*make sure to click "View entire message" to get access to the full newsletter!* | | | |
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Due to our website being temporarily unavailable for a few days last week, we have extended our grant deadline for categories 4 and 5 (Agricultural Leadership and Statewide Agriculture Organization) to THIS Friday, July 5th at 4pm.
We're sorry for any inconvenience our website being down may have caused. Access the grant applications here.
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LAST CALL to Register for Summer Teacher's Institute! | | | |
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REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JULY 15th! Don't miss out on this great professional development opportunity! Through tours, presentations from industry experts, and hands-on lesson exploration, you will be inspired and prepared to share the world of agriculture with your students. PreK-12 formal and informal educators in all disciplines from across the state and beyond are welcome. Participants will receive 38 contact hours or 3.8 CEU's from the University of Maine for re-certification credit. Scholarships are also available for Maine teachers – apply by email to maitc@maine.gov. | | | |
Read ME Evaluation - LAST CALL! | | | |
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If you haven't yet, please fill out the evaluation for this year's Read ME program. All teachers who fill it out will be entered to win a bundle of books!
We value your response! Your feedback is crucial in helping us continue to improve our program and ensure it comes back next year!
Teacher Evaluation
Volunteer Reader Evaluation
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National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference | | |
Maine Agriculture in the Classroom had so much fun representing Maine at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah last week! We attended dozens of educational sessions - learning about new books, making models of the ruminant digestive system, painting barn quilts, taste testing chocolate, building STEM carrot cars, and so much more!
Aside from great professional development, several Maine teachers were recognized for their amazing work in their classrooms. Jim Goodwin, Josh Harris, Tristen Hinkle, and Ashley MacDonald were recognized as our Maine Teacher Team of the Year. Jim Goodwin was also recognized for winning a White-Reinhardt Scholarship. Selina Greene Warren was recognized for winning the National Excellence in Teaching About Agriculture Award.
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FREE Virtual Professional Development Opportunity from National Agriculture in the Classroom!
NAITC is hosting their virtual conference on July 18th, 2024 from 10am - 2:45pm. Check their website for more info and viewing the tentative schedule. Register here.
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Apply for funding to support ideas that teach through the lens of agriculture. Submit your application to support your endeavor using agriculture as a context for learning!
More information and links to applications can be found on our website.
DEADLINES:
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Category 1 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $1,000: 4pm on August 30, 2024.
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Category 2 - Agricultural Awareness Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 30, 2024.
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Category 3 - School Garden & Greenhouse Grant - Up to $2,000: 4pm on August 30, 2024.
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Category 4 - Agriculture Leadership Grant - Up to $1,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: August 30, and December 13, 2024.
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Category 5 - Statewide Agriculture Education Organization Grant - Up to $2,000: The revolving deadline is 4pm on: August 30, and December 13, 2024.
For more information about our grants program, contact: maitc@maine.gov
For questions regarding the application process, contact: kelsey.maitc@gmail.com
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Looking for a classroom pet?
How about adopting a COW?!
The Discover Dairy “Adopt a Cow” program is an exciting, year-long experience for your classroom, and totally free! Registration is open for the 2023-2024 program. You and your students will watch a calf on a New England dairy farm grow, receiving photo updates and stories about her throughout the school year.
Click here for more info & registration
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Christina Sue Lilja Resource Grants
From American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. The purpose of these grants is to provide funds to educators to enable them to purchase accurate agricultural literacy materials from the AFBFA store for use in their classrooms. By providing this grant, AFBFA hopes to help students gain access to more accurate information about agriculture. Applications for this years grants are due July 19, 2024. More info and application here.
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School Garden Caretakers Grants
The Maine School Garden Network (MSGN) is proud to continue their grant program to provide five $2000 mini grants to pay School Garden Caretakers in Maine, thanks to the generous support of the Sewall Foundation. The funds will be issued to school programs and must be used within 1 year of the award. Application Deadline – 4pm on August 30th, 2024. More info and application here.
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Seed Money Challenge Grants
SeedMoney is thrilled to begin accepting applications for the 10th annual SeedMoney Challenge, a 30-day crowdgranting competition open to any public food garden project anywhere in the world. Whether you're associated with a community garden, youth garden, food bank garden or community farm, the SeedMoney Challenge can help your project raise the funds it needs to flourish. Participating projects receive 100% (i.e. 0% fees) of what they raise whether they reach their funding goal or not. On top of the funds they raise, projects compete for 432 grants ranging from $100 to $1000. The more a project raises, the larger the grant it qualifies to receive. Applications close on November 12th. More information here.
