October Newsletter

New York STEAM Girls Collaborative

 

October 2014
In This Issue

Welcome to the newsletter of the New York STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) Girls Collaborative (NY STEAM GC). NY STEAM GC is the New York project of the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) and is convened by the University at Albany.

We invite you to forward this newsletter to a friend!   

 

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Join Us at New York STEAM Events

New York STEAM Girls Collaborative Kickoff Meeting

October 25, 2014


The NY STEAM Girls Collaborative, designed to bring together organizations throughout New York State that are committed to informing and motivating girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is pleased to invite you to our Kick -Off Event, on Saturday, October 25 from 9:30am - 5:00pm, to be held at Hudson Valley Community College's TEC-SMART Campus in Malta, NY.

 

Presentations, panel discussions, and hands-on activities are planned to nurture collaborative partnerships and the sharing of resources in support of our goal to motivate and inform girls to pursue STEM careers. There will also be opportunity to network and share best practices. 

 

For more information and to register: http://www.ngcproject.org/ny-steam-kick-conferenceRegistration Fee $25 - includes lunch and parking. NYSUT will provide inservice hours and certificates for teachers who attend.

 

 

NY STEAM Collaboration/Professional Development Forum

November 12, 2014

The NY STEAM Girls Collaboration is happy to host it's first Collaboration/Professional Development Forum to bring together formal and informal educators, industry, academia and public partners to explore new ways to encourage and promote girls in STEM areas.
It will be on Wednesday, November 12th at CNSE Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CNSE CMOST) in Troy, NY in the afternoon.

Highlight on NY STEAM Leadership

 

Meet Jennifer Goodall, PhD, Collaborative Co-Lead and Director of
Jen Pic
the Informatics Undergraduate Program and Director of the College of Computing and Information Women in Technology, University at Albany. After growing up in Albany, she attended Tufts University where she majored in Greek and Latin, returning to Albany to attend the University at Albany for her PhD in Information Science. As she pursued her teaching career at SUNY Albany, she noticed that males heavily populated her classes. In the past 13 years, she has worked tirelessly to encourage females to explore career opportunities in the STEM fields. Therefore, when the National Girls Collaborative project came looking for a lead, it was the outlet she had been looking for to promote interest for women and girls in the STEAM Careers. 

 

When Jen is not promoting STEAM to girls, she enjoys spending time with her family, husband Mark, son, Max (already a 3D printing entrepreneur at age 12) and daughter, Sadie (9). Their family pets consist of a dog, a cat, and a hamster. In their spare time, they work on their "project" house, a 115-year-old home where they like to play creative games as a family. Also as a family they recently attended the Maker Faire in NYC, where Sadie came to realize the real world applications of 3D printing, thereby launching yet another girl's interest in STEAM.

 

Upcoming STEAM Events in New York State!
Squeaky Wheel/Buffalo Media Resources
Cut-Out Animation: What Is Creativity? October Saturdays
Have your young creative explore the oldest form of animation in this fun skill building workshop. Students will write and create their own animated world, while learning video, and sound editing software. During this edition of Cut-Out Animation we will explore the nature of creativity and how it affects our everyday lives.
Meets on Saturdays from October 4th to October 25th from 10 am to 1 pm.  The tuition is $60 for non-members and $45 members.  More information at http://www.squeaky.org/workshops/2014/fall/cut-out-animation-what-is-creativity.

 

CNSE Children's Museum of Science and Technology 
October 16, 2014 Educator Open House
Join CNSE CMOST and the Traveling Museum on October 16 from 4 - 7 pm for a fun and educational night filled with engaging, hands-on STEAM activities, exhibits and displays.

We invite members of the education community to come to CNSE CMOST and explore how both museums can help support your work as an educator.  You will have the opportunity to interact with our museum educators and learn how our programs align with NYS standards. Event is free for participants. Don't forget to bring a copy of the postcard to receive a special educator discount when you book a school visit with CNSE CMOST or the Traveling Museum.  To RSVP, please email info@cmost.org or call (518) 235-2120. Please confirm your attendance by October 10, 2014.

Schedule:  4 PM Check In, Registration;  4-7 PM Exhibit & School Programs Spotlight; 6 PM Door Prizes & Giveaways Announced (must be present to win).

 

NYS K-12 Kids Safe Online Poster Contest
November 26 contest entry deadline

The NYS Office of Information Technology Services' Enterprise Information Security Office is hosting the "NYS K-12 Kids Safe Online Poster Contest" during the month of October in conjunction with "National Cyber Security Awareness Month" activities. This is a great opportunity for teachers to talk to students about being safe while on the Internet and when using computers and mobile devices.  This year the contest has four entry categories: Kindergarten - Grade 2, Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8 and Grades 9-12.  New York State winners will be entered into the MS-ISAC National Computer Security Poster Contest which is held in the spring. National contest winning posters will be included in the 2016 Annual MS-ISAC calendar distributed in the fall of 2015. 

 

The "NYS K-12 Kids Safe Online Poster Contest" information web page is www.dhses.ny.gov/ocs/awareness-training-events/events/2014/2014-15poster.cfm.  Questions may be submitted to cyber.outreach@its.ny.gov

The 2013-2014 NYS winners can be viewed at www.dhses.ny.gov/ocs/awareness-training-events/events/2014/2014-poster-winners.cfm. For further information on Cyber Security Awareness Month, please visit www.dhses.ny.gov/ocs/awareness-training-events/events/2014/.

 

Don't miss out!  The contest entry deadline is November 26, 2014.

 

Junior FIRST Lego League Expo at UAlbany 

We are pleased to announce that UAlbany will host the Junior FIRST Lego League Expo again on December 13, 2014 in the Campus Center Ballroom on the University at Albany Uptown Campus. The FIRST Theme is Think Tank: Redefining Learning. You can find more info about the Challenge at: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/jr.fll. The Expo is partnership between UAlbany, KeyBank, and Girl Scouts of Northeast New York.

