Post by admin on Jan 24, 2008 16:46:20 GMT -5
FREEHOLD ? Six projects dreamed up by school district educators will be realized, thanks to grants awarded by the Freehold Borough Educational Foundation.
The foundation's chairwoman, Jean Holtz, said last week that the group will donate more than $9,000 to educators who had petitioned them for help.
The largest grant bestowed was $3,577.93 to the Freehold Intermediate School to create a student-driven newsroom, using technology already in place through Channel One. Channel One is a Peabody Award-winning network that broadcasts news and information to middle school and high school students across the nation.
Foundation members decided to break from its rule of awarding no more than $1,500 per project because, Holtz said, the money was available.
The foundation also awarded a $1,500 grant to two Freehold Learning Center fifth-grade teachers, Mary Anne Illes and Sarah Jacobsen, for a large-screen projector. The projector will be used to "enhance students' experiences" and help integrate technology into more curricular areas, Holtz said.
The foundation awarded another $1,500 grant to Suzanne Peltzman and Diane Tennis, fifth-grade teachers at Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Learning Center, to allow the fifth-grade gifted-and-talented program students to participate in the Marsville project.
Marsville is an interactive, hands-on learning experience in which students work in teams to solve a biological or social problem on a Martian colony. During a one-day program with other schools, students set up their solution, resolve a crisis and link up with other teams to create Marsville.
The district had previously paid for students to participate in the program, but funding was cut out of the 2007-08 budget due to budget constraints, Holtz said.
Other projects funded through the foundation will be: $1,180 to build a nonfiction, thematic library for Paula Desch's eighth-grade humanities students at Freehold Intermediate School; $750 for Park Avenue Elementary's student council to plan, develop and implement a school or community-wide service project; and $633 to purchase storage cabinets for the Freehold Learning Center's Free Book Friday program, which allows children to bring home books on Fridays.
"The foundation takes great pride in knowing that our efforts on behalf of the public school system in Freehold Borough have demonstrable results," Holtz wrote in an e-mail.
"We are constantly amazed at the creativity and commitment of our teachers, at the response of our students, and the support of the administration in this regard."
The foundation was established in 1999 by a group of business, civic, and educational leaders in the Freehold area.
Its contributions generally come from money raised during the group's annual fund drive, Holtz said.
Since 2001, the foundation has donated $64,000 to the school district, Holtz said.
The foundation has been "very supportive" of the school district, said superintendent Elizabeth O'Connell.
"It (the foundation) really helps them (teachers) expand their programs in the classroom," she added.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/COMMUNITY/801240327/1004/NEWS01
The foundation's chairwoman, Jean Holtz, said last week that the group will donate more than $9,000 to educators who had petitioned them for help.
The largest grant bestowed was $3,577.93 to the Freehold Intermediate School to create a student-driven newsroom, using technology already in place through Channel One. Channel One is a Peabody Award-winning network that broadcasts news and information to middle school and high school students across the nation.
Foundation members decided to break from its rule of awarding no more than $1,500 per project because, Holtz said, the money was available.
The foundation also awarded a $1,500 grant to two Freehold Learning Center fifth-grade teachers, Mary Anne Illes and Sarah Jacobsen, for a large-screen projector. The projector will be used to "enhance students' experiences" and help integrate technology into more curricular areas, Holtz said.
The foundation awarded another $1,500 grant to Suzanne Peltzman and Diane Tennis, fifth-grade teachers at Park Avenue Elementary School and the Freehold Learning Center, to allow the fifth-grade gifted-and-talented program students to participate in the Marsville project.
Marsville is an interactive, hands-on learning experience in which students work in teams to solve a biological or social problem on a Martian colony. During a one-day program with other schools, students set up their solution, resolve a crisis and link up with other teams to create Marsville.
The district had previously paid for students to participate in the program, but funding was cut out of the 2007-08 budget due to budget constraints, Holtz said.
Other projects funded through the foundation will be: $1,180 to build a nonfiction, thematic library for Paula Desch's eighth-grade humanities students at Freehold Intermediate School; $750 for Park Avenue Elementary's student council to plan, develop and implement a school or community-wide service project; and $633 to purchase storage cabinets for the Freehold Learning Center's Free Book Friday program, which allows children to bring home books on Fridays.
"The foundation takes great pride in knowing that our efforts on behalf of the public school system in Freehold Borough have demonstrable results," Holtz wrote in an e-mail.
"We are constantly amazed at the creativity and commitment of our teachers, at the response of our students, and the support of the administration in this regard."
The foundation was established in 1999 by a group of business, civic, and educational leaders in the Freehold area.
Its contributions generally come from money raised during the group's annual fund drive, Holtz said.
Since 2001, the foundation has donated $64,000 to the school district, Holtz said.
The foundation has been "very supportive" of the school district, said superintendent Elizabeth O'Connell.
"It (the foundation) really helps them (teachers) expand their programs in the classroom," she added.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/COMMUNITY/801240327/1004/NEWS01