As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, it's a great time to say how thankful Civil Air Patrol is for each of our AEOs and AEMs! Thank you for everything you do to promote aerospace/STEM education.
In this issue of the newsletter, you will find important news and updates on our programs and products that we hope help you in your efforts to promote aerospace/STEM education. For instance, new STEM Kits are available (pictured below). Two of the new kits are updates of previous kits (Sphero and Robotics) while the third kit, Let's Go Code!, is a new kit to introduce coding skills to young learners. Also read about Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE); ACE Plus, a classroom adopt program; and TOP Flights. AEOs, it's time to prepare for the Air Force Association's Outstanding Cadet Awards. Information and links are provided in this newsletter.
Our member stories this month highlight members from Oregon and Texas Wings. If you know of other outstanding member stories, we hope you will reach out to us at ae@capnhq.gov. Your story could be the next one told!
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THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates - Events - AE Safety Check - Curriculum - Important things to know
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PROGRAM UPDATES
STEM Kit Program announces new kits available
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The CAP AE STEM Kit program announces one new STEM Kit and two updates to existing kits. The Robotics STEM Kit becomes the Robotics Workshop STEM Kit (pictured above). Cadets and students can build and program robots with this complete robotics engineering system. The biggest change is the ability to build different designs (including original designs) over and over again. The Sphero and Mini Sphero STEM Kit has been updated to Sphero BOLT and Sphero Code Mat STEM Kit (below left). The kit still has a small orb robot (the new Sphero BOLT) for coding and use with the Sphero Edu app, but it now also comes with a large, space-themed activity mat and activity cards. It allows users to paint, swim and/or dance with the help of the app and their imagination.
The new kit, Let's Go Code! (below right), is an exciting kit designed to introduce young children to early coding and programming ideas without electronics. Children ages 4 and older will have fun and build gross motor skills by stepping, hopping and turning while learning the basics of coding. A 9 1/2-by-9 1/2-foot Foam maze mat is included.
For more on these and all the kits available, please click the link below.
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Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program |
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ACE Program registration continues for the 2021-2022 school year. Don’t miss this opportunity to bring engaging and meaningful cross-curricular aerospace-themed lessons that support STEM initiatives and enrich the school curricula into your classroom. The ACE Program provides online curriculum of 21 aerospace-themed, national academic standards-driven lessons for your K-6 grade level. Lessons are divided into nine academic lessons, six character lessons and six physical fitness lessons. Plus … you will receive a classroom set of aerospace manipulative items (such as the third grade foam glider, pictured) that relate to one or more lessons for each grade level.
To learn more about the program or to register, click the links below.
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ACE Plus: A classroom adopt program |
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CAP squadrons across the nation desire to “adopt” ACE classrooms to extend STEM concept instruction, provide aviation career options and introduce the CAP cadet program to ACE students in grades 5-8. The ACE program is designed for grades K-6, but many middle schools use the 6th grade ACE curriculum for grades 6-8. Thus, these are the perfect grade levels for CAP squadrons to “adopt” and support through the school year.
The program can be delivered in person or virtually, as COVID restrictions allow. The ACE Plus program is easy to do -- having the squadron adults and cadets teach a minimum of three lessons. All lessons and hands-on materials are provided to the squadron and teacher at no cost. If the squadron leaders and teachers desire to do more, the sky is the limit with additional opportunities for the students! Squadrons can do as much as the teacher desires beyond the three ACE Plus lessons! Extra demonstrations or field trips can truly make the collaborative adoption program exciting for the students.
Interested teachers should contact their state’s Director of AE (list found HERE) and request to be “adopted.” Find out more at the ACE Plus link below. See the Teacher Information and Request Form below, as well.
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Annual AFA Award package for CAP squadron cadets |
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As found on the Air Force Association’s Outstanding Cadet Awards page, each year, every CAP cadet and composite squadron can request an awards packet to present to one outstanding cadet. The AFA is proud to support these accomplished cadets with an award package containing a medal and ribbon.
