October 2020
October 1 ushered in a new fiscal year for Civil Air Patrol. The Aerospace Education team is welcoming several key developments, and we are featuring them throughout this newsletter.

AEOs and AEMs, don't miss updates in this newsletter on STEM Kits, TOP flights, ACE, and brand new and updated curriculum products. AEOs, find important requirement changes for the AE Plan of Action.

We have recently placed in the AE Downloads and Resources section of eServices three new books: Women in Aviation Volume II (pictured, right) and new versions of AEX I and AEX II (pictured, below). Read more about these books in the Curriculum section of this newsletter.

Our featured AEO this month. Lt. Col. Bonnie Hinck (Baldatti), was an aviation pioneer herself as a commercial airline pilot in the 1980s. Read about how CAP helped ignite her aviation career. Our featured AEM, Dr. Virginia Vilardi, will also inspire you with the amazing work she and her students are doing.

Continue to be well and be safe!

THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates -
Curriculum - Important things to know
PROGRAM UPDATES
Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight update
CAP's educator members can learn about the geography of their own area by taking a free Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight at local airports. Interested teachers can begin reaching out to their Wing Directors of AE (contact list here) to inquire if the Wing is approved to begin flying TOP flights under COVID-19 restrictions. CAP has the funding to fly our educator members, but each Wing (state) has to receive approval from the Operations team to start these amazing flights again. Educators and AEOs can check out the TOP Flight page for FAQs and guidance to get ready to fly “out of the classroom; into the sky.” (Pictured, Alabama Wing pilot, Col. Jayson Altieri, flies Alabama 4-H members pre-COVID 19.)
Squadron AE POA is no longer a requirement
All AEOs should have recently received a letter informing you that the Squadron AE Plan of Action (POA) is no longer a requirement. Squadron AEOs should still plan how you will conduct AE throughout the year; however you don’t have to complete and submit a report like before. Consider reviewing the AE Annual Activity Report to give you ideas on the many different activities you can conduct to help you accomplish the AE mission. We are also asking wing DAEs and squadron AEOs to continue to work together and share ideas on how to best accomplish the AE mission. CAPR 50-1 is in coordination and should be available soon. Changes to the Wing AE POA, the AE Annual Activity Report, and the Squadron AE Achievement Award are also being worked and will be available soon. Additionally, CAPP 50-1 is being revised to accommodate the necessary changes. If you have questions, please email ae@capnhq.gov. To read the memorandum from Jeff Montgomery, Director of Aerospace Education, please click below.
CAP's K-6 2020-2021 Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program

Registration is open for the 2020-2021 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.  
STEM Kit Program to add new kits throughout year
Update: The STEM Kit Program has exciting news! Based off feedback from recent surveys, new STEM Kits will be introduced and added throughout the year. Check here regularly for new additions and descriptions. If you are new to CAP, you'll want to visit the link (repeated in the button below) to familiarize yourself with what we have to offer.
Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) Program
AEX Award registration for Squadrons and AEMs: A new year of AEX is beginning! Make sure your squadron or classroom applies for the 2020-2021 AEX Award Program in eServices. AEX program activities should take place from Oct. 1-Sept. 30 each year. Completing the required activities may look a little different, and creativity will be needed to fulfill the required six AEX lessons and two-hour extension activity. Suggested activities and resources are available in eServices, AE Downloads and Resources, and on the AE website, Lessons and Activity Videos and Aerospace/STEM Resources. Virtual tours have been recommended for the two-hour extension activity. If you have ideas you wish to share, please send to aex@capnhq.gov.

To learn more about the AEX Program, click the link below.
AEO STORY
Florida Wing DAE credits CAP for sparking a career as a pilot and helping her give back to her country
Meet Lt. Col. Bonnie Hinck (Baldatti), the Florida Wing Director of Aerospace Education (DAE). She first joined CAP when she was in college, and that led to her career as a commercial pilot (pictured, right) when few women worked in the field. She has flown 4,500 hours and holds an Airline Transport Pilot’s license. Now working in the Aerospace Education mission field, she feels her aviation experiences may be of benefit to seniors and cadets. Of the latter, she says "CAP can help lead the way to their aviation careers." CAP, she says, helps her give back to her country. We asked Lt. Col. Hinck some questions about her career with Civil Air Patrol. Click the link below to read her story.
"In 1987...I became one of the pioneering women to fly for a major commercial airline. That experience will last me a lifetime, and I have Civil Air Patrol to thank for my dual career and outstanding aviation opportunity."
-- Lt. Col. Bonnie Hinck, Florida Wing DAE
AEM STORY
Alabama AEM leads students toward a STEM future
Meet Dr. Virginia Vilardi, who has just started her 25th year teaching at a high school in Wetumpka, Alabama. She became a Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education Member (AEM) five years ago after learning about the program from another teacher. After playing school with her friends as a young girl, she always wanted to be a teacher. "I love learning, and passing on that passion to others is something that I feel called to do." CAP's Rocketry STEM Kit helped her school start a rocketry program. She also is coach and teacher for the Wetumpka High School STEAM Machine robotics student organization (pictured above), who recently completed a community service project that modified a motorized car to help the mobility needs of a 2-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. Click the link below to read her story.
"I love when students have success and understand that they can build on that success for an amazing future!"
-- Dr. Virginia Vilardi, Alabama AEM
CURRICULUM
New volumes introduced this month
WOMEN IN AVIATION VOLUME II: This book is a continuation of Women in Aviation Volume I and highlights 13 additional aviation pioneers and the contributions they made to aviation and space. As with Volume I, the project manager is Lt. Col. Randy Carlson. Each chapter contains a model aircraft or spacecraft build and additional extension activities and video links. Hard copies of the book are in production now, but it is already available on the virtual bookshelf in the AE Downloads and Resources page of eServices. The Chapter One lesson on commercial airline pioneer Emily Howell Warner is the featured Lesson of the Month.
AEX I and AEX II: Two new 2020 editions of AEX I and AEX II are now available on the AE Downloads and Resources virtual bookshelf in eServices. AEX I (2020) offers 13 hands-on aerospace/STEM activities for K-5th graders. There is also an air traffic control-themed coloring book. AEX II (2020) features 13 hands-on aerospace/STEM activities for 6th-12th graders and cadets. These two books replace AEX I (Volumes I and II), AEX II (Volumes I and II) and AEX for Seniors. We took the best of all three books and condensed it to two. Hard copies of the 2020 books are in production and will be available to order from Materials Orders in eServices soon. 
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.
Aerospace Dimensions Module videos complete
When COVID-19 closures started, many squadrons took immediate action to begin Zoom or Teams meetings to stay connected and productive, and the results have been exciting. South Carolina Wing’s 1st Lt Robert Roberts decided to take his AE meetings to YouTube so that any cadet, or anyone interested in Aerospace Education, could access his one-hour lessons. The result? An Aerospace Education YouTube Channel with a growing “library” of exceptional lessons, interviews, activities and information. The best result is that now every lesson in all six modules of Aerospace Dimensions has a video lesson created and conducted by the amazing Lt Roberts. Check out this wonderful resource for squadrons and schools by clicking the link below.
AEMs: Is it time to renew your membership?
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.
AEOs: Reach out to AEMs whose memberships expire soon
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.