Since we had to cancel our Spring Open House, when we normally have the AOEA annual meeting, we will now meet virtually on Saturday May 16th at 12 noon.
If you are interested in participating, send an email to [email protected] and details will be provided.
The primary agenda item will be the AOEA board elections – but we will also provide information about the “State of the Lab”. Hope you can join us – stay safe and “keep the fires burning”.
The future of the Arlington Outdoor Lab is at stake – we need your help now to convince the School Board to restore funding for the Lab in the 2019-20 APS budget.
The Superintendent’s proposed budget eliminates all funding for the Outdoor Lab. That’s right – it cuts every teacher, every bus, and every school trip to the Lab. Unless the School Board votes to restore the funding, Arlington students will no longer experience unique STEM and outdoor education at the Lab.
We don’t have much time to convince School Board members to restore this devastating elimination of the OL program. The School Board meets on April 9 to make revisions to the Superintendent’s proposal. Board members need to hear from you about the importance of funding the Lab before then.
It’s a tough budget year and the Superintendent has proposed almost $9 million in cuts. The School Board is already hearing from many others urging them to fund important programs identified for budget cuts.
Supporters of the Lab – parents, students, summer campers, and teachers – we need your help to make our voices heard. If Board members hear from us about the value of the Lab, then we’ll be in a much stronger position to convince them to restore essential funding.
You know the Outdoor Lab is a special place for seeing science come to life, taking a hike in the woods, and sleeping in a tent under the stars. The Lab is a unique resource for students in Arlington Public Schools. We need your voice to help ensure the Lab continues to serve thousands of Arlington students next school year.
Please take a minute to tell members of the School Board how important it is to fully fund the Outdoor Lab in the 2019-20 APS budget. Feel free to use the sample comment here – and personalize it based on your family’s experience at the Lab.
It’s critically important to contact School Board members before April 9 when they will vote on changes to the Superintendent’s proposed budget.
Todd Parker, President AOEA
Mike – “Thank you for your service”!
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Hail
Jessica Leslie
Our new staff member is long time Outdoor Lab volunteer, Jessica Leslie (Ms. Bat). She has a long connection to the Lab as a parent and now as a staff member!
Farewell
Clare McLean
This Summer we said “good bye” to Clare McLean (Mrs. Fox), an Outdoor Lab staff member since 2010. She accepted a new position at Abington Elementary school. We wish her the best in the future and hope she will still occasionally visit the Lab.
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Learning at the Outdoor Lab!
By Christine Payack (Miss Turtle)
Look! A long sinewy millipede crawls under decaying bark.
Feel! Soft caterpillars and slimy slugs undulate across our hands.
Listen! Nocturnal owls call while the stream gurgles in the darkness.
Sniff! The smell of moist leaves drifts through the air.
These are some of the learning moments that take hold of our senses at the Outdoor Lab –a place protected and far removed from urban encroachment. In this living classroom, we “explore, wonder and learn” and develop a deep love and respect for the natural world.
How can this jewel of nature be best investigated as an extension of the Arlington Public Schools’ science curriculum? How can the Outdoor Lab best support each school community as partners in learning?
With teacher input and advice, we are developing new lessons to tap into all that the Lab has to offer. By identifying key life science concepts that vertically integrate and spiral through the grades, our comprehensive and fluid activity choices will meet the needs of teachers and their students during the school year.
The Animal Lab is being transformed into a microcosm of our diverse 225-acre facility. It is here that students investigate the natural world through the lens of the indigenous animal ambassadors who reside there. Through their stories, the animals teach us all about the species that interact and depend on each other in their food webs, habitats and communities beyond the Animal Lab‘s doors.
Outside, students continue to explore the natural world through active and hands-on learning and observation. As scientific thinkers, they ask questions, build knowledge and expand on science principles, such as change, cycles, patterns and relationships in the living world.
What are some of the essential questions and themes that cycle through the seasons?
“What is an ecosystem?”
“How does energy flow through a food chain?”
“How do organisms depend on each other in their habitats and communities?”
“What are the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in their environments?”
“What are the life cycles of living organisms?”
“How do specific adaptations and traits allow an organism to survive in its environment?”
“Why and how do scientists classify organisms into different categories?”
“What is the human impact on the natural world?”
“How can we positively impact the survival of the living world around us today and in the future?”
Come join us any day to investigate these questions while you . . .
Look, touch, smell and hear!
Explore, wonder and learn!
And protect the best classroom of all –the one that is outdoors!
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATIONS!
Williamsburg Middle School PTA
Long Branch Elementary School PTA
Discovery Elementary School
Jamestown 5th Grade Gift
Oakridge Elementary School PTA
Arlington Traditional School PTA
Tuckahoe-Glebe Basketball Game
Arlington Retired Teacher’s Association
An important part of AOEA contributions come from schools and individual donations. Donations can be made through “1st day packets” and on line (see below). We also get “special” contributions – last year the Jamestown 5th grade class gave the Outdoor Lab support that was used to purchase new tents and life preservers. For the past two years Tuckahoe elementary school has held a basketball fundraiser – this year it was against Glebe school – the Outdoor Lab was the biggest winner receiving over $3,900! Big or small all donations are appreciated and show how passionate our supporters are!
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AOEA BOARD MEMBERS
Are you passionate about outdoor education? Want to help preserve the Outdoor Lab for the next 50 years? Consider joining us as a member of the AOEA Board. We are interested in attracting Board members with a variety of talents – social media, communications, IT/data base management, fund raising/grant management, volunteer coordination, and APS liasion. Contact us through the e-mail (link below).
President: Todd Parker
Vice President: Mike Maleski
Treasurer: Claire Hardie Secretary: Mary Ann Penning Committee Chairpersons
Facilities & Maint.: Bob Schrider
Fundraising: Ron Oleynik Outreach: Carol Goodloe Other Board Members:
Paul Diehl, Felix Herrera, Sarah Jensen, Scott Kovarovics, Anita Scott
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The latest Lab Notes are here and include a fundraising update, Poetic Inspiration, Summer Camp info, Spring Open House dates, and much more.
heck out the latest Lab Notes newsletter from the Outdoor Lab.