Annual request dates are Dec. 1 - Jan. 15, but AEOs can work with their commanders now to begin requesting the 2022 award. Send all request forms to afa@capnhq.gov as CAP NHQ/AE accepts the requests and sends the award packages. (NOTE: Cadets do not have to be selected now, but the award package requests should be submitted now so that when the squadron makes the cadet selection, the package will be ready for the award presentation.)
As the AFA is the sponsor of this award, please follow guidance at the information link below for AFA awards to connect with and invite the closest AFA chapter to send a member to make the presentation. Presentations can be done in person or virtually, as seen in photos. CAP provides an annual report to the AFA so please take a photo of the presentation and return with the after-action report due to afa@capnhq.gov. Use the links below to begin your request.
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Educator members, take flight with CAP! |
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Each educator member of CAP can take a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight each year! It is easy to connect with each state’s Director of AE (list found HERE) to request a CAP flight over the teacher’s school and community.
Teachers are using the beautiful fall weather to schedule their flights to delight their students, who can view this flight via a school fly-over, a live-stream event or a video of the experience after the flight. Teachers can connect STEM concepts they are teaching with the applications of aeronautic principles of flight and aviation technology experienced during the pre-flight orientation and the in-flight opportunity for the teacher to actually fly the plane! To expand the program, pilots can then be invited to discuss aviation STEM and career opportunities with the students in person or via a virtual meeting. Plan to schedule a flight with a coworker or principal NOW and take YOUR teaching experiences “out of the classroom and into the sky!”
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Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) Program |
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AEX Award registration for squadrons and AEMs: Has your squadron submitted their 2020-21 AEX program activities? If not, you still have time to complete the AEX Award Report. Activities must have taken place from Oct. 1, 2020 - Sept. 30, 2021.
Also, make sure your squadron or classroom applies for the 2021-22 AEX Award Program in eServices. AEX program activities should take place from Oct. 1-Sept. 30 each year.
To learn more about the AEX Program, click the link below.
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(Welcome to AE Safety Check! These safety nuggets are things to think about as you lead or participate in an Aerospace Education activity. The writer of this monthly feature is Lt. Col. Karen Cooper, who works in safety and risk management on the AE National Headquarters Staff and is also the Northeast Region DCS/Aerospace Education.)
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SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Distracted walking -- sure, we have all seen the videos on TV where someone is walking and falls into a fountain, or into a door, but keep in mind that this type of behavior is not limited to when we are using a cell phone. The next time you are running an AE activity, and the participants need to get up and move around, remind them, maybe as part of your safety briefing, that they need to maintain awareness of what is going on around them, commonly referred to as situational awareness. Picture this -- you are running a rocketry event, and while walking to the launch pad, a member is looking up, rather than around them. What can you picture happening? They step in a hole they didn't realize was there? They trip over something that was on the ground? They run into someone else who is not situationally aware? Remind people to pay attention -- they can look around after they get to where they were going!
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If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.
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AEO/STEM LEADER STORY
Oregon squadron's STEM teams leader credits group's national success to cadets' hard work, core values
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Meet Maj. Carl Knox of Oregon Wing's Aurora Composite Squadron. He joined Civil Air Patrol in 2004 in order to help his son's squadron. In the past 17 years, he has filled numerous roles but always where he sees a need. One of those areas is as the STEM Competition Teams Director of his squadron. The Aurora team was named champion last spring in the nationwide StellarXplorers high school STEM competition, which marked a first for Civil Air Patrol. The competition, sponsored by the Air Force Association (AFA), requires teams to compete in a test of designing orbits, selecting spacecraft components and designating a launch vehicle to meet a specific mission scenario.
The Aurora Composite team has reached the StellarXplorers finals four times in five years. The eventual first place finish, he says, was the result of lessons learned in previous years. He attributes the success to the cadets. "I directed these teams, but I was not selected. It was the teams. Their hard work, dedication and adherence to our core values allowed them to rise above the competition." Maj. Knox's other duties include Wing Testing Officer, Character Development Instructor, Squadron Leadership Officer and an assistant Aerospace Education Officer (AEO). He also directs the squadron's team for another national AFA youth STEM competition, CyberPatriot. "Both competitions strengthen problem-solving and teamwork skills. One season shows team members what they are capable of accomplishing." Click the link below to read his full story.
