DISTRICT 75 - STEM DEPARTMENT
Reach Your Full Potential
DISTRICT 75 - STEM DEPARTMENT
The D75 department of STEM is dedicated to equipping our community with the tools, practices and resources to build awareness of how our daily lives are impacted by Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
We provide diverse culturally responsive content that is accessible to all community stakeholders and develop opportunities for every individual to contribute their unique voice to the progress of our evolving world.
2023-2024 HIGHLIGHTS
We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your partnership with our Department this year. It has truly been a fantastic year of learning and growth in STEM. Here are some of our highlights from the year:
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Engineering Design Process: We have been delighted to see many schools implementing the engineering design process in their classes. This hands-on approach allows students to engage in real-world problem-solving and critical thinking skills. We will continue supporting the District with PDs to support this work during the 2024-2025 academic year!
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Math Curriculum and Instruction: Our Math Team worked hard vetting various math curricula to make suggestions to Central, along with facilitating a number of professional development sessions aimed at helping math teachers skill stream. We are so excited to continue this work next year!
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9th District-Wide STEM Fair: Our students had the incredible opportunity to showcase their projects at the American Museum of Natural History. It was a day filled with creativity, innovation, and excitement for talented presenters and all our visitors.
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LEGO League Expo: Our students had a blast at the LEGO League Expo held at the New York Hall of Science. They demonstrated their teamwork, engineering skills, and creativity around the Masterpiece theme.
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Hydroponics Program Expansion: We have expanded our hydroponics program, providing students with valuable insights into sustainable agriculture and environmental science.
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Climate Action and Sustainability: D75 schools participated in the four Citywide Climate Action Days, demonstrating their creativity and commitment to making positive change in our schools and communities. Students addressed a different theme on each Climate Action Day, including Energy, Waste, Health, Wellness and Green Space, and Water.
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Professional Development Sessions and Coaching: We successfully organized over 50 professional development sessions for our dedicated educators. These sessions enhanced the teaching strategies and promoted excellence and independence in STEM education for our learners. Additionally, we supported dozens of educators individually at their schools through coaching support.
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As we look ahead to the next school year, we are excited to continue supporting all our schools. We are planning to pilot new programs that will further promote student engagement and learning in STEM disciplines.
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Have a fantastic summer and we look forward to partnering with you all next year!
DISTRICT NEWS
At a Glance
MATH DEPARTMENT
If you have any general or specific questions, concerns, or challenges with math instruction, please don't hesitate to reach out to the math coaches for assistance or resources such as visuals and/or individual training. We are available to schedule a visit to your school, or hold a virtual meeting, to help provide any guidance regarding best practices and developing math rich environments. We look forward to working with you! Thanks! Danielle Clermont: dclermont2@schools.nyc.gov Jack Catalano: jcatalano4@schools.nyc.gov
TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT
3D world is taking a hiatus for the year as we research new and engaging platforms that could be the rightful heir to the 3D world legacy.
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Revolutionize your classroom with AI and unleash every student's potential to express their learning in groundbreaking ways. Join "A.I. for All: Democratizing Learning" on October 17th to discover how cutting-edge AI tools seamlessly integrate with your teaching, engaging learners of all abilities to showcase their understanding through technology.
​Please join us at the District for Smartboard Notebook: Innovations Professional Development
Click here for a list of DOE and District Supported online platforms - This is a living document and may be updated with additional information so be sure to bookmark this link and share it with staff.
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It includes information on BrainPOP, Brainpop jr, Brainpop Espanol, and Brainpop ELL
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Minecraft Education editio
​Adobe express and Adobe Firefly will still be available city-wide
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NYC Public Schools will no longer have a city-wide contract with Adobe for many of the programs in the Adobe Creative Cloud including Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere. Pricing is being worked out but when it is, access will be reduced to school based. Plan accordingly
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Freemium resources include Canva, Boomcard, padlet, Epic! Books
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Nearpod and Flocabulary is no longer being supported at the district level but can be purchased on SHOPdoe as a package on a school-by-school basis
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We are working on getting approval and rollout for Magic School, an AI platform that helps fight teacher burnout and supports differentiation for all students. More to come on this exciting possibility!
SCIENCE DEPARTMENT
D75 Science Scope & Sequence News!
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The D75 Science Department is thrilled to share Year 2 of the D75 Science Scope and Sequence Guide for K-12 Students Participating in Alternate Assessments. If this is your first year implementing this guide, please begin with YEAR 2 of the resources (it is not progressive).
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Below are the links to all the available resources:
D75 Science Scope and Sequence Guide D75 Science Resources Year 2 Unit 1
D75 Science Resources Year 2 Unit 2
D75 Science Resources Year 2 Unit 3​
To access these resources, you must use your DOE email and password.
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Bookmark the D75 SCIENCE Website (Scope & Sequence) to always have the resources at your fingertips!
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We will be offering professional development opportunities for these units throughout the school year. Our first PD on Science Scope & Sequence K-12 Physical Science Unit 1 will take place on Monday, October 21, 2024! Teachers can register through the D75 Professional Development Catalog for any of our PDs.
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Required NYS Science Investigations
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NYS Department of Education requires standardized students in Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8 to carry out Science Investigations to help prepare them for the new NYS Science Tests.
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For Information about materials, requirements and resources, please go the following sites:
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*NYSED Elementary Level Investigations*
*NYSED Intermediate Level Investigations*
We will provide the following hands-on PD workshops on the Elementary and Middle School Investigations this year:
· 5th Grade NYS Science Test and NEW Investigations PD on Tues. 11/19/24
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· 8th Grade NYS Science Test and NEW Investigations PD on Thurs. 12/5/24
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Teachers can register through the D75 Professional Development Catalog for these PDs.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us below:
Sarai Bakal, D75 Science Coach SBakal@schools.nyc.gov
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Joaquin Rodriguez, D75 Science Coach JRodriguezjr@schools.nyc.gov
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Dierre Taylor, Director of D75 Office of STEM DTaylor12@schools.nyc.gov
APPLIED LEARNING
Plant Learn Grow
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Garden Partnership with NYBG and BBG
Professional Learning Sessions for Teachers
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NYBG - October 17th
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BBG - October 24th
The theme for this year :
Plants That We Eat
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Plant Learn Grow (PLG) 101 Just announced in person Professional Development - February 26th
Link will be available soon
Grow NYC October Newsletter
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Office of Energy and Sustainability
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Climate Action Day Training
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UFT - October 8th
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NYBG - October 23rd
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These meetings are not just for sustainability coordinators. Anyone who is passionate about the planet and sustainability can attend​​​
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The Office of Energy and Sustainability annual grant is now OPEN. The deadline to apply is Nov 4 and there is a grant information session on Oct 10:
https://sites.google.com/view/nycdoesustainability/resources/grants
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Climate Action Days
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Waste - November 19th
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Energy - February 5th
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Health and Wellness
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Water - May 21st
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Virtual Hydroponics Trainings - Hydroponics 101 can be found under applied learning in the PD catalog
60 minute virtual training - November 5th
60 minute virtual training - November 21st
Full Day Hydroponics PD in person - To Be Announced
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Math in the Garden - April 24th
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats. We strive to ignite that fire in our students, inspiring a love of math that will last a lifetime. Our department is dedicated to providing high-quality education and valuable resources to students of all ages and abilities.