Upcoming Events & Deadlines December 1st, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. LEGO League Competition Reed Gym, ISU December 5th, 6 p.m. VEX Robotics Competition Pocatello High School, 'The Pit' Watch our local high school students put their robotics skills to the test! December 8th, 4 – 6 p.m. LEGO Meeting T&T Bldg., Room TBA Final wrap-up December 11th, 3:45 – 5:30 GK-12 Fellows and Teachers Meeting Plant Sciences Bldg., Room TBA Presentations by Esther and Pam GRADUATE STUDENT ADVISORS ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND December 19th, 6 – 8 p.m. Expedition Exibition Pocatello Community Charter School A great opportunity to see what students in GK-12 classes (3/4th and 7/8th) have been studying all fall. The students will guide visitors through some of the labs they conducted this fall. January 15th, 3:45 – 5:30 GK-12 Fellows and Teachers Meeting Plant Sciences Bldg., Room TBA No presentations CONTACT US: Hannah Sanger Program Coordinator ISU Faculty: Dr. Rosemary Smith Biological Sciences Program Director Mike Ellis Engineering Co-Director Dr. Jeff Hill Biological Sciences Co-Director Dr. Larry Stout Engineering Co-Director Dr. Glenn Thackray Geosciences Dr. Scott Hughes Geosciences Dr. Cathy Krilof Mathematics Dr. Rob VanKirk Mathematics Dr. Steve Adkison English CURRENT FELLOWS: Sid Blackmore Jennifer Cannon Maurita Jones Ian Kihara Esther Kingsbury Milana Michalek Sarra Moller Erin Naegle Pam O'Hearn Susan Parsons Nicole Sheeley Chris Smith Nicole Wisniewski CURRENT TEACHERS: Lori Anderson Doris Autenrieth T. Paul Davids Sharie Ellis Meg Fleishmann Norris Ganstrom Jean Hancock Deb Hobdey Peggy Kaiser Christina Melancon Marilyn Mikkelson Richard Neves Debbie Newhouse Joshua Nielsen Staci Orr Lynette Smith Cara Sonnemann Carri Thomason Kristi Wehrspann Maria Wilson Recent Activities & Highlights In School Labs and Studies In Biology students have been studying genetics, as well as mitosis and meiosis with hands-on activities and labs such as building DNA & RNA out of twizzlers, toothpicks and gum drops to studying transcription and translation; they've been looking at cell division and cell parts using c-ferns. In Geology the 3rd and 4th graders have been studyings convection and the effects of heating and cooling on matter. They've also been looking at how viscosity affects lava flow as part of their year-long study of the Yellowstone hot spot. Physical Science students have built pendulums to study the law of conservation of momentum. They have also used air tracks to study elastic and inelastic collisions relating to the law of conservation of energy. Other physics students have designed full size trebuchets. The Highland High School students came in 2nd place all around at the annual Snake River Pumpkin Toss! Robotics students have begun designing their vex robots for the December 5th VEX competition at Poky HS. Other Highlights - News APPLICATIONS FOR 2008 GK12 will be available soon. They will be DUE at the end of January. GK-12 faculty and staff will visit area schools in January to answer questions from teachers. If you know of a school that hasn't had a GK-12 fellow - please let us know, we'd love to visit! Contact Doris Autenrieth if you are in need of glassware. She received a donation of glassware from Simplot and can give you contacts to find out if Simplot still has any available glassware that you could use in your classroom. Congrats to all the high school robotics teams in Idaho (7) - they've each received $10,000 from INL through NASA funds to help cover their costs. Four of these teams got started with GK-12 funds. AMIS has again donated $5,000 to the District 25 Robotics team! Additionally, GK-12 teachers have received over $10,000 from local businesses and foundations for science materials and supplies. THANK YOU to these local businesses: Pocatello Education Foundation Idaho National Laboratory Simplot AMIS Lowes ISU College of Technology, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering Bisharat's Village Mart Ash Grove Cement Plan Central Virginia College Portneuf Valley Family Center Heinz Freeman Carpet Cleaning Maguire and Kress Law Firm Lithia Education Foundation Century High School Roundup Franklin Middle School Parents Inkom Elementary PTO Marsh Valley High School potato sales Franklin Middle School and congrats to the following teachers, and their GK-12 fellows: Doris Autenrieth & Nikki Sheeley, Pocatello High School Meg Fleishmann and Sarra Moller, Century High School Marilyn Mikkelson and Chris Smith, Marsh Valley High School Josh Nielson and Milana Michalek, Franklin Middle School Deb Hobdey and Jenn Cannon, Century High School Sharie Ellis, Pocatello High School Lori Anderson and James Cleaver, Inkom Elementary Cathy Kratz, Gateway School Congrats to the Highland HS Trebuchet team for coming in 2nd place at the Snake River Pumpkin Toss! Upcoming Plans Biology Rat and heart dissection to explore circulatory system More c-fern activities Genetics studies and DNA collection Continuation of long term Biomass studies Geology Revising geology lab experiments so that students can lead the labs during an open house. They will need to explain the purpose for each step in the scientific method Physics Studying conductors and insulators with electricity; looking at series and parallel circuits Mapping magnetic fields A Field Trip to INL Chemistry Water quality labs Robotics Improving student designed and built VEX robots for the Dec. 5th competition Preparing for the FIRST robotics competition in January. Overall Partnership Tips & Achievements Planning time. All fellows and teachers greatly value the time they spend with each other planning for the coming week and reviewing how things went. Since fellows must spend an average of 10 hours/week in the classroom this time is also used to determine schedules for future weeks if the past week had fewer or greater hours. Having materials ready ahead of time. Since fellows are not in the classroom everyday, many partnerships have found that it is useful to have the materials needed for a particular lab ready to go a day or two before that lab actually occurs. Fellows greatly appreciate the teaching feedback they are getting from their teachers - this feedback is invaluable! Teachers greatly appreciate the science they are learning each week from their fellow. GK-12 teachers find that on days when their fellow is in the classroom, they get less of their housekeeping paperwork done - b/c they are using the time during class and prep periods to plan and learn and share with their fellow. Teachers and fellows both feel as if they are learning a lot. ISU fellows have enjoyed being able to watch students build an interest in science or engineering - watching those lightbulbs turn on. Interacting with the students is rewarding and fun. Teachers are excited about not only the science they are learning from their fellows, but also the rewards of having an extra pair of hands and someone to share ideas with in their classrooms. Teachers also greatly appreciate the connections they are making with ISU faculty and the vast resources that ISU has to offer K-12 teachers. GK-12 staff and faculty are thrilled with this year's group of teachers and fellows. Obviously they are doing incredible things in their classroom and the success of the GK-12 program is due to their hard work and creativity. THANK YOU ALL!