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CLASP STEM

Our CLASP STEM Cohort allows out of school time professionals an excellent place to explore fun, unique STEM practices and opportunities for young people.  The program connects realistic, relevant and hands-on learning and networking opportunities for you as an educator to add to your resources, practices and tools that will help you build opportunities for supporting the young learners in your programs to find the possibilities and skills that come from powerful learning experiences and thoughtful partnerships. 

Our new CLASP STEM cohort began earlier this year.  The cohort is getting ready to write their 2024 grant proposals for their summer camp programs.  They already visited places like Eli Whiteney Museum and Sacred Heart University’s planetarium.

See what our participants have to say about their CLASP experience.

Monthly Padlets

Our Padlets include all the monthly resources in one accessible link.

2024 – JUN, MAY, APR, MAR, FEB, JAN  2023 – DECNOV

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The expectation is that you will be live at all three sessions and an active member of this coaching cohort. Recordings are not available if you are unable to attend.

CodeBrekers

Like a challenge and want some support to bring a new opportunity to your program? Would you like to give someone who wants a chance to participate in events like the Technovation Challenge or the CT Lt. Governor’s Computing Challenge, then please come learn about this opportunity! 

We are building a professional learning community for those who are brave enough to tackle bringing a coding program to their OST.   Our goal is to connect you with resources around the state and beyond that can support you and your youth in making coding meaningful and accessible.   This program will be virtual. First meeting will be on Wednesday, December 18!

Sign up today!

 

Please note: this program is free and requires participants to join live virtual sessions on seven Wednesdays 9-11am between December 2024 and May 2025, active participation in the CLASP STEM: Code Breakers google classroom, and a willingness to share the best opportunities shared for you with your OST program participants. Email kbshara@ctncy.org for questions or more information.

DEC 4 & DEC 18
1:00 – 3:00 PM

ACRES Coaching: Facilitating Engineering Practices 

How often do youth in your program get to choose what they’re investigating or designing, the materials they might use and/or how they engage with the work? In this module, participants try out strategies for elevating youth voice and choice and apply the ideas as they redesign a STEM activity to incorporate a greater variety of youth input. *The expectation is that you will be live at all three sessions and an active member of this coaching cohort. Recordings are not available if you are unable to attend.

Register Here

 Code: AC442VC (Coach Becky T)

SPRING

2025

Techbridge Girls: Join Our Spring 2025 STEM Equity Learning Community

Techbridge Girls is excited to announce that applications are being accepted to join the Spring 2025 STEM Equity Learning Community. All out-of-school time (OST) supervisors and administrators for organizations that serve BIPOC girls* and gender-expansive youth are encouraged to apply!

Techbridge Girls has re-engineered how STEM Education is taught for 25 years. Our curricula and training help educators challenge gender, racial, and class bias in STEM fields and culture to help girls see their unique STEM lineage, community, interests, and path to success.

For more information and/or to apply to participate in this incredible learning opportunity, visit the STEM Equity Learning Community landing page, today!

At Your Pace
Online

Techbridge Girls: Role Models Matter 

Exposure to role models involved in STEM fields has the power to increase girls’ interest and likelihood to pursue a STEM career in the future. To support role models and increase their effectiveness, Techbridge Girls developed the Role Models Matter™ training program. This training has been developed with STEM champions in mind. 

Complete the training at your own pace and on-demand. When participants complete the training, they will receive a Credly badge and access to 5 dynamic, hands-on workshops that can be facilitated with girls in classrooms and out-of-school time spaces. 

Start today by clicking here

DEC 19th
1:00 – 2:00 PM

ACRES Monthly Math Tasters

Discover ways to use natural materials to represent math problems, find and understand math in nature, and use math to investigate authentic outdoor math problems. Gain access to a hub of resources to explore as well as activities you can use immediately. 

Numeracy in Nature

Note: This is a free, live session. Please register for each session you are interested in attending. FMI email acres@mmsa.org.

The expectation is that you will be live at all three sessions and an active member of this coaching cohort. Recordings are not available if you are unable to attend.

Projects & Activities

New STEM Learning Journeys

Bring hands-on, interactive STEM learning to life.  These themed bundles of lessons and activities, available through Verizon’s Learning HQ platform, are designed to help OST programs engage students in critical STEM topics.  Each journey is packed with ready-to-use resources, including facilitation guides, making it easy to incorporate into afterschool programs. Here are just a few of the exciting themes you can explore.

📣💥Start your STEM Learning Journey Here 💥📣

Climate Action: AI & the Ocean Recommended Grades: 5-8 | Total time: 5 hours Inspire students to tackle environmental challenges with lessons on ocean conservation, coding, and AI.
Earth Learning: Plesiosaur Encounter Recommended Grades: 3-8 | Total time: 2 hours Take students on a journey through time, exploring our planet and beyond.
Next-Level Technology: Game Design Recommended Grades: 5-12 | Total time: 5-6 hours Introduce students to the fundamentals of game design, leading them to create their own games.
Next-Level Technology: Design & Code Recommended Grades: 6-8 | Total time: 15 hours Teach students the basics of block coding to create their own coding projects with Microsoft MakeCode.

