Volume 11.1 Spring 2000

For 16 years the brain-child of Dr. Fran Slowiozek has been bringing educators together annually to share new ideas, expertise, and enthusiasm for topics in science and technology. The initial conference in 1984 brought 50 teachers and a few exhibitors together at the County Office of Education. As time passed increasing numbers of teachers attended the infant conference and its location was moved to a Mission Valley hotel’s convention facilities to accommodate the expanding attendance. Eventually the conference outgrew the hotel’s facilities and was moved to the excellent facilities at the Community Concourse where over 2400 teachers have attended an annual conference. Thanks to the dedicated labors of Fran and many science educators who have volunteered untold hours, this quality two day conference has been presented annually for thousands of teachers.

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President Steve Mull

Vice President Debbie Brice

Secretary Penny Wilson

Treasurer Bernard Wright

Past-President Kathy Hepler

Biology Barton Hays

Biotechnology Judi Heitz

Chemistry Paul Loozen

Earth Science Debbie Brice

Oceanography Kevin Harding

Physics Martin Teachworth

Technology Tanya MacMartin

Elementary K-2 Holly Schneidewind

Elementary 3-5 Cris Ferguson

MS/JH Virginia Madigan

Senior High Jerry Case

College/University Penny Wilson

Museums Carol Radford

Reuben H. Fleet Lynne Kennedy

San Diego Zoo Victoria Garrison

Sea World Mile Brosas

Elementary Science Field Day Steve Mull

Inventors Showcase JoAnne Schaper

Science Fair Steve Rodecker

Science Olympiad Martin Teachworth

Industrial Relations Pat Winter

Newsletter Martin Teachworth

Pre-Service Teachers Jose Smith

Member-at-Large Fran Sloweicek

Member-at-Large Joyce Hackworth

Member-at-Large Garry Rollins

Member-at-Large Cris Ferguson

Member-at-Large Chuck Abel

Member-at-Large Bob Van Zant

Member-at-Large Jim Parker

Member-at-Large Jim Parker

Member-at-Large John W. Fedors

Advisor - SDCOE Nancy Taylor

Advisor - SDCS Vance Mills

Liaison - CSTA Bonnie Styles

Liaison - NSTA Willa Ramsey

Newsletter Production Assistant Bette Teachworth

If you lost a pair of sunglasses at the InterConnections 2000 science conference they are being held for you at San Diego City Schools Ed Center in Bob Van Zant’s office. Call (619) 725-7304 to make arrangements to collect them.

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All the SDSEA Conference Committee and Board thank the students who helped set up, run and clean up the SDSEA Conference. The students did an outstanding job and saved a LOT of work for all the adults. They helped things run smoothly and did so with a great attitude and willingness to work. All the volunteering students from Lakeside Farms and La Jolla High School are to be thanked.

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All student teachers are entitled to Free membership to SDSEA. The names and addresses must be supplied in list form by student teacher supervisors from the school of Education (i.e. National, SDSU, USIU, Christian Heritage, Point Loma, UCSD).

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Need to contact a board member to leave a message, get help, or make suggestions?

Call (619) 491 - 2368.

This year, nearly 200 sessions were presented by teachers and exhibitors on topics in life, physical and earth science, general science, teaching and leaming, technology and literacy. Almost 100 pre-service teachers participated in the Share-a-Thon presenting short lessons, activities and demonstrations attractive to students of all grade levels. Key note speakers addressed topics on wildlife veterinary medicine, the cosmos, use of insects in crime investigations, the inquiry method, and the use of body language in classroom management.

Highlights of this year’s conference were:

• Over 2 dozen sessions on teaching literacy through the science lesson

• Over 3 dozen technology sessions

• 2 door prize drawings (Friday and Saturday) giving away nearly $3000 worth of teaching materials,

microscopes, telescopes, computer software and books donated by generous exhibitors

Bingo drawing awarding 5 teachers each a $100 exhibitor shopping spree, courtesy of SDSEA

Lucky winners were:

• New teacher Kelly Arnold from Richland Elementary in San Marcos
• New teacher Christi Howells from Shoal Creek School in Poway
• New teacher Erin Cronin from San Ysidro Middle School
• Denise Lindeman from San Pasqual Middle/High School

• Leslie Toole from Bonita Vista High School

• Free teacher planning passes to the San Diego Zoo

• Free passes to the Fleet Science Center

The conference committee labored long and hard to make many avenues of interest available to our conference participants. Along with selecting from the rich variety of excellent presentations, our participants got involved in computer hands--on workshops, science methods demonstrations, literacy strategies, and classroom teaching and management techniques. The conference was an exciting and rewarding experience that hopefully will influence the way teachers present their lessons–to the end that their students will be motivated and excited about science in the world which surrounds them.

