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SMCOE Presents: The Next Big Think!
Sunday, March 3, 2019 | 11AM – 4PM
San Mateo County Event Center
Come one, come all! The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) invites you to take part in our upcoming learning extravaganza: The Next Big Think! Taking place at the San Mateo County Event Center between 11AM and 4PM on Sunday, March 3, this public event promises to be our County’s largest annual gathering of students, parents, educators, and learners of all ages.
The Next Big Think includes the annual San Mateo County STEM Fair alongside an expanded Arts Expo, a wide variety of hands-on Make/Learn activities, and our first-ever Districts Showcase. In our continuing efforts to prioritize inclusion among our 95,000 students, we have thought deeply about how we can more equitably exhibit, celebrate, and participate in the deep learning and imaginative endeavors happening around San Mateo County.
Sounds Great! How Can I Help?
Take Part in Our Districts Showcase: Our first-ever Districts Showcase will be a celebration of the innovation and imagination of students across all San Mateo County public school districts. Every public school district has been invited to submit a project to the Districts Showcase—no project is too big or small. This is your chance to share the exciting work happening in your district with our entire County! Project ideas can include, but are not limited to:
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Projects from individual classrooms and schools
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District-wide initiatives and events
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Social justice projects
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Any other projects inclusive of students
The SMCOE STEAM Center is happy to help coordinate your district project! Please contact SMCOE STEAM Center Director Robert Watchel Pronovost to brainstorm how your district can be represented at The Next Big Think.
The STEM Fair Needs Judges: It’s that time again–recruitment time! If you or someone you know has knowledge in any of the following areas, please consider volunteering to review and judge student projects by signing up here:
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Engineering
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Materials Science
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Math & Software
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Physics
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Bring Your Students’ Art Projects: If you are an arts teacher or school administrator, showcase your students’ artwork or arts performance at the Arts Expo! We encourage, and hope to see, all kinds of arts submissions–sign up and find out more here.
Stay tuned—more information to follow! If you have questions or would like to get involved in any capacity not listed above, please contact STEAM Center Director Robert Watchel Pronovost.
In the meantime, keep thinking!
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@ SMCOE & The STEAM Center
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San Mateo County Office of Education
TOSA’s, coaches, instructional leaders and department chairs: We are kicking off two new communities of practice (COPs) in the new year! Join us for one or both of our upcoming kickoff meetings to support Reading–Language Arts and History–Social Studies. We will convene to discuss the needs and challenges of our work, implementation of the new framework, curriculum, and best practices. Network with other leaders in the content-area to share ideas and success stories.
Sign up for the The Reading–Language Arts COP here, which kicks off on Thursday, January 24 from 12:30PM – 3PM.
Sign up for the History–Social Studies COP here, kicking off on Friday, January 11 from 1PM – 3PM.
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January 14 & 15, 2019 | 10 AM – 6 PM
San Mateo County Office of Education
Join us for our upcoming Science Curriculum Fair on Monday, January 14 (for Grades K–5) and Tuesday, January 15 (for Grades 6–8). During this two-day event we invite teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators from our 23 school districts to peruse the instructional materials and resources offered by various publishing companies, as well as speak with representatives who will be able to answer your questions regarding their programs.
Vendors at the event will be representing only those companies that have been approved for the California State Science Materials Adoption List. We will also host 45-minute breakout sessions for vendors to go into further detail about their offerings. Coffee and lunch will be served.
Districts are invited to send teams of up to five (5) individuals. Sign up here!
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Wednesday, January 16, 2019 | 8:30AM – 3PM
Training includes:
- Grade-span (K-2, 3-5, 6-12) classroom lesson modules addressing the social, emotional and educational needs of students worried about immigration status of their families
- Interactive student-teacher scenarios
- Educator Toolkit with resources to create welcoming schools and other legal and educational resources
This workshop is for site & district leadership teams, teacher leaders, English learner specialists, and Title 1 & Title III administrators and specialists.
Register here. Please reach out to English Language Arts Coordinator Gwenn Lei or English Learner Services Coordinator Nabila Massoumi with any questions.
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Friday, January 18, 2019 | 8:30AM – 12PM
San Mateo County Office of Education
Teams of TK–12 educators: Connect ELPAC task types to classroom instruction and discuss high leverage strategies for advancing students' English proficiency in Designated and Integrated ELD settings.
This workshop is for classroom teachers, coaches, teachers on special assignment, and site administrators who play a role in supporting high quality education for English learners in the classroom.
