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2008 Grant Summary

The Schools Foundation Awards Boeing Math & Science Excellence in Education Grants to 41 Local Teachers!


Huntsville, Ala. - February 28, 2008 - The Schools Foundation recently received a major grant from the Boeing Employees Community Fund (BECF). The $25,000 has been applied to 41 teacher grants in math and science in the three school systems in Madison County, and 10 teacher scholarships. “We are very excited and grateful to the Boeing and the many Boeing employees who so generously contributed to putting these funds directly into the classroom in the Huntsville City, Madison County and Madison City Schools,” said Debbie Beaupre, Executive Director of The Schools Foundation. “These grants will really help our local teachers do a better job of teaching students in math and science. Beaupre said 61 teachers in each of the three school systems applied for the grants. The 41 $300 -$500 grants were awarded on February 28, 2008. Scholarship applications will be announced at a later date. Grant winners and their innovative projects are:

 
Literature in Math & Science Vickie Clark Lakewood Elementary
Students will have the opportunity to read individually and in groups while exploring math and science themes.
 
GIS in Action Ben Johnson Bob Jones High School
Students will learn how to procure field data and utilize GIS software in the hopes of collaborating with the city of Madison
on projects to enrich both the city and the students.
     
Teaching Science Through Children's Literature Jennifer Lindsey J.E. Williams Middle School
The students will be able to use the age leveled readers to  learn about plants and animals to integrate science concepts into reading.
The literature is augmented with directed stations for extension activities.
 
Lights, Camera, Action! Nancy Honea New Hope Elementary
An iCam Digital System will be used to project images of slides and lab experiments from the classroom.  By viewing a
smartboard the students will be able to bring textbook pictures to life through this exciting 3D technology. 
 
Listening to Science Gena Davis Legacy Elementary
A listening center will allow students to listen to the science text that is being covered in the classroom.
 This center will be particularly useful for the inclusion students who are not in the classroom during the science lesson. 
 
Live, Love & Learn Carla Smith Legacy Elementary
Students will be building a butterfly garden complete with a compass rose. This outdoor classroom will be available for the whole school
to enjoy and study.
 
Math & Science "Hands-On" Supplies Paula Kilgore McDonnell Elementary
Manipulatives will engage  1st graders while learning concepts ranging from adding, subtracting and comparing lengths to
understanding how flowers grow.  Sharing with her fellow team teachers will further the benefits to the students.
 
Sherlock Bones Belinda Sewell Bob Jones High School
Students will perform the techniques of forensic anthropologists on sets of skeletal remains to determine race, sex, height, and
approximate age at time of death.  They will have the opportunity to use precision instruments in their investigations.
 
Making a Small World Angela Bennett Rainbow Elementary
Students will be using their architectural skills and knowledge of metric measurements and scales to plan and construct a 
home, classroom and outdoor park for a group of tiny people who live in a centimeter oriented world.
 
FUNdamental Math & Science Carol Lindstrom Caruso Madison County Career Technical Center
10th-12th grade students enrolled in TEACH ALABAMA  will have 12 manipulatives to utilize while working with kindergarten and first
graders on math and science objectives.  High schoolers will learn the importance of interactive instruction in math and science.
 
Look What I Can Do Elizabeth Orbison Riverton Elementary
The space glove exploration box allows students to experience activities that astronauts encounter while using their gloves. This
hands-on space exploration will bring an astronaut's experience not only to her students, but to the entire school. 
 
Hooked on Science Elizabeth Orbison Riverton Elementary
Science stations to include skeletal puzzles, prisms, magnets, rock collections and more will encourage young scientists to develop their
inquiry process and increase their observation skills. 
 
Out of This World Elizabeth Orbison Riverton Elementary
An inflatable solar system experience complete with an  shuttle and space suits will provide a fun environment to study how the earth
revolves around the sun.  Puzzles of the system and shuttle as well as models of space exploration vehicles heighten the experience.
 
"Seeing" Quantum Numbers Carol Bohatch Bob Jones High School
Using a lab kit, students will construct quantum numbers and build models for particular atoms.  The ability to visualize the shape, size and
location of the atomic orbits will help students describe atoms using electron configurations.
 
Hands-On Math Mary Davis Mt Carmel Elementary
Instant reinforcement is the goal for the manipulatives which will be used to teach math concepts ranging from place values, geometric
patterns and figures, categorical and numerical data, equivalent fractions and tables and graphs.
 
Get the Picture? Teresa Tarter Bob Jones High School
Calculus students will benefit from the document camera by projecting their presentation images onto the board directly from their work
rather than tediously copying previously completed steps.  They will also be able to visualize 3D concepts such as volumes of solids. 
 
Thrills & Chills Without the Spills Penny Hill Mountain Gap Middle School
After researching the physics of roller coasters online, students will make a PowerPoint presentation covering design, force and motion
and statistics.  They will then collaborate with classmates to build a replica roller coaster using K'NEX building sets.
 
Hands-On Science for Lifelong Learning Marilee Wade Ward Hazel Green Elementary
Materials such as mirrors, lens kits, and prisms will help students contrast the way light is bent by concave and convex lenses.  Cylinders,
scales and beakers will allow students to calculate the density of objects and engage them in their science curriculum.
 
Students' Brains "POP" with Knowledge Leann L. Childers Roger B. Chaffee Elementary School
A years subscription for the computer lab will provide students with more than 600 learning opportunities on topics from the food pyramid
to telling time.  "Brain Pop Jr." provides animated movies and supporting quizzes, word walls, comic strips, games and a writing notebook.
 
