Ryan He, a very well-spoken and inquisitive fourth grader at Jefferson School, taught the board all about 3D printing and showed us some 3D plastic objects made with the Cube 3rd generation printer. His teacher and recipient of the grant, Jodi Kline assisted in the presentation. Watch the video below to learn more.
Kaj Holm, fifth grade teacher at Jefferson School, shares how a new 3D printer, math manipulatives and Bill Nye DVD's have impacted teaching and learning in his classroom.
Rick Cohoon, French teacher at Charleston High School, explains how a new set of Chromebooks has transformed the teaching and learning of a foreign language.
Blog submitted by Jefferson school teacher Yvonne Larson.
A sincere thanks is owed to the Charleston Excellence in Education Foundation. As a Spring 2015 Small Grant recipient, I am pleased to share that, nearly 100 Charleston students, ranging in ages 3-13, took home books that they themselves had co-authored/ illustrated. Together, we are proving that giving students the opportunity to take more pride in their writing by putting their works into actual books can only be a good thing.
Student quotes:
"Zion is funny, is nice, and calls me dad." -Jeb
"I'm happy about the buddy book, and so is Hank!" -Imani
"I think buddy books are great because it gives your buddy something to remember you by." -Victoria
"I think it'll be something special to the buddies and their parents." -Sophie
Ms. Holly Pantle, Media Specialist, and Mr. Chris Bily, Social Studies teacher, at Charleston Middle School submitted a grant to purchase new and updated non-fiction, primary, and secondary source materials specific to World War I. Since a wide variety of resources about WWI are often less readily available in schools than those for WWII, the students greatly benefited from the grant.
The diverse needs of middle school students were considered as leveled texts, a range of formats, and a wide-range of high-interest topics were selected. As a result, students were able to research, investigate, and create projects for CPI propaganda posters and speeches. The projects included creating an imaginary advertisement agency and poster along with writing a two-minute persuasive speech.
THIS BLOG WAS SUBMITTED BY EEF BOARD MEMBER TIM MCCOLLUM.
EEF Grant Showcase – The Lincoln Funeral Train
Awarded to Pam Evans, Jefferson Elementary School
The Lincoln Funeral Train pulled into Charleston on May 4, 2015. This project was a joint venture with the City of Charleston. Dianne Ratliff was the spearhead for bringing it here. The Excellence in Education grant helped to fund almost half of the cost so that it could be offered free to the public. The train was available for tours on May 5th and 6th.
EEF grant winner Pam Evans in front of the Lincoln Funeral Train.
All of the students from Carl Sandburg, Jefferson Elementary and Charleston Middle School toured the Funeral Car from 8 am to 3 pm. The Funeral Car was also open to the public each evening. Some people actually travelled several hours for this opportunity. There were approximately 3500 visitors that passed through the car during its short visit including 1400 school children from Charleston, Mattoon, and Marshall along with those from private schools and home schools. The students enjoyed seeing what the train would have looked like 150 years ago and thought it was really cool! They also had the chance to visit the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Museum that is onsite as well as listen to the speakers that were on hand to authenticate the experience with their period dress and conversations. On the walk back to school, the students passed through the nearby cemetery to visit the gravesites of several of Lincoln's relatives.
This blog was submitted by EEF board member Tim McCollum.
EEF was established in 1993 as a nonprofit organization. It is an entity separate from the Charleston Unit School District System and is managed by a 12 member Board of Directors.
Through the educational grant program, EEF endeavors to:
· Enhance the educational opportunities offered to each child
· Enrich the creative and supportive teaching environment within Charleston Community Unit School District #1 Schools
