Just had a minute to go through a bunch of e-mails and newsletters that have come pouring in with the start of school. Here are some great opportunities. I leave it to you to sort through them and find your gems.
- The national Agriculture in the Classroom conference is in Portland, Maine next summer. Deadline for submitting conference proposals is Oct. 6. Presenters receive $50 off their conference registration for each workshop presented. The conference runs June 25-29, 2018. Scholarships are available to help defray the costs of attending the conference. Here’s the promotional video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmtLhhbT-QY&feature=youtu.be.
- CHS and Agriculture in the Classroom grant deadline for $500 to promote agricultural literacy through the core curriculum is Sept. 15. Details and application form.
- Sacramento State University is hosting CelebratED for Change on campus Sept. 25-29. Events include lectures by leading education researchers, presentation of College of Education faculty, and journal editors discussing the world of peer-reviewed publishing.
- A California Indian Curriculum Summit is set to work on a new curriculum to replace the fourth-grade California Mission project. The summit will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, Oct. 9, at Sacramento State University. A California Indian Conference is scheduled for Oct. 20-22 at San Diego State University.
- The California Museum in Sacramento is offering a teacher open house from 1 to 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 17. Free with advance registration. Learn how to use the museum as a resource for classroom lessons and field trips to the newly opened Unity Center, created in response to a series of hate crimes in Northern California.
- Learn how to decorate sugar skulls for Día de los Muertos at the California Museum. Approved for people age 5 and up. Cost is $20. Oct. 28 and 29 at the museum. Registration.
- Journey 2050, based in Canada, has a website and virtual simulation to help students learn what it takes to feed the world.
- Deadline for the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom’s Literacy for Life grants is Oct. 1. Get $500 to fund a new project or expand an existing one.
- The California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom’s September edition of Cream of the Crop is out and chock full of information. Subscribe to the e-newsletter to keep up to date. This month’s edition includes info on a photography contest for kids, a calendar of events occurring throughout California for adults and kids, an interview with a teacher, and the news on the upcoming story writing contest for kids through grade 8.
- The Green Restaurants Alliance Sacramento, “GRAS,” works to reduce waste in landfills and rebuild soil through composting. GRAS teaches the benefits of healthy soil and composting at schools, workshops, and community garden demonstrations.
- The latest Project Green Schools newsletter focuses on ways students can improve the environment starting with their own schools. This month includes more environmentally sound ways to clean schools, how to produce an environmentally friendly yearbook, how some Georgia students are cutting back on plastic by convincing people to give up straws, as well as information on STEM and GREEN projects, climate change, composting, and conferences.
- Project Learning Tree has a $1,000 grant available for environmental service-based learning. Deadline is Sept. 30 each year. Funding arrives in December. Grant application requires attendance at PLT training. Check out the Project Learning Tree website for a list of trainings and curriculum available to teachers even if you aren’t applying for the grant. Read Rebecca Reynandez’ article “12 Engaging Science Apps for Middle and High School Students.”