Dear Educators,

We are thankful for your partnership, and we are humbled by your interest in our newsletter. Below the STEM updates and PBS freebies, you will read highlights from some of our districts. We hope you will continue to contribute to this newsletter. We want to share your triumphs, innovations, excitements, etc. We love knowing what's going on. Remember to send information to susan.emmett@bviu.org.

NOTE: Please let Susan know if you have photo release forms on file for student images, and feel free to provide district images/mascots to be share next to your content.

Readers,

You did it! You made it through another unconventional semester of an unconventional year. You deserve a warm beverage and a few moments of peace.

Click below.

Summit on Equity: Cultivating a Culture of Belonging paid for by the BVIU

March 15, 2022

8:30-11:30

Virtually via Zoom (cost covered by the BVIU)

Session 1 - Being, Belonging & Becoming: How to Cultivate Relationship-Centered Schools & Communities (Daniel G. Horgan, Founder and CEO of CoLabL)

To be seen, heard, and valued is a common human desire. In this session, we aim to equip schools and communities with the inspiration, knowledge, and tools to become more relationship-centered. We explore how increasing self-awareness and intentionally strengthening connections with others is the foundation to creating safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments for individuals to thrive – from administrators and teachers to students, parents, and community partners. This interactive, 60-minute virtual experience will be full of stories, reflection, hands-on exercises, and resource sharing.

A volunteer role with a YMCA summer camp at the age of 12 sparked Daniel’s passion for service and building community. At the age of 18, Daniel pioneered the first youth-led Community of Promise in Pittsburgh under Retired General Colin Powell’s national America’s Promise movement, landing him a seat on the national board of directors and recognition from President George W. Bush. Daniel has over 20 years of experience working in the business and nonprofit sectors, fueled by his commitment to increasing others’ access to relationships and opportunities that transform their lives.

Session 2 - Beyond Visibility: Meeting the Needs of Gender Diverse Students (Lia McInerney)

This talk will go beyond visibility to contextualize where trans and gender diverse kids stand in schools today by providing concepts and terminology to help educators relate to their gender diverse students, strategies to combat discrimination, and model policies that integrate equity and belonging into the culture of our schools.

Lia McInerney is an independent scholar of gender and sexuality studies based in Seattle Washington, and an adjunct professor at Point Park University. She received her BA in Women, Gender, & Sexuality studies from Goucher College, and her MA in English Literature from the University of Pittsburgh. Her work examines gender and sexuality in terms of representation, affect, and embodiment in popular culture.

Seating is limited to 500 people, so register now. Send all questions to TaC@bviu.org.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/219905492247

PaTTAN will be offering a statewide cohort for CSinPA K-8 Pathways.

The CSinPA K-8 Computer Science (CS) Pathway supports K-8 educators involved with CS instruction, whether as stand-alone classes or by integrating CS concepts and practices into other content-area instruction. Participants will explore ways of teaching CS while mastering core CS competencies. Over the course, participants set goals for expanding CS access for students and share artifacts to demonstrate progress towards their goals in the development and implementation of a small-scale implementation pilot.

Dates: January 3, 2021 - June 30, 2022
Location: Online Course
Presenters: PaTTAN Educational Consultants
Credit: Act 48 clockhours
Cost: There is no cost for this course.
Registration Information: You may register online by clicking on the name of the event on the Training Events Calendar at: http://www.pattan.net/events

If you have any questions, please contact susan.emmett@bviu.org.

The Engineering Design Process, EDP, will be a big piece of the new proposed PA Science and Tech Standards.

PDE supports the use of the following programs:

• Engineering is Elementary PreK-8
• Engineering by Design K-12

Susan Emmett can talk to your districts about both options and provide free training to your teachers. (Districts will only incur materials and shipping costs.)

Check out the video below for some background on EiE.

Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLE) is a simple educational approach designed to promote inquiry and foster self-empowerment.