Penny Wilson Kathy Hepler

Conference Co-Chairs

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Congratulations to Penny Wilson for being re-elected as SDSEA Secretary and to Debbie Brice for being re-elected as Vice President of SDSEA. The elections took place at the SDSEA conference.

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Your local professional organization continues to contribute to successful science teaching by providing $500 in materials for classrooms around the county. Again this year 3 new teachers and 2 veteran teachers walked away with $100 shopping sprees, paid for by your association, during the last hour of Saturday’s conference exhibit time.

The 3rd annual Exhibitor BINGO contest was a feature of the just completed16th annual conference. Teachers circulated in the exhibits area having their BINGO cards stamped by participating vendors. Once a card was completed, teachers worked on completeing other cards to increase their chances in the noon drawing. The 5 winners then had an hour to shop at the exhibitor booths for any classroom science supplies they liked (see previous article for the winners - ED)

The "goodies" SDSEA bought for their schools included CD-ROMs, magnifiers, stamps and stamp pads, science videos, packaged science kits, and supplemental science trade books. The vendors from whom they purchased materials were, Acorn Naturalists, Creative Teaching Supplies, Stamping Til Dawn, Dorling Kindersly Family Learning, Aims Multimedia, The California Institute for Biodiversity, and Loose In The Lab.

Plan on attending the next SDSEA conference, March 9-10, 2001, so you can have a chance at one of 5 $100 shopping sprees!

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WhaleNet <whale.wheelock.edu is an educational web site focusing on whales and marine animals. Updated daily, this interactive site includes a world of information, pictures and movies for students of all ages. You can trace the migration of a right whale or discover what it's like to be on a whale-watch trip. Travel the world with environmental researchers or discover how scientists help whales stranded on beaches and tangled in fishing nets. Send a question by e-mail to marine experts or challenge your skills of observation by identifying "What's It?". Review the latest reports on the endangered Northern Right whale or use WhaleNet's collection of on-line data, case studies and news from the marine world. The site specific search engine, tour, index, home page charts and how to find instructions guide users in locating specific information in this 2,000 plus page site. Educators locate curriculum resources and other support on our Teacher's Home Page. Sponsored by Wheelock College, Boston, MA and funded by the National Science Foundation, WhaleNet attracts tens of thousands of users daily.

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Thursday, June 15, Giovanni's Restaurant, Kearny Mesa

CHAT 6:30-7:00 PIZZA DINNER BUFFET 7:00-8:00 TALK 8:00-9:00

The Optical Society of San Diego is pleased to present a workshop by Dr. Larry Woolf entitled, "It's a Colorful Life." Using unique color materials, participants will explore additive and subtractive color mixing, primary colors, and complementary colors. Color models, such as the color wheel, color cube, color diagrams, and color math will be used to explain results and to predict the color of stars, semiconductors, water, the sky, and the sun, both at noon and at sunset. Confusing color concepts, such as contradictory color wheels and primary colors, will be clarified.

Lawrence D. Woolf is a physicist at General Atomics. He is actively involved in education outreach activities at GA for grades K-12. (See https://www.sci-ed-ga.org) He developed the "It's a Colorful Life," "Seeing the Light: The Physics and Materials Science of the Incandescent Light Bulb," and "Line of Resistance: Using a Graphite Pencil to Explore the Electrical Properties of Materials and Circuits" educational modules and was one of the co-developers of the "Exploration of Materials Science" and "Chromatics: The Science of Color" modules. He has also developed education modules on electric energy bills, and the scientific research paper. He has given over 40 workshops and demonstrations to teachers and students and is one of the developers of the PISCES project to involve college science students and scientists to improve science instruction in elementary school classrooms. Dr. Woolf also was the technical reviewer for the FOSS Middle School Electronics Mini-Course.

