October Newsletter
October 18, 2018
MA PLTW Networking Conference Recap
Thank you to all who joined for the 2018 Massachusetts Project Lead The Way Networking Conference! It was great to have the chance to connect with so many members of the Massachusetts PLTW community. There were many exciting updates to share with the community, including the announcement from Lt. Governor Karyn Polito on the PLTW grant for the 2019-2020 school year! In case you were so caught up in the excitement of the day, below are 5 next steps and announcements to keep mind.

1.      Check out the Massachusetts PLTW Grant
The 2019-2020 Massachusetts PLTW school grants are now open! Lt. Governor Polito announced the state is contributing $1 Million in funding for schools for PLTW programming. Part one of the applications are due November 16 th . Click here for an overview.

2.      Attend a Fall School Tour
Please join us for a Project Lead The Way school tour! During the tour you will have an opportunity to see what a PLTW classroom looks like, meet school leaders in charge of school wide implementation, as well as hear from teachers and students about their experience with PLTW. There will also be time to have your questions answered by the school, PLTW, & Mass STEM Hub. We currently have tours at all levels--elementary, middle, and high school.
During the tours you will have an opportunity to:
·          Learn more about Project Lead The Way
·          Visit classrooms and observe students engaged in hands-on learning
·          Hear from a panel of students and teachers
·          Learn about the Massachusetts PLTW grant program ( www.pltw.org/grants )
3.      Join a Learning Team!
The 2018-19 cohort of Community Leads will lead Learning Teams of PLTW teachers who will work together throughout the year to provide peer to peer support as teachers implement PLTW in their classrooms. The Learning Teams will help to connect PLTW teachers around the state as teachers share best practices and tips, swap resources, and celebrate successes. Each team will also have an industry tied experience to help connect their classrooms to the real world. To learn more about our 8 Community Leads, click here .
If you are interested in joining a learning team, sign up below today!
4.      Roster your PLTW Students!
There are many exciting opportunities for PLTW students in the Massachusetts! To participate in Mass STEM Hub events, roster your students so your students don’t miss out on our various opportunities.

5.      Mark your calendars for Mass STEM Hub upcoming events and PLTW Online Challenges
We have many exciting events for PLTW students this school year! We will continue some of our events from last year including the High School Showcase and Boston Children's Hospital Design Showcase as well as adding more course related events. For a list of upcoming events for the 2018-19 school year click here . Additional events will be announced throughout the year.

Also, check out the PLTW Online Challenges specifically for Massachusetts PLTW students. PLTW students have an opportunity to get feedback on their PLTW projects from industry professionals throughout the school year. Learn more here .
Congratulations to award recipients at the 2018 PLTW Massachusetts Networking Conference!

100% School Participation
  • Burke Memorial Elementary, Medway
  • Sandwich STEM Academy
  • Collins Middle School, Salem
  • Thomas Prince School, Wachusett
  • Hopkinton Middle School
  • Woodland Elementary School, Milford
  • Leicester Middle School
  • West Brookfield Elementary School, Quabog
  • Penn Brook School, Georgetown

High School Achievement Award
  • Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School
  • Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
  • Doherty Memorial High School
  • Plymouth North High School
  • Dracut High School
  • Plymouth South High School
  • Excel Academy Charter High School
  • Sandwich High School

AP+PLTW Recognition
Hudson High School
Medway High School
Plymouth North High School

Educator Awards
Standout PLTW Teacher of the Year
Keith Michon Jr. Matthew J. Kuss Middle School, Fall River

Rookie PLTW Teacher of the Year
Chakara Cardillo, Randolph Community Middle School, Randolph

School/District PLTW Leader of the Year
Alison Riordan, Plymouth Public Schools
PLTW Coaching Opportunity
Do want to have one on one time with a PLTW Master Teacher to help you in your PLTW classroom?

Sign up for a coaching opportunity today!
Classroom Spotlight
At Doherty Memorial High School, students are celebrated for their successes on PLTW End of Course assessments. The bulletin board recognizes students who have scored a 6 or above, the most common score needed for students to earn college credit for PLTW coursework.
 
