Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Competition to be held In-Person at Thomas College in March

The Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Competition’s 2022 official season kicked off on January 8th with 24 teams registering to compete later this year. The event will take place from Friday, March 11th through Sunday, March 13th at Thomas College in Waterville.

After two seasons on hold from in-person competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event will be in-person, with no on-site spectators.

FIRST Robotics is powered primarily by volunteers. Professionals from the community serve as mentors for high school team members. Each team is responsible for their own fundraising, and are judged on many criteria from the building of the robot to the sustainability of the team.

According to a description by First Inspires, “under strict rules and limited time and resources, teams of high school students are challenged to build industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game in alliance with other teams, while also fundraising to meet their goals, designing a team ‘brand,’ and advancing respect and appreciation for STEM within the local community.”

The Pine Tree District FIRST Robotics Event is not affiliated with any one team, but is organized by a group of volunteers from several teams to hold the only qualifying event being held in Maine. The event is funded entirely by corporate and private donations.

For more information or to get involved as a supporter or volunteer, contact the planning committee at pinetreeregional@gmail.com, or visit www.pinetreedistrict.org.

School Librarians Invited to Apply for Innovation Grant Through New England School Library Association

The New England School Library Association (NESLA) has announced a new grant established to encourage the development of innovative projects by school librarians in K-12 schools in the New England region.

Named in honor of the late Carolyn Markuson, a longtime NESLA member and a mentor and inspiration for school librarians throughout the region, the grant will be presented annually by NESLA.

Grant Details:

Funding is up to $500.
Grant recipients will also receive an initial payment or renewal for one year’s membership in ALA and AASL.
Applications for the 2022-23 school year are due by April 2, 2022.
The successful grant award will be announced by May 31, 2022.
Projects for the 2022-23 school year begin between September 2022 to March 1, 2023, and are to be completed by April 30, 2023.

Eligibility:

Membership in NESLA (Applicants may join when applying.)
State school librarianship licensure
Projects in progress and planned projects in need of financial assistance are eligible.

Further information, including selection criteria, is available on the NESLA website.

Maine CDC Announces “Tick Wise” Poster Contest

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) announces the 2022 Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest. This contest is for Maine students in grades K-8th to raise awareness of tickborne disease prevention. The 2022 Lyme Disease Awareness Month poster contest theme is “Tick Wise.”

Maine CDC encourages students to show how they are “Tick Wise.” Posters should illustrate at least one of the four approaches to personal prevention:

Use caution in tick-infested areas
Use an EPA-approved repellent
Wear protective clothing
Perform daily tick checks both by sight and by touch

Maine CDC will choose one winner each from grades K-1st, 2nd-3rd, 4th-5th, and 6th-8th. One winning poster will become Maine CDC’s 2022 Lyme Disease Awareness poster. Visit Maine CDC’s Lyme Disease Awareness Month website for more information. All posters must have a signed parent consent form.

Maine CDC created free downloadable school curriculum materials for students in 3rd – 8th grades to learn about ticks. Parents and teachers can also find tickborne disease posters, brochures, and other resources to download and order here. Explore these resources to become “Tick Wise” and prevent tick bites and tickborne disease.

For more information about tickborne diseases in Maine, visit www.maine.gov/lyme. For questions about the poster contest, contact megan.porter@maine.gov.

Get Ready to Read! Celebrate the Read to ME Challenge During the Month of February

For the 7th year, the Maine Department of Education will collaborate with community organizations and schools to support the Read to ME Challenge, a month-long public awareness campaign held in February to promote the importance of literacy across the curriculum for all of Maine’s students, regardless of age.

This simple but powerful campaign challenges adults to read to children for 15 minutes, capture that moment via a photo or a video, and then post it on social media and challenge others to do the same. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ReadtoME and tag the Maine DOE at @mdoenews on Twitter, @MaineDepartmentofEducation1 on Facebook, and @mainedepted on Instagram! Capturing the power of reading and talking about any type of text with children and youth of any age promotes life-long habits essential for being a literate citizen.

The Read to ME Challenge will run for the month of February, leading up to Read Across America Day on March 2, 2022. The Maine DOE will be kicking off the Read to ME Challenge this year on February 1st with the Commissioner doing a special reading – more information will be forthcoming via the Maine DOE Newsroom.

For more information, contact Dee Saucier, Elementary Literacy Specialist for the Maine DOE.

Foreign Language Association of Maine Accepting Nominations For ESOL Teacher of the Year and World Languages Teacher of the Year

The Foreign Language Association of Maine (FLAME) is now accepting nominations for two awards to celebrate excellence in language teaching – English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Teacher of the Year and World Languages Teacher of the Year!

Do you know a language teacher who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, innovation, passion, and a strong commitment to advocacy and equity? FLAME welcomes you to nominate them so they can be recognized by their peers and school communities.

Submit nominations by following the links below. Nominations will be accepted until February 11th:

The awards will be presented at the FLAME Conference, which is to be held virtually this year on March 11th and 12th.

If you have any questions, contact April Perkins, World Languages & ESOL/Bilingual Programs Specialist and FLAME Board Member, at april.perkins@maine.gov.

Computer Science Professional Development Grant Application

The Maine Department of Education (DOE) is pleased to announce the opening of the second round of the Computer Science Professional Development Grant!

