Youth Education Program

1. Youth Education Program

2. RAC Youth Education ProgramAdvisory Committee: • Bj. Madsen (VE5FX) - Chairman - RAC MidWest Director • Ken Pulfer (VE3PU) - Member - RAC Vice President • Bill Rothwell (VE3FGW) - Treasurer - RAC Treasurer • Daniel Lamoureux (VE2KA) - Member - RAC Quebec Director • Wilf Mulder (VE7OHM) - Member - Vernon, BC • Neil Carleton (VE3NCE) - Member - Teacher • David Cochrane (VE9QED) - Member - Retired Teacher • Dawn MacKay (VE1MAK) - Secretary - RAC Secretary • Bill Gillis (VE1WG) - ex officio member

3. ARRL’s “Big Project”

4. MISSION STATEMENT: RAC wishes to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between young people and Amateur Radio

5. Rationale: • The continued existence of Amateur Radio in Canada depends heavily on bringing young people into the service. • Canada needs to have more young people who choose careers in the sciences and technologies, • Making Amateur Radio a part of Canadian youths’ education and development will offer to them opportunities to make more informed choices about interest and career decisions.

6. SCOPE: Phase I • Identify one school in each RAC region to act as a ‘pilot project’. • This school has a radio-based project running. • The teacher has an Amateur Radio license. • A local club will support the project.

7. RAC will provide to the school: • Access to all of RAC’s resources. • Assistance with program content • Assistance from the local club • Recognition • In TCA • In teachers’ literature • In the media

8. SCOPE: Phase II • Solicit new schools that have not been involved in Phase I. • Demonstrate success achieved in Phase I. • To teachers’ organizations • To the Amateur Radio community • To senior educational administrators • To the general public • At teachers’ conferences

9. SCOPE: Phase III • Continue with the work in Phase II and • begin to create curriculum material • lesson plans specific to the use of radio in school • across the curriculum • specific to age and grade

10. FUNDING • Phase I funding: • primarily from RAC with assistance from clubs • Subsequent funding requirements: • from external sources • corporations in the industry • corporations interested in youth education • educational grant sources • Industry Canada

11. 2003 RACAnnual Board of Directors Meeting • The Advisory Committee Report was presented and ….. • Accepted unanimously • given a budget of $10 500 for the first year • Bj. Madsen appointed as chair of the new committee • mandate to form a working committee. • get the program started with the new school year.

12. Is born

13. RAC Youth Education Program committee: • Bj. Madsen (VE5FX) - chairman • Neil Cameron (VE3NCE) - member • Mark Richardson (VA3OBO) - secretary • Wilf Mulder (VE7OHM) - member* • Bill Gillis (VE1WG) - ex-officio member

14. Dr. Bob Thirsk (VA3CSA) - medical doctor - Canadian Astronaut Dr. Thirsk has agreed to serve as our official spokesperson “Amateur Radio is a great way for students and teachers to reach out and bring the world and space into the classroom”

15. InterNet WEBsite: http://www.rac.ca …. Info Centre …. Youth Education • Opening page with message from Dr. Thirsk • Biography of Dr. Thirsk • Overview of the RAC Youth Education Program • Details about the program • An application form • A list of the project schools • Information on how viewers can help out • Links to RAC, ARRL, ARISS • How to contact the committee

18. Holy Cross School- Winnipeg, MB • Grade 6 - 8 school • there is not an Amateur on staff • sponsored by Adam Romanchuk (VE4SN) of the Winnipeg Senior Citizens’ ARC • will use SWL as a part of their social studies, geography and science classes

19. R. Tait McKenzie Public School -Almonte, ON • Kindergarten to grade six elementary school • program run by Neil Carleton (VE3NCE0 in grades 5 & 6 • will be using Amateur Radio and SWL as part of the curricular & extra curricular work • sponsored by the Almonte Radio Repeater League’s VP, Bob Clermont (VE3AKV)

20. Walter Murray Collegiate Institute - Saskatoon SK • A large high school with an existing (unused) Amateur Radio station already in place • Program run by Brian Walter (VE5DR) • Intend to incorporate radio theory and practicality in grades 9 - 12 science areas.

21. Lester B. Pearson High School - Burlington ON • A high school with an existing very successful Amateur Radio program in place • program is run by Mark Richardson (VA3OBO), a physics teacher. • Mark ran a very successful program last year, graduating a number of new hams. • Will continue to use Amateur Radio in physics class. • Will continue to offer extra curricular help with the pursuit of an Amateur Radio license. • See page 28, Sep/Oct issue of TCA (The Pearson Project)

22. Chestermere Lake Middle School- nr Calgary, AB • A grade 6 - 8 school • sponsored by (past RAC president) Ken Oelke (VE6AFO) and QCWS • intend to use Amateur Radio as a link between the school and the world.

23. The Challenge:From the Almonte Radio Repeater League to Canadian Clubs.

24. Where do we go from here? • Continue to bring schools into Phase I • our goal is to have one school in each of the seven RAC regions

25. Where do we go from here? • Keep contact with the schools and their sponsoring clubs • help them to obtain radio equipment • help them with resource material • help them to include elements of radio into their curriculum

26. Where do we go from here? • Promote the participating schools • through articles in TCA • through inclusion on the WEBsite • to the educational community • to local, provincial & national media

27. Where do we go from here? • Fund raising • Begin to solicit the participation of potential funding sources.

28. Thank you for your interest We hope that you will lend your support the RAC Youth Education Program.