The Iowa Commission on the Status of Women, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education and the State Historical Society of Iowa, invite Iowa’s youth to gain a deeper and more relevant appreciation of women’s roles in history and celebrate March as Women’s History Month by participating in the Write Women Back Into History Essay Contest.
This year’s theme is “Celebrating Women of Character, Courage and Commitment.” Though women have always made significant contributions to these fields, historically those contributions have not been recognized as publicly as those of men. Here is a chance for Iowa’s youth to change that and learn more about women in these fields.
The contest is open to students in grades 6–9. Winning essayists will be awarded prizes and recognized at a special ceremony at the State Capitol during Women’s History Month, and each finalist will receive a certificate signed by the governor. They also will be introduced in the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives. All winners will receive some cash prize, names will be released to the press and a special effort will be made to inform media outlets in the students’ communities of their honors.
The best essay on Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math will receive book prizes and cash prizes as well.
The deadline for entries is January 24, 2014. Guidelines and entry forms can be found at http://www.women.iowa.gov/about_women/womens_history/essay_contest.html. Contact Sanjita Shrestha at ICSW for more information at (515) 281-4219, (800) 558-4427 or women@iowa.gov.
Friday, November 15, 2013
November 2013 Iowa Board of Educational Examiners News Update
Click here to find the November 2013 News Update from the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners. The BoEE produces this quarterly newsletter for Iowa educators and it is being passed on for your information.
Iowa Children's Museum Field Trips
The Iowa Children's Museum in Coralville has updated their schedule to include K-6th grade field trip packages to match the Iowa Core standards. Click here for their field trip offerings.
UNI Iowa's Geological Resources Workshop for Teachers
Click here for a copy of the Iowa's Geological Resources Workshop for Teachers brochure. Please distribute this electronic copy of the brochure to middle and high school earth, environmental or geological science. This course begins with an online component in the spring to prepare teachers for a hands-on-workshop (July 13-15, 2014) where they will be visiting various geological sites and preparing curricular materials.
Flyer for Iowa ASCD’s 4th/5th Grade Teacher Conference
Click here
for a flyer that can be shared with fourth- and fifth-grade teachers to
attend the Iowa ASCD’s Teacher Conference on December 4, 2013. With
four teacher registrations, the principal comes free.
Around the World Schools Need to Respond to the Disaster in the Philippines
This message was sent to Dr. Vincent from the Dept. of Psychology at UCLA.
Schools need to respond because news of a disaster anywhere in the world can have an impact on their students, families, school staff, and communities.
Reaction to the news of the disaster may stem from having relatives and friends who have been directly affected or because the media images they experience trigger feelings of empathy, anxiety, fear.
Whenever there is a major disaster, schools can mobilize to provide support to those affected directly and indirectly by the event.
For example:
• For those at school who have relatives in the impacted country, schools can consider providing appropriate opportunities to share what they know about the situation, what concerns they have, how they might address those concerns (e.g., up-to-date information, ways their families/communities are reaching out to find/support friends and relatives, what plans are underway for recovery).
• For those at school who have strong emotional reactions to the news reports (e.g., are anxious that such a disaster might occur in their community), schools can mobilize those facets of their emergency aftermath plans to provide appropriate supports.
• To help with disaster relief, schools can follow the lead of and connect with those organizing such relief (e.g., the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, etc. – see How to help: Organizations offering relief to Typhoon Haiyan survivors – http://www.cnbc.com/id/101189935).
• Schools can also tie the responses into their efforts to promote social-emotional learning, character building, etc.
• And, as always, schools should review school crisis plans and encourage families to involve their children in understanding what to do if there is a disaster, where to get help, etc.
For more resources related to crisis response and trauma, see our quick find topic page http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2107_01.htm
Schools need to respond because news of a disaster anywhere in the world can have an impact on their students, families, school staff, and communities.
Reaction to the news of the disaster may stem from having relatives and friends who have been directly affected or because the media images they experience trigger feelings of empathy, anxiety, fear.
Whenever there is a major disaster, schools can mobilize to provide support to those affected directly and indirectly by the event.
For example:
• For those at school who have relatives in the impacted country, schools can consider providing appropriate opportunities to share what they know about the situation, what concerns they have, how they might address those concerns (e.g., up-to-date information, ways their families/communities are reaching out to find/support friends and relatives, what plans are underway for recovery).
• For those at school who have strong emotional reactions to the news reports (e.g., are anxious that such a disaster might occur in their community), schools can mobilize those facets of their emergency aftermath plans to provide appropriate supports.
• To help with disaster relief, schools can follow the lead of and connect with those organizing such relief (e.g., the Red Cross, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, etc. – see How to help: Organizations offering relief to Typhoon Haiyan survivors – http://www.cnbc.com/id/101189935).