Maine’s 130th legislature, through L.D. 127: Resolve, To Establish a Pilot Program To Provide Grants for Professional Development in Computer Science Instruction. Sponsored by Senator Pouliot, the bill created a pilot grant program to provide funding for high-quality, teacher-developed or teacher-led professional development for PK-12 computer science pedagogy and content. The first round of grants were awarded in the fall and now the spring window to apply is here!

Priority will be given to applicants that:

are located in one (or more) of the following counties where no awards were made in the first application round: Sagadahoc, York, Piscataquis, Aroostook, Somerset, Washington, Oxford, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Androscoggin, Franklin, and Kennebec.
do not currently offer computer science learning opportunities;
serve socioeconomically disadvantaged school districts;
prioritize student populations traditionally underrepresented in computer science;
demonstrate a commitment to pursuing high-quality educator professional development that emphasizes integration of computer science into other course work and curricula or establishes or expands access to courses that offer college credit and other certificates of value, or both; and
collaborate or partner with other entities, including but not limited to other local education agencies, the business community, nonprofit organizations and private entities.

The fall application window opens Friday, January 28th, 2022 and closes February 11th, 2022. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. All applicants will be notified of their application status within two weeks of the application deadline.

There is no limit to the grant amount awarded per applicant; however, funds will be dispersed equitably across all applications based on county and throughout PK-12.

Have questions? Want to learn more? We are hosting three informational sessions, January 31st, February 2nd, and February 8th.

Interested in applying? Check out our website to register for an informational session, learn more about the grant, and submit an application.

Need assistance applying? contact Emma-Marie Banks, Computer Science Specialist & Secondary Digital Learning Specialist emma-marie.banks@maine.gov.

SOS to Spring – Social Emotional Intelligence Series for Maine’s Education Workforce

The Maine Department of Education’s Office of School and Student Supports invites ALL educators to SOS to Spring starting Feb. 3rd. Our SOS (Supporting our Staff) Platform was first introduced in November 2021, and if educators have not had the opportunity to explore its modules, we’re here to spring you forward and to reignite your own Adult SEL (Social Emotional Learning) skills. Educators are invited to chart their own course and to choose modules from the Adult, Social Emotional Intelligence site, OR our SEL Specialist Kellie Bailey has selected six high-leverage modules for interested participants. Those selected modules are as follows:

Feb. 3rd – I Wasn’t Trained for This!
Feb. 17th – Up Against the Clock Adult Wellness
March 3rd – De-Stress for Success
March 17th – What is Compassion Fatigue, and Do I Have It?
April 7th – A Mental Balancing Act
April 28th – Choosing to Be Grateful and Optimistic: A Lesson in Mindfulness

SEL Specialist Kellie Bailey will lead the six-part series – focused on reflection of the assigned module and applying the learning. Sessions will run from 4:00-4:45; HOWEVER, if you do not have time to watch the module ahead of time, log onto the zoom at 3:45pm for each session and watch it with our DOE team!

If educators choose to chart their own course, simply track your modules and send your documentation to us – kellie.bailey@maine.gov. We’re all in this together – make the time to tend to YOU!

Registration link

Participants do need to register on the SOS page if educators are not already registered for SEL4ME (takes two seconds!): SOS/SEL4ME Registration

For more information contact Kellie D. Bailey, Maine DOE Social Emotional Behavioral Learning Specialist at Kellie.Bailey@maine.gov.

FORUM: Emotional Well-Being During a Pandemic

Sponsored by Maine Community Action Partnership (MeCAP), this is a forum, open to all and at no charge, to connect and explore coping strategies.

Panelists:

Dr. Nirav Shah, Director of Maine Centers for disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Eric Eisele, E-COVID Project Director, Office of Behavioral Health, Maine Department for Health and Human Services (DHHS)
Arabella Pares, Trauma Informed Certificate Coordinator, University of New England (UNE)
Abigail Young, Junior at Ellsworth High School

Thursday, January 27, 6:00pm – 7:15pm

For more information, contact MeCAP: https://mecap.org

Maine Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Traffic Safety Programming

Students Against Destructive Decisions in Maine is offering educators across the state free access to mental health, prevention and mobility safety resources through a partnership with the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety.

Schools that become SADD chapters can not only implement any or all of SADD’s programming, they also can take advantage of SADD’s roster of local and national partners, as well as our engaging expert speakers.

SADD chapters offer unique opportunities to your students including attendance at national conferences and webinars; access to scholarship opportunities; new ways to connect with peers across the country; and some great things to put on their college applications.

Becoming a SADD chapter is completely free, and there are no requirements for participation. Your chapter can do as little or as much as works for your school. If you are interested in finding out more, please reach out to Christina Schechtman, Maine SADD State Coordinator, at cschechtman@sadd.org or visit linktr.ee/saddmaine.

Webinar Regarding Education and Afghan Newcomers: Keeping the Promise

The U.S. Department’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) in collaboration with the Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) invites you to a webinar that will provide information about ORR’s process for placing and supporting Afghan refugees in the context of the U.S. educational system.

The webinar will also feature representatives from the Office for Civil Rights, (OCR) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). The panelists will discuss how to coordinate resources to provide wrap-around services and offer information about Federal support that will be explained in a forthcoming Dear Colleague Letter.

All state and local education personnel including superintendents, Title III Directors, teachers, and others who are involved in the work of welcoming our Afghan newcomers are invited to join on January 24, 2022, for an engaging and informative session.

Date: January 24, 2022,

Time: 4:00 pm Eastern Time