August 2020
It's almost here!

Civil Air Patrol 2020 Virtual National Conference is this Friday and Saturday, and it's not too late to register -- even if you cannot attend this week. People who register will have access to all of the wonderful conference content for an entire year, but they have to register before the event. Once the event is over, only people who registered will have access. You can still register Friday.

CAPExcel2020 is the case-sensitive access code. (Please do not share the code on social media). More than 8,600 CAP members have signed up for the 2020 National Conference. Attendees can choose from 12 custom “learning tracks” covering over 100 topics. If you experience any issues registering, please try another browser, such as Chrome.
 
AEOs and AEMs, we hope you join us in the Aerospace Education sessions.
Speaking of virtual events, Back-to-School 2020 is virtual for some school systems across the nation while others are holding onsite classes.Our featured AEM this month, Arizona kindergarten teacher Lisa Love, is one of those educators whose school has begun the school year using distance learning. Read about how she instills hope in her students, even when they can't be in the classroom together. This month's AEO and AEM stories are connected. Read how Arizona's Director of Aerospace Education, Maj. Ron Marks, this month's featured AEO, teamed up with Love in a virtual meeting to help promote aerospace/STEM in her class.

For CAP's meeting guidance, continue to consult CAP's COVID-19 Information Center, a webpage for centralized location of essential information about COVID-19-related issues specific to Civil Air Patrol.

Be well, and be safe.


THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates
Region & Wing events - Curriculum - Important things to know
PROGRAM UPDATES
CAP's K-6 Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program registration is now open
ACE 2020-2021 registration:
A new school year is starting up, and ACE registration is now open for 2020-2021! Whether students are at school or learning remotely, classrooms are taking on a very different look. The ACE committee is also in the process of making the same adjustments for the school year. We have been diligently working to modify the ACE curriculum to assist our public, private and home-school ACE teachers in offering fun, hands-on activities with lesson plans that meet national standards of learning. New, embedded links have been added to the ACE lessons so that you and your students can have quick access to information on the web. Click HERE to access the ACE curriculum guides. To register for ACE 2020-2021, click the link below..
To read more about the K-6 ACE Program and the differences that are being made in schools around the country, click HERE. For additional questions, contact ace@capnhq.gov.

We hope to see your FACE as part of ACE this year!
Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) Program
AEX Award registration and completion for Squadrons and AEMs: Has your squadron or classroom applied for and completed the 2019-20 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 in order 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.
Squadron AE Achievement Award
AE Achievement Award recognizes squadrons for AE mission accomplishments: Last year NHQ AE initiated the Squadron AE Achievement Award. This award identifies squadrons that successfully perform certain criteria listed in CAPR 50-1 . Recipients of this award demonstrate the importance they place on accomplishing the AE mission. Squadrons still have time to achieve this award and receive the certificate that accompanies it. For additional information, visit the link below.
AEO STORY
Arizona Wing's Maj. Ron Marks enjoys TOP Flight
missions, supporting AEMs in the classroom
In this month's AEO and AEM stories, we are highlighting an AEO and an AEM who have worked together to show how teamwork between an AEO and AEM helps Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Education Mission. Meet Maj. Ron Marks -- a pilot for FedEx and the Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) for the Arizona Wing -- who has been a member for 30 years. He received his private pilot's license in the 1980s, and on the suggestion of his father, a former CAP cadet, became a member of the Civil Air Patrol. Within the past year, he has worked with AEM Lisa Love (pictured, right with Marks), a kindergarten teacher from Yuma, Arizona. For instance, he (along with 2nd Lt. Brett Russo of the Sky Harbor Composite Squadron) participated in a Zoom call with Love and her students for the launch of NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 in May. To read the full story, click the link below.
"I believe aviation is a great career, and I am excited to be part of the industry. I hope to inspire younger people to pursue aviation as a career."
-- Maj. Ron Marks, Arizona Wing DAE
AEM STORY
Arizona AEM teams up with DAE to ignite passion for aerospace in her kindergarten students
Meet Lisa Love, a kindergarten teacher in a rural Arizona school on the U.S./Mexican border. Although her mother was a teacher, she took a winding journey to her own career as an educator. She loves aerospace education and knows how effective it is in teaching young people. “It has been my experience that when a child is learning about space or space exploration,” she says, “they feel a particular sense of wonder, curiosity, interest, excitement, and most importantly, they feel hope.” This past May for NASA’s SpaceX launch, she teamed up with Arizona Wing Director of Aerospace Education Maj. Ron Marks (and this month’s featured AEO Story), to lead a Zoom call with her students. Read her story at the link below.
"In my classroom, there could very well be future pilots, astronauts, engineers, innovators and great minds that will change the world, no matter what life path they choose to take."
-- Lisa Love, Arizona AEM
CURRICULUM
Rock It Out with Areology
With the launch in late July of NASA's Mars rover, Perseverance (pictured in the NASA/JPL-Caltech artist's rendering), the Red Planet is in the spotlight. This lesson focuses on areology, the study of Mars. Cadets and students will discover how core samples can tell us about the history and make-up of a planet. Participants also will examine a simulated Martian surface core sample. Find "Rock It Out With Aerology" as Lesson 6 in CAP's AEX Earth and Space Science booklet, or click this link HERE.
REGION & WING EVENTS
Rocky Mountain Region to present a free, one-day, online Aerospace Education Officer School
Rocky Mountain Region will present a free, one-day, online AEO School via Google Meet from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (MDT) August 29. This course is geared to CAP senior members in the AE Specialty Track. Another online course targeted for Aerospace Education Members (AEMs) is in the early planning stages.

Cadets who have earned their Mitchell Award can submit a registration form to be placed on a wait list until a few days before the course to ensure the focus remains on the senior members.

Registration is open now. To register, complete the online form at the link below. Email questions to ae@rmr.cap.gov. 
Each month, this space features important highlights or answers to frequently asked questions. Here are two things you need to know now as an AEM or AEO.
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.