This month, we celebrate Women's History Month. As a resource for AEOs and AEMs in squadrons and classrooms, we have a Women's History Lessons page on our website that highlights accomplishments of women who are pioneers in aerospace/STEM fields.
Our curriculum focus this month features one of those lessons on Nicole Malachowski, a former CAP cadet and gender barrier-breaking U.S. Air Force Thunderbird pilot.
This month also marks one year since squadrons and schools began meeting remotely due to the COVID pandemic. Because of continued meeting restrictions, the 2021 National Aerospace Education Officer (AEO) school will be virtual and open to AEOs only. Find updated information on that school here and in this newsletter's Events section.
Finally, don't miss the member stories this month. These members' passion for helping youth succeed via aerospace/STEM education is inspiring. 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 - Events - Important things to know
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2021 NATIONAL AEO SCHOOL
Registration opened last week for the virtual 2021 Civil Air Patrol National AEO School. We have had an overwhelmingly positive response. We are pleased that so many want to attend the June 4-5 session. We were able to enlarge the capacity of the event to 300 attendees, but we have reached that limit. The school will be recorded and available for members to watch after the event. A wait list has been established. So we do ask that if you are registered and find out you won't be able to attend the event, please cancel your registration so that we may fill the spot from those on the waitlist.
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PROGRAM UPDATES
CAP's Adopt-a-Classroom Program
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CAP squadrons are connecting with CAP educator members who are registered for CAP’s free K-6th grade-level specific Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program in the free CAP Adopt-a-Classroom program. (Pictured, Alabama Wing's Redstone Composite Squadron cadets, C/1stLt Aeryn Anderson and C/Maj Aidan Anderson, discussing CAP's sUAS capabilities with students and teacher, Ms. Grice-Dobbins, at Sparkman Middle School in Toney, Alabama.)
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Educators teaching any grade level between 5th and 8th can request to have a local CAP squadron collaborate with them to teach their students a minimum of three pre-determined lessons -- either in-person or virtually -- any time during the rest of the school year by contacting adopt@capnhq.gov. (Info for Teachers)
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If a squadron cannot locate an ACE teacher near them on the current ACE Schools by State Listing, CAP NHQ/AE will assist in locating a classroom to adopt. (Info for Squadrons)
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Click HERE and see page 4 (#6) for the free materials to be sent to the adopted teachers and page 5 (#7) for the selection of pre-determined lessons from which a minimum of three are selected to teach.
- Squadron AE officers can include more than one cadet, if desired, to help teach the lessons and share information about the CAP cadet program. Cadets are key to the success of this program!
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Need info? Contact adopt@capnhq.gov!
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CAP's Teacher Orientation Program (TOP)
flights are funded and ready for take-off!
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Any CAP member who is a teacher can request a Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) flight from their state’s Wing Director of Aerospace Education (see list HERE). If the wing is approved to fly orientation flights now, teachers’ flights can be coordinated and flown. If the wing is not in the safe COVID phase yet, TOP flights can be requested and scheduled as soon as the wing is cleared to fly. (As their wing’s TOP Flight PoC, wing DAEs should coordinate flights with their wing DO or designee.)
Teachers have the opportunity to be taken “out of the classroom and into the sky” with CAP airplanes and pilots. They can fly over their geographical area, even their school, while learning how all aspects of STEM connect with aviation principles and actions. Taking videos and photos of the flight and sharing with students is quite an exciting opportunity!
In the photo, Capt Randall Settergren of the RMR-CO-136 Jefferson County Senior Squadron flies AE members Kayla Shierman and Sofia Vallarte Hernandez. See their TOP flight “COVID-style” video HERE!
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Aerospace Connections in Education Program |
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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. (Pictured is last year's National ACE School of the Year, Silver Sands School of Fort Walton Beach, Florida). 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.
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STEM Kit Program: Check out the discussion board and lessons in the Learning Management System |
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Here's how to find more STEM Kit lessons:
Through the current Learning Management System in CAP's member portal, eServices, you may have noticed a new 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:
- In eServices, click on Online Learning in the left menu bar. Then, scroll down 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 into eServices before - there may be some prompts/tutorials to complete as a first-time user.)
- 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:
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- Click on "Start" under the STEM Kits-Resources category your STEM Kit falls under.
