Letter To the Editor: A Call To Arms
By ZACHARY GOLDSTEINParents, teachers, community members and fellow students, it is time to unite and take a stance on New Mexico’s careless state of testing.
Recently, there has been much controversy in regards to the newly implemented Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test or (PARCC), which students all over the state, myself included, will be taking this March. The PARCC is officially replacing the New Mexico Standard Based Assessments (NMSBA) this year.
You may or may not be surprised to know that New Mexico’s recently confirmed Read More
PEEC Hosts ‘Wrenched’ Screening At Reel Deal
Movie Poster for ‘Wrenched’ Courtesy/amazon.com
PEEC NEWS:
The documentary Wrenched delves into Edward Abbey’s most famous and influential work of fiction, The Monkey Wrench Gang, which came to be known for its protest of environmentally damaging activities in the American Southwest.
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) will host a special screening of the movie at 6:30 p.m., March 5 at the Reel Deal Theater. Special guest Jack Loeffler, a close friend of Abbey’s, will introduce the film and answer questions prior to the screening.
Wrenched reveals how Abbey Read More
Superintendent Candidate Chris Marczak, Ed.D. Issues Letter To Los Alamos
Dr. Chris Marczak participating in Read Me Day 2014 at Linden Elementary School in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Courtesy photo.
Dear Community Members of Los Alamos:
I am honored to receive this opportunity to interview for the Superintendent of Schools position with the Los Alamos Public School system and introduce myself to you.
I am currently the Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Oak Ridge Schools. As the Assistant Superintendent, I have been in charge of Curriculum and Instruction, Student Services, Special Education, Teaching and Learning (Professional Development), and Information/Instructional Read More
Leadership Los Alamos Completes Education Session
Amy Bartlett Gaunt of Los Alamos Middle School speaks with Leadership Los Alamos participants Friday at UNM-LA. Photo by Martha Katko
From left, Lucy Foma, Doris Prokop and Monica Hernandez-Lara. Photo by Martha Katko
Letter To The Editor: Parents Have Right To Opt Their Children Out Of Standardized Testing
By SEN. HOWIE MORALESThere is a lot of misinformation circulating regarding the upcoming Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test (PARCC) that will be administered to students from grades 3-11 this spring.
I want to clarify the options parents have in deciding to opt their children out of taking this test.
Many of you have expressed concern and, indeed, dissatisfaction with the intensity of the current amount of standardized testing taking place in our schools. One of the top concerns I share is the elimination of a parent’s right in deciding Read More
Scenes From ‘Willy Wonka Jr.’ Performance
Scene from Atomic City Children’s Theater performance of ‘Willy Wonka Jr.’ last weekend at Duane Smith Auditorium. Photo by Monique Beyerle 
Photo by Monique Beyerle 
Photo by Monique Beyerle 
Photo by Monique Beyerle Author/Photographer Don Usner Featured At Authors Speak Thursday
Don Usner
MPL News:
Author and photographer Don Usner is the featured speaker at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at Mesa Public Library.
Book cover for ‘Chasing Dichos through Chimayo.’ Courtesy photo
Usner’s latest book, published by UNM Press, is called Chasing Dichos through Chimayo. The book is a chronicle of his search for the deep roots contained in old sayings, proverbs and adages from a disappearing culture and language.
Chasing Dichos through Chimayo
The book also is a very personal and moving story of riding in the car with his mother to Chimayo to find those old stories. The stories Read More
Los Alamos Team Wins National Navy JROTC Championships For 2015
From left, LCDR Shumaker, David Murphy, Holly Hayes, Samantha Miller, JoAnna O’Neill and Samuel Wolfe. Courtesy/Stephanie Miller
Los Alamos High School NJROTC precision air rifle team has won the National Navy JROTC Championships for 2015.
Shooters JoAnna O’Neill, Samantha Miller, Samuel Wolfe, David Murphy and Holly Hayes traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., for the three day event last week.
Individually O’Neill placed second nationally, Miller ninth and Wolfe 10th. In the regional results, O’Neill placed first, Miller second, Wolfe Read More
CIR Presents: Great Decisions
CIR News:
LAMS Team Takes First In MathCounts Competition
From left, Coach Phuong Nguyen, Mathletes Antonio Dowdy, Do Vo, Duncan Fuehne and Christopher Koh and Coach Jane Lataille.LAMS News:
The Los Alamos Middle School MathCounts team placed first Saturday in the Northern New Mexico Chapter MATHCOUNTS competition at Pojoaque High School.
The team was made up of Do Vo, Christopher Koh, Antonio Dowdy and Duncan Fuehne. Vo placed first as an individual, Koh placed 2nd, Dowdy 3rd and Fuehne placed 4th. The team coaches are Phuong Nguyen and Jane Lataille.
