Seeking youth applicants to serve on grantmaking advisory committee
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The Empower Coös Youth Grants Program seeks area high-school students from Coös County and surrounding communities in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to help decide how to award up to $50,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations that focus on reducing carbon emissions; increasing extracurricular activities; and strengthening community engagement.
Please encourage potential student candidates to apply. The deadline is April 15, 2021.
Download flyer
Learn more
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Opening for Coös middle school to join Mikva Challenge
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There is an opportunity for another Coös middle school to join Gorham, Groveton, and Littleton schools in participating in the Mikva Challenge for the '22 school year. This initiative being coordinated by the NH Institute for Civics Education.
We live in an increasingly politically polarized nation where incivility and distrust in government is at an all-time high and young people report record high levels of cynicism about their government. Yet most students lack access to engaging civic education.
Action Civics provides students with engaging, rigorous, project-based learning about the democratic process. This instructional process invites real world issues into the classroom and students learn how to analyze, research, dialogue, collaborate, and take informed action on community problems they want to see addressed.
Participating schools receive free licenses to the Action Civics curricula (see sample), professional learning workshops and hands-on coaching and technical support.
The culminating event is the Mikva Challenge Project Soapbox. This a public speaking event that calls young people to speak out on issues that affect them and their communities. These powerful speeches have lasting, transformative impacts on classrooms, schools and communities. See highlights from the March 2021 Project Soapbox.
Learn more about the Mikva Challenge
North Country teachers interested in learning more about how to participate should contact Amanda Maguire at amandam@mikvachallenge.org.
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2021 NH Virtual Drinking Water Festival
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The 2021 Virtual Festival is packed with over 40 videos and activities that connect with student’s daily lives and explore how to keep water clean. Major themes include the water cycle, watersheds, groundwater, wildlife, the human water cycle, Water Heroes (career fields) and the Poetry Contest. Engaging lessons range from calculating a personal water footprint to finding costly silent toilet leaks and learning how caddisflies stabilize streambeds against erosion. The online lessons and activities are designed for students in third through fifth grades, but with the timeless importance of clean water, students in other grades (and adults) can benefit from them as well. All materials are free and openly available. Students participating in the Poetry Contest should submit entries by April 30, 2021.
The Virtual Water Festival and Poetry Contest is available at www.nhwaterfestival.org.
If you would like to learn more, please contact Lara Hooper at lara.hooper@des.nh.gov.
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Summer Learning Opportunities for Students!
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WMSI is offering both in-person and remote camps this summer with programs serving ages ranging from 5 through 13. Please share these programs with your students. Scholarship are available.
To learn more about the offerings, as well as the safety guidelines for the in-person camps, visit https://www.whitemountainscience.org/wmsi-camps.
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Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship Nominations
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The Louise Tillotson Teaching Fellowship was established to honor and celebrate North Country teachers in public education. The fellowship is available to K-12 public school teachers in the North Country (upper Grafton and Carroll Counties and Coos County) and in bordering communities in Essex County, VT.
Each year, the fellowship provides one to three teachers with awards ranging from $10,000 to $15,000 each. A selection committee will award fellowships based on candidates’ commitment to public education, breadth of experience, demonstration of innovation in education, creativity in solving problems, communication skills, and ability to inspire educators and students.
Fellowship applications are available on the NHCF’s website at www.nhcf.org/tillotsonfellowship. Completed applications are due Friday, April 23, 2021.
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Childhood Depression Awareness
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NH's Kid Governor, Charlie Olsen, is committed to his platform of Childhood Depression and eliminating the stigma of mental illness. To achieve this he, in collaboration with the NH Civics and the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, is sponsoring a poster contest for all NH 5th graders.
All entries must be received by April 23, 2021 by scan or photograph (with original available).
Learn more
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Environmental Science Competition for High Schoolers
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The 2021 NH Envirothon, a state-wide, team-based environmental science competition for high schoolers, will be hosted virtually this year. The remote format will task competitors with completing traditional written tests, experiential field challenges, and virtual presentations to show their knowledge and skills in the realms of Aquatics, Forestry, Soils, Wildlife, and the current issue topic of: Climate Change and NH Water Resources.
The competition will be hosted over the course of one full week, starting on Friday 5/21 and ending Thursday 5/27. Competing teams must be made of 5 students of high school age in order to win the competition and represent NH in the NCF-Envirothon happening virtually in July. Participation is open to traditional 5-member teams and non-traditional teams of fewer students and/or middle schoolers.