• Schools can also tie the responses into their efforts to promote social-emotional learning, character building, etc.
• And, as always, schools should review school crisis plans and encourage families to involve their children in understanding what to do if there is a disaster, where to get help, etc.
For more resources related to crisis response and trauma, see our quick find topic page http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2107_01.htm
Friday, November 8, 2013
Iowa’s NAEP results show some gains, need for improvement
Iowa’s student results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress show some gains in math and reading since 2011, but stagnation over the long term remains a challenge statewide.
“We see some bright spots in today’s results, but they largely underscore the need to continue pushing forward with our education priorities,” Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck said.
Iowa has participated in NAEP assessments since they were first administered in 1990. Today’s NAEP results cover math and reading for grades 4 and 8. Iowa’s results show small growth from 2011 in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and fourth-grade math. The long-term trend remains flat in reading at both grade levels, with small growth in math.
The results also show no single demographic group stands out for Iowa’s relative stagnation. White students, who make up 81 percent of Iowa’s student population, are behind their white peers nationally across all tested grade levels and subject areas.
Significant gaps in achievement also remain for black and Hispanic students, students who do not speak English as their native language, students from low-income backgrounds and students with disabilities.
Click here for additional information.
“We see some bright spots in today’s results, but they largely underscore the need to continue pushing forward with our education priorities,” Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck said.
Iowa has participated in NAEP assessments since they were first administered in 1990. Today’s NAEP results cover math and reading for grades 4 and 8. Iowa’s results show small growth from 2011 in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and fourth-grade math. The long-term trend remains flat in reading at both grade levels, with small growth in math.
The results also show no single demographic group stands out for Iowa’s relative stagnation. White students, who make up 81 percent of Iowa’s student population, are behind their white peers nationally across all tested grade levels and subject areas.
Significant gaps in achievement also remain for black and Hispanic students, students who do not speak English as their native language, students from low-income backgrounds and students with disabilities.
Click here for additional information.
November 2013 School Leader Update
Click here to find a link to the November 2013 issue of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.
Flyer for Iowa ASCD’s 4th/5th Grade Teacher Conference
Click here for a flyer that can be shared with fourth- and fifth-grade teachers to attend the Iowa ASCD’s Teacher Conference on December 4, 2013. With four teacher registrations, the principal comes free.
DMACC Surplus Available
DMACC has eight of the instructor stations available for pick up after December 1 at the Hunziker location in Ames. Click here for pictures and more information. These surplus items are free to the first school to ask for them. Please contact Julie Klocke at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu if you are interested.
SchoolReach and CyberBully Hotline to Hold Webinars in November
Bullying in Schools: What Can We Do?
Tues. Nov. 19th @ 10:30-11:30 a.m. Central
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/540564623
Join a free webinar in a professional development series featuring anti-bullying author and speaker, Stan Davis. Stan will discuss strategies for reducing bullying in schools AND for reducing the harm that bullying can cause, based on a recent large national research project.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
Thurs. Nov. 21st @ 10:30-11:30 a.m. Central
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/384218335
Join retired police officer, School Resource Officer, and School Safety expert, Gary Sigrist, Jr. as he discusses reunification plans for schools. Many schools prepare for emergencies, but many are not prepared for the reunification that happens following an emergency. Reunification occurs when events at the school or in the neighborhood demand students are physically returned to parents. In the event of criminal activity, injury or death, additional time may be needed for law enforcement interviews or crisis counseling.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
Tues. Nov. 19th @ 10:30-11:30 a.m. Central
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/540564623
Join a free webinar in a professional development series featuring anti-bullying author and speaker, Stan Davis. Stan will discuss strategies for reducing bullying in schools AND for reducing the harm that bullying can cause, based on a recent large national research project.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- Ways to talk about bullying with youth that make it both less frequent and less damaging
- Ways to broaden your focus beyond just stopping mean behavior to also building community, inner strength and helping behaviors
- Strategies for empowering peers to give effective, safe support to bullied youth
- How adults can best support bullied youth to reduce emotional harm
Thurs. Nov. 21st @ 10:30-11:30 a.m. Central
Register here: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/384218335
Join retired police officer, School Resource Officer, and School Safety expert, Gary Sigrist, Jr. as he discusses reunification plans for schools. Many schools prepare for emergencies, but many are not prepared for the reunification that happens following an emergency. Reunification occurs when events at the school or in the neighborhood demand students are physically returned to parents. In the event of criminal activity, injury or death, additional time may be needed for law enforcement interviews or crisis counseling.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- How to choose a reunification site
- How to manage the reunification process
- Where to direct parents who come to pick their children up
- Who's allowed to pick students up
- Where to stage students
- How to reduce parents' drama and anxiety
- What to anticipate regarding medical issues
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