California Regional Environmental
Education Community

California Department of Education,
STEM Office


Region 8 October 2017 Newsletter 
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Kern   



Natural Systems Inspiring  
Learning and Literacy for All!


The latest newsletter from Ten Strands, our partner in bringing environmental literacy to all students in our California schools, features the article, "I Love It When a Plan--for Environmental Literacy--Comes Together" by Dr. Gerald Lieberman, explaining how the Next Generation Science Standards and the CA Environmental Principles & Concepts (EP&Cs) embedded in the CA Science Framework work together. The article includes a link to the 2016 CA Science Framework's Appendix 2, which shows specific connections between NGSS and EP&Cs, and to Education and the Environment Initiative (EEI) curriculum. Dr. Lieberman also refers to his document created in partnership with Ten Strands: Sample Scope and Sequence for California EP&Cs, to help teachers and publishers understand how the EP&Cs integrate with grade-specific content.  

 
- Teresa Tree Lees, CREEC Coordinator, Region 8
- teresa@creec.org
 
Newsletter Table of Contents
- What's New Statewide
- Local Events
- NSTA News
- NGSS Niblets
What's New in Statewide Environmental Education
New Curriculum - Coastal Voices

The California Coastal Commission has just released a brand new, free resource for middle and high school teachers. California Coastal Voices is a project-based learning tool designed to address California's Next Generation Science, Common Core, and History-Social Science standards. Consisting of six units or "projects" that introduce students to coastal conflicts, challenges, and scientific and policy issues, the emphasis is on problem solving and communication.
 
California Coastal Voices can be downloaded in its entirety or by project. Student readings and templates can be downloaded separately and student handouts are available as documents for teacher customization. Extensive links and resources have been compiled and prepared for use with California Coastal Voices projects, including downloadable slide shows, videos, and data sets.

 
Several free workshops will be offered this fall, led by Kurt Holland, author of California Coastal Voices, in partnership with Project WET. Workshop attendees will receive a printed copy of California Coastal Voices.
 
 
Please contact Annie Frankel with any questions or feedback.
 
Annie Kohut Frankel
Public Education Program
California Coastal Commission
45 Fremont Street, Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94105

(415) 597-5888  
www.coastforyou.org
 

More information about the Coastal Voices Workshops

Green Schools Conference & Expo May 3rd & 4th in Denver, CO

The Green Schools Conference & Expo is the only national event to bring together all the players involved in making green schools a reality: people who lead, operate, build, and teach in U.S. schools. Cosponsored by the US Green Building Council & the Green Schools National Network. 

Two days of programming offer inspiring keynote speakers, informative workshops and breakout sessions and the chance to network with colleagues from across the country. This year, GSCE will be hosted in partnership with Rocky Mountain Green, a regional sustainability conference.
Registration will open Monday, Oct. 30. 

Energize Schools Energy Conservation Competition

Challenge your school to save energy this fall and join the seventh annual Energy Conservation Competition from October 26th to November 15th! High schools in Southern California Edison (SCE) territory are invited to compete to see how much electricity they can save. Every participating school will receive support from a dedicated Energy Advisor who will help student teams identify what uses energy in their schools, develop a plan for saving energy, and implement conservation campaigns. Prizes of up to $1200 will be awarded to schools who reduce their usage and develop creative, effective campaigns. Learn more about the competition and register on the contest website.


Project Green School's 12 Pathways to Greening Your School Viral STEM Challenge

The purpose of the Viral STEM Challenge is to connect teachers and students with others across the country and to recognize outstanding work. This program offers a quick 'idea & solution' to a given environmental issue which will have to do with a featured "Pathway to Greening Your School." Each month, students will receive a Debriefing about a monthly issue and will be issued a Challenge to set course on a mission to come up with a solution that their school will implement to solve the problem. To check out the details for how your school can participate, check the Guidelines here.  

Green Teacher's New Book: Teaching Teens about Climate Change

This 80 page book brings together 12 articles and activities to aid any educator working with high school-aged students. The activities have the capacity to take teens from despair to empowerment, help them appreciate the difference between cap and trade and carbon taxes, explore the environmental impacts of the tar sands, provide options for sustainable transportation, and much more.
Before September 30th, you can take advantage of pre-publication discounts to obtain one or more copies of either the print or ebook versions. Print version: $11.95 each (vs $15.95 after). Digital version: $8.99 each (vs $10.99 after). Learn more about the book and how to order it. 