Learn more
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North Country Young Writers' Festival
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 The North Country Young Writers’ Festival, taking place May 14th & 15th, is a youth-focused and youth-driven event. The festival workshops in creative writing for student participants will be taught by college and graduate students.
This free festival is designed for 7th-12th students from New Hampshire with a casual interest in creative writing and also for those who are considering writing as their college major or profession.
With seven workshops on a range of topics (poetry, screenplays, short stories, flash nonfiction), a lively Submit-a-thon, readings with published authors, a chance to meet the state’s youth poet laureates (and learn how to become one), fun writing games with prizes, a marathon poem written over 48 hours, and the opportunity to join the editorial board of a new North Country student literary magazine, this festival will be a memorable experience!
 As part of the festival, Penny Kittle will be conducting a workshop for teachers, Teaching Poetry to Transform Thinking about Writing. To learn more about Penny Kittle and others featured in the festival, click on the learn more link below.
Learn more
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The Granite Guarantee is a financial aid program that makes college possible for qualified New Hampshire students by covering the cost of tuition for up to four years.
This program defines the University System of New Hampshire's commitment to providing a world-class education at the University of New Hampshire, Keene State College and Plymouth State University.
HERE'S HOW YOU QUALIFY:
> You're a New Hampshire resident
> You're attending college for the first time, working towards a Bachelor's degree
> You're eligible for a federal Pell Grant
Learn more
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Scholarships Available for Two- and Four-Year Degrees
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Learn how to apply to New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Scholarships for the 2021-2022 academic year by visiting www.nhcf.org/scholarships. There are new deadlines for adult students and students of any age pursuing a two-year degree. Applications for students under the age of 24 pursuing a four-year degree are due April 16, 2021.
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Resources for Kinship Caregivers
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 Step Up Parents provides financial assistance to kinship caregivers in New Hampshire who are raising the children of parents with substance use disorder.
A short video provides an overview of the organization's mission and operation.
Download a brochure or learn more at https://www.stepupparents.net/
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Grant Seeker Information Session:
Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund
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Organizations providing services in Coos County and bordering communities in Vermont, Quebec, and Maine are encouraged to apply for funding from the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund. Come and learn more about the Tillotson Fund’s strategic framework which includes revised priorities and the grant application process for the Local Grants program. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and meet program staff.
Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
To register to attend the information session, please contact Jean Clarke, Tillotson Funds Manager at email jc@nhcf.org or call 603-225-6641 X238.
Learn more
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Nature-Based Early Childhood Education Conference
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 One of the Antioch University New England "In Bloom" conferences for 2021 will be a virtual event. Co-sponsored by the North Branch Nature Center, this will take place June 5th, 2021 from 12:30pm to 4:30pm. This conference will accommodate 150 participants. Workshops will be geared to preschool through third grade.
Cost: $40
Learn more
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NH Historical Society Virtual Field Trip
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The New Hampshire Historical Society has announced a new virtual field trip experience, "5 Granite State Icons." It's perfect for students who can't take field trips because of the COVID-19 pandemic or for kids who live too far away to visit us in Concord. This program ensures that every student can participate in a Granite State experience that generations have shared.
Designed for kids working from their homes or in a classroom, this program will engage elementary school students in an exploration of what it means to be a Granite Stater. It includes series of short videos, with each video followed by a live, interactive virtual session with a museum educator.
Bookings for spring 2021 are now being accepted on the Society's website or by contacting Assistant Director of Education Jenn Walton at jwalton@nhhistory.org or 603-856-0645.
Video overview
Learn more
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New Hampshire Energy Education Program
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 The New Hampshire Energy Education Program (NHEEP) has developed new resources, for teachers and students, that are still interactive and NGSS-aligned, but can be adapted to fit virtual, hybrid, or in-class models. Teachers can connect with a NHEEP Energy Teaching Partner who can provide support, guidance, virtual presentations, and more for their classes. NHEEP also provides professional development, which they have adapted to a virtual platform. These resources are offered at no charge to teachers thanks to generous funders.
Contact Anna Hamilton, anna@veep.org, with questions.
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CS Principles and CS Discovery, Free to NH Educators
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 Did you know that students who study computer science perform better in other subjects, excel at problem-solving, and are more likely to attend college? That's why now is the best time to attend Code.org’s Professional Learning Program, which will prepare you to bring CS to your students by this fall. No previous experience with CS is required.
In New Hampshire, CS Principles and CS Discoveries workshops are offered at no cost to teachers who meet the scholarship requirements and are accepted into the program - so apply today!