- This will open up a new page similar to the one below:
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You now have access to all the resources mentioned previously related to your kit. The same discussion boards will be available through each of the STEM Kit-Resource Courses. To visit the Learning Management System, visit the link below. |
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Final reminder: The old AEM application expires March 31; please use the updated application |
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When an AEM is unable to use the online application, they may need to complete a paper application. The old AEM application will no longer be accepted by Membership Services after March 31, 2021. AE officers, please use the updated AEM application when recruiting new AEMs. It may be helpful to save a file copy of the new AEM Application. Did you know members may now indicate the CAP Member Recruiter on AEM applications?
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(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.)
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REMOTE LESSONS: DON'T MISS THE BIG PICTURE
When it comes to safety, it is easy to get caught up in the details and miss the big picture. For example, holding an AE class remotely does not automatically make the activity safe. Take the time to look at the big picture. Without in-person supervision, do any of the steps to be taken present a hazard that you wouldn’t have if it is in-person? Certainly, the ages of the students in your class are a factor, but so is human error. Do any of the steps require people to work in pairs, but your class (being remote) means everyone acts as an individual? Are you asking them to lift something that could be considered awkward and really should be lifted by two people together?
And a bonus question – have you seen anything in AE activities that makes you go ‘hmm’? E-mail me (kcooper@ner.cap.gov) so that we can address it together (please focus on the event – not the person). Sharing lessons learned is incredibly valuable!
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If you have a safety topic you would like to be included in this space, please email kcooper@ner.cap.gov.
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AEO STORY
Hawaii Wing member's CAP career spans
roles of saving lives and shaping lives
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Meet Lt. Col. Fred P. Staedel of Hawaii Wing. He is retired after a 36-year career as an educator. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Air Force. A former cadet, he credits his time during his teens as a Civil Air Patrol cadet to his success in serving in the Air Force. He says he "fell in love" with CAP at his first cadet meeting. His CAP career also includes extensive service as a search and rescue pilot and observer, with two CAP Life Saving ribbons. He truly exhibits Civil Air Patrol's desire to "save lives" and "shape lives." His total CAP service tallies at about 23 years. Most recently, he has been shaping lives in the aerospace education mission area. "Teaching is my passion," he says. "Helping others learn is an awesome responsibility, and we teachers learn quickly that teaching facilitates the teacher’s continued learning!" A former Hawaii Wing Director of Aerospace Education (DAE) and past Chief of Staff, he still enjoys visiting schools and museums to lead youth in aerospace lessons. Click the link below to read his story. |
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"Most importantly, reaching youth on the importance of a strong national aerospace mission -- both military and civilian -- is of primary importance to me relative to how to currently serve the overall CAP mission."
-- Lt. Col. Fred P. Staedel, Hawaii Wing
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AEM STORY
Georgia elementary teacher loves how CAP programs help her integrate STEM in the classroom
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Meet Jennifer Powers. She has been an elementary teacher in Georgia for 20 years and still loves her work. She was a struggling reader growing up and was inspired by the help that her mother and teachers gave her to be that kind of support for others. "I want to honor the work they did for me," she says. "I want to be that person for someone else." Although she's only been a Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education Member (AEM) for two years, she is the developer of one of the STEM Kit lesson plans for Bee Bot/Code & Go Mouse kit in the Learning Management System in eServices. She created the lesson (found here) while teaching kindergarten, and she now teaches 5th grade. In the lesson, students create a map of their school and use bee or mice robots to program fire drill exit routes. Click the link below to read her full story.
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"The CAP program has helped me see how others are tying STEM concepts into their standards and provided me the actual materials I needed to implement the lessons in my class."
-- Jennifer Powers, Georgia AEM
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CURRICULUM
Celebrating Women's History Month
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NEWEST VOLUME OF WOMEN IN AVIATION: Women in Aviation, Volume II highlights the achievements of women in air and space fields since the 1960s. Thirteen women are featured. Students will read these women's stories and build models of the air and space craft on which they worked. Each chapter also shares lots of additional resources and activities which help today's youth connect with these stories. See a sample lesson on former CAP cadet and first woman to become a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds pilot Nicole Malachowski (pictured) here. The book is available in print and in eServices/Aerospace Education/AE Downloads and Resources.
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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.
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You can update your eServices profile information. Here's how: |
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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.
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AEMs: Is it time to renew your membership? |
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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!
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AEOs: Reach out to AEMs whose memberships expire soon |
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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!
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Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education
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