Title: The Village of Ringgold
Level: Elementary
School: Monongahela, Gastonville and Donora Elementary Schools, Ringgold School District
Contact: Lugene Calderone, Tammy Gaffey, Karen Polkabla, Thomas Williams, Michael Tominello
Building on the school district’s outreach to future students in it’s Get Ready, Get Set, Grow Family Nights, this program gives parents resources to help their children be prepared for school. Literacy and Media Centers will be created for parents at each elementary building. Parenting books and videos will help parents with topics from toilet training, to dealing with feelings or new experiences, to going to school. Implementing this program further underscores the school district’s philosophy of “We’re All in This Together” and “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child”.
Title: I Earned It Boutique
Level: Elementary
School: South Allegheny Early Childhood Center, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Joan C. Packrone, Carrie Betters, Amy Hvozdik, Aimee Jackson, Sue Smith, Heather Sopp
This program will create a school store and related activities to help students learn basic math skills while reinforcing positive behavior. Students will earn “coins” to be spent at the school store (primarily school supplies) through modeling appropriate behavior in the classroom and school. They also will carry out store functions reinforcing the math skills. Students will also write in their journal about their experiences.
Title: Homeville's Historical Heroes
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Heather Vidic, Sharna Baker, Mundi Gouker, Jennifer Johnston, Lisa Newmyer
This “great idea” finds students becoming historical American figures and presenting themselves to the school and community on Historical Hero Day. Fourth graders will research about an historical figure. They will engage in a variety of activities that will assist them in learning about the many heroes of the past as well as prepare them for their final presentations. The students will write first person accounts about that individual and deliver their speeches in costume for the culminating activity.
Title: Sensational Scientists
Level: Elementary
School: Homeville Elementary School, West Mifflin Area School District
Contact: Gina Hilligsberg, Heather Vidic
Sensational Scientists is a hands-on science based program that incorporates learning across two grade levels and uses scientific method to perform monthly thematic experiments and writing lab reports to be shared in a forum setting. Experiments will include viscosity wands, plastic molecules, blobber, sparkling star dip, etc. Students will also read related Magic School Bus series books in this project.
Title: Gung Hey Fat Choy!
Level: Elementary
School: H. W. Good Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact: Beverly Tomich, Michelle Geissler, Leann Steban
The Chinese New Year will be the focus of a study that finds first graders immersed in learning the traditions, games, food and culture of China. Activities will focus on the zodiac calendar, customs, traditional clothing and festivals, culminating with a classroom celebration of the Year of the Pig.
Title: Read Best with a Guest from the West
Level: Elementary
School: Mendon Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact: Maria Hixson, Jan Merlino, Cathy Laird
This project hopes to boost struggling students’ interest in language arts and reading by engaging them in a daily/weekly correspondence with a pen pal from California. Students will learn about geography and environment of San Diego, sharpen their writing skills, gain confidence in using technology (computer, digital camera, printer), and conclude the activity by creating a photo journal of their project.
Title: Recital Reading (Listening to February)
Level: Elementary
School: H. W. Good Elementary School, Yough School District
Contact: Linda C. Kustra, Jennifer Bierhals, Leann Steban, Renee Gilbert, Chrissy Eckenroad, Lynne King, Nancy White, Cindy Achtzehn
Recital Reading will introduce audio books to the students in an effort to build reading fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and reading readiness. Featured books will be used in the classroom, school library and available for home use. An extension of this reading strategy will be ”Listening to February”; a program that will use selected audio-stories in the various grade levels related to Valentine’s Day, Presidents’ Day, and Black History Month.
MIDDLE/INTERMEDIATE
LEVEL AWARDS
Title: Let's Scrapbook
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Bellmar Middle School, Belle Vernon Area School District
Contact: Carol Aten Frow, Karen Guseman
This project is designed to help students create strong descriptive writing pieces through the use of journaling in scrap booking. Students will develop strong creative writing skills and better paragraph organization while also developing a visual product and purpose for writing.
Title: The Eye of the Beholder
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Bellmar Middle School, Belle Vernon Area School District
Contact: Ross A. Farmer, Carol Frow, Nancy Berna
The project finds students using photographs, maps and artwork to involve them in the names, places, events and dates of American History and then interpreting these visual materials in first person narrative accounts. Building stronger writing skills and a better understanding of American history will result through this project.
Title: Show It To ME!
