BI-COUNTY BRIEF -  MARCH 2010

Volume 7, Issue No. 8

March 2010

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY IS IMPORTANT TOPIC FOR ALL STUDENTS
There has been a dramatic increase in school bus loading zone accidents in the United States.  In 2009 twenty students were killed in loading zone accidents, many by drivers who ignored the bus's flashing red lights.  Bi-county teachers have a responsibility to remind students of these important bus safety rules:
·         Always look both ways when crossing the street.
·         Never run to or from the school bus.
·         The law requires cars to stop for a stopped school bus, but drivers do not always obey the law.  Never assume a car is going to stop for you anytime you are in the roadway.

EARTHSCOPE OFFERS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY
EarthScope, a multi-year program that will install more than 200 permanent seismometers, 150 borehole strainmeters, 400 temporary seimometers, 875 GPS stations, and a host of other scientific instruments across the nation, provides a unique opportunity for integrating scientific research and education for students, teachers, and the public in an experiment going on in their own backyard.   EarthScope will look into the earth and reveal the inner workings of the planet much like the Hubble Telescope is revealing the early history of the universe.
From 2011 to 2013 Illinois teachers and students will have the opportunity to be part of this scientific effort when every school in Illinois will be within 50 km. of a first-order seismometer.  Interested teachers will be trained for the Illinois EarthScope MSP Project 10 days in August—Monday through Friday, August 2–6 and August 9–13—and 4 follow-up days in November 2010 and February 2011.  Food, housing, and a $100/day stipend will be provided.  Additional information and the application can be found at http://lilt.ilstu.edu/rsnelso/.

FUN AND CHALLENGES AT TEAM QUEST 2010
In an exciting and challenging day of competitive teamwork at Hope Christian Church, 4-person elementary, middle and jr. high teams used thinking and group task skills in Team Quest 2010.  Twenty-two 5^th and 6^th grade teams competed on February 8^th with these results:  First Place–Immaculate Conception-Ryan Hoffman, Monica Shuler, Drew Freyman, and Samantha Vogt, Second Place–Immaculate Conception-Zach Hennes, Thomas Herrmann, Jake Heet, and Madeline Ritter,  Third Place–Columbia Middle-Korby Farmer, Alex Roider, Ashlyn Farris, and Jorie Harrison.  Then thirteen 3^rd and 4^th grade teams competed on February 10^th:  First Place– Parkview-Tyler Hoguet, Andrew Ford, Dan Haller, and Noah Riley, Second Place–Immaculate Conception-Samantha Coleman, Hannah Gibson, Jacob Hennes, and Zach Gillan,  Third Place–  Valmeyer-Michael Chism, Owen Miller, Leah Hill, and Joey Wagner.  Twenty-three 7^th and 8^th grade teams competed on February 11^th, after their original February 9^th date was canceled due to snow:  First Place–Ss. Peter and Paul-Katy Gyore, Sam Constantine, Abby Naumann, and Hannah O'Neill,  Second Place–Immaculate Conception-Sam Drennan, Sophia Cygnarowicz, AJ Hannon, and Blake Braun,  Third Place–Columbia Middle-Ian Boyer-Edwards, Katie Grindstaff, Brian Spargo, and Libbye Tellor.  Congratulations to all teams who participated and learned cooperation.

ART DU JOUR FILLS DAY WITH ART
Art students from bi-county high schools enjoyed a day of sharing and learning at this year's Art du Jour at Southwestern Illinois College's Red Bud campus.  Not only was their artwork judged in various categories, but participants were able to learn more about other disciplines in morning and afternoon breakout sessions in figure drawing, guerilla art, dark room techniques, computer animation, acrylic painting, still life drawing, pastels and silkscreening.  Amy Hoffman and Lana Rottler, both from Gibault Catholic High School, garnered the People's Choice and Best of Show awards, respectively.  Other honors included Drawing – 1-Lana Rottler, Gibault, 2-Megan Crawford, Waterloo, 3-Michelle Byer, Steeleville, 4-Amber Joiner, Sparta, 5-Chris Kuester, Gibault, Painting – 1-Bethany Joiner, Sparta, 2-Amy Hoffman, Gibault, 3-Sabrina Ebers, Steeleville, 4-Nikki Schmidt, Gibault, 5-Kayla Koch, Steeleville, Sculpture – 1-Sarah Kinz, Columbia, 2-Danielle Schmitz, Columbia, 3-Frankie Colston, Columbia, Photography – 1-Chelsea Curten, Red Bud, Chelsea Moore, Red Bud, Courtney Kueker, Red Bud, Computer Art – 1-Ryan Magouirk, Waterloo, and Mixed Media – 1-Krista Baker, Columbia, 2-Kayan Richards, Sparta, 3-James Butler, Columbia.  Twenty-four "Honorable Mentions" should also be congratulated. 

STUDENTS CAN BE EARTH GUAGE KIDS
Encourage your students to be Earth Gauge Kids at http://www.earthguage.net/kids/index.  With a new theme each month and a new quiz and activities they can try at school or home, students learn the connection between weather and the environment.  Some of the recent topics were November–Fall Food, October–What Is Climate? September–National Parks!  Earth Gauge Kids will also empower your students to protect the environment and keep their families safe from weather and environmental hazards.

ILLINOIS TEACHERS WORKSHOP:  ROCKS, MINERALS & MINING IN TODAY'S SOCIETY
Don't miss an opportunity to learn, have fun, and make valuable contacts with other teachers and individuals in the mining industry at the 3-day Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers' (IAAP) Illinois Teachers Workshop July 19–21 at Chestnut Mountain Resort in Galena, Illinois.  The main focus of the workshop is Illinois geology, mining, land reclamation, and environmental issues.  Learn about the importance of rocks, minerals, and mining in everyday life by touring active mining operations and land reclamation sites and doing various hands-on educational activities.
Workshop participants receive CPDU credits and have the opportunity to obtain 2 graduate credit hours through Illinois State University.  At the conclusion, each teacher receives mineral and fossil kits, videos, posters, lesson plans and other teaching aids.  Download the registration form at http://www.iaap-aggregates.org/workshop.htm.

FROM SEED TO SEED
From Seed to Seed is a professional development course presented by the National Gardening Association for K–8 teachers who already incorporate botany and gardening (either indoors or out) into their science curriculum and for teachers who would like to do so.  In addition to the core botanical information, activities and experiments that address K–8 national standards in various disciplines are provided.  The course content is divided into two parts: From Seed to Seed, which follows the life cycle of a plant from seed to seed, and Exploring Plant Topics, which lays the foundation for more complex and fascinating topics in plant biology.  You can work sequentially through the entire course or jump to the sections that will help you with specific concepts you would like to grasp or teach to your students.  There are no prerequisites and the cost is $60. Learn more at http://kidsgardening.org/course-teacher.html#description.

FOREST ECOLOGY CAN BE DOWNLOADED
Forest Ecology, a 48-page activity book from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Division of Education, is ready for download at http://dnr.state.il.us/teachkids.  Targeted to students of grades four through eight, the booklet contains many activities about the complex ecological relationships in Illinois forests and how they are managed.  Preview and download your copy today!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 2, 2010	Gifted Seminar	Sparta Lincoln, Sparta	4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
March 4, 2010	TRS Telephone Conferences
March 4, 2010	Integrating the SMART Board	Red Bud Elementary	4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
March 16, 2010	SMART Board Basics	Red Bud Elementary	4:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
March 23, 2010	Guidance Counselors' Meeting	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 152	9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
March 23, 2010	Administrator Academy	Annex, Waterloo	8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
March 27, 2010	Young Authors' Conference	Columbia Middle School	8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon
March 30, 2010	Platinum Chef	Red Bud HIgh School
April 12, 2010	IBion Tech	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 217	8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
April 13, 2010	Gifted Education Seminar	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 152	8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
April 13, 2010	Spelling Bee	Prairie du Rocher School	6:00 p.m.
April 13, 2010	Project Citizen hearings	SIU - Carbondale	9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
April 20, 2010	Best Reading Practices	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 152	8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
April 22, 2010	Art Festival	Sparta Lincoln Middle	5:00 p.m.
April 23, 2010	Superintendents' Council		9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
May 11, 2010	Gifted Education Seminar	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 152	8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
May 14, 2010	Principals' Meeting	SWIC, Red Bud - Rm. 152	8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.