Green Ribbon Schools Award

The U.S. Department of Education's Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) recognition award honors schools, school districts, and Institutes of Higher Education for excellence in resource efficiency, health and wellness, and environmental and sustainability education. The recognition award is part of a larger U.S. Department of Education effort to identify and communicate practices that result in improved student engagement, academic achievement, graduation rates, and workforce preparedness; and reinforces federal efforts to increase energy independence and economic security.
California K-12 public and private schools, early learning centers, and school districts are eligible to seek ED-GRS nomination from the California Department of Education (CDE). Learn more about the Green Ribbon Schools Award program on the CDE webpage.

The WHALE TAIL® Grants Program

Application Deadline: November 6, 2017
The WHALE TAIL® grants program is now accepting applications to support projects encouraging people to value and take action to improve the health of California's marine and coastal environments. Educational projects improving the quality of beaches or coastal or marine habitats are also eligible. There is also a special subcategory for projects addressing climate change and/or ocean acidification.  Emphasis is on reaching people who are underserved in terms of marine education and coastal experiences.  Nonprofits, schools, and government agencies may apply.  Applicants may request up to $50,000, and 25-50% of the funding will be allocated in small grants up to $12,000. A total of $327,337 will be distributed. View the webpage for full guidelines and an application.
In addition, save the date for a webinar which will be offered for applicants on Thursday, October 12th from 1:30-2:30.  Details will be posted on the grants webpage in the near future.  It is geared particularly for newer or less experienced applicants although all are welcome.

NEED webinars on STEM & Energy Careers
In partnership with NEED, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is delighted to offer valuable resources for STEM and Career Technical Education classrooms across Northern and Central California.
Please join us and share this note with your department heads, teaching staff, and peers. Teachers and administrators are welcome to participate
These monthly offerings include energy expert guest speakers, curriculum tools, hands-on teaching kits and opportunities for paid student internships, scholarships and mentoring.
Energy topics crosscut through a variety of disciplines including science, math, engineering and technology, and they align effortlessly with NGSS and Common Core standards.

Please join us for one or for all the calls and workshops! 
The first online presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, October 4TH , with a program introduction and topic, "The Grid of Things".

Dates:
· Webinars occur on the first Wednesday of every month from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM
· Workshops occur throughout the year across Northern and Central California
Sample Topics:
· 10/4: The Grid of Things Webinar
· 11/1: The Future of Electric Transportation Webinar
· Fall Teacher Workshop: Free Hands-on Renewable Energy Kits & Student-led Energy Audit Training
· 12/6: Funding a STEM Career Webinar
· 2/7: The Future of Energy Storage Webinar
· Spring Teacher Workshop and Student Fellowship: Free Hands-on Renewable Energy Kits & STEM Career Exploration
· 3/7: Diversity in STEM Careers Webinar
· 4/11: Careers in Energy Efficiency Webinar
· More topics to come!

Program questions: Barry Scott at bscott@need.org or (209) 482-5663
Registration questions: Wendi Moss at wmoss@need.org

Local Events
Click on the title of the event for more information.
More events: http://www.creec.org/events/ 

Special Note: TriCounty Growing Edible Education Symposium (GEE) on October 6th & 7th in SLO will be rescheduled for Spring 2018.
10/13-
15/2017
Location: Sacramento Convention Center
Cost:Check on registration page
10/14 & 10/28/2017
Location: San Gabriel Elementary
Cost:FREE
10/17/2017
Time:8am - 3pm
Location:Kern County Water Agency
Cost: FREE
10/19-
20/2017
Time:8am - 4:30pm
Location:Channel Island Boating Center
Cost:They pay teachers with stipends
10/21/2017
Project WET Climate Change training in Santa Maria
Time:8:30am - 4:30pm
Location:Santa Maria Public Library
Cost:FREE
10/22/2017
Citizen Science  iNaturalist training
Time:2pm - 4pm
Location:San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden
Cost:$5 for members and $10 for non-members
10/25/2017
Nature Bridge Teacher Night at VCOE
Time:3:30pm - 6pm
Location:Ventura County Office of Education
Cost:FREE 
10/26/2017
Santa Barbara Roundtable Teacher Night
Time:4pm - 7pm
Location:Santa Barbara Historical Musuem
Cost: Free; RSVP required

