PEO EIS films segment on AFCEA Belvoir's support to Fort Belvoir Elementary School.

Click here to view the video.

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Fort Belvoir Elementary School's AFCEA Science Center Officially Opened

Thanks to the Fort Belvoir Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, students at Fort Belvoir Elementary School will use the foremost technology to enhance their skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

The AFCEA Science Center officially opened this week for use by the students in their curriculum.

According to Joyce Matthews, technology specialist at FBES, AFCEA Fort Belvoir Chapter and their officers have given the school more than $80,000 just this school year to support their STEM focus.

The partnership began five years ago when the organization reached out to the elementary school to become a school partner. Since then, the chapter has provided funding to support any technology initiative the school has enacted.

The chapter bought smart boards for all of the school’s classrooms. They also donated a flat-screen television; four iPads; laptops and robotics kits for the new science center. AFCEA also supported a National Science Center’s Mobile Discovery Lab visit the school, and paid for the teachers to learn a new software program to support classroom instruction.

Each student will get the chance to work in the lab once a week, learning different science concepts and systems. The lab has eight different stations for the students. Each class is broken up into groups and visits each station.

Jessica Peterson’s fifth-grade class worked in the lab Tuesday, studying, among other topics, the respiratory and digestive systems.

Jaxon Bartlett, a fifth-grader at FBES, views an instructional program on an iPad. Four iPads were donated to the school by the Belvoir Chapter of AFCEA. Photo by Andrew Sharbel, Belvoir Eagle.

The smart board allowed each group of students to locate where each part of the respiratory tract is on the human body.

“They were instrumental in the development of our new science center, in addition to the recently opened Blixt Science Lab,” Matthews said. “We decided to name the Science Center at Fort Belvoir Elementary the AFCEA Belvoir Chapter Science Center to thank them for all they have done for our school.

“AFCEA Belvoir Chapter has made a major difference in the educational experiences for teachers and students at FBES,” Matthews said.

While the students are getting acclimated to the different gadgets available, Matthews also noted the school is hoping to get the parents involved.

“We are hoping to schedule a time for parents to come in and see the different things available to their kids here in the lab,” Matthews said. “We are hoping that some of them would be willing to volunteer in the lab when they can, to properly monitor each group of students.”

“So far, the kids really love the different tools AFCEA has provided for us,” Matthews said.

http://www.belvoireagle.com/index.php/news-articles/elementary_school_gets_new_science_center/
Posted on 01/13 at 10:27 AM

National Science Center’s Mobile Discovery Program

Through the efforts of AFCEA Belvoir, the NSC Mobile Discovery Program's "travelling lab" is visiting Fort Belvoir Elementary School April 26-28. 4th, 5th and 6th Grade Students will each spend an hour in the mobile lab, and will be tested on what they've learned afterwards.

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AFCEA Supporting STEM

Many of you are familiar with the current Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce crisis facing the United States. In an effort to better prepare the next generation of America’s teachers, AFCEA International and the AFCEA Educational Foundation are excited to announce the launch of the AFCEA Education Scholarships for Teaching STEM.

Beginning in 2010, AFCEA International will grant the AFCEA Educational Foundation an annual award of $200,000 to enable the Foundation to award 35 scholarships of $5,000 each per year. Students eligible to compete for AFCEA STEM must be U.S. citizens attending an accredited college or university in the U.S. and majoring in Education for the purpose of teaching a STEM subject in a U.S. middle or secondary school. Additionally, nominees must be enrolled full time and hold a minimum grade point average of 3.0.

In addition to the Scholarship, each graduating AFCEA STEM Scholar will receive a $1,000 AFCEA Science Teaching Tool (STT) grant each year for three years, provided they remain teaching a STEM subject. Science Teaching Tool grants are intended to augment the needs of the STEM teacher and enrich the learning experience of his/her students. Past STT grants have been used to fund hardware and software, purchase classroom tools, and enhance extracurricular STEM focused clubs and activities.

Here’s how you can help us help recruit STEM teachers:

• Spread the word! Forward the attached press release to local students to encourage them to apply for scholarships
• Contact your local chapter of the National Science Teachers Association (see attached list) and/or National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
• Contact the education departments of your local colleges and universities to post the attached press release or flyer in their office or distribute electronically to students
• Talk with your local scholarship providers, corporate sponsors and table buyers about becoming an AFCEA STEM Teacher donor
• Once the scholarship winners are announced, work with us to present the scholarships and science teaching tools awards

Applicants can access the AFCEA STEM Teacher application form at http://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/TeachersScholarship.asp.

If you have any questions on the STEM program, please contact Norma Corrales at scholarship@afcea.org or (703) 631-6149.

If you are interested in mentoring for the STEM Program, please contact Reginald Vaughn, vpeducation@belvoir.afceachapter.org as soon as possible.

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Prince William-Manassas Regional Science Fair

The AFCEA Belvoir Chapter is happy to have participated in this year’s Prince William-Manassas Regional Science Fair on Saturday, March 13. The Belvoir Chapter participants, composed of Alvie Johnson, Bill Jones, Greg Davis, and Steve Siegmund, served as judges at both the middle and high school level, and gave out a grand total of $2,950 to this year’s winners, in addition to contributing $5,000 as a sponsor of the event. There were many incredible science projects, but this year’s big winners were Jeremiah Johnson and Joseph Hillhouse. Jeremiah took first place in the middle school division for his project, and Joseph took first place at the high school level for his project. All in all, the Belvoir chapter gave out a total of 12 separate awards.