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<TITLE>March 15-20</TITLE>
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<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B></B></SPAN><A NAME=""><SPAN LANG="en-us"><B><FONT FACE="Verdana">Celebrating Science, Math</FONT></B></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Verdana">The Education Department is partnering with the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies and scientific societies to sponsor activities for this year's Excellence in Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (ESTME) Week, March 15-20. The week's celebration is designed to ignite student interest in mathematics and science. Participants are encouraged to partner with local businesses and libraries, for example, or sponsor contests and career programs that draw community attention toward the critical need of improving student performance in these subjects. </FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Verdana">The Web site</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"> </SPAN><A HREF="http://www.estme.org/"><SPAN LANG="en-us"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Verdana">www.ESTME.org</FONT></U></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></A><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Verdana"> includes a variety of promotional materials and ideas for celebrating ESTME week. It also offers an online chat forum, called "Ask a Scientist," in which students can submit questions and receive answers from a host of scientists and engineers.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"><FONT FACE="Verdana">On March 16, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will host a Science Summit for mathematics and science educators throughout the country in Washington, D.C. The summit will feature Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman and an exposition of teaching and learning tools.</FONT></SPAN><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN></P>
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<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us"></SPAN><A NAME=""><SPAN LANG="en-us">Stacey Weinand</SPAN></A></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">Coordinator, Mathematics and Science Partnerships</SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education</SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">405.447.4103</SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">sweinand@osrhe.edu</SPAN></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><SPAN LANG="en-us">"We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Mother Teresa</SPAN></P>
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