Teachers Receive Classroom Grants from School Retirees Organization

Fifth grade teachers Eva Strawser and Eric Balak each received educational support grants from the Lancaster County School Retirees (LCSR), a chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR). Both were surprised in class with the news by Dr. Smecker and a LCSR "Grant Patrol" representative. The teachers will use their awards to conduct classroom Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities.

Miss Strawser applied for a grant to create a classroom vermicomposting (composting with worms) program. She is using the award to purchase a composting kit, 2,000 red wiggler worms, gloves, a rake, and curricular resources. Students will compost leftover snack scraps, leaves and grass clippings, and scraps collected from their homes to maintain the program and to learn about decomposition, composting, and environmental care. The vermicomposted soil will be used in raised garden beds tended by Hans Herr's life skills class.

Mr. Balak applied for a grant to purchase materials to create ‘makerspace zones’ throughout his classroom. This includes a multimedia zone, prototyping zone, circuitry zone, Raspberry Pi zone, programming zone, ideating zone, toy de/re-construction zone, robotics zone, and fabric-stitching zone. Learning through makerspace zones will allow students to innovate and tinker, gaining insight into the instructional design process and refining their problem-solving skills.