2021-22 Middle School Science

February - Science Newsletter

Science Teachers,

Welcome to February. We wrap up Science Showcase and now begin the journey to Spring Break and fitting in all of our benchmarks before we hit testing season. Join us in congratulating our winners and encouraging our State and ISEF delegates as they prepare for the next round of competition. Please take a moment to read through the updates below and please complete the feedback survey on the Secondary Learning Network Resources and Student Facing Content. Thank you for all you do to support science education in our schools.

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Secondary Science Showcase Was Amazing!

Over the weekend, we hosted the 2022 Pasco Science & Engineering Showcase. Even though we went virtual, we still had over 400 participants with some pretty amazing projects. A huge shout of thanks to the schools and staff that participated in supporting their students in Science Fair, as well as all of the amazing judges that volunteered time to judge the projects! We couldn't do this without you. The Awards Gala is by invite only for students that placed or are receiving and award and will be held on Wednesday Feb 2 at the Wesley Chapel Performing Arts Center. We look forward to sharing this amazing experience with the winners and will share out results this week.

ACTION NEEDED!

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WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!

We still have 1/2 a year left but we have already started discussions and work on the 22-23 curriculum resources on the Secondary Learning Network. We have learned so much from this year already (both good and bad) and want to provide you with the opportunity to provide feedback on what pieces we might want to see in our science curricular resources (or never see again) for next year. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey so that we can make sure we have what you want and need on the SLN.

Science Support

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Tiered Resources & CFAs for MS Science

If you or your grade level PLC struggle with high failure rates, take a moment to explore the Tiered Intervention Resources we have created for MS science. They include CFAs, tracking documents, and links to remediation/acceleration that you can use with your students to help them recover their understanding and improve their grade. Check them out using the link below. They can also be accessed from any of the scope & sequence pages on the Secondary Learning Network.

https://pasco.instructure.com/courses/362961/pages/cfa-banks-and-tier-2-resources

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Take your Core Instruction to a whole other level!

You may have noticed a new "Explore Learning Gizmos" icon on your MyPascoConnect Dashboard. Through some grant funding, we were able to procure access to the Gizmos platform for all middle school science teachers.

To access the Gizmos, you will have to set up your account first. Below is the blog post that Explore learning shared on the process. Once your account is fully “registered”, it will link your classes. The blog post below walks you through the steps.

https://explorelearningllc.force.com/help/s/article/Gizmos-First-Time-Login-for-Rostered-Teachers

Once your account is established, click on Teacher Resources. There you'll find:

a Quick Guide that will help you navigate all of the amazing resources
a PLC tool kit
and State Specific Resources that show which gizmos are aligned to each Florida science benchmark

If you're no stranger to gizmos and want to just dive in, click the "Find Gizmos" link at the top of your class homepage to search by grade, topic, or benchmark. Remember that Gizmos are a Tier 1 Core instructional resource that can elevate what you are already doing everyday in your classroom. Check out this quick guide to help you integrate gizmos into your everyday instruction.

Science Early Release Day 5 - Follow Up

Thank you again for participating in the 5th Science Early Release Day Session. We finished the EXPLORE Phase of the 5E model and incorporated grade appropriateness and strong instructional practices. We also showcased the Discovery Education Spotlight on Strategies tools as a way to leverage strong instruction and asked you to select one to use in an upcoming lesson.

The session resources and a recording are housed on the Secondary Science ERD Canvas Course Page (enroll here: https://pasco.instructure.com/enroll/9HNCLK)

As a reminder, your follow-up activities include

Apply your knowledge of the impact of strong instruction.
Select and use at least one DE SOS strategy in a lesson that will elicit student explanations.
- DE Spotlight on Strategies Channel
- DE SOS Strategies Crosswalk
Make note of the instructional moves you use in the lesson to exemplify Strong Instruction.
Upload to the ERD MyLearning Course before Session #6 on February 2nd.

2 or 3 student response examples
A brief (1 paragraph) summary of which DE SOS Strategy you chose, why you selected it, and how it worked.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out! You can either respond to this email or contact Lesley Kirkley or Jessica Maxwell at lwade@pasco.k12.fl.us or jmaxwell@pasco.k12.fl.us. We look forward to a great learning session together and can’t wait to see you all.

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ERD Session 6 Reminder

We are looking forward to our next Early Release professional learning day coming up on Wednesday February 2nd. Please take notice of the new wave schools and times.

Wave 1 Schools 12:15-1:15

CSRMS, Hudson Academy, PMS, PRSMS, RRMS

Wave 2 Schools 1:50-2:50

BPMS, CCMS, CENMS, CHMS, CLMS, GMS, JLMS, PVMS, RBSMS, SRK8 (MS), SSMS, TEWMS

Zoom Session Link

Wave 1 @ 12:15pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81441603407
Wave 2 @ 1:50pm: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83097999217

I AM A SCIENTIST SPOTLIGHT

To counteract the stereotypes and ensure a more equitable future for STEM, we need more classrooms and resources that celebrate the incredible range of personalities, interests, backgrounds, and pursuits that drive discovery and progress. Every month, we will be sharing a new "I AM A SCIENTIST" spotlight highlighting an amazing real world scientist.

We encourage you to share this information and the scientist's story with your students each month. Because every student deserves a chance to see themselves in science.

I'm a Scientist Website

Grit is the most important ingredient.

“You may not always be the best, but you know you [can] always strive to be the best.”- DR. YAMICIA CONNOR

Growing up in Florida, Yamicia was a serious kid who stressed about the little things.
Even though she was very focused and independent as a child, she didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up.
She now works on research that directly impacts cancer treatments for women.

Download her poster here!

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MIDDLE SCHOOL WATERSHED AMBASSADORS PROGRAM (@CROSSBAR & STARKEY PARK)

All Watershed Ambassadors Program visits are a go for this year. The Pasco Environmental Programs Team has posted the visit calendar to the WAP's Program Site. All 7th graders participate in this amazing experiential problem based program at Starkey Park or CrossBar Ranch. Please reach out to Karen Stewart for program information.

New USF Stavros Center Workshops and Webinars!

As listed below, we have one in-person workshop and one webinar scheduled for the end of January at the USF Stavros Center. We still have some space in the sessions. Educators can sign up for these sessions on our Website Programs Page.

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN CHANGE-MAKERS AND FINANCIAL WELLNESS

· Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022

· Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:30p.m.

· WEBINAR via Microsoft TEAMS

Click here for program details

Register Now

MONSTERS AND MONEY: USING DISNEY TO INSPIRE DECISION-MAKING, DESIGN THINKING, AND SOCRATIC SEMINARS

· Date: Monday, January 31, 2022

· Time: 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (a light dinner will be provided)

· Location: USF Stavros Center, 4111 USF Willow Drive Tampa 33620

Click here for program details

Register Now