Costa County Office of EducationFebruary 2012
In this issue
2nd Annual CCCOE STEAM Colloquium
2012 Contra Costa County Teacher Recruitment Fair
Digital Documentation
Best Practices in Teaching Leadership BTSA Saturday Seminar Series
Contra Costa Public Information Network
Cool Tools VIII
Creating a Peaceful School
Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair
Law School Mock Trial Looking for High School Jurors
High School Mock Trials (Law Professional volunteers needed)
Special Olympics
Emergency Shelter-in-Place Preparedness Grants
3rd Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest
Positive Mental Attitude Seminar
EarthTeam
Google Science Fair
Fight the Bight Poster Contest
Quick Links
Join Our Mailing List
Welcome to Dateline!
 
Greetings!

 

Welcome to the February 2012 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 to join our mailing list (click here, or the link button at the left column).

Professional Development / Opportunities

2nd Annual CCCOE STEAM Colloquium

Full STEAM Ahead is the title of this year's 2nd 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 educators, business leaders and community organizations. The colloquium will include breakout sessions and a keynote speaker.   

Date and location: February 2, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Hilton Concord, Concord  

For info: Contact Hilary Dito at (925) 942-3396 and keep your eye on The Colloquium updates on the CCCOE's STEAM website  

Fee: $25

2012 Contra Costa County Single Subject and Specialty* 
Teacher Job Fair
Discover a number of Contra Costa County teaching positions that will be available in the next school year.  Along with the CCCOE, representatives from seven county school districts will be recruiting for open positions for Single Subject and Specialty* Teachers (*Special Education, Math, Science, and Bilingual).  Some interviews will be held on site.

Date and location: March 24, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon; Pittsburg High School (gym), Pittsburg

For info: Call (925) 942-3387 or visit the Job Fair's website: you can also download the Job Fair's poster, to distribute and post

Fee: Free

Digital Documentation

Do you know when your Acceptable Use Policy was last updated? Does it include mobile technologies, web 2.0 tools, cyber ethics?  As Web tools and mobile devices become more prevalent, will your district ban these tools or find ways to leverage them in the curriculum?  In this webinar, we'll Walk through resources to help you build, update or strengthen your current Acceptable Use Policy.  Learn how your site can develop a team of student experts or trustees to help guide their peers in the ethical use of mobile technologies.  Develop a system of support when infractions are witnessed.  Guest presenter will be Eileen C. Walters, instructional technology specialist, at the CCCOE.

Date: February 22, 10:00-11:00 a.m. 

For info: Visit their website

Fee: Free, register here

Best Practices in Teaching Leadership BTSA Saturday Seminar Series

This seminar series provides a broad range of opportunities for professional educators to learn research-based techniques and strategies from local and national professionals.  Keynote and breakout sessions cover a variety of topics and grade levels, and provide practical and purposeful tools for both general and special educators to improve teaching practices.  Networking opportunities with educators from other schools and districts are another key benefit.  The program meets BTSA Induction professional development requirement. Graduate academic credit or continuing education units may also be earned. 

Dates and location: February 25, March 24, and May 5; Saint Mary's College, Moraga

For info: Contact Lydia Wiley at (925)-631-8124, or visit their website

Fee: $60 for individual sessions

Contra Costa Public Information Network (CCPIN)

An Inside Look at the San Bruno Pipeline Explosion - A PIO Perspective, will be the topic of the next CCCPIN meeting.  The guest speaker of this insightful program will Marshall Wilson, communications director of the San Mateo County Manager's Office.  

Date and location: February 9, 9:00 a.m.-12 noon; CCCOE, Pleasant Hill

For info & RSVP: Contact Peggy Marshburn, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3420, or visit this Web page

Fee: Free

Cool Tools VIII

East Bay Computer Using Educators (CUE) presents Cool Tools for Learning VIII. East Bay CUE is a professional organization of educators dedicated to supporting the use of technology in education. This day-long program will feature 12 hands-on labs focusing on how K-12 teachers can implement technology tools and applications in the classroom.