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"If you stay in the program long enough, you get to see the cadets arc. Our squadron has had cadets enlist, go to college, enter the service academies and ROTC. They have become pilots, cyber security professionals, and/or parents. Most of all, they are assets to their communities."
-- Maj. Carl Knox, Oregon Wing
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AEM STORY
Texas AEM conducts outreach, education and training
to improve public health, access to health information
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Meet Debbie Montenegro, an AEM from Fort Worth, Texas. She is an example of an Aerospace Education Member who is not a classroom teacher. She works for the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM R3), an office of engagement and training at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, as deputy director of a seven-state region. "I am the deputy director of R3, which conducts outreach, education, and training focused on improving public health and advancing the progress of medicine through increased access to health information," she says. Her inspirations in education came from her mother, who has taught for decades. She attributes her inspiration for hard work to her immigrant parents, who instilled “a hard-working ethic, a reverent gratitude for the opportunity of access to education, and a deep sense of duty and integrity.” Her career roles have spanned “a chemistry laboratory intern, substitute teacher, chemistry teacher, public library assistant, the Learning Resource Center Manager at an institute for nurses, and an epidemiology research analyst in a large healthcare system." She took on her current role because she felt "this was a place where I could use my knowledge and experience to bring health information to various communities, particularly those that are under-resourced."
She has had an interest in science and science fiction since a young age. Her educational philosophy of providing individualized support, she believes, can be applied outside of formal education settings. "I was able to share details on the CAP cadet program with a Spanish-speaking family," she recalls as an example of individualized support. "They had not heard about the cadet program. From personal experience, I understood that there are additional barriers to consider," she said. “This opened the door for their child to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to join the cadets." She enjoys being an ambassador for CAP and sharing information about CAP at educational events. We asked her some questions about her career and her involvement with CAP, and her answers follow.
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"I remember one exciting day in elementary school -- we got to dissect a cow heart. I was so excited and intrigued to see a real heart. Little did I know that in my later 20s, I would work in cardiovascular epidemiology research. This really speaks to the crucial role of mentors and educators; we forge a path and create a space for our pupils to follow."
-- Debbie Montenegro, Texas AEM
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CURRICULUM
Hands-on at the Space Station
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In this lesson, learners will understand how astronauts cope with engineering problems while wearing protective space suits, specifically space gloves. As background, they will discuss why astronauts wear protective suits and then experience how the protective gear impacts the tasks astronauts must perform. Learners will perform tasks such as assembling a bolt/nut/washer and constructing an object. Then they will record their observations and calculations on a data sheet. The lesson is Activity #11 in CAP's AEX I (2020). Click below to view the lesson.
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Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are three things you need to know now as an AEM or AEO.
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You can update your eServices profile information. Here's how: |
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Sign into eServices and click on your name in the top right hand corner. Update your email address, mailing address, contact numbers, etc. This ensures you receive timely and pertinent information from CAP. If you are a teacher, ensure your primary email address is your home and your secondary email address is your school so that your annual renewal email and any other important information will not end up as spam in your school email account.
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AEMs: Is it time to renew your membership? |
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All Aerospace Education Members (AEMs) are offered an annual FREE “in-kind renewal." The online renewal email is sent 60 days prior to the membership expiration date. A renewal banner appears at the top of the eServices sign-in page 90 days prior to expiring. (You can’t renew earlier than 90 days.) Find additional information at the link below. Thinking that due to the pandemic you cannot participate in CAP’s AE programs? That may be partly true, but when we get back to “normal,” you will wish you kept your membership current, so do not let it expire!
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AEOs: Reach out to AEMs whose memberships expire soon |
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AEOs, this is the perfect time to reach out to your AEMs whose memberships expire within 60 days or whose memberships have expired. For more guidance, see Recruiting and Retention of AEMs on the AEO Resources page link below.
Please note: CAP has several categories of membership, but each member can only be assigned one category of membership. Any adult uniformed member, who is an educator, may access all the resources available to an AEM. And, we wish to encourage our AEMs to “hang on” until the end of the pandemic and continue renewing their membership. Once things are back to “normal,” they will be glad they did!
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Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education
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