April 2021
This month is National Volunteer Appreciation Month. The National AE staff would like to extend a sincere thank you to all of our volunteers in the Aerospace Education mission. We appreciate all that you do to promote aerospace/STEM.

Earth Day is recognized on April 22. To celebrate, this month's featured STEM Kit is the Renewable Energy Kit.

April is also a key month for the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program. The deadline for nomination for the annual national ACE awards is April 25. See more information in this newsletter.

Our member stories this month highlight aerospace educators from the Puerto Rico and Alabama Wings. 2nd Lt. Gabriel Vazquez, an aviation student who is a senior in college, sings CAP's praises about what the organization has to offer young adults. Middle school teacher Kala Jo Grice-Dobbins is the first teacher to be selected for the new CAP Adopt-a-Classroom program. If you know of other inspiring member stories, we hope you will reach out to us at ae@capnhq.gov.

Be well and be safe!

THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates - AE Safety Check -
Curriculum - Important things to know
PROGRAM UPDATES
CAP's Aerospace Education STEM Kit Program
April 22 is Earth Day. To celebrate, this month's featured STEM Kit is the Renewable Energy Kit. (Pictured, Illinois AEM Gena Cushman's students).

Use the links below to view an updated list of kits and review the STEM Kit program process.
Also, in the eServices members portal, AEOs and AEMs now have access to lesson plans for the Renewable Energy STEM Kit and all the STEM Kits. You will also find discussion boards on each kit. To visit the Learning Management System, visit the link below.
Aerospace Connections in Education Program
It's time to get your nominations in to acknowledge outstanding achievement in CAP's K-6 aerospace/STEM program. The Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Program honors achievement in the following categories each year: ACE Student of the Year, ACE Teacher of the Year and ACE School of the Year. The ACE Program is not possible without the enthusiasm of its teachers, and its students are the inspiration. Be sure to get those nominations in to celebrate the stars of the ACE Program. The deadline is April 25. For nomination forms and additional instructions, please click the link below and look in Related Links.
ACE End of Year Completion: ACE teachers, even though you may not have been able to complete all the ACE lessons intended this year due to virtual instruction, don’t forget to fill out your 2020-2021 ACE Completion Form. You can find the report at the link below, left. Fillable student and teacher certificates for the 2020-2021 ACE Program can be found at the link below, right.

AE Safety Check
(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 Assistant DCS/Aerospace Education.)
STEP UP TO SAFETY USING THE 'STEP PROCESS'
You are not in this alone – keep that in mind the next time you are running an AE activity, including your plans to run it safely. After everyone gathers for the fun – but before you start – ask everyone there to take 5 seconds to look around and identify anything that could be safer. Notice that I said ‘safer’ and not ‘unsafe.’ Are there wires that someone could trip over? Could the stand for the hot glue gun be in a better place? Safety is not an absolute; there may be something you can do to make it safer, and 5 seconds will not disrupt the unit’s schedule. 

Try using the STEP process:
  • Stop before beginning.
  • Think about the activity that you’re getting ready to perform.
  • Ensure that hazards associated with the activity have been identified and addressed.
  • Perform the activity and enjoy!

By the way – this works at home, too!
If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.
AEO STORY
Puerto Rico Wing student pilot and aviation major promotes AE in squadron and at local grade school
Meet 2nd Lt. Gabriel Vazquez, assistant Aerospace Education Officer for the Lt. Col. Elsa M. Soto-Torres Cadet Squadron in Puerto Rico Wing. He is a student pilot and in his final year of working toward his bachelor's degree in aviation at Inter-American University of Puerto Rico - Bayamon. As long as he can remember, he has felt a connection to aerospace. He enjoys leading aerospace/STEM lessons in the squadron, and externally, he visits his former grade school, at the request of one of his former teachers, to talk to the students about STEM in aeronautics and his experience as a student pilot. "The students in that club absolutely amazed me as they were following along with my presentation, asking questions that I was not expecting grade school kids to ask," he recalls. "There was no mistaking it. Those students had found their interest, they were drawn to this world of STEM and that left a lasting impression on me." Recently, he was selected to be a NASA Solar System Ambassador. The program, a public engagement effort to promote the science and excitement of NASA's space exploration missions, gives him more tools to share aerospace/STEM with youth. Click below to read the full story.
"That’s why I believe CAP is such a valuable asset to the nation in developing the aerospace leaders of tomorrow. In CAP, teenagers can become cadets and enter an environment where they can get involved and open doors in a world where sometimes it seems like it only wants to close doors."
-- 2nd Lt. Gabriel Vazquez, Puerto Rico Wing
AEM STORY
Alabama middle school teacher enjoys using
aerospace/STEM topics to inspire her students
Meet Kala Jo Grice-Dobbins. She teaches 8th grade STEM to all students at Sparkman Middle School in Toney, Alabama. Sparkman is a Title I school in a rural area outside of Huntsville. Now in her 15th year of teaching, she was inspired to teach by stories of her grandparents' teaching experiences. As early as high school, she volunteered her time teaching at the local elementary school. Now, she has a passion for teaching in the aerospace/STEM field. "I LOVE watching students learn and feel accomplished when they begin to understand hard concepts," she says. "Many of my previous students have contacted me to update me on their educational pathways. I love hearing how my class inspired them to pursue computer endeavors in high school and beyond." Grice-Dobbins is the first teacher to participate in CAP's new Adopt-a-Classroom program. In December, CAP announced this new program to connect squadrons with local 6th- to 8th-grade teachers to build relationships in the local educational community that stimulate interest in aerospace-related STEM subjects/careers and awareness of CAP and its youth programs. (Learn more about the program HERE). Click the link below to read the full story.
"I was shy about contacting my local CAP and AFA units for help, but they are the nicest, most helpful people I have met. I am SO excited to be working with them on this journey."
-- Kala Jo Grice-Dobbins, Alabama AEM
CURRICULUM
Animals in Space
In this lesson, students will learn about animals that have traveled to space in research missions. They will discover why these animals, including dogs and monkeys, took these important journeys. "Animals in Space" is Academic Lesson #6 in Civil Air Patrol's Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Guide for Grade 3. Click the logo above to see a video presentation of the lesson. Find that lesson at the link below.
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.
You can update your eServices profile information. Here's how:
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.
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. 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!
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. 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!