December is…

Computer Science Week – DEC 9 – 13

  • Celebrating Computer Science Education Week – Kick off CSEdWeek 2024! Computer Science Education Week is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn Computer Science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. The theme for CSTA’s 20th Anniversary, “Looking Back, Leaping Forward,” perfectly captures the essence of CSEdWeek, held every December.  Register here.
  • Computer Science Education Week (CSEd Week) takes place this year on Dec. 9-15. The week serves as an annual call to action, providing youth with resources to learn more about computer science, explore its potential and encourage participation in computer science education. Read more.
  • This Computer Science Education Week, bring computing skills to your classroom. Here’s how you can get started with resources from Google.

Monthly Activities

  • Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Educator Award – Applications for the AiC Educator Award are open through December 2, 2024. The award identifies exemplary formal and informal educators who play a pivotal role in encouraging 9th-12th grade women, genderqueer, and non-binary students to explore their interests in computing and technology. Regional award winners receive a $250 electronic Visa gift card and are eligible to apply for up to $750 in professional development funds. Encourage educators to apply now!

  • Learn Fresh is a pioneering nonprofit that leverages students’ passion for sports to inspire STEM and social-emotional learning. Starting now, you’ll have access to their 10-part NBA Math Hoops module on the Mizzen Education platform! 

    Simulating the speed, strategy, and sheer fun of basketball, NBA Math Hoops features youth-centered STEAM curricula, a board game, and community program. With over 30 NBA / WNBA teams and educators across the country, the program reaches more than one million youth and has netted game-changing results in math.

    • NBA Math Hoops Lesson 1: Demonstrating Sportsmanship – To start the NBA Math Hoops experience, all students are asked to sign a Sportsmanship Contract. Just like a pro-player singing, it affirms their commitment to their team and league. For grades 3-8. 

    • NBA Math Hoops Lesson 2: Field Goal Percentages – Understanding percentages is the first fundamental math skill in NBA Math Hoops. In this activity, students use basketball statistics to develop an understanding of the relationship between fractions, decimals, and percentages. For grades 3-8
    • NBA Math Hoops Lesson 3: The NBA Math Hoops Draft – Students apply their knowledge of percentages and decimals to the NBA Math Hoops player cards. Then, they form teams and draft their roster for the NBA Math Hoops season. For grades 3-8
  • Past Monthly Activities

other resources

GIRL SCOUTS STEM PLAYBOOK

The world of STEM is filled with endless opportunities to make a difference. From exploring computer coding and space exploration to building robots and solutions to problems such as climate change, girls are using STEM as a tool to change our world.

Whether you’re involved with Girl Scouts or simply a supportive adult, the new STEM Playbook offers ideas, guidance, and access to resources and tools to grow girls’ interest and skills in the field. Discover new ideas to help girls build the future with STEM.

Download Girl Scouts’ New STEM Playbook Here

2024 FLIGHT CREW AMBASSADOR
Ann,
Farmington, CT.

Ann is interested in pursuing a career as a robotics software engineer with a focus on machine learning in computer vision.

Ann enjoyed doing similar work on the FIRST Robotics Team where Ann used machine learning to program the robot to identify game pieces on the field.

Learn More

Organized by Code.org, the annual Hour of Code campaign is a global movement in 180+ countries that introduces young people to computer science through fun, age-appropriate learning activities. The Moonshot’s partnership with Code.org aims to expand that reach into afterschool. 

Learn more about the Hour of Code, download the Afterschool Guide for Hour of Code to explore activities and tutorials, and encourage programs to register as an official Hour of Code site to globally engage and take advantage of the full Hour of Code experience.

The CT After School Network is proud to be a part of the Million Girls Moonshot initiative, working to inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators by engaging one million more girls in STEM learning opportunities through afterschool and summer programs.

​The Million Girls Moonshot will not only allow girls to envision themselves as future innovators, but it will increase the quality of out-of-school STEM learning opportunities for all young people, particularly underserved and underrepresented youth.

About the Million Girls Moonshot

The Moonshot is designed to spur girls’ interest, understanding, and confidence in STEM and equip them to become problem solvers with an engineering mindset. Led nationally by the STEM Next Opportunity Fund and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation in partnership with the Intel Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Million Girls Moonshot:

  • Leverages afterschool networks in all 50 states to help school-age girls access high-quality STEM education, support, and mentors.
  • Uses an equity and inclusion framework that is youth-centric and culturally responsive to increase gender, and racial and socio-economic diversity in STEM.
  • Provides resources, support, mentorship, and expert guidance to help educators deliver hands-on STEM experiences in afterschool, out-of-school time, and summer learning programs.