SPIN GIRLS FEBRUARY 2023 NEWSLETTER
IT'S BLACK HISTORY MONTH!
Women of color in STEM have overcome racial and gender biases throughout time to make a name for themselves and contribute to great causes, including many important African American women. These women overcame both sexism and racism to hold important titles and positions, contribute to significant discoveries, and push the boundaries of who is included in the history of STEM.
The following are names of some of the African American women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics that you can further learn about if you are interested. Alice Ball-Chemistry, Dorothy Lavinia Brown-Surgeon, Mary Jackson-Engineer/NASA, Katherine Johnson-Technology/Moon landing, and Dr. Gladys West-Technology/GPS. Other important women of color in STEM include: Susan LaFlesche, Tu Youyou, Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Mary G. Ross, and many many more. These important African American women defied the odds, devoting their lives to making the world a better place through their STEM careers. While women of color in STEM careers have always faced difficulties, they have persisted to overcome inherent biases based on sexism and racism.
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a summary of January's events and upcoming events for February, the schedule for lab and field days, the schedule for Friday night hangouts, and some resources to help you out. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
- SPIN Girls Program Team
We had a lot of fun making vision boards at our January SPIN Girls hangout!
8th grade SPIN Girls cohort learned how to become designers, marketers, brand creators and so much more at our TomBoyX field day!
9th grade SPIN Girls cohort learned all about the various opportunities in the field of construction with our MacDonald Miller field day partners.
10th grade cohort and a few SPIN Fellows visited Fred Hutch Cancer Center where they heard from a research scientist, had a hands-on lab activity and toured the facility.
RECAP OF LAST MONTH
We hope that your new year is starting off well. SPIN Girls entered the year 2023 with a hangout where students made vision boards for the new year. We also had three amazing field days at TomBoyX, MacDonald Miller and Fred Hutch Cancer Center. We hope that students are beginning to think deeply about their capstone projects and what they will be sharing with everyone at the end of the program year as we are entering our mid-year phase. Also, SPIN Girls cohort leads and mentors reached out to remind families that SPIN is here to support you and to just reach out if you ever find yourself in need of resources or connections.
LOOKING FORWARD
YOU CAN STILL COME TO ALASKA WITH SPIN GIRLS!
June 27th to July 2nd 2023 (6 days and 5 nights)
Registration for the ALASKA TRIP is still open! Extended pay options are available. Ask financial assistance representatives for "extended payment options" to be able to pay after our trip.
If your SPIN Girl would like to attend please reach out to Keshiap@stempaths.org ASAP!
You can also watch parent information videos here and here.
We would love for more students to attend! Here are some ways to help with paying.
FLAG Scholarship- This is first come first serve, but we still have funds available, and any parent interested in applying should call us soon. This is a partial scholarship but can really help to put a dent in the cost and anyone with an adjusted gross income of less than $85,000 is encouraged to apply.
Extended Payment Plan- Everyone is eligible for this offer, allowing parents to continue making payments even after the trip. If you speak to parents who are interested in either program, please ask them to call customer service at 1-800-468-5899 and our representatives would be happy to help them.
Gift of Education- This is a great way for kids to raise money, especially around the holidays. Parents can find out more by visiting https://fundraising.worldstrides.com/, where they can create an E-card, Facebook link, or letter asking friends and family to help by giving the gift of education.
LAB DAY IS ON FEBRUARY 11TH
When:
Saturday, FEBRUARY 11th
Where:
3407 NE 2nd ST., Renton, WA 98056
Time:
8th grade - 9:30am - 12:30pm - SPIN office
9th grade - 9:30am - 12:30pm - SPIN Office
10th grade - 1:30pm - 4:30pm - SPIN Office
Location for field days vary and lab day location is the SPIN office
SPIN Office address: 3407 NE 2nd ST., Renton, WA 98056
February 17th is Hangout March 4th is Field Day
Here's the schedule for the 2022-23 program year. Add these dates to your calendar so you don't miss any!
Lab Day Saturday Time Schedules
8th grade: 9:30AM-12:30PM
9th grade: 9:30AM-12:30PM
10th grade: 1:30PM-4:30PM
Location is:
3407 NE 2nd St., Renton, 98056
RTC ANNEX Building
Field Day Saturday Time Schedules unless otherwise directed by program manager
8th grade: 9:30AM-12:30PM
9th grade: 9:30AM-12:30PM
10th grade: 1:30PM-4:30PM
Locations vary for field days. You will be given the location details at least one week prior to the field day experience.
SPIN Girls Hangout
Friday nights on the scheduled event nights
Time:
5:30pm - 8:30pm
Location:
3407 NE 2nd St., Renton, WA 98056
RESOURCES
SPIN Girls students attend multiple school districts throughout King County. We value our SPIN families and know that it takes a tremendous amount of resources to nurture a student and family to success. We want to remind everyone that there are always resources available to your families to ensure that they can reach their full potential, in whatever way they may need extra support. Below you will find direct links to each King County School Districts student, family and community resources page. We have also included links to WA public charter schools and WA homeschool organization. Our hope is that you use these links to inform yourselves of resources available to increase the success of your family at the beginning of the school year. We also want you to use these links throughout the year as more details or changes may become available on the district pages.
Washington Charter Schools Association for public charter schools in WA
Washington Homeschool Organization
SPIN FELLOWS
Students who graduate from SPIN Girls are invited to apply for SPIN Fellows in the Spring of their 10th grade year. Fellows are accepted based on their commitment to SPIN Girls and their interest in pursuing a STEM career.
The goal of SPIN Fellows is to empower SPIN Girls students to feel confident in pursuing STEM college majors & careers. The vision is to grow a strong alumni community, supported by SPIN Girls mentors, staff, and other alumni. SPIN Fellows breaks down the barriers that girls of color face when exploring and pursuing STEM careers and shapes a more inclusive future.
For more information visit our website: https://www.stempaths.org/spin-girls-fellows
Copyright © 2020 STEM Paths Innovation Network, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
3407 NE 2nd St., Renton, WA 98056