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Maine Nutrition Council Summer VIRTUAL Event | | |
“School Garden Grown" is an opportunity for local schools to promote awareness of their great work and show off their school garden’s bounty. MSGN encourages schools to enter their produce in agricultural fairs, and we work with volunteers and fair personnel to display stickers on their produce once exhibition hall judging takes place. Since 2016, we’ve seen nearly 1000 School Garden Grown entries across fairs in Maine! More info here. | |  |
The summer garden tours are a chance to unwind and relax with fellow school garden coordinators, teachers and volunteers. Each new location offers a chance to see school gardens in full bloom, learn different growing tips, techniques and exchange ideas. Most tours conclude with a pot luck meal. More info on tour locations here. | | | |
Maine Nutrition Council Event | | | |
Harvest of the Month - July is Maine Summer Squash! | | | |
Teacher Resources Section | | |
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Crops on the Farm. NEW! Grades PreK-K. Students investigate different food crops and how they grow.
How to Grow a Monster: The Needs of a Zucchini Plant. Grades K-2. Students read How to Grow a Monster, describe the needs of a zucchini plant, identify the structure and function of zucchini plant parts, grow classroom zucchini plants, and experiment with different environments and growing conditions.
Tree-mendous Fruits. Grades 3-5. Students investigate a variety of tree fruits, discover how and where they are grown, and explore their nutritional benefits.
Plant Propagation. Grades 6-8. Students will learn about two types of plant propagation – seed planting (sexual) and stem cuttings (asexual) and recognize the genetic differences in these processes, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Melons, Mitosis, and Meiosis. Grades 9-12. Students apply the steps of mitosis and meiosis to learn about the production of both seeded and seedless watermelon. Students will learn about the discovery of colchicine, which made seedless watermelon possible and use modeling clay and beans to model meiosis and mitosis.
Looking for more? Explore the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix HERE
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Guardians of the Food Galaxy. From Rutgers University. On this site you can find lessons, videos, games and resources for students and educators to become protectors of our food systems and our planet! The resources on this site merge climate change education with food waste reduction and plant-based eating initiatives. The goal of the program is to improve school administrations’ and students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards adopting healthy and sustainable eating habits.
Growing Teachers throughout the Seasons. A new approach to addressing barriers to school gardening is now available! Growing Teachers Throughout the Seasons (GTS), provides a step-by-step guide for teachers to plant, maintain, harvest, prepare, and taste 9 different foods (one each month, September through May) using three growing methods: seed starting under LED lights, raised beds with season extension, and hydroponics. Curriculum integration, recipes, cultural tie-ins, and nutrition tips are provided for each month’s harvest! GTS was created through a collaboration between Ohio State University Extension, Ohio Farm to School, and the state’s largest school district, Columbus City Schools. GTS resources are data driven, teacher informed, and have demonstrated success across grade levels and subjects. Access the 20 free online GTS learning modules with videos and order the GTS month-by-month guidebook at go.osu.edu/GTS
Pre K for ME. The Maine DOE is pleased to provide an open-source curriculum for preschool classrooms. This research-based, whole child curriculum meets the requirements of Chapter 124: Public Preschool Program Standards and is developmentally appropriate for four-year old children. Check out Unit 6: Things that Grow!
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Funding from this plate has impacted up to 200,000 students annually with lessons, materials, volunteers and teacher training. Annually up to $60K is distributed in grants to schools, FFA, 4-H and other Non-profit programs for Ag education initiatives by the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council.
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Donate today to The Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Association. The nonprofit, completely volunteer, portion of MAITC. These funds are used directly to support teacher scholarships and recognition, and support volunteer participation for Ag education programs. Your donation is completely tax deductible and you can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation which will support the mission, "to promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public." If you have any other questions or would like to join this group please contact the chairman, Laurie Bowen. Donate Here.
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The MAITC Association is organizing a fundraiser for materials and teacher scholarships this year. Hats and T-shirts with the MAITC logo and a picture of the agriculture specialty license plate are available to order for a small donation.
For more information contact Nancy Wright at dnwright191@gmail.com
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Our Mission Statement
"To promote the understanding of agriculture and natural resources among students, educators, and the general public"
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28 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
(207)287-5522
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