Learn more
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 Civic health refers specifically to the ways in which residents of a community (or state) participate in civic activities that strengthen social capital, enhance interconnections, build trust, help each other, talk about public issues and challenges, volunteer in government and non-profit organizations, stay informed about their communities, and participate directly in crafting solutions to various social and economic challenges. The findings from 2020 NH Civic Health Index have been recently released.
Learn more
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Introduction to Ambitious Teaching
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 The NH Learning Initiative four-evening series on formative assessment is designed to take your teaching to the next level. Dr. Margaret Heritage, an expert in formative assessment, will kick-off the work in session one.
Dates: Tuesdays, April 13, May 11 & 25, and June 8, 2021
Time: 3:30 - 6:30
Location: Online
Cost: $299 plus optional graduate credit fees
Learn more
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100 Ideas for Awesome Academic Work in the Last Weeks of School
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 Mike Anderson has been helping K-12 educators from throughout the North Country think about how to end the school year on a great note particularly in this less than typical year. In one of the session activities, participants generated ideas for engaging academic work to weave into the last weeks of schools. Mike turned those ideas into a blog post. Be sure to check it for some fresh ideas to excite kids about academics to wrap up your year.
Mike Anderson's blog
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Exciting Opportunities with reDesign for Summer 2021
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The reDesign co.Lab is accepting applications for two exciting opportunities to radically rethink and redesign learning for young people.
250 content experts who are passionate about creating a K-12 framework that is relevant, coherent, and culturally affirming are being sought to redesign the K-12 content map.
This is an open call for 50 curriculum designers who want to design learning for 7th-12th grade levels and bring the new “canon” to life by creating beautiful projects that develop learners’ key competencies, critical consciousness, and community connections.
Learn more
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North Country Partnership for SEL Practices
Follow NCP4SEL on Facebook for more tips, resources, and announcements.
Zoom a Scientist!
Free 45 to 60‐minute presentations and discussions about a wide variety of research topics designed for elementary, middle, or high school levels are available through Hubbard Brook Research Foundation.
Learn more about scientists and topics.
For more information, contact educator@hubbardbrookfoundation.org.
NHTM New Membership Structure
New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics (NHTM) welcomes all who are interested in mathematics education to join the our organization. Basic membership is now free. Members receive occasional updates about professional development opportunities and PD provided by others with an interest in mathematics education. The basic membership also includes membership in the New England affiliate, Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England (ATMNE), with all of its privileges.
Learn more
Join the New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association for free during 2020-21!
The NHSTA is a volunteer group of educators who seek to improve and coordinate science education at all levels of instruction, to increase scientific literacy, and to help students realize the crucial importance and relevance of science in their lives. NHSTA typically hosts three conferences per year, one dedicated specifically to elementary teachers. Membership keeps you informed, provides you with discounts at our events, and helps support the development of New Hampshire science education!
Learn more
Free On-Demand Professional Development on Fostering Civil Discourse in the Classroom
Among the numerous free online webinars provided by Facing History and Ourselves are several on the topic of fostering civil discourse. A printable certificate is available upon completion.
These one-hour, on-demand webinars, include:
Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical
Are you a teacher with a great idea about education? Each year the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical program awards a year-long leave of absence to an exceptional New Hampshire public school teacher. The sabbatical provides the teacher with the time, space, and funding to explore, through a self-designed project, new ideas and ways to enhance classroom teaching.
The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical provides funding directly to the school district to release a teacher for one academic year. School districts are reimbursed for total salary plus FICA, and the teacher is reimbursed directly for up to $12,000 of project-related expenses.
Learn more
Job Openings in North Country Schools
There are several dozen openings in school districts throughout northern NH. TeachNorth is your one stop spot to find links to current job postings.
- New services in adult education
- Online assessments for HiSet preparation
- In-person and live-online math tutoring (9th grade level and up. Available to college students as well)
Call 752-1927 or email gthebergecoosals@myfairpoint.net for more information.
Opening for a part-time HiSet Examiner for the Coos AEL location. Call the office for details.
Support the mission of NCES
Your tax deductible donation will support NCES' mission. NCES collaborates with public schools and community partners to support excellent and equitable educational opportunities throughout the North Country.
NCES seeks exceptional educational experiences and realized potential for all students.
NCES believes that thriving schools are at the heart of vibrant communities!
The core values of NCES:
Contact Information
North Country Education Services
300 Gorham Hill Road
Gorham, NH 03581
ncedservices.org
603-466-5437
nces@ncedservices.org
NCES is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
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