The following district directors have submitted news items for NCSTA members:
Not sure which district you are in? Check out the district map at the bottom of this page.
Have news to share? Email your District Director!
District 1 News
Director: Colleen KarlThe year of 2003 brings many changes to District One. We welcome Ann Scarborough from our district as President of NCSTA. She has given her time, energy and enthusiasm to this organization for many years, and will continue to lead NCSTA in a positive direction. Set your calendar dates now for the fall conference, November 13th and 14th – all of us in Northeastern North Carolina can give our support to Ann by attending and presenting at this conference. There are some exciting teaching programs and opportunities happening in District One – plan to share your innovative teaching techniques from your science classrooms at the fall NCSTA conference. Please give me a call or e-mail me to find out more about designing a presentation program for NCSTA.
District One has some interesting projects underway this year. Five teacher/student research teams from Chowan, Bertie, Perquimans and Gates County are engaged in a long-term study of an historic Bennett’s Millpond in Chowan County. Under the direction of the Northeast coordinator from the Science House at NCSU, these teams are meeting to sample and test the water quality of the millpond as well as developing focus areas of research. The teams will be presenting their work at a spring symposium on May 14th at Albemarle Learning Center in Edenton. If you are interested in attending this symposium, please call 252-482-5769 for more information. More earth/environmental workshops –coming up this summer, DENR will offer a teacher trek environmental opportunity on Orcacoke Island (good place to spend the summer). There are also shorter day teacher treks to several Northeastern sites. See the website for more details:
http://www.naturalsciences.org/education/xtreks.html.The best of the best – what groups of teachers and students have received special honors or awards? I am sure that I will probably miss including a group on this list, so please be sure to email me about these happenings in your schools. Last summer and throughout the 2003 year, 15 middle school teachers from Gates and Chowan counties participated in an Eisenhower grant for Integrating Technology into the Middle School Classroom at the Northeastern Science House. The excitement of learning different ways of teaching the curriculum carried over into the classroom for these teachers. They have engaged their students with outdoor technology learning experiences (photos below). Several lead science teachers from Camden County have been invited to speak at the NC Academically Gifted Conference, including Virginia Noblitt. The Northeast continues to support and mentor candidates for National Board certification in AYA science and EA/Science through local LEA’s and other professional organizations. Teachers from District One go the extra mile by writing grant proposals such as Bruce Boller’s biotechnology grant for Bertie High school and the Bright Ideas Grant recipients from the Northeast Electric Cooperatives. These Bright Idea grant awards were presented on November 22, 2002 (it is getting close to a new cycle of granting – call your local agency for details: http://www.ncemcs.com/north_carolina.htm.
Your students will be interested in the sharing the successes of their fellow Northeasterners. The Science Olympiad 2003 State Tournament invited many schools from District One – an impressive list! (http://www.tx.ncsu.edu/science_olympiad/state_qualifiers_2003.htm). You certainly have to be science savvy to be competing at this level – win or lose, these teams are all tops! The North Carolina National Ocean Science Bowl and the North Carolina Envirothon had student representation from many Northeast schools with a 3rd place winning team in the NOSB from Washington County. Middle school students from Pitt County and Chowan County placed in the top 15 teams competing at the State Envirothon on April 11-12, 2003. Chowan Middle School teachers worked to establish a new NCSU Science House Club to help the students prepare for this competition. Interested in having your students become involved in some of these great extracurricular activities? Here are just a few of the opportunities this summer that may capture student interest in science. Ann Scarborough will be working this summer with Camp Focus – a one-week physical science camp for middle school students (e-mail Ann for more information for your students in the Greenville area). The Science House is offering two residential workshops this summer on the NCSU campus for high school students. One program is the Envirotech Camp (super for preparing for the Envirothon) and the other camp focuses on the Physics of Sports ( Science Oympiad –here we come!). These programs are at no cost to the students. Follow the links for an application for a student you may know:
http://www.science-house.org/student/bw/sports/
http://www.science-house.org/student/envirotech/
Updates from the Center for Science, Mathematics and Technology at East Carolina University: The Center is under the new direction of Karen Dawkins and continues to provide some outstanding opportunities for staff development and student involvement. Welcome to Karen and her staff! The new website for the Center is http://www.soe.ecu.edu/csmte/ where you will find some excellent links to programs for technology credit, programs for your students and model teaching experiences to capture your interests.