Breakfast is provided. Please note: This is NOT an administration and scoring training.
Sign up here. If you have any questions, please contact Ellen Arenas.
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Tuesday, February 5, 2019 | 8:30AM – 3:30PM
The San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) is thrilled to host the first annual Arts Institute on Tuesday, February 5, 2019!
Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) educators for grades 6-12 are invited to learn about the new VAPA state standards and the CREATE CA Public Will Campaign. In addition, we will meet in subject-alike teams to discuss best practices and collaborate with a facilitator from the California Alliance for Arts Education (CAAE) to share visions and goals for the future of VAPA education in our county.
Sign up here, or contact SMCOE VAPA Coordinator Michelle Holdt with any questions. Please spread the word and invite your VAPA colleagues to join us for this event!
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Wednesday, May 22, 2019
San Mateo County Office of Education
Mark your calendar to join us at SMCOE's second annual Schools for a Sustainable Future Conference! This conference equips educators with the knowledge, skills, and values needed for moving this work forward across a school’s Campus and Operations, Curriculum and Instruction, and Community and Culture. It also creates the space for networking, problem solving, and exchanging innovative solutions that are driving environmental and social transformation across school communities.
Click here for more information and to register.
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We have some exciting news to share about Visual and Performing Arts at the San Mateo County Office of Education. We are putting together a leadership team to envision and write a strategic plan for VAPA and we need your input! Please ask someone at your site to fill out this survey ASAP so that we have accurate data as to what arts look like in our schools.
Also—if you or someone at your site would like to join the leadership team, we will be meeting for two full days on Jan 9th and March 13th, 2019. This process will be facilitated by Peggy Burt from the CA Alliance for Arts Education.
Please email VAPA Coordinator Michelle Holdt at mholdt@smcoe.org if you would like to join our leadership team!
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Drop in for Maker Mondays!
Mondays 3 – 5 PM
San Mateo County Office of Education
 Drop by the SMCOE STEAM Center on Mondays between 3:00 and 5:00 PM and join our community of learners for an afternoon of making. Bring your own project idea or participate in our featured activity. Available equipment includes a sewing machine, CNC router, laser cutter, 3D printers, paper circuits, and much more!
Sign up for our Maker Monday email list to receive updates on each week's featured activity. Maker Mondays will resume in January.
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Regional Opportunities & Events
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Nomination Deadline: March 1, 2019
The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science. Nominations and applications for the 2018-2019 cycle are currently open for 7th–12th grade teachers.
The Awards were established by Congress in 1983. The President may recognize up to 108 exemplary teachers each year. The National Science Foundation (NSF) administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Presidential Awardees receive a certificate signed by the President; a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a series of recognition events and professional development opportunities; and a $10,000 award from NSF.
Please consider nominating a talented STEM teacher using the PAEMST website today. If you are interested in applying yourself, you can begin the process at www.paemst.org. The 2018-2019 nomination deadline is March 1, 2019, and the application deadline is May 1, 2019.
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The San Mateo County Arts Commission is pleased to partner with the California Arts Council to bring Poetry Out Loud to San Mateo County! Poetry Out Loud is a program where students to learn about poetry through memorization and recitation. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. High School Students are able to compete at the county, state and national levels. For more information about Poetry Out Loud, please please see the CAC's attached flyer or visit the California Poetry Out Loud website. Also attached is the the Poetry Out Loud Teachers' Guide for this school year, as this will need to be lead by a school staff member.
We will hold the San Mateo County Poetry Out Loud competition during the second week of February. Exact dates and location will be announced at a later date. More information to come in the coming weeks.
Please contact Amisha Motipara at the San Mateo County Arts Commission.
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We envision a world filled with passionate learners who are empathic problem-solvers, adept risk-takers, and confident creatives.
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What We Do
We collaboratively design and facilitate
learner-centered experiences that nurture
innate human curiosity.
We catalyze innovative, research-validated educational strategies to support student success.
We build educator capacity through a range of professional learning opportunities.
We connect
schools, networks, communities, industries and government to create synergy and support innovation.
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STEAM Center Director
English Language Arts & History/Social Studies
English Learner Services
Environmental Literacy
Maker Education & Computer Science
Mathematics
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School Library Services
Science & Engineering
Visual & Performing Arts (VAPA)
Administrative Support
Administrative Support
Media Services
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The San Mateo County Office of Education STEM Center wishes to acknowledge the Oracle Foundation for its foundational support of our launch and continued funding for computer science professional learning for local educators.
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