How do you celebrate your PLTW students? Share your PLTW classroom moments by emailing Faith today!

Upcoming Events:

November 8th, 2018
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
@Chelmsford HS
November 8th, 2018 , Chelmsford High School will host this years STEM College and Career Fair. PLTW high school students will have an opportunity to meet with STEM representatives from colleges and universities in the area as well as gain valuable resources about navigating the college application process. We will also have industry professionals in attendance to share with students about various STEM career paths. PLTW high school students of all years and pathways are encouraged to attend.

Register here today!

Need funding for transportation? Transportation grant opportunities can be found below!
Reminders:
Roster your PLTW Students Today!
Why rostering is important
  • Ensures students can access PLTW curriculum and assessments
  • Enables PLTW to provide End-of-Course data to colleges and universities in support of preferential admissions and opportunities for interested students
  • Provides students & teachers access to Mass STEM Hub programming, including:
  • Student events (e.g., STEM Fair, MS Design Challenge, HS Showcase)
  • Teacher professional development & networking
  • Participation in the Massachusetts PLTW survey

Note:   Schools that complete the rostering process will be eligible for free student engineering notebooks next year.

To roster students, log into your mypltw.org account and click on "My Sites" to find detailed instructions.

Watch this helpful video on how to roster and manage student accounts on myPLTW as an additional resource.

Click here for a rostering guide.
Join the Massachusetts PLTW Educator Facebook Community!
Join the MA PLTW Educator page exclusively for MA PLTW teachers! This will be a closed group for you all to connect, share ideas, ask questions, celebrate student accomplishments, and more!

Why join?
·           Connect with other PLTW teachers in MA
·          Access tips & best practices from fellow MA PLTW teachers
·          Learn about upcoming events for students & educators
·          Share ideas & ask questions of fellow MA teachers

How to join:
·           Follow the Mass STEM Hub Facebook page
·          Request to join the “Project Lead The Way Teachers in MA”
·          Invite other MA PLTW Teachers to join!
Launch Training Kits Available!
Are you a Launch Lead Teacher? If you are training other teachers at your school and you need access to the PLTW Launch training kit, Mass STEM Hub has two kits available to loan out to MA Launch Lead Teachers. Email Faith McDuffie today to learn more.
PLTW Teacher Grad Credit Opportunity
PLTW Teachers:

You may be able to earn graduate school for your PLTW training depending on what courses you've been trained in. To learn more about this opportunity, click here .
Student Gallery
Mass STEM Hub is seeking photos of exemplar PLTW student work to showcase on our website. The Student Work Gallery will be a place where we can showcase student work from PLTW classes for other educators, as well as industry professionals.

If you have photos or videos of student work that you would like to share, please email them to fmcduffie@mass-stemhub.org with a brief description of what the photo shows. Please include: PLTW Course, Unit, Lesson, and Grade.

We look forward to seeing the wonderful work your students are doing every day!
Transportation Grants
Need funding for field trip transportation?

Below are various grant opportunities for bus funding that can be used to attend Mass STEM Hub events.
Big Yellow School Bus Any K-12 school in Massachusetts is eligible to apply for a $250 grant to be used during the 2018-2019 school year.
Target Field Trip Grants Grants of $700 awarded to schools. Application for 2018-19 school year closes August 1st.
State Farm Community Grants Grants awarded on a rolling basis.
NEA Grant Opportunities The NEA provides various grants that can be used for field trip funding.
Walmart Foundation Community Grants Grant amounts awarded between $250 and $5,000.
Additional Funding Opportunities
Looking for additional funding opportunities for your STEM programs? Click the names below to learn more about each individual grant opportunity. We will share additional opportunities each month.
Do you have an idea for a student or teacher event? Are you an industry professional looking to get involved? Do you have a question about PLTW implementation? Are exciting things happening in your classrooms that should be shared in our newsletter?

Please get in touch by emailing Faith at   fmcduffie@mass-stemhub.org .
Have a question for Mass STEM Hub?
Email us at connect@mass-stemhub.org