10/28/2017
Golden Oak Honey Festival in Paso Robles
Time:9am - 3pm
Location:Paso Robles Downtown Park
Cost:Free
11/3/2017 - 11/5/2017
Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education Southern Fall Conference
Time: 5:00 p.m. Friday through 1:00 p.m. Sunday
Location: Pathfinder Ranch, Mountain Center
Cost: $40 registration plus $20 membership
AEOE will offer ~10 environmental education workshops, Saturday night campfire entertainment, Saturday night dinner, Sunday potluck breakfast, and tent camping or dorm accommodations.
11/4/2017
Cost:$35 until October 30th 
11/8/2017s
Location:San Luis Coastal Unified School District, 1500 Lizzie Street, San Luis Obispo Building 1
Cost:FREE
11/8/2017
NGSS Leadership Network at VCOE
Time:8:30am - 3:00pm
Location:Ventura County Office of Education
Cost:$225 for the series
11/29-30/2017
NGSS Rollout #4 at VCOE
Time:8am - 4:30pm
Location:Ventura County Office of Education 
Cost:$250
12/10-11/2017 
Location:Moscone Conference Center in San Francisco
Register here: CA STEaM Symposium

More events at http://www.creec.org/events/ 

NSTA News
courtesy of Alison Wright,  
NSTA Senior Associate, Professional Learning Relationships


A free, web-based STEM competition for students in grades 6 through 9. eCYBERMISSION challenges students to think about real-world applications of STEM by working in teams to identify a problem in their community and use scientific practices or the engineering design process to develop a solution.
https://www.ecybermission.com/

The NSTA Awards and Recognition were created to raise awareness and exposure of the outstanding work being done in the science education field.
http://www.nsta.org/about/awards.aspx

These infographics are the first in our series on the Next Generation Science Standards. We invite you to print, share, and send them to your friends and colleagues.
http://ngss.nsta.org/Infographics.aspx

Four videos introduce elementary science educators to important strategies based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The class featured in the videos is made up of second- and third-grade bilingual students. This collection of videos demonstrates new instructional strategies in the elementary school classroom.
http://ngss.nsta.org/ngss-videos.aspx

Want to catch a web seminar you missed? Or maybe review one you found particularly helpful? Access the full list here!
http://ngss.nsta.org/web-seminar-archives.aspx

Partner with NSTA to take professional learning days to the next level. NSTA offers tailored packages of books, onsite presentations and workshops, and online experiences on popular topics-for schools, districts, or states!
http://www.nsta.org/district/
NGSS Niblets


NGSS Support Offered by County 
 
NGSS in Ventura County - Nathan Inouye    nathan.inouye@vcoe.org

NGSS in Santa Barbara County - Scott Spector     sspector@sbceo.org

NGSS in San Luis Obispo County - CA Science Project through Cal Poly with Lola Berber-Jimenez     lberberj@calpoly.edu

NGSS in Kern County - Merci Del Rosario    medelrosario@kern.org 
 
California Science Test: Training Test Relaunched!
 
The California Science Test (CAST) training test has been relaunched and now includes two new grade eight items! Be sure to visit the CAASPP practice and training test portal (http://www.caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html) to check out these new items. The practice test is meant to prepare teachers and students for the upcoming administration. And, looking ahead, the next generation of the CAST training test-coming next March-will be grade specific (i.e., grade five, grade eight, high school). These training tests will consist of both discrete (stand-alone) items and performance tasks. (extracted from CDE CAASPP Update)
 
Instructional Materials Adoption for NGSS in CA
 
November 2018: Tentative date for State Board of Education to take action on recommendation to approve list of instructional materials.
  
NGSS Rollout #4 at Ventura County Office of Education

Ventura County:  November 29-30, 2017
Registration Deadline: November 10th 
Location:   Ventura County Office of Education
                  5100 Adolfo Road
                  Camarillo, CA 93012

Registration/Continental Breakfast - 7:30 a.m.
Meeting - Day 1: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
                Day 2: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Contact:    Nathan Inouye        and         Amy Kennedy                                
                 (805) 437-1342                      (209) 468-9027
                 Nathan.inouye@vcoe.org      akennedy@sjcoe.net  

 

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Disclaimer: These professional learning opportunities and resources are intended merely to provide access to information. The California Department of Education (CDE) has not reviewed these opportunities or resources for effectiveness or alignment with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). CDE does not warrant or guarantee the effectiveness or results of any opportunity or resource that may be made available through this communication network. The inclusion of an opportunity or resource is neither an endorsement nor recommendation by CDE. Please excuse formatting errors that may result from the software application used to distribute this newsletter.
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The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network is an educational project supported by the California Department of Education in collaboration with state, regional and local partners. Its expansive communication network provides educators with access to high-quality educational resources to enhance the environmental literacy of California Students.

Shannon Gordon, CREEC Network State Contact, sgordon@cde.ca.gov, STEM Office, California Dept. of Education, 1430 N Street, Suite 4309, Sacramento, CA 95814

In Region 8, CREEC is housed and supported by San Luis Obispo County Office of Education
Teresa Lees, teresa@creec.org
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