COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

PRINS. MEMO NO. 5

February 8, 2005

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE/SECONDARY

TO:	Principals
FROM:	Linda M. Wallinger Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
SUBJECT:	Children’s Engineering Convention

The Virginia Technology Education Association, the Virginia Children’s Engineering Council, Technology Education Service, and the NASA Center for Distance Learning are co-sponsoring the “Children’s Engineering Convention” for teachers and administrators who provide leadership at grades K-5. The convention will be held at the Marriott West at Innsbrook, Richmond, February 24 – 26, 2005.

The keynote speaker will be Dr. Belle S. Wheelan, Secretary of Education. Best Practices and classroom strategies that support achievement of the Virginia Standards of Learning through hands-on designing and building; critical thinking skills and problem solving will be highlighted within the convention sessions. These instructional experiences will assist participants in preparing children to:

• Explore how people create, use, and control technology,
• Apply knowledge in mathematics, science, English, history, and social studies in solving problems associated with technology, and
• Use tools and materials to develop technological literacy and self-confidence.

Conference registration has been extended to February 15. The conference overview and registration form are located at www.vtea.org/ESTE/. For more information, contact George Willcox (George.Willcox@doe.virginia.gov) technology education specialist, at (804)225-2839 or Mrs. Linda E. Harpine (lharpine@earthlink.net), (540) 282-3278.

LMW/EMR/sgj