This is a great free tool for all classroom teachers. Susan Emmett shared a bit about this during the November and December STEM PLC meetings, and she is happy to share with your teachers during a 15-30 minute timeframe of your choice. Also, in the new year, she will offer some online office hours for interested teachers. Give her a call: 724-774-7800 ext. 3014.

See more below.

STEM Teachers and Coaches,

It is time for the ThermoFisher Scientific STEM Design Challenge (incorporating K'NEX and/or recyclable materials) for grade levels 4-5 and 6-8.

The competition will be virtual this year and held in early March. Check your email for more information.

Register here.

Environments and Ecology Teachers,

MWEE is a great way to get your student out of the classroom and into the field to conduct an easy-to-follow, fully engaging, problem-based environmental study.

This PD is offered at no cost to your districts, and is aligned to the new proposed integrated standards.

The requirements are as follows:

• Step 1: Teachers complete the on-line Chesapeake Bay NOAA MWEE 101 course. (This course is self-paced and participants will receive 3 Act 48 hours.)

• Step 2: Teachers attend the MWEE trainings at Jennings Environmental Education Center in Slippery Rock.
• Registration:

• February 11, 2022
• April 1, 2022 (SNOW DAY)

• Step 3: In May or June, conduct a school yard, or local area, field exploration with students followed by a classroom lesson in conjunction with your area’s IU STEM Representative and other regional partners of your choosing. (Act 48 will be awarded by the IU for this time.)

Reach out to Susan Emmett (susan.emmett@bviu.org), if you are interested.

More info: NOAA Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

WQED shared a fun resource, Cartoon Academy, with the BVIU recently. Melissa Lanious, Education Consultant at the IU and her son, Anderson (kindergartener at Western Beaver), decided to see if they could be cartoon artists. Check out the cute picture, and see the link to the website.

MS/HS Leaders,

Want a free pizza party? Sign up a Future Jobs watch party at: Future Jobs: Event Registration | WQED

Share one or more of the videos highlighting future jobs, and WQED will provide pizza for a watch party.

Mr. Brian Churovia, Assistant Principal at Riverside High School, shared some great district news:

• Riverside received a $500,000 grant from Elder Vogel's office for swimming pool repairs and renovations. Their assistant swim coach, Gwen Nulph, applied for the grant and got it.
• Riverside is launching a real-time app called "Firstview" for parents that will help them track buses in the morning and afternoon along with getting service alerts specific to buses, if needed.

• New classes thriving this year at RHS include Holocaust Lit, Anatomy, Principles of Engineering, Robotics and Music Production.

Congratulations to Blackhawk (MS) and Central Valley (HS) on winning their divisions of the Shell Polymers and Pittsburgh Steelers Powering Pittsburgh STEM competition.

The Pittsburgh Pioneers from Highland Middle School were coached by Meredith Oliver Wilkinson.

The Team Polamalu Power from Central Valley High School were coached by Mandy Goss.

Both teams got to attend the Dec. 5th Steeler game against the Baltimore Ravens (WHAT A GAME!) and received their scholarship checks while they are there.

The BVIU couldn't be prouder of these teams, and we hope that more districts will compete next year against the schools in the IU1 and IU3 areas.

Blackhawk (left to right): Curtis Thomas (Shell Polymers), Meredith (Oliver) Wilkinson, Benjamin Boser, Dan Walker, Jonathan Boyer, Shayne Howlett, Virginia Sanchez (Shell Polymers)

Central Valley (left to right): Curtis Thomas (Shell Polymers), Ryan Hardek, Gwen Prince, Emma Thompson, Paul McElhaney, Virginia Sanchez (Shell Polymers)

Ms. Michele Lugowski, K-4 Technology Teacher, from Freedom shared the following images of 3rd graders playing an even/odd game and solving addition problems while using Bee-Bots. These fun robots can be incorporated in all of the content areas, from ELA sequencing to Geography mapping, let alone teaching coding basics. Check out the great comments from the children.

