Foundation Announces 21 Classroom Grant Winners

With a record 111 applications submitted, the PPS Foundation doubled the number of grants awarded in 2011-2012. The winners were announced at the 11-14-2011 Board of Education Meeting.

2011 PPS Foundation
Winning Classroom Grants

$999.26 – Surviving in a Galactic Wilderness Science Fair by Ms. Muzzarelli, Ms. Dacey, and Ms. Skinner, Glen Oak Community Learning Center
Give students the opportunity to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the planet Earth, while preparing them for the ISAT in the spring. This will also provide an opportunity for the students to participate in the science fair, which will in turn prepare them to help their children in their science fairs.

$487.88 – A Little R & R by Natalie Vershaw, Trewyn School
Provide books for students in the 6th grade that are reading below grade level. Books will look like 6th grade suitable books which will help with their confidence and self image. Another goal is to help increase student’s fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Books will also instill in the students respect and responsibility to reinforce the ideas being taught in school.

$619 – Tracking Monarch Migration by Dawn Gersich, Thomas Jefferson Primary School
Monarch stations will be placed to allow children to view the Monarch life cycle. Help children increase their steps per day by taking walks through the monarch habitat and count the days between life cycle stages. This will also help students collect and analyze data from the Monarch station as well as read about Monarch’s.

$1000 – A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words by Lauren Wulf, Thomas Jefferson Primary School
4th-6th graders will learn how to operate a digital camera, take artistic photographs, and utilize computer software to manipulate and create interesting and artistic photographs. This will help enforce math ideas (manipulation of photograph) and reading ideas by taking photographs to support the story to be read.

$998 – Fluency In Action: Reader’s Theater by Emily Scott, Quest Academy
Children will be involved in sharing literature, reading aloud, writing scripts, performing, and working together. These will help children develop fluency, increase comprehension, increase listening skills, and motivation.

$750 – Believe in Me by Terry Spayer, Hines Primary School
Give children an opportunity to express themselves through a talent show. They will learn skills required to speak in front of an audience and convey the ideas they have formed recognize and investigate problems, formulate solutions to problems, and learn to work in groups. They will also be given the opportunity to analyze how the Arts function in history, society, and everyday life.

$993.20 – Equipment to enhance learning in AP Environmental Science and Horticulture by Pamela Beaver, Richwoods High School
Give students the opportunity to test soil, air, and water in the school yard, the woods behind the school and the pond in the courtyard. Enforce the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design to investigate questions, conduct experiments and solve problems. Students will also understand the fundamental concepts, principles and interconnections of life, physical and earth/space sciences.

$1000 – Kellar Primary School Newspaper by Dr. Debra Cribbs, Kellar Primary School
4th grade students will learn about different types of news articles. They will have the opportunity to enhance their writing skills, learn interviewing techniques, and improve speaking and social skills. 4th grade students will then intern 3rd grade students.

$980 – Read to Learn by Dawn Gersich, Thomas Jefferson Primary School
The purchase of iPod Touch’s with microphones will allow children during oral reading activities to increase comprehension and oral fluency. The devices will also be used in math for students struggling with number sense.

$1000 – Improving Laboratory Technology by Courtney Lee, Richwoods High School
This grant will affect every student attending Richwoods High School as every student will have to take biology, chemistry, or earth science. The Vernier pH probes that will be purchased will be used in each course. These probes will help demonstrate the concepts of acids and bases in our “chemistry of life” unit.

$1000 – Lincoln Middle School Student Council by Andrew Novak, Lincoln Middle School
The grant will serve as start-up capital for the student council to promote a positive image for Lincoln school and give students an opportunity to serve their community through different projects, volunteering, and fundraisers. Students will learn fiscal responsibility and the planning and executing processes of a project.

$1000 – Building Academic Success by Developing Personal Goals by Sheila Stewart, Woodruff Career & Technical Center (WCTC)
This grant will allow students at WCTC to work on intensive social/emotional skills necessary for success in life. These skills will also allow a student to perform better academically. The program will also allow students to increase literacy and work on writing and comprehension.

$225 – Your Human Geography by Paul Schramm, Richwoods High School
Human Geography is an AP class. It is not focused on maps, as much as a physical geographer, what they focus on most is self. Human geography is best described as the study of how human activity is organized in space as well as the relationship between people and their environments. Students will take a Peoria Historical Tour to understand some abstract terms by relating and applying them to their hometown.

$784.68 – Counseling Resources for the Middle School Counselor by Patrick Klimeszewski, Lindbergh and Washington Middle Schools
Patrick is a new counselor at the middle school level. There are very few resources available to help guide middle school aged students. The books purchased through this grant will assist in implementing a guidance curriculum that will help several students through individual counseling and through small group counseling.

$1000 – Yokoto Air Force Base Japan. Sgt Burns and Room 407 by Joy Quezada, Harrison Community Learning Center
Sgt. Burns has visited Ms. Quezada’s class in the past and shared with the class pictures, video, and money of Japan. The class will be writing letters to Sgt. Burns and his crew. In turn, Sgt. Burns will send cultural items to room 407. The project will show children a different culture and instill a love for diversification. The project will also allow children to work on their writing skills.

$1000 – Living Library Catalog by Beth Ward, Quest Academy
Students are required to complete a book talk each semester. This grant will take that one step further by having students create videos on the book to serve as a living library catalog. The project will allow students to enhance their comprehension of the book and well as develop their planning skills and execution of the plan.

$1000 – Field Trip to Shedd Aquarium by Christine Henrichs, Richwoods High School
Allow students to study and understand a marine community and the impact the human environment has on the marine life. Several students have not seen a marine community. Students will also need to complete a field lab. The lab will consist of questions that will need to find answers to and how they contributed to other concepts studied in class.

$970 – Let’s Get Digital by Jacob Dupree, Woodruff Career and Technical Center
Engage students in highly rigorous laboratories that require students to not only be able to gather sophisticated levels of data, but to also infer accurate conclusions but to suggest further studies to conduct. Allows students keep developing skills to present ideas coherently, listen to others proactively, and allow students to practice real life skills for a number of jobs.

$983.74 – In Touch with My World of Learning with an iPad by Barbara Honings, Sterling Middle School
The use of this technology would allow for the therapeutic communication strategies in a special sub-group of the school that can increase opportunities for personnal, academic, and social emotional success.

$1000 – Conducting Open-ended Scientific Investigation by Connie Cassidy, Richwoods High School.
Will allow students in the IB program to complete several open ended investigations where there are several independent variables from which the student could shoose one that provides a suitable basis for the investigation. The equipment will be used in a bacteriology lab to grow bacteria at different rates, prepare the media for growing bacteria, and to transfer bacteria to Petri dishes for examination.

$966.95 – iLad by Kathy Morton, Richwoods High School
This grant will allow students to utilize technology in a variety of lab situations, including data collection, graphing, and analysis. Since there are labs that are too expensive or too dangerous, a virtual lab can be a way to “conduct” a safe experiment. The program will also allow students to email themselves the information needed for a write-up. Since most colleges employ this technology, college-bound students will know this and succeed in college level science classes.

TOTAL GRANT MONEY TO BE EXPENDED: $18,757.71
TOTAL GRANTS TO AWARD: 21