August 19, 2020 Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference Join Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School-Time (APOST) from August 24–September 10, 2020 for their Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference! About Over a period of three weeks, the Virtual Back to Out-of-School-Time Conference will offer relevant workshops to assist professionals in continuing to provide high-quality programming for youth during this challenging time. This Conference is open to any youth practitioner who desires to increase their skills in working with youth in out-of-school-time programs or mentoring relationships. If there is a workshop that you would like to attend but are not able to due to schedule conflicts, recordings and resources for all workshop offerings will be available for at least one month after all of the workshops have concluded. Available Workshops A Summer in Review: Conducting In-Person Programming in the Foreseeable Future Monday, August 24 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Wellness for Black Young People in a Racist Society during COVID-19 Tuesday, August 25 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. How to Handle Your Workforce Post COVID-19? – Organizational Skill Gaps with Leaner Staffing Wednesday, August 26 | 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. Outdoor STEM in an Online Classroom Thursday, August 27 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. Keeping Kids Entertained and Learning During COVID-19 and Beyond Friday, August 28 | 1 – 2 p.m. Engaging Your Students with Project-Based Learning Online Monday, August 31 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. What You Need to Know about the Current Pandemic Tuesday, September 1 | 1 – 2 p.m. Lessons Learned: OST in the Virtual Space and Zoom into Hands-On Learning Wednesday, September 2 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Increasing Program Enrollment by Advertising on the Allegheny County Child Care Finder Thursday, September 3 | 1 – 2 p.m. Deep and Simple Interactions in OST Virtual Programming and Yes, And’ing a Virtually New Normal Tuesday, September 8 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. PBS 101 Middle School Track Wednesday, September 9 | 1 – 2 p.m. Making Academic Content Exciting with Narrative Games Thursday, September 10 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Registration To view all workshop descriptions and register, visit the full Conference Agenda. Registration links will be included at the bottom of each event description. More Information For questions, contact Jaron Paul via email at jaron.paul@unitedwayswpa.org.
June 10, 2020 Citiparks Offers Take-Home Literacy and Math Camp Program From June 15 to July 24, Citiparks will be offering CitiCamp@Home, a six-week program for families that offers weekly take-home STEM/STEAM projects, games, giveaways, and chances to win prizes. About Families are invited to join Citiparks lead explorer Caterina as she guides explorers through summertime urban adventures! Through conveniently packaged To-Go Kits, families will gain access to everything they need to create great projects that include built-in literacy and math components. Additional resources will be provided by WQED, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Carlow University Education Department, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, and UPMC Children’s Hospital. Pick Up Locations Kits will be available at the Citiparks Summer Grab & Go locations listed below starting Monday, June 15 on a first-come, first-served basis. Ammon Recreation Center Anderson Playground – Schenley Park Arlington Recreation Center Jefferson Recreation Center Magee Recreation Center Moore Park, Brookline Paulson Recreation Center Warrington Recreation Center Northview Heights Public Safety Center Salvation Army – Westside If you are not able to participate in the Summer Food program but would like to play along, printable materials will also be available on the Citiparks website. More Information For more information, read the full press release or call 412.665.3665. Share this flyer with your network.
April 20, 2020 STEM Activities for Toddlers | Webinar STEM Activities for Toddlers is a live, interactive webinar that explores ways to incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) concepts into the toddler classroom. The course will discuss hands-on activities, including time outside to learn ways to weave in environmental science. About the STEM Webinar Two PQAS hours will be offered. Participants are expected to fully participate with their digital device microphones and cameras on. This is not a log-in and leave event. Arriving 15 minutes late may result in no credit for the session. Please note, no refunds will be provided for cancellation or no show. Learning Objectives of The STEM Webinar Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to: identify the elements of STEM; explain why STEM is important in the toddler classroom; and implement activities that incorporate multiple elements of STEM. Available Date To access this course, use the link below or enter the event ID on the Pennsylvania PD Registry website. May 1, 2020 | 2 – 4 p.m. | Event ID: 312719 More Information For questions, please contact Karen Rucker at 717.314.8368 or krucker@respectingchildren.com. For more events like this, click here. *Information provided by the Pennsylvania Key
April 15, 2020 Making and Tinkering at Home and School Are you interested in learning how to transition your home or school into a making and tinkering environment for your young child(ren)? Join Cate Heroman, author of Making and Tinkering with STEM, and Lianna Kali, Project Director for The Tinkering Studio in San Francisco’s Exploratorium, as they share strategies for delightful investigations to try at home and school. About During this webinar, presenters will take a closer look at tinkering with two big ideas–light and shadow play and balls, ramps, and chain reactions. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for viewing this live webinar. For those who cannot attend, a recorded version of the presentation will be made available within six to eight weeks. Registration To register, visit NAEYC’s event page.