Our dinner meeting will be held on Thursday, June 15 at Giovanni's Restaurant in Kearny Mesa ((619) 279-6700). The restaurant is located in a plaza at 9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. between I805 and 163, on the SW corner of the intersection with Ruffin Rd. (behind Charlie Rose's Baseball Store). The Society will treat teachers with a teacher ID or equivalent to an all-you-can-eat pizza/salad/soda buffet. Please make reservations by 5 p.m. of the day before the meeting (Wednesday) with Sean Re at (760) 944-8495 or [email protected].

See www.osa.org/localsections/ossd for a map and an unabridged abstract.

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Free Geiger counters? Yes! Old civil defense meters are currently being distributed to educators. These are working Geiger counters. New, they sell for over $400. They are available for shipping costs ($5 each) courtesy of the Health Physics Society and the American Nuclear Society. Maximum: 4 per classroom. They come with suggested experiments using common radioactive items. A Teacher's guide is included.

Rueben H. Fleet Science Center

We are looking for teachers whose teaching style matches the hands-on, high energy, activity oriented educational philosophy of the Fleet. Teachers will have the freedom to develop their own curriculum and activities.

Subjects should pertain to the physical sciences, mathematics, and technology, or to events that are currently taking place at the Fleet.

Classes must be challenging and innovative. Our most active age range involves the 1st through 4th grades. However, we are open to class ideas for all age ranges, from pre-k to adult.

The teaching fee is $25 per hour of instruction time. Enrollment ranges from a minimum of 8 students to a maximum of 20. Teachers are encouraged to use equipment in our high-tech science classrooms, as well as the exhibits in the science center, IMAX movies, and SciTours motion simulator. Your classes will be publicized in a number of ways, including seasonal brochures that are distributed to schools, members, and the general public.

Our most pressing needs involve the following programs:

1. We are looking for teachers with class activities that can be easily adapted to the following classes:

* Science of Art for grades 1-2, Saturday May 13th from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

* Forensic Science for grades 3-4, Saturday May 13th from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

2. The Piggyback Program runs from June through August and consists of week-long half-day programs. Each class in Piggyback meets for five consecutive days (Mon.-Fri.), three hours at a time (either 9:00 - 12:00, or 1:00 - 3:00) for a total of 15 hours. The classes are broken into grades 1-2, and 3-4. You may choose to teach one week or several. We are also looking for teacher's aides to facilitate the logistics of these Piggyback programs, including lunch supervision.

3. Our regular workshops typically last for two or three hours at a time, and are held during the day on weekends, or on evenings during the week. We will also consider recurring weekly or monthly science club, or sequential seminars.

4. We are open to ideas concerning programs outside of the range of what has been described above.

If you are interested in teaching at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, either call me, or send me a cover letter and resume via the contact information below. Your cover letter should mention the specific subjects, age range, and schedule that you are interested in working with.

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At the time of this writing, the 73 students and 18 teams for the first Sand Castle Contest are preparing for competition on April 8. The students are busy preparing for a day of fun in the sun, applying science and engineering skills to the playful task of constructing structures in the sand.

Look for the results of the competition in the summer issue of the SDSEA newsletter. Perhaps next year your students can be part of the Sand Castle Competition - Dreams in the Sand.

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Steve Grant LJHS Librarian

With a book budget for New York City school libraries of $4 per student, Chancellor Rudy Crew advises parents that their kids should read at least 25 books a year. Mayor Rudolph Guiliani's response is to cut $41 million from the city's public libraries (even as he advocates spending $96 million on sports stadiums). Listen for Marie Antoinette in the wings, intoning, 'Let them go to Barnes and Noble' (where a children's hardcover costs, on average, $16.60)."

According to a radio report, a middle school in Oregon was faced with a unique problem. A number of girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after the put on their lipstick the would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man.

