Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Have your say, March 2010
Some opportunities and free resources now available.
The nine regional and one national Science Learning Centres in England were set up by the DCSF and the Welcome Trust to support teachers in providing “exciting, intellectually stimulating and relevant science education” by providing training and resources for teachers to enhance their understanding of the latest science ideas and teaching approaches. As well as the website with online resources for both primary and secondary science, all centres run courses for teachers and bursaries to attend them: awards of £200 for teachers and lecturers and £100 for technicians are available to attend continuing professional development courses advertised on the website. (Impact bursaries).There are also Enthuse awards which cover the costs and fees of attending residential courses at the National Science Learning Centre in York. The website also regularly has opportunities for schools, students and teachers to get involved in research projects related to science teaching.
The EarthWatch Next Generation Projects are designed to provide opportunities for young people aged 16 and 17 from the UK and Saudi Arabia to work together in projects to promote a life-long interest in the natural environment. The projects are fully funded ( by Saudi Aramco) including all costs of visits to the UK and Saudi Arabia as well as the research visits. The two projects announced for Earth Watch 2010 are:
*Sailing the Scottish Hebridean Islands to monitor whale and dolphin populations.
* Working with local communities in the Samburu Reserve, Kenya to protect local biodiversity
Both projects will take place in July/ August 2010. Participants will be required to complete a personal journal of their experiences. To read the itinerary for the projects and for an application form, visit the website.
Show me is a website designed for children to visit to see what is happening in museums and galleries and heritage sites in their local area as well as nationally. The site is part of the work by Culture 24 – designed to bring together information and access to cultural attractions. Children can search by topic that interests them or place, to see what national and local museums and galleries have on offer. The Show Me allows children to add their own reviews and ideas too.
The Henry Williamson society has launched a writing competition for children in years 8 and 9 with a first prize of £300 for the winner’s school and £100 for the winner themselves. Winning entries will also be posted on the society’s website. The theme is “How dear is life”. The closing date is 18th June 2010. Entrants are asked to: Write approximately 500 words in essay or story form, or as an extended poem using the theme 'How Dear is Life' (The title of Williamson’s novel exploring the outbreak of the First World War. ) For more info visit the website.
National Vegetarian Week is 24th -30th May 2010. There are two competitions running in advance of the week: one for under 12 year olds to design the poster which will be used to promote the week and one for all children to design a weekend menu for a young vegetarian on a low-budget. There are also free resources on the website.
Microsoft are releasing the latest version of Office, Office 2010 later this year. (June) There is now a free e-book available which gives previews and guides to the new version.You can download it here: First Look- Microsoft Office 2010
The Poetry Society, Foyles Young Poet of the Year Award 2010 has been launched. The competition is open to young people aged 11-17 to enter poems about any theme and of any length. Entry is completely free and you can enter as many poems as you like. The closing date is 31st July 2010. Winnerswill bepresented with their awards at a special ceremony on National Poetry Day . Winners will have their poem published in the Foyles Young Poet Anthology plus various other prizes including a short residency to their school by a leading poet , and residential poetry course places. To read more about the award and the prizes or to enter,visit the website.
To mark the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity (IYB), the UK National Commission for UNESCO has launched a biodiversity information pack and competition for schools.The biodiversity pack includes practical suggestions for how schools can celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity and examples of how UNESCO helps protect biodiversity in the UK, including case studies from UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and natural World Heritage Sites which have distinct biodiversity. The IYB competition will find the school that can best communicate the important messages of the International Year of Biodiversity. The competition is open to all primary and secondary schools in the UK. Participating schools are asked to devise a creative and effective campaign that can spread the IYB messages to their local community. Schools can submit a poster, collage, brochure, video or podcast. There will be prizes for the best entry in each category and prizes for runners up. The deadline for competition entries is 28 May 2010 and more information can be found on the website.