Girls 4 Science NEWS! Spring 2020

NEWSLETTER • SPRING 2020

As a member of the G4S community , we want to share with you what we are doing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the health and well-being of our staff and students, and the children and families we serve. We are following the guidance of local and national governments as well as public health organizations to mitigate risk and proactively slow the spread of COVID-19. With the health and well-being of our community in mind, we have taken these actions:

The Women in History event, scheduled for April 30, is postponed to October 6, 2020.

The Spring Saturday Academy on Food Chemistry, scheduled for April 18 – May 23, will be conducted in the Summer session, July 25 - August 29.

We are accepting applications for our Summer 2020 program at http://girls4science.org/programs_registration.html

The health and well-being of our community is our utmost priority. Given that this is an evolving situation in Illinois and nationally, we will continue to closely monitor and make decisions about our operations and activities with safety in mind and provide updates as they become available.

For all, please follow the guidance of health officials from the CDC and the Chicago Department of Public Health and practice social distancing . Even if you are not demonstrating symptoms it is possible to transmit the virus. The health and safety of our entire community relies on our collective compliance.

Women's History Month Spotlight

Linda McGill-Boasmond is owner, President and CEO of Cedar Concepts , a manufacturer of chemicals for the personal care, home, agriculture and aerospace industries, among others. McGill-Boasmond runs the country’s first and only African American, woman-owned chemical manufacturing plant and recently completed the process of constructing the first ground-up chemical manufacturing facility within the City of Chicago in over fifty (50) years.

Under McGill-Boasmond’s leadership, Cedar Concepts employs more than 40 people on Chicago’s South Side and annually ships 60 million pounds of products worldwide to Fortune 500 companies.

She has been the proud recipient of numerous awards including: 2015 Woman of Excellence by the Chicago Defender, University of Illinois Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Inductee in 2015, 2014 Manufacturer of the Year by the Alliance for Illinois Manufacturers, and 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Women’s Business Development Center. She was a founding board member of Girls 4 Science and has been active in numerous professional organizations.

Recently McGill-Boasmond was named board chairwoman of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association.

Girls 4 Science Winter 2020 module focused on Math

Students learned about the importance of credit in the Winter 2020 Math module by participating in a game with Crystal Clear Tutoring President Raven Smith. The game highlighted positive and negative impact events for credit scores (e.g., on time payments, debt-income ratios, credit utilization, age of accounts, new credit line inquires, collections).

Under the supervision of Crystal Clear Tutoring, students worked in the computer lab on an assortment of timed tests to analyze student proficiency and speed in core areas: Fractions, Geometry, Basic Math Operations, and Algebra. Tests were adjusted for difficulty, based on grade level. Scores were reported immediately to guide the tutoring sessions and lesson planning and were used for individual and group instruction.

Junior Achievement Economic and Business tool kits provided the basis for instruction on micro- and macro-economics. Students explored the basic characteristics of the U.S. economic system and how economic principles influence business decisions. The program also introduced students to career opportunities and it helped reinforce important academic and leadership skills, including research and data analysis, problem solving and critical thinking.

The students also visited ArtReach Chicago where they learned glassblowing and created art pieces using the principles of symmetry and temperature. Some of the students’ artwork will be auctioned at the G4S Women in History event on October 6.

On the last day of class students presented their business plans and budgets to their peers and parents with feedback from G4S team members. Special guests included entrepreneurs in various STEM and business professions who shared their stories of success. Special thanks to David Stampley, Brian Crag, Raven Smith, Shelia Black, Timothy Miller, and patent attorneys from Banner Witcoff and McAndrews Held Malloy.

Do it yourself at home STEM activities

https://teachbesideme.com/food-chemistry-turn-juice-solid/

Make Ice Cream in a Plastic Bag!

https://sciencebob.com/easy-to-make-ice-cream-in-a-plastic-bag/

Click to register for the Summer 2020 Session http://girls4science.org/programs_registration

CAREER DAY

Thank you to our Career Day Sponsor the Chicago IP Alliance ( www.chicagoipalliance.com ) for its participation in our Career Day activities, which took place on February 20th at all of our G4S locations.