Girl Scout Camping 2014

I didn't realize it until we returned, but with 10-12 days to go before Christmas, we took 9 amazing young ladies Girl Scout camping.  We had the best time!  They created their SWAP on Friday night, which was connected to their Scouts Own ceremony. They participated in a flag ceremony first thing Saturday morning, did a team building activity, had a great time with archery, learned about structures and bridges with Mad Science, and did a great job with a skit before making S'mores on Saturday evening. They led the camp in a Scouts Own first thing Sunday morning and then went hiking in the drizzle before breaking camp.  It was just the best camping experience!

Our girls 

(some were not able to join us for camping)

Team Building

Archery

Structures/Bridges

After our Scouts Own

After our final hike

I love this picture of my niece and me!

Moving Boxes Again & Shopping for Supplies

This morning, I began sorting, labeling, organizing, and moving 56 boxes of Science equipment and supplies.  These boxes ranged in size and shape, and they all but filled up our workroom.  It was very difficult to get to the copy machines, paper cutters, di-cut materials, and bathroom.  After about 1.5 hours, everything was done and delivered to their Prep Labs (thanks to some help from students), and I had walked at least 2.2 miles in the process.  That is a good chunk of burnt calories first thing in the morning, and of course, let's not forget the energy burned actually picking up and moving the boxes.

I ended my day by going shopping after dinner to get supplies for our 8th grade Science teachers--Oreos or sandwich cookies and lollipops for Moon Phases and Graham Crackers and icing for Plate Tectonics.  Next week is going to be a fun week in Science.  Of course, that is working around going to the Planetarium too.

Over 5.5 miles total today.  That is a lot of walking at work.

Busy November & a Science Conference

The last two weeks have been quite busy.  The weekend after Halloween was slow and restful, but then it got busy.

I spent the evening of November 5th through the afternoon of November 9th about 4 hours south of my home at a state Science conference.  I was blessed to hang out with some great people, learn a lot, get a little exercise, and enjoy a little time away. We were really busy, but it was also relaxing and a really wonderful time.

While at the conference, I had the opportunity to hear Adam Steltzner. He was great! He played Bass in a Rock Band at 21 and was a Rocket Scientist at 30.  Amazing story on how he became interested in Science and started on his path toward NASA.  When he finished speaking, I still wanted to know more.

Adam Steltzner

"Adam Steltzner, the lead mechanical engineer for the crucial entry, descent and landing events when the rovers reach Mars, agrees. On top of being an award-winning teaching fellow at the University of Wisconsin, Adam was also in a rock band. And he loves his job at NASA.

"'It's certainly been the high point of my career. . . working on this essential phase of the mission," he said. "It's been an absolutely incredible experience, very gratifying.'"  Retrieved from http://marsrover.nasa.gov/spotlight/marsapalooza02.html on November 16, 2013.

Science Professional Development

Today was a Professional Development day for our district.  Science had the opportunity to do some vertical teaming with the high school teachers during the morning.  During the afternoon, the middle school teachers worked together to create videos.  Each teacher was assigned a standard.  They had to create a 10 minute video to teach teachers the standard. They then created a 2-4 minute video to teach students the standard. A lot of good, hard work was done. I can't wait to see the videos.