Annual Discussions with Holocaust survivors - April

Survivors Speak - A Discussion with Holocaust survivors at Morris Museum
Morris Museum does this every spring. 10:30 a.m. – noon, Fee: $7 per person

These programs will be presented in the museum’s Bickford Theatre and

pre-registration is required. Space is limited. A suggested resource list is provided to participating classes prior to the program.

These programs allows teachers to address the New Jersey Holocaust and Genocide curriculum, as well as to address issues of character education.

Survivors Speak – A Discussion with Survivors of the Holocaust

Wednesday, May 5 for Grade 6 - 8
Thursday, May 6 for Grades 6 - 8
Wednesday, May 12 for Grades 9 -12 (high school - it is a different discussion!)
Thursday, May 13 for Grades 6 - 8
Wednesday, May 19 for Grades 6 - 8
10:30 a.m. – noon

Program Fee: $7 per person

High School Discussion
usually mid-April for Grades 9 -12 (book early, especially for a large group, sometimes as of Oct., there were only about 100 seats left!)

Middle School
early-mid April for Grades 6 - 8

Middle and high school students and teachers are invited to participate in this significant program which brings participants face to face with Holocaust survivors in a compassionate and educational environment.

Barbara Wind, director of the Holocaust Council of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest in Whippany, moderates the program and provides a brief overview of the Holocaust and its place in the history of modern day genocides. Members of the United Jewish Communities Holocaust Council Speakers Bureau then speak about their individual experiences during the Holocaust. From concentration camp survivors to hidden children, survivors give first-hand accounts of the atrocities of war that are descriptive, powerful and poignant. Students will have the opportunity to meet these living witnesses, as well as participate in a question and answer period.

The program is presented in the Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum and

pre-registration is required. Space is limited. A suggested resource list is provided to participating classes prior to the program. Call the Morris Museum at 973.971.3710 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday to register.

Find directions.

Math contest for middle and high school student

Round 1 problems of Year 20 (2008-09) of the USA Mathematical Talent Search are now available at www.usamts.org. The postmark deadline for solutions is October 14, 2008.

Please read carefully the following important information:

If you have participated in the USAMTS in the past, you will notice a number of changes this year. In particular, solutions may be submitted by web upload or by mail; emailed or faxed solutions will no longer be accepted. Please carefully read all of the Year 20 changes on www.usamts.org.

If you have not already registered online for Year 20, please do so at www.usamts.org. If you participated in a previous year, all you will have to do to register for Year 20 is log in to www.usamts.org (using the same username/password as you did in the past)--the first time you log in this year, you will be asked to verify that your information (address, email, grade, etc.) is still current, and make any necessary changes.

All USAMTS participants must fill out and sign an Entry/Permission form, available on www.usamts.org. (You must do this even if you participated in a previous year.) This can be submitted by mail along with your first set of solutions, or separately by mail or fax anytime before the Round 1 entry deadline of October 14.

We hope you enjoy the problems, and we look forward to your participation on the USAMTS this year.

Best regards,

--Dave Patrick
Director, USA Mathematical Talent Search
usamts@usamts.org

FREE Physics Quest

Have a child or "class" that can do middle school level work? Consider Physics Quest but register soon - kits are only free to the first ~7,5000 classrooms to register (and I request that you only sign up if you are willing to do it, I'd love to homeschoolers to have a great name with other organizations, especially those giving out free stuff.) The last 2 years' instructions were posted online even if you don't register in time to get an official kit.

PhysicsQuest 2008: Nikola Tesla and the White City

Born in 1856 in Smiljan Croatia, Nikola Tesla was a true genius. A close friend of Mark Twain and bitter rival of Thomas Edison, he invented such things as the remote control and the AC generator. In 1893 he was charged with lighting the Chicago Worlds Fair, the first electric fair in the world, nicknamed The White City.

