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Come Celebrate Science!
Celebrate Science is a festival of B.C science writers for children and teens. This is a reminder that the event will be taking place on Saturday, 24 September 2011, from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm at the University of British Columbia’s Beaty Biodiversity Museum.
This science extravaganza will appeal to teachers, teacher-librarians, student teachers, public librarians, child care workers and parents. The half-day program will feature talented Canadian writers and illustrators whose books and passion for science spans all ages. They’ll explore scientific topics with the audience and highlight a wide range of books available for youth. The keynote speaker is Dr. Jeanette Whitton, Environmental biologist and Co-Director, Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Featured scientists include Dr. Wayne Maddison, the spider guy; Dr. Amanda Vincent, Project Seahorse researcher and Dr. Eric Taylor, UBC Fish Collection.
Science writers from the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL BC) will be presenting their books:
Fiona Bayrock, author of Bubble Homes and Fish Farts
Tanya Kyi, 50 Questions series
Shar Levine & Leslie Johnstone, authors of over 70 hands-on science books such as Kitchen Science and their latest Snowy Science.
Cynthia Nicolson, Totally Human: Why We Look and Act the Way We Do;
Barry Shell, author of Sensational Scientists
Jim Wiese, Surrey High school teacher and author of over 40 books including Spy Science, Rocket Science and Cosmic Science.
There will be a science book fair and sales with a 10% discount for attendees.
To register online go to http://www.bookcentre.ca/store/products/celebrate_science_a_festival_bc_science_writers_kids_teens.
We hope to see you there!
Children’s book too hot for U.S. publishers warmly received in Canada
Daniel Loxton, an illustrator and writer, created a children’s book so outrageous, so outlandish, so controversial no American publisher dared touch it.
It does not depict nudity. It does not contain curse words. It does not include blasphemy. The love scenes, such as they are, involve males with females.
It does include a straightforward explanation for the complexity of the natural world through a simple scientific theory.
“So many of the publishing professionals I was talking to were leery,” he said.
“When push came to shove they declined to publish the book. Several did indicate to me it was too hot a topic.”
The book wound up being published by Canadian-owned Kids Can Press, which also expected objections from creationists.
So far, the book, Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be, an illustrated primer written for readers in Grades 3 to 7, has generated more prize nominations than controversy.
Click here to read the entire Globe and Mail article
B.C. schools to scrap $89m records software
The B.C. government says it will scrap an $89-million software program to track elementary- and high-school students’ attendance and marks after a consultant’s report concluded the software needs to be replaced.The province says schools will have to use the program until a new system is brought in, by about 2014.
Introduced more than six years ago, the B.C. Student Information System, better known as BCeSIS, has faced a host of complaints, including that it was expensive for cash-strapped school districts and unreliable. Last year, the system had a provincewide crash in the first week of school.
A $250,000 review of the system by Gartner Inc. said that BCeSIS is not meeting the needs of the province and schools. The review concluded the system was not generally user-friendly, didn’t provide satisfactory reports and data analysis, and would be more difficult to service and upgrade as it got older. The software was created specifically for the province, but the consultant has suggested B.C. now buy existing software. Vancouver school board chairwoman Patti Bacchus said she would like to see a new system in place sooner than 2014.
Click here to read the entire Vancouver Sun article.
French immersion not elitist: CPF exec
Breaking French immersion’s stigma as an elitist program that caters to ‘gifted’ students is the objective of Canadian Parents for French new executive director of the B.C.-Yukon chapter.
Glyn Lewis is taking over the French as a second language lobby group from Robert Rothon, who had served as Executive Director since 2008.
“As a lobby group, we need to keep reaching out to all new parents and help them understand it’s a choice for everyone. This isn’t an exclusive program open only to a select few,” said Lewis.
In other countries, students take it as a matter of course to learn second or third languages, and Lewis explained, increasingly, Canadian parents are becoming attune to the educational advantages of bilingualism.
“Parents are recognizing that there are incredibly strong second language opportunities for students in the public school system and I feel that parents are looking for these opportunities so their kids [can] have certain lifelong skills,” Lewis said.
Despite B.C.’s miniscule francophone population, it’s the province where Canadian Parents for French has its highest membership. Moreover, enrolment in French immersion has just marked its twelfth straight year of growth.
Click here to read the rest of the article
Celebrate Science!
Celebrate Science is a festival of B.C science writers for children and teens. The event will be taking place on Saturday, 24 September 2011, from 8:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia.
This science extravaganza will appeal to teachers, teacher-librarians, student teachers, public librarians, child care workers and parents. The half-day program will feature talented Canadian writers and illustrators whose books and passion for science spans all ages. They’ll explore scientific topics with the audience and highlight a wide range of books available for youth. The keynote speaker is Dr. Jeanette Whitton, Environmental biologist and Co-Director, Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Featured scientists include Dr. Wayne Maddison, the spider guy; Dr. Amanda Vincent, Project Seahorse researcher and Dr. Eric Taylor, UBC Fish Collection.
Science writers from the Children’s Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL BC) will be presenting their books:
Fiona Bayrock, author of Bubble Homes and Fish Farts
Tanya Kyi, 50 Questions series
Shar Levine & Leslie Johnstone, authors of over 70 hands-on science books such as Kitchen Science and their latest Snowy Science.
Cynthia Nicolson, Totally Human: Why We Look and Act the Way We Do;
Barry Shell, author of Sensational Scientists
Jim Wiese, Surrey High school teacher and author of over 40 books including Spy Science, Rocket Science and Cosmic Science.
There will be a science book fair and sales with a 10% discount for attendees.
To register online go to http://www.bookcentre.ca/store/products/celebrate_science_a_festival_bc_science_writers_kids_teens.
We hope to see you there!