Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On November 19th at a virtual meeting of the Currituck Education Foundation, four projects supporting Currituck County Schools were awarded mini-grant funding.

Beth Lavoie, of Jarvisburg Elementary, was awarded $500 for “Two Languages Are Better Than One!” to purchase bilingual books with stories written in two languages side by side: “Our first priority would be books written in Spanish and English. Since there are so many titles to choose from, the focus would be on nonfiction books that correlate to North Carolina’s Science Standard Course of Study. By providing content rich material in both native and English languages, we would provide equitable access for English Language Learners in a new vocabulary dense subject area. We are welcoming families into our school that bring a variety of cultures, traditions, and languages. As we embrace this exciting change to our student population, we want to ensure we are creating an environment that mutually respects cultures, experiences, backgrounds, ethnicities, beliefs, and languages. We can’t think of a better way than broadening our selection of bilingual books in our school library!”

Diane Davenport, of Currituck County Middle School, was awarded $500 for “Whiteboard Wonders: Mobile Boards to Elevate Engagement” to purchase six mobile, adjustable white board easels and supplies: “Our 8th-grade math students will be able to actively participate in lessons, showcase their work, and collaborate with peers in new ways. This project will enhance student engagement, collaboration, and academic achievement in our classroom. The white board easels will serve as a valuable tool to support our shift towards more inquiry-based, exploratory learning approaches that empower students to take an active role in their education. Beyond just our classroom, these white board easels could potentially be shared with other grade levels, enabling the entire school to benefit from this resource. The versatility of the boards means they can be used across subject areas, from math problem-solving to scientific investigations to language arts presentations.”

Crystal Schultz, of JP Knapp Early College High School, was awarded $500 for “High School Chemistry Laboratory Tool-Digital Balance” to purchase a 0.001 digital balance and weights which are essential tools for a high school chemistry laboratory: “Using a balance with such fine precision allows students to understand the importance of accuracy in scientific experiments. It reinforces key scientific concepts such as significant figures, uncertainty in measurement, and experimental error. This helps students develop critical thinking skills and better prepares them for advanced science courses, college-level lab work, and STEM careers. Acquiring a 0.001 digital balance would significantly enhance the quality of chemistry education in the lab, supporting student learning, fostering engagement, and preparing them for future scientific endeavors.”

Kelly Archer, of Shawboro Elementary, was awarded $500 for “Ambient Weather Station” to purchase the Ambient Weather WS-5000-IP3 Ultrasonic Professional Smart Weather Station: “Students are learning about meteorology, and earth science classes are teaching how things like temperature, humidity, and wind speed are measured. This would give students access to hyperlocal weather conditions from various locations in real-time. Ambient Weather offers stations designed to connect wirelessly to both the console display and the online weather platform, the Ambient Weather Network, so you can easily monitor conditions from classrooms. Teachers can create a custom weather dashboard to see conditions that are in line with the curriculum, as well as set alerts for severe conditions, view interactive map layers, and more!”

The Currituck Education Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports public education in Currituck County. For more information on how to be involved or to make a donation, go to CurrituckEducationFoundation.org.

READ ABOUT MORE NEWS HERE.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE COASTLAND TIMES TODAY!