| Friends of the
BioBus Educational Programs:
Despite the snows of
winter, the BioBus is on the road. Upcoming visits include
North Haven High School, St. Mary’s School in Jewet City,
and the Shoreline Christian School in Madison.
Equally important, the
BioConnection laboratory equipment loan program continues to
ship modules for classroom. Schools receiving modules in the
second half of February include Womogo High School in
Litchfield, Sport and Medical Sciences Academy and
University High School in Hartford, and the Fraser-Woods
School in Newtown.
The complete list of
schools receiving BioBus or BioConnection visits is on our
website – click
here for more.
Through our curriculum
develop and teacher professional education programs as well
as the BioBus and BioConnection, we continue to build on our
reputation as the leading bioscience education resource for
Connecticut’s schools, both in our home state and
nationally. We have put together a strategic plan of new
projects for improving science education in Connecticut
budgeted at about $3 million over the next three years, and
are pleased to announce that this past November, the State
of Connecticut designated $1.5 million of bond money for the
strategic growth of these programs.
On April 24 this year the
BioBus will once again be at the Capitol in Hartford, where
last year we announced plans to run the bus on biodiesel
fuel. And on March 26-30 the BioBus will be at the National
Science Teachers Association Annual Meeting in Boston,
thanks to a collaboration with SMART Technologies Inc. The
staff has also been invited to make two presentations at the
NSTA conference, Biotech Goes Green! and Bugs and
Scrubs: Hands-on Activities to Teach Disease Concepts in the
Classroom.
To keep pace with our
growing role in science education, we recently strengthened
our administrative structure. The BioBus Educational
Programs now has its own Board of Directors, separate from
the board of CURE, its parent organization.
Our Board of Directors is
listed in the left-hand column of this newsletter. We were
delighted when our Board chair, Sheenah Mische of Boehringer
Ingelheim, was recognized at the CURE annual meeting last
December with an Award of Merit for her contributions to
science education.
Our Advisory Council for
2007-08 is a hard-working team drawn from many areas of
Connecticut science education and is an invaluable resource
guiding us on program development. They are:
Robert Borello
Associate Director
for Science
PIMMS (Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and
Science)
Wesleyan University
Susan Palissano
Educational
Programs Director
CT Center for Advanced Technology
Department of Education
Representatives
Mary Anne Butler
Consultant, 9-12 Science
Connecticut Department of Education
Elizabeth Buttner
Consultant, K-8 Science
Connecticut Department of Education
Elementary School
Representatives
Gwen Cook
Science Teacher
Whitney School
Shannon Oneto
3rd grade Teacher
John C Daniels Elementary School
Middle School
Representative
Joan Donlon
Science Teacher
Oxford Middle School
Connecticut Science
Teachers Association Representative
Eloise Farmer
Membership Chair
Connecticut Science Teachers Association
Connecticut Science
Supervisors Association Representative
David Lopath
Board Member
Connecticut Science Supervisors Association
Industry Representatives
Amapola O'Brien
Pfizer Inc
Christopher Marlor
Achillion Pharmaceuticals
Connecticut Association
of Biology Teachers Representative
Eileen Roark
Nathan Hale-Ray High School
High School
Representatives
Chris Willems
Science Teacher
Wilbur Cross High School
Christine Bouchard
Department Chair
Jonathan Law High School
Lisa Cellini
Science Teacher
St. Joseph High School
The BioBus Educational
Programs staff looks forward to working with this
knowledgeable team as we continue to develop new directions
in science education.
Sincerely,
Sarah Berke
Director
BioBus Educational Programs |