Announcements for the Week of June 18, 2012

June 19, 2012

GENERAL

Superintendent’s Cup Golf Tourney Tees-Off Aug. 1: The first-ever APS Superintendent’s Cup golf tournament continues to grow. With player interest continuing to grow, the Aug. 1 tournament will be played in both morning and afternoon flights and all APS personnel are invited to play. Cost to play in the tournament at the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course is $85 per player or $340 a team. Players who don’t have a team are welcome to sign up – teams will be formed with APS employees, sponsors and members of the community. Prizes and lunch will be provided. The tournament is a benefit for the APS Education Foundation, which has injected more than $300,000 into district classrooms in the past 18 months. To learn more about the tournament, or to sign up, click http://www.aps.edu/education-foundation/superintendents-cup.

Pollinator Awareness Day Events June 23: In celebration of National Pollinator Week, the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division and the Open Space Alliance are promoting pollinator conservation with programs, honey tasting, and a film screening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 23, at the Open Space Visitor Center, 6500 Coors Blvd NW (at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd. between Montaño and Paseo del Norte). The event is free. For more information, call Jodi Hedderig at 897-8831, e-mail jhedderig@cabq.gov, or visit www.cabq.gov/openspace.

Public Hearing Set for State Medicare & Medicaid Services: New Mexico is in the process of modernizing the Medicaid program to ensure its sustainability into the future. New Mexico intends to do that through a request of the 1115 Demonstration Waiver that will result in Centennial Care, which will continue delivering benefits for those most in need, now and into the future, while avoiding cuts. The State’s full public notice, which describes the Centennial Care Demonstration Waiver proposal in more detail, can be found on the HSD website at

http://www.hsd.state.nm.us/Medicaid%20Modernization/index.html. A public hearing on the proposal is set for 1:30 to 4 p.m., Tuesday, June 26, at the UNM Continuing Education Building Auditorium, 1634 University Blvd. NE. If you are an individual with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please call (505) 827-6245 or e-mail Betina.McCracken@state.nm.us as soon as possible.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/TEACHER TRAINING

Promethean Summer Camp: Create flipchart lessons for the next school year during four open sessions with the assistance of a Promethean teaching and learning consultant. Participants need to bring a laptop, flash drive, and any teaching materials needed for lessons. These are not basic training classes. Sessions are from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on July 30 & 31 in the TIG office, 2731 Broadway St., N.E., Suite F. Participants may attend for a couple of hours, stay the entire day or sign up for more than one session. To register, go to the AIMS website. E-mail carrie.barron@prometheanworld.com with any questions.

YogaKids 4-Day Foundations Training: YogaKids New Mexico Foundations Training is set for June 21-24 in Albuquerque. Cost is $849. A 20 percent educator discount is available at http://yogakids.com/education_discount. Visit http://yogakids.com/foundations-trainings/Foundations-New-Mexico-June-21-24-2012-1 for details. CEU credits are available. For more information, call Katja Lauterstein at High Desert Yoga, 385-8462.

Fulbright Program Offers International Exchange Program for Teachers: The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs offers grants for U.S. primary and secondary school teachers to participate in international exchanges during 2013-2014 academic year through the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program (FCTE) and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching (DA). Exchanges begin in August 2013 for one semester or an academic year. For the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program, teachers may apply for direct exchanges of teaching positions with colleagues from one of six countries (Czech Republic, France, Hungary, India, Mexico and United Kingdom). Teachers may apply for the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching for one of eight countries (Argentina, Finland, India, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa and United Kingdom). Teachers must have at least five years of experience, a B.A. degree and be currently employed in a full-time teaching position at a U.S. primary or secondary school. Visit the program website at http://fulbrightteacherexchange.org/ for eligibility, application information and country-specific requirements.Application deadlines are October 15, 2012 (Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program), and December 15, 2012 (Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching).

STUDENT PROGRAMS/SCHOLARSHIPS

Museum Offering Summer Science Camps for Grades K-8: The New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science offers summer science camps for elementary and middle school age students during July and August. Camps vary in activities and cost according to age group.  Members receive a 10 percent discount. For more information and to register, visit http://nmnaturalhistory.org/duplicate-of-young-explorers-summer-camp.html or e-mail programs.NMMNHS@state.nm.us. The museum is located at 1801 Mountain Road NW.

National Hispanic Youth Research & Leadership Program set for July: The UNM National Hispanic Youth Research and Leadership Program focuses on providing educational opportunities/careers in STEM fields to the Hispanic community. Program dates are July 2 – 14. Students work in teams and present on case study topics to complete the program. To download an application, visit http://ceop.unm.edu/cpp/summer/. For best consideration apply by May 25. Students must be a sophomore, junior or senior in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.5, exhibit leadership traits and a commitment to public service, and demonstrate an interest in learning about STEM fields to be eligible or more Information, call Joe Velasquez at 202-487-0031 or e‑mail joevelasquez@aol.com.

Cell Phone Recycling Program Could Yield $5,000 Prize: The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Project Saving Species and The Gorilla Glue Company have teamed up for the second year in a row to promote a national competition called the Go Bananas Challenge, which kicks off  Sept. 1, 2012. The competition challenges school and community youth groups across the country to create campaigns to collect and recycle cell phones to help save gorillas. Cell phones contain an ore called coltan. One of the only places in the world where this ore can be found is in the Democratic Republic of Congo – right in the middle of gorilla habitat. As a direct result of mining for coltan, the world’s gorilla population is losing its habitat, being displaced and being killed by poachers. The simple act of recycling a cell phone can make a difference, by reducing the need to mine for coltan. The group that collects the most cell phones will be awarded the grand prize of $4,000 and the group with the most creative campaign (via a People’s Choice Vote) will win $1,000. Signing up is easy – join the challenge online by visiting http://cincinnatizoo.org/savingspecies and start thinking about a creative campaign. The contest ends April 8, 2013 and the winning group will be announced on April 22, 2013. Every group that signs up receives a welcome gift box courtesy of The Gorilla Glue Company.