• I like competition.
• You get to use your imagination.
• I want one at my house.
• I like everything.
• I keep getting fives (odd moves backwards).
• My bee is going coo-coo.
• It's actually fun.
• They are fun.
• They are very, very slow.
• Thumbs up.

This goes to show that learning is fun.

Ms. Michele Lugowski also used the Bee-Bots with Freedom fourth graders and had them comment on Google Classroom:

• The game was too easy but hard to control the moving for the bee bots.
• It is fun to play with someone.
• They were fun .
• I was baaaaaaaaad it was too hard to win the game!
• I like them because they are good at turning and moving.
• I love the bees they are so fun to play with them and they are so cool.😃
• I loved them. They were a fun way to code.
• good, fun, funny,
• I thought they were fun :)
• kinda fast fun
• The bee bots were fun and funny.
• Cool because they can go any direction.
• They're cool.
• I think bee bots are awesome i love them so much they are really neat, i learned that coding can be fun in a lot of different ways
• I think it was Confusing because it is weird to program it. I really thought it would be easy, but it was really fun at all but kinda weird.
• I liked that they were easy to activate and they were so fun! :)
• They are cool because you can mess with people.
• that's cool
• THEY’RE REALLY FUN :)
• I thought they were cool because they go everywhere and they are bees so that makes them cool
• They are cool, kinda fast, and really fun
• These were really fun! I like that they are easily programmed.
• team bee bots

If you are interested in trying out the Bee-Bots, but your school doesn't own them, reach out to Susan Emmett at the BVIU. She manages a lending library with many great computer science tools, including the Bee-Bots and charging stations.

Just like Freedom, Central Valley has been working with the Bee-Bots.

Mr. Mark Vukovcan shared the following:

"Center Grange 1st and 2nd-grade students learn to code in Computer Specials. Business Teacher Ms. Delon utilizes Bee-Bots, a programable robot, for teaching sequencing, estimation, problem-solving, and just having fun. Some of the later activities that were implemented in the classroom included creating and solving a maze by building a Bee-Bot community and drawing with the Bee-Bot by attaching a pen.

Check out the fun the kids had below.

Additionally, Ms. Delon's 1st graders used a video game, Cork the Volcano, to learn coding and engineering skills.

Looks like fun!

Students in Señora Gibson’s Spanish classes celebrated Día de los Muertos, "Day of the Dead", by creating coffins, skull masks, and virtual altars for this special holiday. They enjoyed “Pan de Muertos”, Day of the Dead bread, and “chapulines”, "spicy grasshoppers", at their fiesta.

In Spanish 3, students learned about the cultural practices, products, and perspectives of the Quinceañera 15th birthday celebrations by recreating a Quinceañera Birthday party reflecting the roles, and the Hispanic cultural aspects like the mass, the court of honor, the dance of the waltz, and the toast and speech. The students were able to experience a real Quinceañera celebration by applying what they learned in class and they had a lot of fun doing so!

Nicole Darroch, K-5 STEAM Coach in Ambridge, is a PA Teacher of the Year Finalist.

The award celebrates excellence in teaching, honoring individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the young people of PA.

It is a rigorous process and finalists must meet the following criteria:

• Possess dedication and pedagogical knowledge
• Incorporate effective and innovative instructional strategies
• Inspire students of all backgrounds to learn
• Garner respect and admiration of students, parents, and colleagues
• Plan an active role in the school and community
• Exhibit poise, articulation, and exceptional communication skills

Nicole was nominated by Jamie Connelly of the Beaver County Educational Trust.

CONGRATS, Nicole!

Nicole Darroch (STEAM Teacher), Chase Szuchy (2nd grader at State Street), Dr. Joe Pasquerilla (Superintendent)

Email: susan.emmett@bviu.org
Website: www.bviu.org
Location: 147 Poplar Avenue, Monaca, PA, USA
Phone: 724-774-7800
Twitter: @BVIU27