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November Highlights
- Both groups of Cool Girls headed to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA) to learn about the science of art. Watch Julie Poppen's video by clicking here.
- Pendred Noyce, author of Lost in Lexicon: An Adventure in Words and Numbers, was a big hit with Cool Girls and 125 other students at Crest View
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Author Pendred Noyce and Cool Girls meet a lookalike of an endearing character from Lost in Lexicon, Emily the thesaurus.
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Elementary. Dr. Noyce read from her award-winning book and led games and activities as part of a Lexicon Villages event sponsored by Cool Girls. It's a great book and an excellent holiday gift that several of our girls have already finished reading with delight. And if you buy one for $12.95, $4 goes to Cool Girls as a donation from the author. We sold out but just got a new boxful. You can get the books from Mary or order them from the book's website. Please include a note indicating you are a Cool Girls supporter if you order them from the publisher. - Cool Girl Izzy Friedman shot and edited this awesome video of the Cool Girls September camping trip in Left Hand Canyon. Go Izzy!
- Cool Girls visited Crystal Galleries on Pearl Street where they learned about fossils and minerals from proprietors Lorraine and Laurens Tatarsky, Cool Girls grandparents. After that, the girls collected fossils north of town. Our minds expanded as we held evidence in our hands that Boulder was a former seabed.
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What's Coming Up in December?
- Last session: AgentSheets Scalable Game Design, Monday, Dec. 5. Fred Gluck, Mary Golden and parent volunteers have been teaching Cool Girls and other Crest View girls and boys on Mondays to design their own computer games. The computer literacy program was developed for middle-schoolers, but our girls proved that it's fun for grades 3-5 and that they could hold their own in a coed group. Fred may offer a girls-only club next semester if two dedicated parents will assist. Please contact Mary for more info. A big thanks to Fred and to Dr. Alex Repenning and the AgentSheets team at CU!
- Pizza parties for the final Cool Girls' sessions in 2011, Dec. 6 and 8!
- Cool Girls art director Cindy Noel has surprises in store on Tuesday.
- Termites coming to class Thursday - along with Cool Girls adviser, Dr. Samantha Messier, BVSD Science Director and entomologist.
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Cool Girls Board of Directors Meeting
Cool Girls Board of Directors will meet this month to welcome new members, discuss curriculum and budget for 2012, and get an update on our role as convenor of the National Girls Collaborative Project Colorado Collaborative. All are welcome. Please contact Mary for time and location.
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Spring Semester Begins the Week of Jan. 15
Stay tuned because there could be changes coming to the after-school scheduling of Cool Girls at Crest View Elementary. Parent and Board member Michelle Christenson will be in touch with families. Also, watch the newsletter, website or Facebook for updates. We always have a waiting list, so please email Mary to reserve spaces in the program that will begin the week of January 15. Check our website for a registration form later this month. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
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 Improv is a cool way to learn science! |
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Latest STEAM News Reports
Education Week takes note of how federal agencies and other groups find that STEM + Art "can enhance student engagement and learning, and even help unlock creative thinking and innovation." Cool Girls was among the first STEAM-focused programs (see comment about our program posted to Education Week at 8:47 pm on Dec. 2).
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THANKS!
Julie Poppen is the new volunteer communications director for Cool Girls and is editing the newsletter, among other things. She also teaches journalism courses at CU and runs a nonprofit website for parents of school-aged kids called EdNews Parent. Check it out and consider subscribing to the newsletter. Thanks, too, to Cindy Noel, who is now Cool Girls' official art director. Thanks to Penny Noyce for her kind support of Cool Girls and to Shannon Golden-Schubert for hosting a dinner party for Penny. We also owe a debt of gratitude to SkillShare, an organization that named Cool Girls the volunteer opportunity of the month for its members. Many SkillShare members have volunteered their time to teach Cool Girls new skills.  Thanks to David Lurie of Boulder-based Sun Cups for donating tasty organic chocolates for our fundraiser.
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Cool Girls and dads build obstacle courses for pet rabbit, mice and Guinea pigs.
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To all the unnamed volunteers, donors, and especially to our girls, thanks so much!
Happy holidays to all!
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