Several San Diego County students were winners at the national level in the Duracell / NSTA Invention Challenge. This is a competition sponsored by Duracell and the National Science Teacher Association and awards $160,000 worth of US Savings Bonds to middle and high school inventors. Over 1900 students submitted photos and plans for 1436 prototype entries. Only 100 of the entries, 50 middle school and 50 high school are selected as National Finalists. All the students who entered the 2000 Challenge will receive a gift and a certificate of participation. Sponsoring teachers of the 100 finalists also receive gifts.

The students were Chelsea Chen (4th) Jacob King (5th), Anand Subramani (5th) and Matthew Teachworth (4th). All the students were from La Jolla High School.

Encourage your students to participate in this invention challenge. The students will learn higher level thinking skills, basic electrical and electronic information as well as having the chance to excel in an area they might normally not in many science or industrial art classes.

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Young America is a multi-disciplinary competition for students in grades 6 to 12. It requires students to form teams or two or three members and select a country to represent. A report about country is done, a display about country made, a model sailboat is constructed then raced. It will take place on Saturday April 15 at La Jolla High School. It will start at 8:00 a.m. and end about 1:00 p.m. Feel free to come and find out what happens so you can get your students involved next year.

The actual competition has the teams graded on the quality of the portfolio (the report, engineering plans and time log), the completeness and aesthetics of the display and boat, and finally the speed of the boat.

Of course the most exciting part of the competition is the racing. The sail boats are placed in a 12 foot long and 2 foot wide (where are the metric measurements?) tank lined with plastic then filled with water. A floor fan is place behind the tank and propels the boat forward. Boats are raced in timed heats. The best time of three trials moves the boat to the next level. At the end, the two best boats compete for a best of nine series.

This is a wonderful and fun activity. It combines science, engineering, social studies, art and English skills. It allows students to work as a team and utilizes the strengths of individual members. All teachers should look for information to find out how to enter this fun and rewarding competition.

Contact person: Josh Ross at the San Diego Institute of Marine Science

Contact Email: [email protected]

Contact Tel: Bus: 619 223 5221 Cell: 619 254 4818

THE INVENTORS SHOWCASE EAGLE... that is, and that means the newest ideas and

The event takes place in the Corinthian Room, Thursday, May 18th and the public is invited to view the projects, that same day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Recognition Ceremony will follow at 6 p.m. in the Golden Eagle Room. Anyone wishing to schedule a free field trip is welcome to do so, simply call the number below for times. You must provide your own transportation. Plan on approximately an hour for a self guided tour. Set up will be on Wednesday, May 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. Judging will be from 6 to 8 p.m. directly following set up, that same evening. Students from all grades, Kindergarten High School, will be recognized with certificates and T shirts. Savings bonds and medals will go to the brightest ideas of all in the recognition ceremony. Judges will be identifying the best at grade level, first, second and third place, as well as the Most Creative, Most Marketable, Best Use of Simple Materials, Environmental Impact, Rube Goldberg, Best Humane Mouse Trap, Best Pest Control, Best Electrical Use, Physically Challenged Persons, Most Useful to the Aged, Best Visual Display, Most Entrepreneurial, and a Special Patent Application Award.

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Inventors Showcase leads the way in literacy and process thinking when students have a reason to read and write and think. The project can be simple or complex, a whole new item or an add on or improvement to a previous invention.

Talk to your students during the year, keep them thinking, recording, writing, designing any new ideas and observations they may be inspired to visualize. Follow the steps to success. Plan, visualize, write it down and do the work necessary to complete the plan. Sound familiar? Come see for yourself on Thursday, May 18, 2000 at the Scottish Rite Center in Mission Valley.

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Inventors Showcase is a teacher organized and student run competition. It is designed to encourage creative thought, problem-solving, and higher level thinking skills by students in grades kindergarten to twelve. To make the competition work, judges are needed to help select the winning projects. Being a judge is a wonderful introduction to Inventors Showcase.

As a teacher, it allows one to see and understand the ideas students generate and how a project may be organized and displayed.

Being a judge is fun. You meet other intelligent adults from a wide variety of professions. The judging process works because people are willing to give up three hours on the evening of Wednesday May 17 to meet at the Scottish Rite Center at 6:15 for a brief welcome and training session. Then the judges go out in groups to judge and select the winning projects. The criteria for being a judge is to be an intelligent adult, capable of recognizing good ideas, solid solutions to problems, and understand how a student might view the world.