April 3, 2020 Distance Learning: How to Support STEM and Physical Activity at Home Are you interested in learning how to implement STEM activities to keep students learning and engaged at home? Join Kristin Harrington, EdTech Coach from Flager County Schools, on April 9 for the webinar, “Distance Learning: How to Support STEM and Physical Activity at Home.” About By attending this webinar, participants will learn: how to balance education with student engagement at home; how to mix STEM and active movement at home; about free tools for mindfulness and SEL for students; and advice on how to support other teachers and staff. This webinar will be of interest to kindergarten through middle school teachers, librarians, library media specialists, technology integration specialists and coaches, principals, and school and district leaders. There will be time to have your questions answered at the end of the presentation. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
December 13, 2019 2019-20 Carton 2 Garden Contest Receiving Entries Are you interested in building or enhancing your school garden? Evergreen Packaging and KidsGardening.org are hosting the sixth national Carton 2 Garden Contest! About The Carton 2 Garden Contest is open to public and private schools, with contest winners selected based on their implementation of an innovative garden creation featuring creative, sustainable uses for repurposed milk and juice cartons. Schools can get started by collecting at least 100 empty cartons from homes, the community, or their cafeteria. After gathering the cartons, schools design and construct purposeful garden items and structures using them. For ideas, view last year’s winners. Eligibility & Entry Carton 2 Garden is open to all K-12 public and private schools in the United States. Schools do not need a garden to participate. Pre-k classes located at schools serving additional elementary, middle, and/or high school grade levels may also enter the contest. With this, all entries must document and share their gardening experience through an online entry form and submission of up to 10 photos. To be eligible for the grand prize and specialty prizes, entries must also include a video link (under five minutes) that tells the story of the project in its entirety. View the Entry Form Checklist. Every student that appears in photos or videos must have an accompanying signed parent release form submitted with your entry. The form is also available in Spanish. All entries must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Click here to access the online entry form. Awards Fifteen entries will be selected to receive award packages for their efforts, including: one grand prize winner who will receive a prize valued at $5,000; four winners, selected for exemplary demonstration in the following specialty areas: Carton Act in the Garden, Environmental Stewardship, Health and Nutrition, and STEM; who will receive a prize valued at $2,000 each; and ten winners (five middle/high schools and five elementary schools) who will receive award packages valued at $1,000 each. More Information To learn more about the Carton 2 Garden Contest, visit the Kids Gardening website.
December 6, 2019 $20M in PAsmart Grants Available to Advance STEM and CS Education On November 25, 2019, Governor Tom Wolf announced that “up to $20 million in PAsmart grants are available to prepare students for the fast-growing fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and computer science (CS).” About Governor Tom Wolf has secured $40 million dollars to reinforce his PAsmart initiative, an increase of $10 million from 2018 investments. With this, “the Department of Education will award $20 million for STEM and computer science education through PAsmart Targeted pre-k–12 grants and Advancing grants. The Department of Labor and Industry will soon announce applications for $10 million for apprenticeships and industry partnerships. Funding for career and technical education also increased by $10 million.” Discussing this initiative, Governor Wolf said that “PAsmart is strategically investing in science and technology education so students get the skills they need for emerging jobs in high demand. The grants encourage businesses and schools to develop partnerships that focus education on the knowledge students will need to succeed in growing industries. Through PAsmart, we are developing the most prepared and talented workforce in the country, which will help students excel, grow the middle class, and strengthen the economy for everyone.” Grant Details PAsmart Targeted Pre-k–12 Grants The initiative will be issuing PAsmart Targeted pre-k–12 grants of up to $35,000 each with the intention to “meet the needs of local education agencies and their schools that have limited to no computer science offerings and did not receive targeted grants in 2018-19.” By receiving these grants, schools have the opportunity to “introduce and expand computer science programming and to provide educators from pre-kindergarten through grade 12 with training and professional development to teach CS.” With this, the grants will provide “greater opportunities for students of color, low-income students, and girls to learn critical skills needed to succeed in today’s workforce.” PAsmart Advancing Grants A larger PAsmart Advancing grant of up to $500,000 each will also be available, with the intention to “support cross-sector partnerships that provide quality STEM and CS experiences to learners of all ages – early childhood, pre-k–12, post-secondary, and adult learners – as part of high-level strategic approaches to workforce readiness.” Application Deadlines PAsmart Targeted Pre-k–12 Grant: Friday, December 20, 2019 PAsmart Advancing Grant: Friday, January 10, 2020 Grant applications and additional information can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) website. More Information For more information, read the full press release. *Information provided by the Office of Governor Tom Wolf
September 9, 2019 Women’s Rap Are you a single mom or caregiver in need of self-care? Women’s Rap provides a safe place for communication, encouragement, and reflection. Join us to build your confidence, gratitude, and supportive relationships with other women. Dinner is served between 5:00–5:45 p.m. and group starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. Parent-child interactions are from 7:00–8:00 p.m. More Information For more information, contact Toni Beasley at toni@tryingtogether.org or 412.727.6649. Share this flyer with your networks.
August 30, 2019 Webinar | Exploring SCIENCE! with Preschoolers Join the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning on November 5 for their upcoming webinar, “Little Scientists: Exploring SCIENCE! with Preschoolers.” About Discover the “science” component of STEM, including how preschoolers use the scientific method to figure out how the world works. Preschool teachers and family child care providers will learn strategies and teaching practices that help all children explore science concepts. The webinar will also highlight strategies for using art to encourage science learning. Register To register and learn more, visit the event webpage! *Information provided by ECLKC
July 16, 2019 Parent-Child Interaction Are you looking to engage in an educational experience with your young child? Join other caregivers and their young children for creative STEM-based activities. Together, parent and child will interact with each other and socialize with other families to grow, learn, and play! Learn More To learn more, contact Neil Walker at 412.728.2892 or neil@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your network.