I am enjoying my new role as the Northeastern Science House Outreach Coordinator. In my travels, I am meeting many of the excellent science teachers from across this district. I will be calling on you during this spring and summer to help strengthen our NCSTA network in the Northeast. Be thinking of ways that we can increase our local communication using technology and other resources. I look forward to serving the Northeast for the next few years as District One director for NCSTA, and I would like to meet all of you this year at the conference – our one time to get everyone together for networking. Think big, think small, and remember that science education is for all – spread the word.
Best wishes for a successful school year,
District 2 News
Director: Shirley ChafinThe Southeast Regional Science Fair was sponsored by the UNC-W Science and Mathematics Education Center and was held on Saturday, March 29 in the Hanover Gym on the UNC-W Campus. Bill Kawczynski, FairDirector, did an excellent job
organizing the event for our region. One hundred fifty-four projects representing eight school districts were entered in three divisions (elementary, junior, and senior). Several professional and civic groups donated and presented special awards to exemplary projects related to their fields of interest. The eight school districts represented were Brunswick County, Clinton City, Lenoir County, New Hanover County, Onslow County, Pamlico County, Pender county, and Sampson County. The Southeast Regional Fair entered a total of twenty-two participants to compete at the State Science Fair on April 25, 2003 at Meredith College in Raleigh. Good luck to those students participating. Teachers of all the students in the Southeast Regional Science Fair are to be commended for their time and effort to provide meaningful science and research for our budding young scientists!
Great News regarding our famous Dr. Jack Hall who was one of our keynote speakers at our NCSTA Conference in Greensboro in November. Dr. Hall is in the process of taping the final stages of a promotional environmental video, which will begin in the fall if it is picked up by one of the networks. Meanwhile, you can still share environmental questions and issues with Dr. Hall at the ecology.com website. UNC-W now has an Environmental Studies Department that will be chaired by Dr. Hall. Congratulations to Dr. Hall and special thanks for all you do in our District and State for science education and our kids.
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington was awarded a three year NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows K-12 Education Grant to provide graduate students in the sciences with the skills and desire to serve as resources in seven New Hanover County Middle Schools. UNC-W graduate fellows from biology, chemistry, environmental sciences, and marine sciences work with middle school teachers and students to improve scientific literacy and to excite and stimulate scientific curiosity. The first year of the grant concentrated on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Grade 8 and included lessons on the effects of hurricanes on local coastline erosion, hog lagoon spillage, and the introduction of invasive species.
The Science Olympiad Tournament for Region 3 was held on February 22, 2003 on the campus of UNC Wilmington. Dr. Jack Hall and Renee Griffin served as Directors for the event. Counties included in Region 3 are Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, and Pender. Thirteen Middle Schools and eight High Schools vied for the privilege to compete in the North Carolina State Competition held in Raleigh in April. In the B Division, teams from Williston Middle School, Waccamaw Elementary, Shallotte Middle School, and Myrtle Grove Middle School represented Region 3 at the State Science Olympiad Tournament. Teams from the C Division included Hoggard High School, EA Laney High School, Eugene Ashley High School, and West Brunswick High school. Congratulations to these teams and their coaches for a job well done. The team from Hoggard finished 4th overall while the Williston team finshed 17th overall in the State Competition.
Congratulations to the following recently named National Board Certified Teachers in District 2:
Early Adolescence/Science
Adolescence and Young Adulthood/Science
Katherine Horne, Brunswick County
Jo Ann Ker, Sampson County
Stephen Lancaster, Brunswick County
Tanya Barrett, Onslow County
Laura Bellum Fleming, Jones CountyYou are to be commended for pursuing this achievement for excellence in Science Teaching.
The North Carolina Partnership for Improving Mathematics and Science is a collaborative initiative between the University of North Carolina and the NC Mathematics Education Network (NC-MSEN), has received a $21.3M grant to improve mathematics and science learning and close achievement gaps in 17 eastern North Carolina county school districts. The UNC-W Science and Math Education Center (SMEC) will function as one of three University hubs in the project. Counties in District 2 that will be participating include Brunswick, Duplin, Onslow, and Jones Counties. Be sure to check out the SMEC website at smec.uncwil.edu to find out more information about this grant. Be sure to check out the Spring/Summer Professional Development Schedule while you are there!
Shawn Reintjes, 2002-2003 NC Christa McAuliff Fellowship winner recently attended the Distinguished Teachers Forum IV in Raleigh held by DPI. She has promised to update us on her projects currently going on in Onslow County. Other attendees from District 2 included National Board Certified Teachers, Teachers of the Year, and Millikin Award Winners. A total of 500 teachers from across the state met to focus on ways to Develop Teachers as Leaders. Results will be shared with state legislators, Governor Easley, and the State Board of Education.
