May 10, 2008: Spring Picnic, Weldon Spring Tour, and Planning Meeting for 08-09
Minutes:
Members present: Debbie Rice, Gary Taylor, Katy Chole, Jim Cibulka, Gail Haynes, Bob Brazzle, Mark Schober
Nominations from emails and attendees were shared for the Gene Fuchs Award. Long-time SLAPT advocate and past president Frank Cange was chosen for the honor. We will formally recognize Frank and his contributions during the activities in the upcoming year of SLAPT activities.
SLAPT will continue to pursue section status within AAPT to give our group a voting voice in AAPT. Debbie Rice met with MAPT members at their spring meeting in Joplin, and they were agreeable to selecting a region of zip codes that would be transferred from MAPT to SLAPT. Ultimately, we would like AAPT's new section structure to encourage collaboration between the groups rather than drawing boundaries between groups. Mark Schober will draft a proposal for AAPT as it examines its section structure.
Nominations from emails and attendees were shared for president-elect. Gail Haynes was the unanimous nominee, she accepted the nomination and was elected to the three-year leadership rotation.
Last year, SLAPT began an informal policy of making extra equipment sets for our make-n-take workshops. At today's meeting, we chose to make an "equipment reserve" part of SLAPT's outreach to the physics teaching community. SLAPT, rather than workshop presenters, will support the cost of the materials. As schools and teachers purchase the equipment at cost, SLAPT will regain the invested money. Materials from workshops, as well as equipment teachers are looking to give away, will be inventoried and posted to the SLAPT website for members and visitors to the site to purchase, swap, or have.
The current system of communication through website and email were discussed and deemed effective and to the point. A listserv does not seem necessary or desirable at this point. Mark Schober asked that each meeting have a "reporter" to provide a better quality written summary of the workshop for sharing via email and web to benefit members unable to attend the workshops. Debbie Rice volunteered to see that each meeting in the coming year would be written up.
We again plan to do a saturation mailing to all Missouri and Illinois schools within a 100-mile radius of St. Louis in early August. The goal of the mailing is to attract additional teachers to take advantage of the resources and opportunities available through SLAPT. Current members are provided all of the information via email and the website. Also, this year's mailing will be done in conjunction with the chemistry teacher's group. Letters will be addressed to the science department chair. A cover letter will provide instructions on sharing the chemistry and SLAPT newsletters with appropriate teachers in their department.
We are looking for funding to run summer physics teacher workshops on modeling instruction in St. Louis. We have workshop leaders and we have teachers interested in participating, but financial support is the eternal hurdle. Jim Cibulka will pursue leads through Washington University, and Mark Schober will pursue leads through NSF.
SLAPT's finances are healthy. Gene Bender has smoothly taken over the reigns as treasurer, and new receipts and reimbursement forms help to leave a simple, yet important, paper trail of transactions. To help people remember if they've paid their dues or not, a thank you (which Katy Chole dubbed "a slapt on the back") will be sent mid-fall and again in late winter to acknowledge those who have paid their dues.
We then discussed next year's schedule, which will have a fall theme of Electricity and Magnetism, and developed the following schedule:
August 23, 2008: Boating on Mark Twain Lake
Hosts: Gary Taylor, Jim Cibulka, Katy Chole
Join us for a relaxing day to catch up with everyone's summer activites.
September 20, 2008: Lab Practicum Workshop
Host: Gail Haynes
Where: Eureka High School
October 4, 2008: Six Flags for Teachers
Where: Six Flags, St. Louis
Presenters: Bill Brinkhorst, Rex Rice, Mark Schober
October 11, 2008: An Introduction to CASTLE Electric Circuits
Presenters: Katy Chole and Jim Cibulka
Where: Villa Duchesne
Home-made electric circuit kits can also be purchased at the workshop. $25 per kit, add $10 if you would like to include a digital multimeter. Reserve your circuit kits with Jim Cibulka by September 15.
November 15, 2008: CASTLE-Inspired Electrostatics Activites
Presenters: Rex and Debbie Rice
Where: Clayton High School
December 6, 2008: Electric and Magnetic Field Apparatus Make-n-Take Workshop
Presenter: Mark Schober
Where: John Burroughs School
January 2009: Joint Chemistry-Physics Meeting
February 12-16, 2009: AAPT National Meeting
Where: Chicago
Travel Coordinator: Gary Taylor
Let's hop the train to Chicago to attend workshops, presentations, and talk with AAPT leaders about cultivating dynamic physics teacher alliances like SLAPT!
March 2009: Geometric Optics
Presenter: Val Michael
Where: Parkway Central High School
Val will share PTRA materials to help shine some light on teaching geometric optics.
April 24, 2009: Six Flags Math, Science, and Physics Day
Where: Six Flags St. Louis
April 25, 2009: SLAPT-SIUE Physics Contest
Where: Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Host: Tom Foster
May 16, 2009: 09-10 Planning Meeting and Green-Building Tour
Where: Alberici Enterprises
Host: Gail Haynes
Meeting Agenda:
When: Saturday, May 10th, 9am to 1pm
Where: Weldon Spring Site, 7295 Highway 94 South, St. Charles, MO 63304
What: Come and help us plan the workshops and activities for the upcoming 2008- 2009 school year. A picnic lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to Jim Cibulka
Bring: $5 to chip in for lunch and your ideas on how you can contribute to SLAPT next year. Think about what you can contribute to SLAPT. Would you be willing to take on a leadership role? Would you be willing to present a workshop? Could you help with paper mailings to area schools? Are you willing to mentor new or crossover teachers? What should SLAPT be doing to keep it a strong force for physics education in St. Louis? What do you want the future relationship between SLAPT and AAPT to look like? Think about what resources and support SLAPT could provide for you that would benefit you and your students. Even if you can't attend the meeting, send your ideas to Jim Cibulka, <mailto:jacibulka@gmail.com>jacibulka@gmail.com we'll incorporate them into our discussion.
If you have not toured the Weldon Spring site, we will have some time to do so. The site itself is an engineering marvel, and also offers many educational exhibits on radioactivity.
In addition, we are also taking nominations for the Gene Fuchs Award. To nominate someone for the Gene Fuchs award, send a note to Jim Cibulka with the name of your nominee and a brief description of the nominee's excellence in physics teaching. Please try to have these in by May 6th.
Opportunities for Leadership in SLAPT
At the planning meeting, our past president, Katy Chole, will rotate out of official SLAPT leadership, Gary Taylor will become past president and Jim Cibulka will guide us through the 08-09 school year as president.
President-elect nominees sought
At the planning meeting, we will select our president elect. You may nominate someone for the position, including yourself, by sending the nominee's name to Jim Cibulka.
Driving Directions:
The Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center is located in southwestern St. Charles County, Missouri, approximately 35 miles west of St. Louis. It is located on Missouri State Route 94, 2 miles south of the Route 94 and U.S. Highway 40/61 junction.
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