In this issue:
  • New Staff
  • EdCamp
  • Idaho Student Video Contest
  • The Digestive System
  • Erin Barrett, Challis Public Library
  • American Graduate
  • December Online Games
Welcome Becky Mitchell and Lenea Pierzchanowski!

We are thrilled to welcome two new staff members to our IdahoPTV Education team:
Becky Mitchell, community education specialist, works to help educators and librarians around Eastern Idaho with in-house and outreach literacy and STEM programming. As a native Idahoan, Becky has worked as an educator, instructor, director in various levels of K-12 public education (virtual and traditional) and public librarianship throughout the state of Idaho. She is passionate about hands-on learning, early literacy, and STEM. She enjoys helping others to discover the importance of early education, guiding them to become lifelong learners, and ultimately making a difference in their communities. Most of all, Becky enjoys time with her husband and three teenagers. 
Also a community education specialist, Lenea Pierzchanowski brings high-quality PBS KIDS educational activities and resources to the Idaho Panhandle through public events, with a focus on early childhood education. She will work with sponsors, libraries, and parent groups to enhance learning.

Lenea has lived in Idaho most of her life. She earned her undergrad in Family and Consumer Sciences from the University of Idaho, her Master’s in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and her PhD in Health Psychology at Walden University. She considers herself a dreamer and a lifelong learner. 
EdCamp and IdahoPTV

We partnered with the Boise School District to host an Edcamp for district instructional coaches. Edcamp is an "unconference" that leverages the knowledge and experiences of attendees by allowing educators to collaboratively determine topics for discussion the day of the event. IdahoPTV Education Manager Kari Wardle says, "It was great day of learning, and IdahoPTV was proud to support it!"
KNOW VAPE:
Anti-Vaping Video Project for Idaho Teens
Deadline to enter: April 1, 2023.
Winners announced May 1, 2023.
More than $10,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winners. Winning videos will be broadcast on IdahoPTV and shared across social media channels. 
The Digestive System: December Science Trek

Each month, Science Trek explores a different topic, with short videos available on the Science Trek websiteYouTube, and LearningMedia.

The website has factsgameslinks and lesson plans correlated to Idaho and national science standards.
Erin Barrett, Salmon Public Library

Late summer often brings fires to the forests around Salmon, Idaho, and 2022 was no different. 

A longtime Salmon resident, mother of three, and library assistant at Salmon Public Library, Erin Barrett described the smoky skies around the small eastern Idaho town. “It’s been a rough summer,” she says.

With kids out of school, the library provides a place for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers to bring young learners in for literacy, science, and art activities. 
For the last three years, Barrett has overseen youth programming while she works on her library science degree. From Salmon, she was able to participate online in Idaho Public Television’s free Storytime in a Box program, which IdahoPTV designed for Idaho public libraries. This year, the focus was the five early literacy practices that provide preschool-aged children and their families the skills needed to start kindergarten ready to learn. Continue reading...
American Graduate

In the American Graduate series of shorts from Idaho Public Television, we explore high-demand jobs and career opportunities for Idaho's youth. In the latest 360-degree video, we visit Bill Larson at Knife River Trucking.