Education Week Celebrates Science

Educators who inspire students to question, investigate, and discover their world are the focus this year as Education Week, from April 18 to April 24, celebrates scientific literacy.

The highlight will be the Education Week Awards, where educators from across the province who have imbued their students with the values of scientific inquiry, will be honoured.

The keynote speaker at the awards will be Ellen Whitman, a Grade 9 student at Wolfville Junior High. The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m., today, April 19, at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth.

"Thanks to the efforts of our teachers in public schools and parents in their homes, our children are acquiring a sense of wonder and a desire to discover," said acting Education Minister Angus MacIsaac. "A number of our students have brought back medals from events such as the Canada Wide Science Fair, and many more have found a joy in learning science and confidence in their ability to explore their world."

The proclamation kicks off a week of events hosted by schools and school boards across the province.

The program is presented by five education partners: the Department of Education, the Nova Scotia Teachers Union, the Nova Scotia School Boards Association, the Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations, and la Fédération des parents acadiens de la Nouvelle-Écosse.

The partners will also recognize the work of their own members through the Education Week Partners Awards.

The Nova Scotia science curriculum supports teachers in helping children develop their scientific literacy. This offers students a foundation for problem-solving, inquiry, decision-making, and lifelong learning.

Some students will use these skills to launch scientific careers. Others will use them to enrich their own lives and those of their children.

For the second year in a row, the Nova Scotia Teachers Credit Union is supporting Education Week with a corporate sponsorship.

Education Week has been celebrated in Nova Scotia since the 1930s.