Rithmatic Rap Bertha Massey West Madison Elementary
Students will learn to act out number stories and then join sets of objects, applying addition and subtraction signs.  They will use number
cards to make up number sentences and will participate in the "Rithmatic CD" to memorize addition and subtraction facts. 
 
Hands-On Standards Intervention Kit Teresa Denman Hazel Green Elementary
Special needs students in 1st and 2nd grades will use blocks for counting and patterns, scales for weighing, and fraction pieces to put
together and separate.  The manipulatives assist these special learners with their math skills and classroom success.
 
One Small Step for a Teacher; One Giant Leap for Students Carla Smith Legacy Elementary
Students will construct rockets, launch them from a launch pad, and recover their rockets to encourage love of science and space 
exploration.  They will measure speed, distance and direction of their rockets using stopwatches, meter sticks and compasses. 
 
States of Matter for All Learners Melissa Mann Madison County Elementary
Students will make ice cream using blocks, beakers and balloons to conduct experiments on melting, freezing, condensation and  
evaporation.  This hands-on approach will help students identify the three common states of matter.
 
Composting Heather White & Barbara O'Guin Academy for Science & Foreign Language
The students will research waste disposal and food chains while developing ideas for best and worst additions to a compost pile for the
school.  Each week students will stir the compost bed and once materials are composted they will add them to the school's garden beds.
 
I'm a Fan of Acceleration Jane Caudle Discovery Middle School
Students will produce a data table after determining speed, time and distance of a plastic car raced along a track.  They will show positive
and negative acceleration on a real timeline and explain the effects of adding mass and/or force to the car using Newton's Laws of Motion. 
 
Twenty-First Century Classroom Philip Givens Huntsville Middle School
Using an Elmo (an updated overhead projector) will allow teachers to use class time more effectively by eliminating the need to copy
graphs to a transparency or write numerical or word problems on the board.  It will also provide clearer images of numbers and graphs.
 
Bizworld Karen Colvin Heritage Elementary
Students will learn basics of money management and entrepreneurship as they design, manufacture, market and sell their products in the
Bizworld marketplace.  Students work together to start and run their own small business in a simulated friendship bracelet industry.
 
Real Life Math: Cash or Credit? Kelly Reasner Monrovia Elementary
Games will be used to teach the pros and cons of credit cards, balancing checkbooks and grocery and department store math.  Students
will work in small groups and rotate stations daily to encourage active participation.
 
My Tree Jim Montague Central School
After a photography lesson from a local expert, students will take up to 10 pictures of trees, have them developed and choose one to
present for a class publication.  They will complete a research paper and will be revisited by the photography expert for photo critiques.
 
Math Sounds Good to Me Crystal Wright Challenger Middle School
Students collaborating with a classroom in Canada use their counterparts to reinforce math learning.  Through an online program they
bounce ideas for solving problems and correct peer mistakes using the computers and headsets to instantly communicate. 
 
Get Real! Real Life Math for Middle Schoolers Martha Brooks Whitesburg Middle School
Using projects to integrate math concepts of geometry, algebra, and data analysis will help middle school students remain engaged in the
classroom.  These books provide numerous activities and break them into ability level appropriateness.
 
Learning About Light and Lenses Jackie Smith Columbia Elementary School
Students will use light boxes to make observations of the effects of lenses on light.  Students will gather data and  create charts. 
They will build a functioning periscope with PVC pipe and mirrors to direct a beam of light around the room and out the door.
 
Elmo in the Science Classroom Barbara A Murphy Stone Middle School
 
Menu Math and More Rebecca Campbell Lincoln Elementary School
Enrichment math centers will engage students through using real-life shopping situations using menus, store prices, and music.  These
stations will introduce consumer math through practical applications.  
 
Graphic Display Calculators Julie Summers Columbia High School
Graphic display calculators will be used to perform tasks during lab and fieldwork experience and value based investigations as well as to 
analyze data with standard deviation, probability, linear regressions, and interpreting frequency charts. 
 
LOL Karen Hill New Hope Elementary
Using mini-labs to introduce science concepts such as moon phases, ocean floors, groundwater contamination and weather studies;  these
 students will be able to have a laboratory experiences in the classroom even when their school is without a lab.
 
Make-It Relate Tanya Clement New Hope Elementary
Games and activities will help middle school students with real-life math concepts like allowance, bank accounts, measurement,
geometry, fractions, decimals and graphs.  All materials are non-consumable and will be made available to all teachers in the school.
 
Let's Go Shopping Tysha Douglass Riverton Elementary
Students will use local menus to solve different scenarios and navigate sales tax, tip and discounts.  They will also create a mini grocery
and develop a budget as well rotate to staff the necessary positions for operating their grocery store. 
 
Teaching Innovative Math Skills Jennifer Steele Weatherly Heights Elementary
Preschoolers will get a jump on math skills while playing with the TouchMath kit.  They will have a tactile avenue to show comprehension
of math concepts.
 
The "Write" Keys for Me Dawn Davison Brown Farley Elementary
Scholastic Keys is the child friendly version of Microsoft Office and will be used to enhance a science unit on butterflies by allowing
students to write about the metamorphosis process, make a slide show, and record daily data into a spreadsheet.
 
Human Reproduction and Development Tracy Chastain Monrovia Middle School
Life sized models of babies in stages of development from fetus to birth will be used to introduce human reproduction and development.
In addition to the models, the kit also provides teaching guides, study guides and a multimedia presentation of subject matter.

 

 

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