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The New Teacher Focus Group had a meeting on Saturday May 13 at La Jolla High School in room 403. Lessons and demonstrations will be shared by veteran teachers (such as Jim Patzold of Clairmont HS and Martin Teachworth of La Jolla High School).

The meeting will share the basic concepts of the Focus Group, share the site and date of the next meeting and hopefully have time for a few demonstrations or lessons to be shared. Look for the session time in the Conference Schedule then come to the meeting.

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has $7 million in grants available for educational projects. To find out more, contact Cindy Johnson at 345 Park Ave., New York, NY 10154-0037.

Engineering Day was February 26 and the USD engineering department celebrated by hosting the ninth annual Walk on Water competition for high school and college teams. The rules were simple. Keep the cost low, use simple materials, have fun and make a pair of shoes allowing a shoe pilot to walk a slalom course the width of an Olympic size pool.

Most of teams were from San Diego County high schools and colleges. There were more sponsors than ever this year, allowing more teams to be recognized for a number of different categories.

The engineering department at USD deserves big recognition for the grassroots organization of this competition. The students have fun strutting or sinking (as the case may be) and competitors and spectators alike cheer on the entries. The spirit of fellowship exists and can be felt as everyone screams encouragement to a shoe pilot on the edge of winning or falling.

The best time of the day was an amazing 29 seconds by the La Jolla HS team, Little Point Walkers Shoe Pilot Chad Valderrama as he skimmed across the pool setting the fastest time ever by 10 seconds. Chad was shown all over the world on CNN as well in the local media. The secret to success was shoes make of large diameter cardboard tubes, the ends were plugged with styrofoam, with a few but very efficient flaps powered by a muscular and competitive young man.

It was amazing that the second place high school team was only 2 seconds (at 31 seconds) behind Chad with a time which would have easily won in past years. An interesting note is that the top three high school teams beat the best college team this year. This goes to show, that time, effort and attention to detail may pay off in the end.

If you are a high school teacher or college instructor I encourage you to get YOUR students involved next year. It is lots of fun for all concerned and a low stress competition. Look for forms faxed to schools in January or in the Winter edition of the SDSEA newsletter.

Best Time - beating all competing College and High School Teams -

La Jolla HS - Little Point Walker

First Place -La Jolla HS- Little Point Walker

Second Place - Oceanside HS - USS Snerdley

Third Place - La Jolla HS - Floating Wombats

La Jolla HS - Little Point Walker

"What is one of the ways bio-diversity affects people's lives?" "Name one endangered animal living in San Diego County." Nature Challenge 2000 is an opportunity for 4th - 12th grade students to participate in a fun, challenging learning-filled day dealing with questions and activities related to the environment. Four students and one adult coach make up a Nature Challenge Team who will compete in five different events: Bell Ringer Questions (like those at the beginning of the paragraph) - Short answer/Cognitive Challenges; Team Problem Solving - Problem solving in an indoor setting (usually with manipulatives); Dilemmas - Expository essay writing regarding an environmental issue (as pertinent as possible to controversies within San Diego County); Nature Investigations - Problem solving in an outdoor setting (using nature as the backdrop); and Environmental Stewardship Projects - positive actions to benefit the environment ( independent projects developed by each Team). There are no costs, but registration for each Team must be submitted no later than April 15. The earlier a Team is formed and registered, the more time there will be for students to prepare for the event.

Nature Challenge 2000 will take place on April 28-29, 2000 at San Diego Mesa College. Competition for 4th, and 5th - 6th graders will be held on April 28 from 10:00 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Competition for 7th - 8th, 9th - 10th, 11th - 12th, graders will be held on April 29 from 9:00 - 2:00

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WHAT: SeaWorld, along with the Stephen Birch Aquarium and the San Diego Science Educators Association is sponsoring a blue whale watching excursion. A SeaWorld educator will lead the excursion and give narratives on blue whale natural history.

WHEN: Sunday, June 4; 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

WHERE: The trip will depart from a local marina (TBD) on the Searcher, a local whale watching/sportfishing boat, and will proceed south toward the Coronado Islands.

