November 2020
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!

This month's newsletter highlights the many ways you serve the Aerospace Education mission. Read about an exciting CAP Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program collaboration among an Indiana school, the Air Force Association and CAP's Indiana Wing adults and cadets!

Our featured AEO this month is Maj. Sylvie Kacmarcik, who began her CAP career as an AEM and is now the Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) of Washington Wing. If you follow the link to her story, you will find out information about amazing cybercamps and AE activities in her wing. Our featured AEM, Megan Tucker, revised and updated our newest AEX I and AEX II booklets. (You'll also get a lesson preview in the curriculum section of this newsletter.) In addition, if you follow the link to her story, you will get access to the engaging videos and web pages she is creating for her students during distance learning.

Continue to be well and be safe! And again, thank you for everything you do to promote aerospace/STEM education!

THIS MONTH: Member stories - Program updates -
Curriculum - Important things to know
PROGRAM UPDATES
The Faces of ACE
Aerospace Connections in Education: The 2020 National ACE awards recognized special persons and programs involved in CAP’s K-6th grade Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program. One special program received the National ACE Collaborative Point of Light Program award. Reading the program story and seeing photos (here) conveys an exciting collaboration among the school, the Air Force Association, and CAP’s Indiana Wing adults and cadets. That award was recently presented to the Thrive education program with several special guests in attendance. Click the link below to see the related story.

Next month’s Face of ACE? The 2020 National ACE School of the Year conducts the 2021 National ACE Lift-off event!

Any K-6th grade classroom can be involved in the free ACE program! Registration is open until December 31! (Contact ace@capnhq.gov if needed.) 
AEOs: CAPR 50-1 revision available next week
AEOs, CAPR 50-1 has been revised and approved and will be available online next week in the CAP Publications Library. The Wing AE Plan of Action (POA) has been revised and is available in eServices. Wings have a deadline of November 30 to get their POAs to their regions.
STEM Kit program applicants can find resources online, such as pre/post-tests, discussion boards
Reminder: Through the Learning Management System (LMS) in eServices, you may have noticed a button labeled "Go To AXIS." In AXIS, you can find all the STEM kit resources such as pre- and post tests, safety procedures, certificates and many other resources. There is also a discussion board, where you can ask questions, provide your experiences and look through others' suggestions. 

Here are the steps to get you into AXIS:
  1. In eServices, navigate to Learning Management System. Click the "Go To AXIS" button at the top of the page. This will take you to our new LMS portal. (If you have not logged in before-there may be some prompts/tutorials to complete.)
  2. Once in the new LMS portal, you should have tiles or "courses" to choose from. If you do not, search the catalog and enroll in the following three courses:
  1. Click on "Start" under the STEM Kits-Resources category your STEM Kit falls under.
  2. This will open up a new page similar to the one below:
You now have access to all the resources mentioned previously related to your kit. The same discussion boards will be available through each of he STEM Kit-Resource Courses. To visit the Learning Management System, visit the link below.
AEO STORY
Washington Wing DAE, who joined CAP as an AEM, stresses promoting cybersecurity education
Meet Dr. Sylvie Kacmarcik, a CAP Major and Washington Wing DAE, who was raised in France as the daughter of a former French Air Force Chief Sergeant. She first came to Civil Air Patrol as an Aerospace Education Member and, at her son's encouragement, transitioned to a senior membership in 2017. Cybersecurity is a special interest for her, and since she became an Aerospace Education Officer (AEO), she has worked with a squadron team in the Air Force Association's (AFA) CyberPatriot program. This summer, she organized the first AFA Washington Wing CyberCamps. The AFA program helps high school and middle school students who are just getting interested in cybersecurity or who have cybersecurity knowledge and want to learn more. "As we live in a digital society," she says, "I believe that it is important for everyone to learn about cyber safety, etiquette, ethics and security, and I strongly encourage all AEOs to support their cadets in their cyber education." Outside of CAP, she teaches Earth sciences at Shoreline Community College in Seattle and instructs elementary teachers in sciences, mathematics and computer science. Click the link below to read her story.
"Our cadets arrive to us already interested in aerospace. My job is to expose them to as many facets of this domain as possible so that they can find their niche, their passion, their career."
-- Maj. Sylvie Kacmarcik, Washington Wing DAE
AEM STORY
Virginia AEM sparks fascination with aviation
Meet Megan Tucker, who teaches at a small elementary public charter school in Loudon County, Virginia. She has been an Aerospace Education Member since her third year of teaching in 2006. A former Civil Air Patrol Teacher of the Year, she describes her teaching philosophy as simple: “If a student is truly motivated, he or she can achieve anything." She also believes "engaging students and teachers in real world STEAM design challenges, especially using aerospace, is the perfect motivation to become a lifelong learner." Through the years, Tucker has completed several curriculum development projects with CAP, including creating the CAP AEX for Middle School Physical Science booklet and the AEX for Middle School Life Science booklet. Most recently, she worked on editing and revising volumes to develop the new AEX I and AEX II books. Click the link below to read her story.
"What a difference we can make by showing students the excitement of STEAM through the lens of aerospace. Teaching is ultimately about lighting the fire of lifelong learning. STEAM education is the spark!"
-- Megan Tucker, Virginia AEM
CURRICULUM
Space Junk Rockets
Two new 2020 editions of AEX I and AEX II are now available. 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. AEX I (2020) offers 13 hands-on aerospace/STEM activities for K-5th graders. Space Junk Rockets, Activity 9 in AEX I, lets students create a rocket with a propulsion system using only common household items.
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.