Fall 2010 Grants Cycle
The Upper Freehold Regional Education Foundation elected to award all twelve grant requests submitted, in full or in part, totaling $8,704 to the school district’s elementary, middle and high schools.
Newell Elementary School Grants
Stone Bridge Middle School Grants
Stone Bridge Community Lending Library - This Grant is partially funded to help seed a resource library as part of the Stand United initiative that was launched last year. This initiative is targeted to support and expand the community’s understanding and participation in creating a “bully free” environment. The Library will include books, videos, and teaching materials that are age appropriate and topic-specific such as cyber bullying, Should I Speak Up?, Harassment Hurts: Gossiping, Taunting, and bullying.
Eighth Grade Tree Planting Project - This Grant is funded in full to allow every 8th grade student and staff plant at least one tree on or around the Stone Bridge Campus. The project emphasizes an inter-disciplinary unit on environmentalism is areas such as climate change, tree species, and carbon footprint; math through the spatial organization, measurements, and calculations on tree placement; and Social Studies reviewing the historical legislation impacting the environment such as the Clean Air Act, the EPA, etc.
Allentown High School Grants
Do You See What I See? – Originally we funded 2 out of 3 Document Cameras to be used for all levels of Chemistry and Physics classes. With a price reduction per camera, this grant was able to be funded in full. This camera will allow the teacher to display on the SMART Board through the LCD Projector what would normally be written on the blackboard or smart board. The Teacher will be able to display for the entire class to see mathematical calculations, graphical data, scientific experiments, as well as living creatures such as fish in a fish bowl. This accelerates learning by allowing the student to correctly transfer notes from the blackboard to their notebooks and papers while allowing the teacher to face the students while solving problems and increasing class discussion and interaction.
Let’s Go to the Zoo…in Allentown! – The funding of one of two Zoo visits where the Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels program will come to the High School and speak with the students about the role of different organisms on the environment. The Zoo will bring live animals to add impact to the lesson. This saves the time and expense of taking the students out of school for the entire day. Quia Conquest – The grant request is funded in full acquiring 10 licenses enabling the utilization of Web 2.0 applications, programs, tools, quizzes, material from around the world through the Web. Instructors can create individualized options for classroom comprehension within a controlled environment for example: each quiz contains the same items but in a different order per student. This program will provide access to over 3 Million online activities and quizzes in 300 categories. All of the shared activities have been created by teachers around the world.
H.S. Band Room Sound System Upgrade – The grant has been partially funded to help fund some portion of the goods list for the complete replacement of the sound system used to support the High School Band and music theory programs. The current system which was donated previously has currently exceeded its effectiveness in providing a developing level of instruction. Music is a field of study that requires the production, reproduction, and broadcasting of Music to enhance and impact the level of study and learning.
The Business Academy Supporting Ethics and Entrepreneurship -- The program has been partially funded with the elimination of the stipend portion of the grant. This program which had been funded in a previous grant cycle by UFREF resulted in the placement of 1st place for the program participants last year. This program exposes the students to explore careers in the business community while arming them with the tools to make ethical decisions, develop leadership skills, and understand the financial structure of how a company exists and operates. A growing number of past and present program participants have started their own business.
“Everything the foundation accomplishes on behalf of the children is made possible by the communities' generous gifts of time and money.” Derasmo said.
UFREF's mission is to enhance excellence in the UFRSD by funding creative and innovative programs for students and professional development for teachers and other staff.