WHY: This is a rare opportunity to see the largest animal in the world. Most San Diegans probably do not realize that blue whales are accessible to them.

COST: The cost for this trip is $70 per person. However, the cost for SDSEA members is $35 For reservations, please call Mile Brosas at the SeaWorld Education Department at 1-800-380-3202.

With all the pressures of high school, how do we encourage students to think about oceanography as a possible field of advanced study, or a career path? We invite them to participate in the regional competition for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl. This year, nine local high schools did just that, with forty-five students participating in SURF BOWL 2000, at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, on Saturday, February 26. This was the third year for this jeopardy style competition. All aspects of ocean science are covered, and coaches and their teams study for months to be able to answer such questions as "Why is there a bend in the Hawaiian Emperor seamount chain?" or "What would happen to a sea cucumber if it is placed in freshwater and why?" The competition among teams was very stiff, and going into the final round there was potential for a four-way tie for first place. However, Mt. Carmel pulled ahead, placing first for the third year in a row. Torrey Pines followed closely, with La Jolla third, and Dana Hills fourth. The Awards Ceremony at the Birch Aquarium topped off the day long event with presentations by Tom Collins, Deputy Director of Scripps, Dr. John Orcutt, Director of the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Scripps, and Dr. Ned Smith, Executive Director of the Birch Aquarium. Each team member received a plaque, and a backpack filled with items donated by the community. Mt Carmel received the First Place Trophy, and an award from the Southwest Marine Educators' Association presented by Joy Wolf, Education Director for SeaWorld. The team will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, in April to compete against nineteen other regions in the national competition. After placing second in the nation last year, will Mt. Carmel manage to better that tremendous achievement? Participating high schools for SURF BOWL 2000 were: Carlsbad, Dana Hills (from Dana Point ), Helix, La Jolla, Mar Vista, Mt. Carmel, Poway, Scripps Ranch, and Torrey Pines.

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Presentation form goes here

1. General Category funds will be granted based on how the activity will impact the improvement of science education in San Diego County. Educational travel, in and of itself, is not considered a valid professional growth activity for the purposes of this grant.

2. Conference Category funds will be granted to cover registration costs for attending the annual SDSEA conference. Funding will be based on documented need for assistance and timely application, with preference given to new teachers (those who have been in the classroom 2 years or less).

The San Diego Science Educators Association will provide the SDSEA - Vance Mills Scholarship Fund $2,000 yearly for General Category grants, made available (as funds permit) on or about July 1 each year, by vote of the SDSEA Board of Directors. Conference Category Scholarship Funds will be figured into the conference registration accounting as gratis registrations for up to 10 grant recipients per year. A sub-committee of the SDSEA Board of Directors will screen applications and recommend suitable SDSEA - Vance Mills Educational Scholarship grants to the SDSEA Board for funding. Application procedures for both grant categories will be publicized at least once a year to the membership (usually through the association's newsletter).

Members may apply for no more than one General Category SDSEA - Vance Mills Scholarship grant per fiscal year. Individual educational scholarship grants for amounts up to $250 may be applied for at any time during the fiscal year, July 1 - June 30, and will be considered on a first come first served basis. Conference Category grants may be applied for during the November, December or January immediately preceding the annual SDSEA conference the applicant is seeking to attend. Once the SDSEA - Vance Mills Educational Scholarship Fund has been depleted for the year no further applications will be accepted.

As a condition for receiving either category of scholarship, recipients must agree to prepare a report of two pages or less about the professional growth activity that was undertaken, or what was gained from their conference attendance. This report should be in a form suitable for use in the SDSEA Newsletter. The report should be filed with the SDSEA Secretary within 30 days of the completion of the activity. Additionally, the recipient of General Category funds will make an oral report at one of the SDSEA Board of Directors meetings (to be arranged through the Secretary) or a presentation at the local conference (at the discretion of the conference program chair).

Name____________________________________School_________________________________

Address__________________________________Address________________________________

City_____________________________________City___________________________________

State & Zip_______________________________State & Zip_____________________________

Phone___________________________________Phone__________________________________

Date of application_________________________

Request for SDSEA Conference registration costs to be covered by SDSEA.

