Fall Greetings
8th Grade Cerro Coso Day
Approximately 200 8th grade students from Inyo County visited Cerro Coso Community College on Friday, September 9th to learn about College and Careers. Students rotated through 7 different sessions for an introduction to A-G requirements, financial aspects of post-secondary education, CSU and University requirements, spoke with a local graduates panel, and did a little planning for their future. After the event, students shared about their goals:
- "My goal for 8th grade is to only get B's and A's but mostly A's. My goal for high school is to complete the A-G requirements and to play at least one sport each year. Senior year I want to play all the sports and only get A's and B's."
- "My goals are to have a good education and have a good career."
- “I want to go to college and get popular for basketball and then go to the NBA but if that doesn't work I want a good paying job."
- "To get a masters degree and I'm going to work for that."
ICOE thanks all the volunteers, staff, and teachers for their support in making this such a successful event.
Frontiers in History [Day]
Teachers in grades 4-12 interested in an engaging, student driven, project - read on! Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas is this year’s theme for History Day, a project based learning educational program for students throughout the nation. Students participating in this program choose a topic of interest related to the theme, conduct extensive research, analyze and interpret their findings, draw their own conclusions about their topic’s significance in history, and finally create projects to present their work. This project helps students develop invaluable research and analytical skills, while also meeting many state standards and frameworks!
ICOE is offering two levels of participation for teachers interested in incorporating History Day into their classrooms:
- Process Level: Students go through the program using the materials and suggested project guidelines, but may not complete the project to its entirety (ie: missing bibliography, process paper, etc.) or timeline may not align with county competition. Projects may be presented in classrooms or at school sites, and teachers can receive certificates from ICOE for students that participate.
- Competitive Level: Students conduct extensive research, write a convincing thesis statement, present their findings through one of the project categories, create an annotated bibliography with both primary and secondary sources, and complete a process paper. The project is completed according to the NHD guidelines and judged before having the opportunity to move to the state or national level.
Students may work individually or in groups of 2-5, with several project categories to choose from: exhibit, documentary, paper, performance, website, podcast, or poster (grades 4 and 5 only). Below are some helpful resources that provide more information about History Day:
- ICOE Website - this is where information about the local event will be shared
- Theme Support Video - a quick introduction to this year’s theme
- NHD-CA Website - view state competition information
For those interested in participating or learning more about History Day, please complete this form or contact Mini Doonan.
Do you have a STEAM topic you are guiding your students through this school year? ICOE is offering an opportunity to work with teachers and their students to display questions, exploration, learning, and appreciation of the world around them through a STEAM Project! Our goal is to help create projects that showcase education and hands on learning already occurring in your classroom, as well as recognize the achievement of students in STEAM.
In the past we have coordinated a large science fair event, and are in the process of transitioning to a countywide showcase event. In the meantime, we see great value in working directly with teachers and students to create projects that meet 21st century learning goals. Here is a link to our STEAM website that might be helpful in generating ideas.
If you are interested in completing STEAM project(s) this year and would like support for your classroom, please complete this form.
Inner Explorer
Inner Explorer is a lesson-based program that promotes effective Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) practices for the classroom, school, and home environment. Inyo County Office of Education (ICOE) started a county-wide SEL committee including different school admin, teachers, and staff to prioritize and implement SEL into our schools curriculum and climate. SEL focuses on enhancing students self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making skills. Because students mental health, social skills, and academic achievement rely on these 5 core competencies of SEL, ICOE has extended their license and is ready to get you signed up and using this program.
The Inner Explorer program is a series of daily 5-10 minute audio-guided mindfulness practices. The program focuses on key areas of development, bringing mindfulness to education and helping students prepare for learning. Daily practice teaches kids the
practical techniques to appropriately handle difficult emotions such as stress, anxiety, anger and more. Inner Explorer offers programs for all age-groups (PreK-12) that help students with following themes:
- Discovering Breathing and Relaxation Exercises
- Learning Awareness of Senses
- Using Thought and Emotional Regulation
- Developing Compassion and Connection
- Promoting Social Emotional Learning
For more information or to sign up for Inner Explorer, please contact Mary Ellen Steele (msteele@inyocoe.org).
ICOE SEL Community of Practice Information
Wait, don't 🍁 yet - we still have PD!
- LACOE is offering a self-paced online course to help you build your foundational knowledge and use of the Next Generation Science Standards. The course will take approximately 35-40 hours to complete or 1 month to complete. A certificate of completion will be generated. Register using this link.
- Have any interest in becoming a National Board Certified teacher? It takes 1-4 years to complete the process and California is offering an incentive of $2500 to cover the tuition costs. Participants refer to this program as "the best professional learning I've ever been a part of." You must have at least three years teaching experience to participate. For more information, see the CDE website. The deadline to express interest is January 4.
Digital Resources
Pear Deck
All Inyo county teachers, administrators and students have access to a premium Pear Deck account! Use Pear Deck to make your current lessons more engaging with with embedded multiple choice responses, text, drawing or draggable questions, or view The Orchard for pre-made slides. Reach out to our team with questions on how to access this tool.
CalSnap
ICOE has again purchased some licenses for CalSnap, a searchable, curated collection of safe and vetted K-12 resources for teachers and students. CalSnap includes resources available through California Streaming, Britannica, Britannica Escolar, ProQuest, Teachingbooks.net, and many more. If you would like a login for CalSnap, please email itwomey@inyocoe.org.
CA State Library
California public school students and educators now have access to over 1,200 streaming PBS videos covering topics in science, history, current events, music, and drama. The PBS Video Collection (Fourth Edition) from ProQuest, which is part of the Clarivate company, is the latest addition to the K–12 Online Content Project.
Access Here
Sincerely,
Email: edservices@inyocoe.org
Website: learn.inyocoe.org
Location: 166 Grandview Road, Bishop, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 873-3262