If you have any science news to share about yourself, your school, or your county, please e-mail it to me. District 2 includes the following Counties: Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Duplin, Sampson, Onslow, Wayne, Greene, Lenoir, Jones, Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico Counties.
If you are not a current member of NCSTA, I encourage you to join. You may do so by following the directions on the NCSTA webpage. The benefits as well as being able to network with other science teachers and leaders across the state are fantastic. Thanks for all you do to instill the curiosity and love for science in our kids!
Shirley Chafin
Trask Middle School, Wilmington, NC 28405
sachafin@bellsouth.net
News From District 3
Director: Manley MidgettWell, a lot of teachers are probably glad that the Region 3 Science Fair and regional science Olympiad are over for this year!
The Central Regional Science Fair took place at Centennial Middle School, in Raleigh, on March 15th. The following schools had winning projects at the regional science fair and their students went on to the N.C. State Science Fair, which was held at Meredith College on Friday, April 25th:
Lacy Elementary (Wake County), Creedmoor Elem. (Granville), York Elem. (Wake), Combs Elem. (Wake), Pleasant Union Elem. (Wake), Mary Poller Intermediate School (Oxford), Wendell Elem. (Wake), Bunn Middle (Franklin), Franciscan School (Durham), Rogers-Herr Middle (Durham), Cedar Creek Middle (Franklin), Brogden Middle (Durham), Terrell Lane Middle (Franklin), Centennial Campus Middle (Wake), Central Region Home Schoolers (Franklinton), Webb High (Granville), Southeast Raleigh High (Wake), Hillside High (Durham), South Granville High (Granville);Andrew Seltzman of Raleigh won 1st Place in the Senior Physical Science Division at the State Science Fair. In the Senior Technology Division, Amelia Gaul, of Creedmoor, won 2nd and Adrian Hayes, of Durham won 3rd. Caitlin Christian, of York Elementary, and Emily Williams, of Wendell Elementary, won Exemplary Project status in the Elementary Division. Congratulations to the students and teachers from these schools!
For more information about upcoming science fair events in Region 3, contact Laura Bottomley at 919-515-2315. The 2004 Central Regional Science Fair is tentatively scheduled for Centennial Campus Middle School during March, 2004. To keep updated about the science fair use the link: www.engr.ncsu.edu/k12outreach/ScienceFair/.
Students and schools from Region 3 competed in two Regional Science Olympiads held in early February at East Carolina University and Garner High School. The following schools qualified for the NC State Science Olympiad, which was held at the College of Textiles on the N. C. State University campus on April 4-5th. Their place at the regional tournament is show first, followed by their place at the state tournament. From the Garner tournament, three of the middle schools finished in the top ten at the state and four high schools finished in the top ten.
Garner High School Tournament:
Middle Schools High Schools Our Lady of Lourdes (1/5)
Carnage Middle (2/6)
Leesville Rd. Middle (3/10)
Ligon Middle (4)
Cathedral School (5)Green Hope High(1/8)
Raleigh Charter High (2/5)
Cary Academy (3)
Enloe High (4/10)
NC School for Science & Math (5)
Durham Academy (6/2)Durham Academy came in 6th place at the regional tournament, but obviously worked very hard and finished the state tournament in 2nd place and qualified to compete at the National Science Olympiad to be held at the Ohio State University on May 9-10th. Congratulations to the students and teachers at Durham Academy for this accomplishment.
