Briefly

Hands-on creative arts teacher education programs

Mark your March calendar to attend one of the popular Seattle International Children's Festival teacher education programs.

March 6: "Creative Uses for Recyclable Materials: Projects for the Classroom"

Hands-on immersion in performing arts projects using recyclables: making costumes and wearable art with Robin Worley, renowned for her "Trash Fashion" shows, and creating and performing with musical instruments with "Physical Music" duo Lelavision.

Cost: $15. Program is co-presented with the Children's Museum of Tacoma and runs from 4-7 p.m. at the museum, 936 Broadway, downtown Tacoma. Additional resources and three clock hours or STARS credits available. Register by March 1.

March 16-17: "Using Music to Bring World Cultures to Your Classroom"

Back by popular demand, the two-day teacher training, co-presented with Seattle Pacific University Department of Music, offers one continuing education credit (if attending both days), or up to 10 clock hours (for either or both days). The workshop offers both music and non-music teachers hands-on, classroom-tested techniques for internationalizing your curriculum through music and dance -- from Spanish Flamenco castanets and handclaps, to Brazilian percussion, Maori poi balls from New Zealand, Chinese and West African dance, songs from Okinawa, and more -- plus chances to win free copies of "Around the World" board game.

Friday's program runs from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday's is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days at the Crawford Music Building at Seattle Pacific University.

Cost: $15 (Friday only); $40 (Saturday only); $45 (Friday and Saturday) includes clock hours. Credit costs an extra $42, payable to SPU at the event. Pre-service teachers can attend for $25. Register by March 9.

To register for either or both programs or for more information, visit the Seattle International Children's Festival Web site or call Chris Jeffries at 206-684-7336.

Washington teachers in Houston for reduced gravity flight

Key Peninsula Middle School students will have a unique opportunity this month to conduct microgravity research on NASA's "Weightless Wonder" reduced-gravity aircraft.

A team of educators from the Lakebay school is scheduled to board a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-9 at Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field in Houston Feb. 8 and 9 to test a student-designed experiment to measure the amount of pressure released in a reaction of vinegar and baking soda. The collected data will be compared with data collected by students under normal gravity conditions.

Teachers Amy D’Andrea, Briana Randall, Ron Stark, Kathleen Tucker-Patton and NASA mentor Reeve Ingle comprise the primary flight crew. The flight crew will be joined by former students John DeLeo and Brett Knisely, who will serve on the ground crew.

Also known as "Weightless Wonder," the aircraft produces 25 seconds of weightlessness by flying a roller coaster-like path of steep climbs and falls called parabolas.

Following their flight, the teachers will share their experiences and scientific data with their students during a video conference.

Bullying prevention and child safety conference March 1-2

The Washington State Crime Prevention Association teams up with Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center for a two-day conference, "Bullying Prevention and Child Safety for Children and Teens" in Shoreline. The seminar will offer classes on Internet and cyber safety; reading body language and learning to identify both victims and perpetrators; verbal de-escalation; bullying and the law; how to build a bully-free school, and bullying and the influence of media/cultural forces. Joselle Shea from the National Crime Prevention Council also will be at the conference.

Cost is $75. For more information, e-mail Jim Sawyer or call 206-987-6213.

Sparking a lifelong interest in science and engineering

Each year, the MIT Alumni Club of Puget Sound selects five teachers to attend the Science and Engineering Program for Teachers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This year, the one-week workshop, from June 24-30, will give local teachers a "drink from the fire hose."

Participants attend lectures from MIT faculty who will give them new ideas and tools for inspiring students to study science and engineering. Attendees also gain access to a peer network of teachers from across the country to exchange ideas throughout the year.

The Puget Sound club will pay the cost of participants' tuition, which includes room and board, as well as provide a travel allowance.

In past years the club has sponsored teachers in grades 3-12, although anyone teaching in K-12 is eligible.

Learn more about the program online. To apply, download an application online. Applications must be received by March 7.

Welcome to the WEA family!

The Education Service Employees of College Place are now an affiliated local with the Washington Education Association. Welcome to the 40 new members.

NEA-Saturn-UAW Partnership Award

March 9 is the deadline to apply for the NEA-Saturn-UAW Partnership Award. The award recognizes districts and local education associations who work in partnership to establish and sustain new teacher induction programs that nurture and guide novice teachers resulting in higher professional satisfaction and retention rates. Visit the Saturn Web site for more details and application forms.

Poster contest for fifth-graders

"Trees are Terrific … and forests are too!" is the theme of the 2007 Arbor Day National Poster Contest.

Sponsored by Toyota, the 16th annual National Arbor Day Foundation contest provides children across the country with an understanding of Arbor Day and the important benefits of trees, while inspiring them to learn about the value of our forests as ecosystems. The national contest is open to fifth-grade students in any state with a designated Arbor Day coordinator, which includes Washington.

Event organizers say the Arbor Day contest is an important component of the fifth-grade science curriculum and can be easily added to lesson plans. The poster-related activities correlate with national science, geography and art standards.

Each participating state will select a state winner, who will compete in the national contest. National winners will be announced in Washington, D.C., on Arbor Day, April 27.

In Washington, the state coordinator is Ben Thompson at the state Department of Natural Resources. E-mail or phone 800-523-8733. Contest deadline is March 16.

The national winner, his or her parents/guardians and teacher will receive an expense-paid trip to the national awards weekend at Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, Neb., June 1-3. The national winner also receives a $1,000 savings bond, a lifetime membership to The National Arbor Day Foundation and a framed copy of the winning poster. In addition, a tree will be planted in the winner’s honor.

Lesson plans, poster contest rules and a complete list of state coordinators, including e-mail addresses and deadlines, are available online.

Reach WEA Editor Linda Woo at lwoo@WashingtonEA.org, via postal mail at WEA, PO Box 9100, Federal Way, WA 98063-9100; phone 253-765-7027 (or toll-free outside Seattle-Tacoma: 800-622-3393 ext. 7027); or fax 253-946-7612. We welcome story ideas, letters to the editor and suggestions for improving WE-Washington Education, or WEA Online.