The team will compete March 21 at state.
The MATHCOUNTS Competition Program is designed Read More
Public Invited To Attend First 2015 Budget Committee Meeting Wednesday
LAPS News:
The first meeting of the Los Alamos Public Schools 2015 Budget Committee is 5-6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Speech Theater at Los Alamos High School.
Public comment will be accepted at the beginning and the end of the meeting.
Agenda Highlights:
- Review of Budget Committee Charter approved by LAPS School Boar;
- Review of LAPS non-negotiable goals; and
- Discussion of how to identify the gaps to reach non-negotiable goals, how to measure those gaps and what is required to close those gaps.
The LAPS School Board and District Office strongly encourage community involvement in this process. Read More
New Mexico Senate Unanimously Confirms Higher Education Department Secretary Barbara Damron
Barbara Damron
STATE News:
SANTA FE – Today, the New Mexico State Senate unanimously confirmed Higher Education Department (HED) Cabinet Secretary Barbara Damron.
Damron received numerous praises from both sides of the aisle throughout the proceedings.
“I am both honored and privileged to be given this tremendous responsibility by Gov. Susana Martinez and the New Mexico State Senate” Damron said. “All education stakeholders must work together to guide students down a successful academic path.”
Damron has more than 30 years of experience as an executive, health care provider, scientist, Read More
Think New Mexico Again Recognized Among Top Think Tanks
TNM News:‘Culture Day’ At Roundhouse Offers Best Of State Museums And Historic Sites
State News:- New Mexico Arts will provide “Oculus Rift Glasses” offering the wearer a cutting edge virtual “Pull of the Moon Experience.”
- The NM State Library will display the new “Brainfuse” online tutorial
SFI Colloquium: Evolution Of Multicellularity And Cellular Differentiation In The Volvocine Algae
Matthew Herron SFI News:
The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is hosting a colloquium with Matthew Herron at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, in the Noyce Conference Room in Santa Fe.
Abstract: The transition to multicellular life was one of a few major events in the history of life that created new opportunities for more complex biological systems to evolve. Indeed, multicellularity is a prerequisite for the evolution of large, complex organisms such as plants and animals.
An understanding of the ecological conditions and evolutionary mechanisms that favor this key innovation Read More
NMAA Foundation Awards $28K In Scholarships
NMAA News:PEEC: Learn About Alternative Energy Solutions For Los Alamos At Nature On Tap Thursday
Karen Paramanandam will facilitate a discussion about alternative energy for Los Alamos at Nature on Tap. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
While the current energy mix on our municipal grid is a combination of coal, hydro, utility scale solar and some distributed solar generation, Los Alamos County is poised on the cusp of an energy shift.
Smart grid technology that includes distributed energy storage, and generation and smart energy controls are just over the horizon and within our grasp. What would it take to move us off fossil fuels entirely? To learn the answer to this question and more, join an Read More
LAMS Students Join Scientific Team In Tasman Sea To Study Internal Tides
Eighth grade students at LAMS Skype with scientists onboard ship in the Tazman Sea. Photo by Elizabeth Watson
Gabi Pilo, right, Spencer Kawamoto and Ryan McDougall-Fisher taking instruments off the CTD-cage on a rare sunny day during the transit to Hobart. Photo by Judy LemusEighth grade science students at Los Alamos Middle School recently traveled, via Skype, to the Tasman Sea off the coast of New Zealand to take part in an oceanographic study.
Along with students from 10 or so other schools around the country, the Los Alamos students and Read More
Finalists For LAPS Superintendent Revealed
Dr. Kurt Steinhaus
LAPS News:
The Los Alamos Public Schools Board of Education released this morning the names of the two finalists for the position of superintendent.
The first finalist is Dr. Kurt Steinhaus, a native of Los Alamos and a graduate of Los Alamos High School. Dr. Steinhaus served as a teacher and department head in the Alamogordo School District. He then worked for the Public Education Department where he became division director for Accountability and Information Services before serving as assistant superintendent.
Dr. Steinhaus subsequently worked for Los Alamos National Read More
SFI Seminar: ‘How The Interaction Of Mind And Environment Shapes Social Judgments’
Mirta Galesic SFI News:
Santa Fe Institute (SFI) hosts a seminar by Mirta Galesic at 12:15 p.m., Wednesday in the Collins Conferance Room.
Abstract: There is a curious divide among researchers studying human sociality. Those studying human cultural evolution tend to extol the extraordinary human ability to cooperate and learn from each other and believe it to be the cornerstone of the spectacular success of our species.
Social psychologists, in contrast, tend to view human social cognition as fraught with biases Read More