Date and location: February 11, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.; Head-Royce School, Oakland

For info: Contact Eileen C. Walters or Anna Massi, you can also visit CUE's website 

Fee: $75

Creating a Peaceful School

Bay Area middle- and high-school educators, administrators, classroom 

aids, school staff, and after-school-program providers are invited to this one-day conference that will focus on creating peace on the school campus and in the school's community.  There will be plenty of workshops and classes for attendees to choose from.

Date and location: February 4, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Acalanes High School, Lafayette

For info: Contact the organizers

Fee: $35 after (Five instructional hours, .5 CEU, of continuing education will be available from St. Mary's College, for $25)

Upcoming Events / Field Trips

Contra Costa County Science & Engineering Fair

The 2012 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

Law School Mock Trial Looking for High School Jurors 

U.C. Berkeley School of Law's criminal practice instructors are looking for high school students (16-18) to volunteer as jurors for a full-day mock murder trial.  Produced by the Contra Costa County Public Defender Robin Lipetzky, this is a tremendous opportunity for students who are on their school's Mock Trial team or just interested in the criminal justice system.

Date and location: April 21, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; Bray Courthouse, Martinez

For info: Contact Robin Lipetzky, at (925) 335-8035

High School Mock Trials (Law Professional volunteers needed)

The CCCOE is looking for additional members of the California Bar Association and current law students to serve as scorers and judges at the upcoming 31st Annual Contra Costa County Mock Trial Program.  New volunteers will be joining more than 150 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 locationFebruary 7, 9, 15, 16, 21, 23, and 28, 5:00-8:00 p.m.; Martinez courthouses  

For info: Contact Jonathan Lance, CCCOE, at (925) 942-3429 or visit the Mock Trial website
Special Olympics

Special Olympics offers numerous organized athletic activities for students with special needs.  A program is now being offered through a partnership between  Special Olympics Northern California and Contra Costa County Office of Education.  As a result of this program, there will be opportunities for special education teachers and their students to be able to participate in several different sports activities during the school year.  This partnership allows the entire program to be offered at no expense to the students, teachers, or participating schools.

For info: Contact Sherri Roberti at (925) 837-6007, ext. 128

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 12

Resources / Contests

3rd Annual First Amendment Cartoon Contest

Join the Judiciary of California and Constitutional Rights Foundation in celebrating the Bill of Rights with the Third 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, 2012.

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

Deadline: March 18

Positive Mental Attitude Seminar

The Positive Mental Attitude Seminar is a 50-Minute PowerPoint Presentation, which is done in a classroom setting.  Presented by Contra Costa Kops for Kids, their mission is to help prevent drug abuse, gangs, violence, and juvenile delinquency in Contra Costa County by providing athletic, educational, and other programs for at-risk youth.

For info: Contact their office at (925) 827-1998 or visit their website

EarthTeam

EarthTeam is an environmental network for teens, teachers, and youth leaders.  The site has projects and activities for action, curriculum, and lesson plans for teachers, and more.

For info: Contact EarthTeam at (510) 704-4030 or visit their website

Google Science Fair

The Google Science Fair (GSF) is a global competition that any student, aged 13-18, from around the world is eligible to enter.  Students can enter as individuals or as teams of up to three, submission will be made online.  The competition will culminate in a "once in a lifetime" celebratory event at Google headquarters, in California, in July 2012, where finalists will compete for internships, scholarships, and prizes in front of a panel of celebrity scientist judges including Nobel Laureates, tech visionaries, and household names.

For info: To sign up for fun and free resource kits for your classroom or school, visit their website

Deadline: April 1

Fee: Free 

Fight the Bight Poster Contest

Through this national contest, students, grades 5-6, across the country are encouraged to help others learn ways to protect against tick and mosquito bites and the diseases they can transmit. State-contest-winning students, one from each grade, will earn a $50 prize, and will then be eligible for the national grand prize of $1,000.

For info: Contact contest administrator at (800) 789-3300 or visit the event's website

Deadline: April 18 

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