Come help Tesla light the great White City this fall by participating in PhysicsQuest 2008. Your middle school classes will learn about light, magnetism, and electricity in a quest to help Tesla light Chicago’s fair.

Sign up for this project and receive a FREE kit with all the materials you need as well as instructions on how to use your answers to light the fair. Each class that successfully completes the challenge will be eligible for fantastic prizes!

2007: Marie Curie's Floating Classroom was 4 physical science challenges centering on heat, temperature, and energy.


There is also a Web Quest on Physics called Physics Quest - but that's something different. I have not yet checked that out.

Kean "school time" shows for high schoolers

Kean University in Union County offers "on school time" shows for November & December 2007, January & February 2008, mostly at their Wilkins Theatre. $8 per seat, discount for groups of 10 or more. Contact their group sales office (908) 737-4351for reservations. Click for directions to campus.

Their schedule includes shows for high schoolers:

Show - Othello by William Shakespeare, November 16, 2007 at 10 a.m., $8 per seat. University Center Little Theatre, Kean University, Union, NJ, Grades 9-12. Group sales office (908) 737-4351

Show - Humbug, December 18 and 19, 2007 at 10 a.m. Wilkins Theatre, $8 per seat. University Center Little Theatre, Kean University, Union, NJ, Group sales office (908) 737-4351. Grades 7-12

Show - Kean Dance Theatre, February 1, 2008 at 11 a.m., Wilkins Theatre, $8 per seat. University Center Little Theatre, Kean University, Union, NJ, Group sales office (908) 737-4351. Grades 7-12

For further information and to make reservations, call Kean Stage at 908-737 4350 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you want to organize something and need a place to list it, let me know. These shows should also be listed in the Field Trip List.

Latin Jazz Festival with Los Hombres Calientes

Monday, Oct. 29 at 10am & 12:30pm
Victoria Theater, NJPAC, Newark.
$8 per ticket
Grades 6 – 12.

Jazz, Cuban music, Brazilian rhythms, American funk – they all come into play with Los Hombres Calientes. Led by acclaimed trumpeter Irvin Mayfield, this Grammy-nominated, brass-powered jam-band brings together some of the best players from New Orleans, who will transport students through a sweeping panorama of Afro-Caribbean styles. “This is one of the smartest – and most fun – bands anywhere!” raves Newsweek. For more info, call their SchoolTime Ticket Hotline at (973) 642-2002

Celebration: Sounds of Blackness

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration: Sounds of Blackness,
Jan. 10 at noon,
Prudential Hall, NJPAC, Newark,
$10 per ticket.
Grades 7 – 12.

Celebrate the life of one of the twentieth’s century’s most inspiring leaders with Sounds of Blackness, a Grammy-winning ensemble that performs the vast array of African-American music – from jazz, blues and soul to reggae, hip-hop, and rock-and-roll. This celebration will also include a guest speaker to be announced. For more info, call their SchoolTime Ticket Hotline at (973) 642-2002

National History Day

National History Day is a school-year long project for students in grades 6 - 12. The 2007-2008 theme is Conflict and Compromise in History and the national final will be held June 15-19th at the University of Maryland. (NJ dates are given below, dates for other states vary.)

• Work alone or in a group of up to 5
• Research
• NJ Regional contest Registration - February 1, 2008
  
• Create a documentary, exhibit, paper, or performance
• Present entries at district competitions (Usually April of March) or regional contests (in NJ, March 8 & April 12, 2008)
  
• Proceed to state contests (usually late April or early May, NJ: May 3, 2008)
• Proceed to the National History Day final June 15 - 19, 2008.

The NJ State Coordinator is: Nancy Norris-Bauer at William Paterson University (norrisn@wpunj.edu). For more detail see the state coordinator list.

NJ State Contest: Date: May 3, 2008 Location: William Paterson University
Parts of the NJ History Day site have not been updated since 2005 - 2006, but district and region dates are there. I like their step by step list on Creating an Entry.