Science Educators’ Association of the Australian Capital Territory

Zonta Scholarship for New Educators

Applications for the Zonta scholarship:  CLOSES 21 APRIL 2025

SEAACT is pleased to announce that Zonta will provide ONE MEMBER  $2500 to attend the CONASTA 72 in Perth, Australia – the national conference for Science educators. The applicant must be a full individual member of the Science Educators’ Association of the ACT in the current year.

Eligibility

  • The applicant must be a new educator in the ACT with 0 to 3 years of teaching experience in the classroom
  • The applicant must be female
  • all registrations and bookings to attend the conference is to be organized by the finalist

Click here to apply

Criteria

  • The applicant must provide a brief statement of no more than 500 words in support of her application.  The statement will
    •  identify the aspect of your current practice that you want to improve;
    • explain how you think attending this event will improve your practice;
    •  explain how you will share your learning to benefit your school or broader community
  • A professional colleague will be contacted to support your application.

Successful Applicants

All applications will be read and assessed by Zonta who have kindly provided this scholarship.  The successful applicants will be those assessed by the panel to best meet the above criteria. The panel’s decision will be final and no appeal will be considered.  The finalist will be notified before the May 1, 2025 in order to take advantage of Early Bird pricing,

Background

The Zonta Club of Canberra Breakfast (ZCCB) is part of Zonta International, a philanthropic organisation that through service and advocacy, aims to improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women, thus building a better world for women and girls.

ZCCB is a diverse group of enthusiastic members of all ages who volunteer their time and skills. Club activities that support our local community include:

  • awarding scholarships to young mothers to complete their secondary education and to young girls with an interest in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths); ZCCB provides four Young Girls in STEM awards, for girls in Year 3, who have demonstrated an outstanding interest and ability in STEM subjects. Each award being an annual family pass to Questacon to encourage their continued engagement in STEM;
  • awarding an annual scholarship to a female PhD student at the ANU Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics;
  • providing Home Starter Packs to women and families to help them rebuild their lives after family and domestic violence;
  • making breast cushions to support women and men recovering from breast cancer;
  • working with Birthing Kit Foundation Australia to provide clean birthing kits for women giving birth in developing countries; and
  • participating in the 16 days of Activism through the ‘Zonta Says No to Violence Against Women’ campaign, including and at the conclusion of this, on December 10 every year, we combine with Rotary Club of Canberra Burley Griffin to ring the Peace Bell in Nara Peace Park to honour the women, children and men who have died as a result of family violence in the past year.

 

Cindy Lee Chambers Bursary

Applications for the Cindy L. Chambers Bursary.

SEAACT will provide ONE MEMBER  complimentary registration to attend the CONASTA – the national conference for Science educators – up to a value of $700. The applicant must be a full individual member of the Science Educators’ Association of the ACT in the current year.

Apply here for CONASTA 72 

Criteria

  • The applicant must be apply to provide a brief statement of no more than 500 words in support of his/her application.  The statement will
    •  identify the aspect of your current practice that you want to improve;
    • explain how you think attending this event will improve your practice;
    •  explain how you will share your learning, apart from providing the report mentioned below.
  • A professional colleague will be contacted to support your application.

Successful Applicants

All applications will be read and assessed by a panel of 3 assessors determined by SEAACT council. At least one panellist will be a member of SEAACT Council and a member of SEAACT Council will chair the team of assessors. The successful applicant will be those assessed by the panel to best meet the above criteria. The panel’s decision will be final and no appeal will be considered.

 

Background

On 12 May 2018, SEAACT lost both a friend and one of the greatest STEM educational ambassadors. Cindy had served on council over a stretch of 20+ years and was the Officer responsible for professional learning programs. Her impact was widely felt and appreciated as SEAACT’s conferences were all well planned, managed and executed because of Cindy’s attention to detail and level of expertise. Cindy was strongly committed to providing opportunities for teachers to grow in their science knowledge and practice. She not only shaped how the conferences operated, but often offered her own workshops to share her expertise and knowledge in the pedagogy of teaching science. Cindy was extremely talented in making science accessible and engaging for all the participants. What was most remarkable though was her generous spirit, her humble and altruistic nature, and her sincere commitment to the professional development of teachers. SEAACT will be forever grateful and better because of Cindy’s involvement in our association.

 

SEAACT School STEM Equipment Grants 2024

SEAACT ran a competitive STEM equipment grant for schools in term 1, 2024.  Many high quality applications were received from schools K to 12 schools across Canberra which made it very difficult to decide who was more deserving as our members are doing impressive things to increase student achievement and engagement in STEM. We want to congratulate the following recipients for 2024: