Tag: math

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EXPLORE Science for December Recess 12/29

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EXPLORE Science for December Recess 12/29

Explore Science, Inc. offers December Recess

Special Programs to Village Youth

Ridgewood Parks and Recreation welcomes Explore Science, Inc. during the December recess with fun hands-on building events:

Balloon Buggies – Grades K through 2

Monday, December 29th, 10 am to 12 noon, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Ave.

Cost: $40 per person, all materials provided (non-residents $50 if space allows).

Students will create their own balloon buggy while learning the third law of motion – for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction. The group will enjoy racing fun with their finished projects.

Young Inventors Little Bits Engineering and Robotics – Grades 3 through 8

Tuesday, December 30, at the Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue.

Grades 3-5, 10 am to 12 noon

Grades 6-8, 1 to 3 pm

Cost: $40 per person, all materials provided (some for on-site use only).

(non-residents $50 if space allows).

Youth will engage in the scientific process of invention with the newest electronic components. Little Bits puts the power of electronics in their hands allowing them to turn something ordinary into something extraordinary. Modules include pressure sensors, LED sensors, sound sensors, fan sensors and more. Students will showcase their inventions at the end of the session.

Register online at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass, or by mail/in person at The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue. Locate the registration forms on the Recreation homepage at www.ridgewoodnj.net/recreation.

Don’t hesitate to contact the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with questions or if special accommodations are needed.

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New Jersey making passing new tests a graduation requirement

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New Jersey making passing new tests a graduation requirement

OCTOBER 1, 2014, 4:59 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2014, 11:59 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

New Jersey is making all students pass new tests in English and math or hit a minimum grade on a college admissions exam to get a high school diploma beginning in 2016.

The decision appears to be a reversal for the administration, which had promised the new tests wouldn’t count right away.

Acting Education Commissioner David Hespe denied that the administration was backing off its promise, because the tests will not be the only option. Students can also graduate if they reach certain minimum scores on tests such as the SAT or ACT or can show a portfolio, he said.

Two years ago, Governor Christie publicly endorsed the new tests based on standards adopted by New Jersey and other states. But as the standards, which are known as the Common Core, have grown controversial among parents and conservative voters, the governor has said little publicly about them. In July, he said he would form a commission to examine the new tests and standards, but no members have been announced yet.

Asked whether the governor agreed to the changes, Hespe said, “that’s between you and the governor’s press office.” Christie’s office declined to comment when reached late Wednesday, and the governor was in California for a Republican Governors Association fundraiser.

The change drew rebukes from parents, teachers and education activists who say it’s unfair to rely on tests that are unfamiliar.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-jersey-making-passing-new-tests-a-graduation-requirement-1.1100217#sthash.qVibM0yy.dpuf

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Space Camp in Ridgewood inspires young students

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Space Camp in Ridgewood inspires young students

July 18, 2014    Last updated: Friday, July 18, 2014, 12:31 AM
By Jodi Weinberger
STAFF WRITER

Ten-year-old Richard Augustine-Hamilton plans on being an astrophysicist when he grows up.

With his best friend, Connor O’Hara, by his side, the two carefully studied the instructions for a model rocket ship, the culminating project of Ridgewood’s two-week Space Camp.

“This isn’t, like, rocket science or anything. Oh, wait…” Connor joked to Richard.

“Imagine how hard it must be to make an actual rocket,” Richard replied, staring at the rocket parts. “I just can’t imagine.”

Each summer, classroom 141 at Hawes School is transformed into a space station of sorts, with the school’s gym serving as the astronaut’s training center and a neighboring classroom housing a planetarium.

It’s Richard and Connor’s third year at Space Camp, so they build the rockets on their own; meanwhile teachers Tom Harney and Tom Trubac guide the other 9- and 10-year-old earthlings through the process.

“I like getting messy,” said Emma Remis, 10, handling a bottle of Elmer’s glue.

Other girls at the table chimed in with their favorite parts of space camp – including the zip lines set up in the gym and hearing stories of the constellations.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/space-campers-reach-for-the-stars-1.1053597#sthash.fIIhKwdJ.dpuf

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Ridgewood school district’s five-year math review under way

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Ridgewood school district’s five-year math review under way

JULY 11, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY JODI WEINBERGER
STAFF WRITER
Print

With big changes in state testing and curriculum standards coming down the pike, the Ridgewood school district is embarking on a five-year review of its math program.

Although curriculum reviews are routine – Superintendent Daniel Fishbein said they are done every five years – part of the process will look at the sequence of classes and lessons to make sure math topics are adequately covered in time for the standardized testing dates.

“The Common Core has come through and has changed the landscape,” said Greg McDonald, supervisor of mathematics, science, and technology.

The review began during the 2013-14 school year with a committee of teachers and administrators researching best practices and analyzing the current program, along with compiling standardized test results and conducting satisfaction surveys.

In response to one question, 100 percent of teachers in grades K-8 said they supplement the current math program in some form.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/education/five-year-math-review-under-way-1.1049840#sthash.BPn5Cbam.dpuf

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Christie touts program to bring math, science teachers to New Jersey’s neediest schools

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Christie touts program to bring math, science teachers to New Jersey’s neediest schools

TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie today championed “a new pipeline” to bring qualified teachers into New Jersey’s neediest schools. (Johnson/The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/06/christie_touts_fellowship_program_to_bring_teachers_to_njs_at-need_schools.html#incart_river

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What science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) Shortage?

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What science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) Shortage?
The sector isn’t seeing wage growth and has more graduates than jobs.
By Steven Camarota

The idea that we need to allow in more workers with science, technology, engineering, and math (“STEM”) background is an article of faith among American business and political elite.

But in a new report, my Center for Immigration Studies colleague Karen Zeigler and I analyze the latest government data and find what other researchers have found: The country has well more than twice as many workers with STEM degrees as there are STEM jobs. Also consistent with other research, we find only modest levels of wage growth for such workers for more than a decade. Both employment and wage data indicate that such workers are not in short supply.

Reports by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the RAND Corporation, the Urban Institute, and the National Research Council have all found no evidence that STEM workers are in short supply. PBS even published an opinion piece based on the EPI study entitled, “The Bogus High-Tech Worker Shortage: How Guest Workers Lower U.S. Wages.” This is PBS, mind you, which is as likely to publish something skeptical of immigration as it is to publish something skeptical of taxpayer subsidies for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

https://www.nationalreview.com/article/378334/what-stem-shortage-steven-camarota

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Experts tell Ridgewood parents: Math studies add up

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Experts tell Ridgewood parents: Math studies add up
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 15, 2014, 10:06 AM
BY  LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The classic advice “the journey is more important than the destination” may conjure up images of laid-back surfers, backpackers and road-trippers. Mathematicians? Not as likely.

Yet this was one of several perspectives on math education that four professionals, each of whom regularly uses math in the workplace, had to offer Ridgewood school administrators.

The professionals, including two Ridgewood High School (RHS) graduates and a parent of former Ridgewood students, engaged in a panel discussion on mathematics in the professional world at a public event hosted by the district last month.

Math is not really about integrals or derivatives or being the first to calculate the answer; it’s about learning how to reason through a problem and think logically in all aspects of life, the speakers emphasized.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/240280891_Experts_tell_Ridgewood_parents__Math_studies_add_up.html#sthash.IM4ebh4Y.dpuf