• How many years have you been a classroom teacher? ______________

• What other sources of funding (if any) will you utilize to be able to attend the conference? (who is covering substitute costs, transportation, etc.) __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

• What is the level of need for your conference registration? __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

• In what ways will conference attendance advance your professional growth?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

• Are you willing to disseminate information about things you learned at the conference in a newsletter article? _________________________

Please return this form to:

SDSEA

SDSEA Members,

It is time to nominate a peer or yourself for the SDSEA Teacher of the Year.

The benefits include a dinner for 2 at the SDSEA Banquet in June, $100 spending cash, a Plaque to display for all to see, become famous with an article about yourself in the SDSEA newsletter and the satisfaction of being recognized for what so many of you do well, teach and educate students.

Name:__________________________________________ Home Phone:_________________________

Home Address:_______________________________________________________________________

School District:_______________________________________________________________________

School Name:________________________________________________________________________

Principal's Name:_______________________________ School Phone:__________________________

School Address:______________________________________________________________________

Current Teaching Assignment:__________________________________________________________

Part 2 - Resume - 2 pages maximum, 12 point font or larger with 1 inch margins. Include your education, professional experience, continuing education, conference / workshop presentations, award, grants, publications, achievements and other important information.

Part 3 - Provide a ONE (1) page copy ready favorite science activity which you do with your students. Illustrations can be included (Do not exceed ONE page). On a separate page indicate if it is an original activity or if it has been modified from an existing source and how it supports your curriculum.

Part 4 - A letter of recommendation - 1 page maximum - from a peer, administrator or student addressing your effectiveness as a teacher.

Part 5 - A half page biography suitable for printing in the SDSEA newsletter.

There will be three awards - 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school

Entries are to be postmarked by May 4.

Send it to:

The SDSEA Awards Banquet is planned for Wednesday, June 7, 2000. Mark your calendars now and send in your reservation and check made payable to "SDSEA." Take the time to share this special evening to give recognition to this year's honorees and outstanding science educators.

• Date: June 7, 2000
• Time: No host cocktails 5:30 p.m.; dinner served at 6:00 p.m.
• Location: LAS CASCADAS at Marriott AND Marina, 333 West Harbor Drive, San Diego.
• Parking: DO NOT use Convention Center Parking(we can't validate your ticket). Use Marriott self-parking lot or valet parking. Bring parking ticket to dinner sign-in table for validation.

• Menu: Choice of one *entrée below:

* 8oz. Filet Mignon with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and

Fresh Vegetables

Caesar Salad

Assorted Breads

Dessert: New York Style Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce or

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie

Coffee, Tea

Price: SDSEA member: $12.00 Non-member: $17.00 (includes membership)

Member: (circle one) YES NO

Home Phone:_____________________________________________________________

Entrée Choice:____________________________________________________________

Name of Guest___________________________________________________________

Member: (circle one) YES NO

Entrée Choice:____________________________________________________________

Number of Reservations enclosed:____________________________________________

Check Total enclosed: ($12 for members, $17 for non-members)___________________

Make checks payable to "SDSEA" and send it with reservation form and your entrée choice to:

Judi Heitz

Ag-west Biotech Inc. has two free publications -

Agbitech Infosource - is a short (2 page) informational newsletter

that comes out monthly. The Dc. 1999 issue relates Biotechnology and computers - talking about informational storage, Data analysis (databanks) and how biotech uses this and then talks about how scientists use computers to communicate. The articles are written in such a clear, precise way that you will fins these explanations excellent for an introduction for your classes. The AgBiotech Bulletin (Dec 1999) has more in-depth information on computer technology and biotech applications if you need it.

https://www.agwest.sk.ca/education.html

Virtual cell web page https://personal.tmlp.com/Jimr57/

You can take a tour of a virtual cell, read a virtual textbook

Here's one you might want to share will all the science teachers you know

https://hazard.com/msds/

This site has MSDSs of most chemicals - wonderful when teaching safety or you just can't find the MSDS that came with the agarose!

A National Workshop on Teaching Astronomy For Grades 3-12

Universe in the Classroom 2000, a national workshop on teaching astronomy in grades 3-12 will be offered at Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, CA, on July 13-16, 2000, as part of the 112^th Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The workshop will include a series of sessions for teachers who are just starting to teach a unit on astronomy, as well as a strand of innovative ideas and updates for veteran science teachers. Teachers who may be a bit nervous about teaching astronomy at all are especially encouraged to attend.