 

Please register your team at: http://goo.gl/JIZC56

 

NYC-WiC 2015

PLEASE SAVE THE DATE and MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

 

The New York Celebration of Women in Computing Conference (NYC-WiC) is set for April 17-18, 2015 at the Syracuse Crowne Plaza.  Please note that we have moved to Syracuse for the 2015 conference.

 

This regional conference is modeled after the international Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference.  The conference intends to promote the academic, social and professional growth of all who attend.  Students, faculty and technology leaders will meet to share research, learn about computing opportunities, network with other women in academia and industry and explore issues common to women in computing.

 

Now is a great time to start thinking about how you might want to be involved.  Please find information about the Call for Proposals on our website at  http://nycwic.acm.org/ Abstract submission opens November 15, 2014.

 

You can also find us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/NYCWIC.

 

National STEM Initiatives and Events

Lights On Afterschool

October 23, 2014

Lights On Afterschool, an Afterschool Alliance event, is a nationwide celebration of afterschool programs designed to draw attention to high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs crucial to children, youth, families, and communities. Visit the Lights On Afterschool website to register an event, access planning tools, and find an event in your area.  

National Nuclear Science Week (NSW) 

October 16-24, 2014

NSW is a week-long celebration to focus local, regional, and national interest on all aspects of nuclear science. The website includes lesson plans with step-by-step ways to teach the fundamentals of nuclear science in the classroom. 

National Chemistry Week (NCW)

October 19-25, 2014

NCW encourages chemists and chemistry enthusiasts to build awareness of chemistry at the local level. The website includes the following educational resources: lesson plans, classroom activities, video demonstrations, books, and guided information for the classroom.  

STEM Equity in Practice: Reflecting on a Mini-Grant Partnership

November 19, 2014; 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Pacific

This webinar highlights a partnership between the Dr. Justina Ford STEM Institute and the Equity Assistance Center. Presenters will discuss the accomplishments of the partnership and lessons learned that may be helpful to other STEM programs that include girls from underrepresented communities. Register.  

Funding Available
Funding Available for All Girls FIRST Team!

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)  encourages female groups to join in the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition. High Schools, after school organizations,  Community Centers or other STEM promoting institutions interested in forming an all-girl robotics team can now apply for grant funding from NASA's Robotics Alliance Project as well as from corporate sources. For additional information and application for  FIRST NASA grants please visit http://robotics.nasa.gov. For information on additional FIRST grants and help with application process: Ana L Martinez, FIRST Regional Director & NY STEAM Champion Board member, NYS/Tech Valley 917-361-2257 or anayz@usfirst.org   For more information about FIRST: www.usfirst.org/www.techvalleyfirst.org 

 

STEM Resources

NGCP Program Directory

 Search for Collaborating Programs or Register Your Program! The online Program Directory highlights programs that focus on motivating girls to pursue STEM careers. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and collaborate on STEM-related projects for girls. 

Applications for Aspirations in Computing Award Now Open 

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Award for Aspirations in Computing honors young women at the high school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Applicants can apply to both the local and national level in one application. Submission deadline: November 2, 2014. 

Earth Science Week Toolkit

The  American Geosciences Institute (AGI) Earth Science Week 2014 Toolkit contains educational materials for all ages that correspond to this year's event theme, "Earth's Connected Systems." The toolkit includes the program poster, activity calendar, and materials from partners. Earth Science Week 2014 will be celebrated October 12-18.

Million Women Mentors

The National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), a founding partner of the Million Women Mentors (MWM) initiative, is announcing more than 140,000 new science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) mentor commitments from over 20 states. 

 

We are proud to announce our Million Women Mentors pledge of 6,000 mentors in the state of New York! Over 20 states are making pledges and we are thrilled to join the movement and make the commitment to connect girls to inspiring STEM role models. 

 

The goal of the movement is to support the engagement of one million mentors in STEM professions over the next four years and to collectively increase the interest and confidence of girls and young women in these areas.

 

Karen Peterson, Principal Investigator of the NGCP, praised the work being done on the state-level. "We celebrate the NGCP Collaborative network leadership teams who support large networks of programs with resources and services. Collectively, the NGCP reaches over 8.5 million girls through their work. Our joint vision, to get STEM mentors activated from America's top corporations and associations, is key to increasing the STEM workforce of the nation."

 

Million Women Mentors is the collective action of over 54 national partners. The founding partners are STEMconnector�, National Girls Collaborative Project, MentorNet, and NPower.

 

Our Vision

To bring together organizations throughout New York that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

 

The goals of NGCP and NY STEAM GC are to:

  1. Maximize access to shared resources in order to expand girls' participation in STEM.
  2. Strengthen capacity of girl-serving STEM organization by sharing exemplary practice research and program models, outcomes, and products.
  3. Use the leverage of a network of girl-serving STEM programs to create the tipping point for gender equity in STEM.
Leadership Team
Meet the Co-Leaders for the NY STEAM GC

 

Jennifer Goodall, Director, College of Computing and Information Women in Technology Program, University at Albany
NY STEAM Co-Lead

 

Stephanie Lemnios, Informal STEM Education Consultant for Non-Profit Organizations

NY STEAM Co-Lead

 

Quick Links
Click the links below to learn more about us and our partner organizations:

 

NY STEAM Girls Collaborative

 

National Girls Collaborative

 

University at Albany: http://www.albany.edu/

 

College of Computing and Information, University at Albany: http://www.albany.edu/cci/

 

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NY STEAM Girls Collaborative | nysteam4girls@gmail.com | University of Albany - SUNY Albany, NY 12222
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