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Brownsville Area Middle School, Brownsville Area School District
Contact: Bethany A. Hughes, Ralph Bill, Debra Mascia
This program will allow students to view various theatrical productions learning about each storyline, protagonist, antagonist, character development and other elements. Students will also learn about the business end of the theater and related careers. They will learn about promotions, choreography, and costuming. They will write press releases, reviews and librettos. The project will integrate Music, Language Arts, Art and Physical Education in this project with a culminating performance of original choreography and artwork to selected tunes.
Title: The Solar System - A Mural
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: California Area Middle School, California Area School District
Contact: Bernard F. Spada, Jr., Roxanne Vavases, Rachel Sawyers, Ray Huffman, Don Hormell, Renee Hajdu, John Vavases, Susan Hurley, Michelle Harivnak
Supplementing the sixth grade study of the solar system, this project will link Science and Technology to Arts and Humanities through the creation of a mural of the solar system. The mural will be painted as close as possible to scale and will draw many of its details from the research of students in the gifted program. The final product will not only give Art students an experience in mural painting but will also be an aesthetically pleasing and educational motivating addition to the science wing of the middle school.
Title: The Big Puddle
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Charleroi Area Middle School, Charleroi Area School District
Contact: Howard Johnson, Mary Tickner
The Big Puddle project will create a live, active freshwater ecosystem providing science students with a habitat of plants and organisms for science inquiry. In addition, students will be responsible for the construction of the pond as well as the on-going maintenance of the water ecosystem. The ecosystem also lends itself to a wide variety of activities across the curriculum such as art projects and mathematical problem solving. The pond will be located at the beginning of the nature trail enhancing the lessons that have already been integrated into the curriculum through that resource.
Title: Historical Idol
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Founders’ Hall, McKeesport Area School District
Contact: Robin Canova, Ben Althof, Matthew Miller, Sherry Yocco, Wendy Zober
Historical Idol, a take-off of the popular television program, American Idol, will involve students researching influential historical figures from science, math, literacy and history and then creating scenes summarizing the story of their “Idol” to be video-taped. The final product will be a DVD created by the entire grade that will showcase all their individual works and shared with the entire eighth grade.
Title: Girl Talk
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: South Allegheny Middle School, South Allegheny School District
Contact: Judi Lydon, LeeAnn Latorre, Dawna O‘Keefe, Jennifer Voland
This grant will create an after school club that will help make young girls who are approaching the difficult junior high/high school years feel worthwhile, accepted and special. The club will host discussions, social interactions and service projects that will promote self-esteem and success in the young women. This can be a difficult developmental time for young girls and this intervention seeks to make a positive difference countering negative peer pressure, cliques, etc.
Title: Going Outside to Get Inside the Environment
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Yough Intermediate / Middle School, Yough School District
Contact: Rachel Reissman, David Brosh
Going Outside to Get Inside the Environment will be a program that teaches and inspires students to compile tangible scientific data and report the results to GLOBE international database. As a designated GLOBE school, students will be sharing their findings about the land surrounding the school with the rest of the world. Students will learn how to measure tree canopy, diameters, and heights with a sample site. Students will also collect insects and learn how to classify, observe and document the scientific process. The purpose of the program is to teach students how to become scientists as they learn about the environment using an inquiry based approach.
Title: Bringing the Civil War Home
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Yough Intermediate / Middle School, Yough School District
Contact: Elizabeth Jenkins, Kristal Firmstone
This project finds sixth graders immersed in learning about the Civil War. The social studies lessons will be enhanced with a storyteller making underlying causes, the countryside, the journey of the soldier and the battles come alive with fact and folklore. Students will learn about the various uniforms worn, making their own uniform, flags and dog tag replicas. They will become familiar with traditional songs from the Civil War and design their own musical instruments. The students will be engaged in various hands-on activities that will help then learn about the Civil War era.
Title: An Alternative Approach to Natural Gas Exploration
Level: Middle/Intermediate
School: Yough Intermediate/Middle School, Yough School District
Contact: Brian Grindle, A. Bruce Grindle, Thomas Mueller, Ph.D., Jamie Mitchem, Ph.D., Tom Paterline, Bill Lee, Jason Kramer, Brad Blum, Joe’ll Clark, Paula Ustazewski, John Lario
In this “great idea” students will experience “hands-on” natural gas exploration and discover how technology behind this exploration can be applied to many aspects of their everyday lives. Students will view LandSat images and topographical maps with plotted locations of gas wells, understand and experience remote sensing, learn Global Positioning System technology, analyze soil samples for hydrocarbon content, and be introduced to Arcview GIS technology in this program. With recent global events resulting in an increased awareness of a need for locating more energy sources, this project will be very relevant to students.
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