Half of the four-day program will be devoted to hands-on classroom-tested activities that convey basic astronomy and physical science concepts. Topics covered include how to teach the phases of the moon, have students discover the reasons for the seasons, deal with questions on UFO's and astrology, measure out the scale of the solar system, and explain black holes without math. The other half of the workshop will feature talks on recent developments in astronomy in everyday language, a "Kid's Space" where children of all ages learn and experience astronomy concepts while having fun, together with astronomy expo and fair offering the latest astronomy tools. Participants will receive a thick package of activities and resources to take with them. Credit will be available through a local university.

For more information and a registration packet, teachers, librarians, curriculum supervisors, or youth group leaders should contact the non-profit society by:

The La Jolla High School physics trip to the High Tech Fair was an excellent way for students to gain insight into the many career fields available. Companies such as Nokia, Qualcomm, Hewlett Packard, SAIC, Macintosh, and many others were present at the fair.

Although I am not interested in a science related field many of my peers who are interested in science thoroughly enjoyed the fair. Meanwhile I tried to find a booth that might pertain to my interests. The SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) booth interested me since I saw the world international. I soon found out that SAIC does offer a few jobs that do not require a science background, but very few.

The Hewlett Packard booth pleasantly surprised me. They had an interactive display and they are dedicated to education. They have three goals for education, which include: science and math achievement, increasing minorities' in science fields, and ensuring that all children are ready to learn.

As I said before, I did enjoy the field trip even though the exhibits did not pertain to my field of study. I thought that our time at the fair was too limited and the lines too long. I would like to suggest that in the future the physics classes take a field trip to see actual scientists at work. I would particularly like to visit a Boeing Aircraft plant.

C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C

Lesson Plan on candles goes here

Amy Ouellette teaches a Grade 3/4 class at Barnard Elementary School.

Lesson Plan on planters goes here

Subject________________________________________ Grade K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12+

School________________________________________ School Phone__________________________

School Address_______________________________ School District___________________________

City/State ____________________________________ Zip Code_______________________________

Home Address_________________________________ Home Phone____________________________

City/State ____________________________________ Zip Code_______________________________

Email Address________________________________________________________________________

SDSEA Annual Dues = $5:00 (amount attached) _________________

Form Of Payment (Check or Cash) _____________________ Date ____________________________

In what ways are you willing to help our organization?

_____Present at Conferences _____Help with Special Interest Committees

_____Help on Conference Committees _____Other_________________________________________

Return this form and payment to: Debbie Brice, SDSEA, PO Box 712859, San Diego, CA 92171.

Membership in SDSEA runs from March to March. However, membership can be acquired at ANY time during the year. With the start of a new school year, we need to remember to encourage all of our new science teachers to join SDSEA. Hundreds of new elementary teachers have been hired. What a great resource we could be to them! What a great opportunity for us to again assist the improvement of science education!

San Diego County Teachers are exciting people! They stimulate, educate, and inspire students. Submit a favorite science lesson plan in one of the following areas: K-3, 4-6, 6-8, 9-12. The winner in each area will receive a $50.00 gift certificate to The Chart House. This is done in each issue of interconnections.

Congratulations to Amy Ouellette and Darrell Klueber who will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Chart House.

San Diego Science Educators Association

P.O. Box 712859

San Diego, CA 92171

Competition (868) 454-3081 x 224

April 12 GSDSEF Begins

April 15 Young America Josh Ross (619) 223 5221

April 28 - 29 SEED Fair Betsy Leonard (619) 232-3821 x 192

May 6 Electric Car Races William Guentlzer SDSU

May 17-18 Inventors Showcase JoAnne Schaper (619) 491 - 1531

May 19 Elementary Science Field Day Steve Mull [email protected]

June 4 Blue Whale Watching Trip Mile Brosas 1-800-380-3202

June 7 SDSEA Awards Banquet Penny Wilson (619) 491-2368

June 15 Color Science Lecture Sean Re (760) 944-8495

Deadline (868) 454-3081 x 224