East Carolina University Tournament: (only regional places are shown)
Middle Schools High Schools Speight Middle (2)
Forest Hills Middle (3)
Elm City Middle (4)
Springfield Middle (5)Fike High (1)
Conway Middle School qualified for the state tournament at a regional tournament held in February at Chowan College.Other News from Region 3:
Science Education Leaders from districts and schools in Region 3 recently participated in a workshop, A Toolkit for Professional Development: Science as Inquiry, which was facilitated by Cyndi Osterhus and Lisa Ware at the Science House for the Building a Presence Program. This program strives to identify an active “Point-of-Contact” in every school in the state. Most counties and schools currently have a contact, but some areas are not being represented. Ask you science curriculum leaders at your district and school about this to make sure that you will be getting important information about issues and trends in science education. The leaders who are participating in this workshop represent the schools in several districts in this region. For more information, be sure to check the “Building a Presence” link at the NSTA website (www.nsta.org/bap/).Second Grade Class at New Hope Elementary wins First Place in National NASA Competition
Nearly 3,500 students developed and submitted entries in six competition areas: Aerospace Technology Engineering Challenge, My Planet Earth, Design a Mission to Mars, Watching Earth Change, Science & Technology Journalism, and Space Flight Opportunities. Susan Thomas' second grade class at New Hope Elementary School in Wilson, NC recently won first place in the 2002-03 NASA Student Involvement Program Competition. The students entered the Science and Technology Journalism category for grades 2-4. Representatives from NASA will visit the campus on April 29th to present medals and a special award ceremony for the students. The project will be featured in the local children's museum, Imagination Station in Wilson and will also be published this Fall in the Wilson Daily Times as part of the commemorative celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first flight. Middle and elementary school first place Center winners are awarded a special NASA program at their school. Among the first place middle school entries, a National winner was selected from the seven Center first-place winning teams for each competition category. These National winners attended Space Camp in the summer of 2003.
News From District 5
Director: Darlene RyanRandolph and Chatham counties are partnering in a MSP submitted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, SERVE, and the UNC Center for Math and Science to the National Science Foundation. The project includes four other counties in the partnership and focuses on the physical science strand. Summer staff development will target this content area for teachers with collaborative, cohort style follow-up during the year.
Both of these systems are also investigating participation in the NC-ISE program. Teams of administrators and teachers attended leadership institutes in their regions to develop a system plan for implementation of inquiry-based science in the school system. Further training supported the connection of literacy with inquiry science as members attended Science Notebook training which emphasizes the use of writing as students comprehend their scientific findings.
News From District 8
Director: Kyle CarverThe science teachers of Western North Carolina welcome Beth Snoke, of the Science House of North Carolina State University to the Health Adventure at Pack Place in Asheville. She is an excellent resource for our science teachers. You may contact her at
Asheville Outreach Coordinator, Webmaster
The Science House at The Health Adventure
phone: 828.254.6373 ext. 327 email: beth_snoke@ncsu.edu
http://www.science-house.org/info/ashevilleJudy Beck, Cathy Whitlock and their associates at UNCA did an excellent job again this year in conducting the regional Science Olympiad Competition. Congratulations to the following winning teams:
High School Discussion
1st A.C. Reynolds
2nd East Henderson
3rd Polk County
Middle School Division
1st A.C. Reynolds
2nd Harris Middle, Mitchell County
3rd Polk Central
4th North Buncombe
These teams represented Western North Carolina well at the state competition at North Carolina State University on April 4th.
Thanks to Phillip Dail and Manley Midget for running a very well organized state competition for forty-four middle school teams and forty high school teams.
The State Board of Education announced at its March meeting that Clearmont Elementary School had been awarded the IMPACT grant totaling $1,350,000. The school will receive $450,000 each year for three years. The funding comes from a federal grant program. Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) is part of President Bush's “No Child Left Behind” initiative.
Clearmont with an enrollment of 126 students was the smallest school in the state to receive the award.
The money will provide the 68 year old school with state of the art technology equipment. All classrooms will be equipped with smart boards, ceiling mount data projectors, digital cameras, visual presenters, CD burning equipment, online software, PDA's, and high speed Internet connectivity. The school will purchase 75 laptops, which students may check out for home use. Additional personnel will be hired and the school staff will be involved in a wide range of staff development activities.
The grant was written under the leadership of Principal Pete Peterson. The entire school staff worked in areas of personal technology and educational interest to compile data to be written into the grant. The grant will help teachers effectively implement instruction targeted specially at reading, math, and science objectives. Partnership's with sister schools, Tipton Hill in Mitchell County and Harker's Island in Carteret County, will extend student learning beyond the traditional classroom walls. The grant also provides an outreach service to the community for technology training.
Upon completion of the written component, the school went through a selection process with 38 other schools. Clearmont was selected to compete with fifteen other schools to participate in a seventy minute interview with technology education consultants from throughout the southeast. In late February, a team of five traveled from Clearmont to Raleigh for this interview. The team was lead by Principal Pete Peterson, Kay Ball - third grade teacher, Jill Hensley - fifth grade teacher, Susan Buchanan - media specialist, and Janice McKinney - county technology director.
Current Issue | Archives | NCSTA
The Science
Reflector
Newsletter of the North Carolina Science Teachers Association
PO Box 1783, Salisbury, NC 28145
Elizabeth Snoke, Editor