Round 37 grants for 7 MCSC programs awarded

The grants for Round 37 were recently awarded in May 2021. Seven grants totaling $3,905.99 were awarded to enhance learning experiences for Merrillville students. Social-emotional learning, language and math spiraling materials, and culturally diverse books are just a few of the winning grant ideas.

Since 2002, the Merrillville Education Foundation has awarded 443 grants to teachers totaling $381,988.65. These grants have impacted 121,962 student experiences in grades PK through 12.

To get more details about these programs, view the complete listing of the Round 37 awarded grants…

 

 

 

Grant Spotlight – Out in the Garden

Grant Spotlight – Out in the Garden

GRANT TITLE
Out in the Garden

GRANT AUTHOR, SCHOOL, IMPACT & FUNDING
Nichole Perez – Merrillville Intermediate School Gr. 5-6 – 900 students – $483.64

GRANT PERIOD
Round 36 for Spring 2020; implemented in school year 2020-21

GRANT APPLICATION
Students will have the opportunity of an outdoor learning component for their Math and Science classes where they can apply the skills that they learned in the classroom to the gardens. Students will grow their own seedlings in the classrooms and monitor their growth (Math). Students will see first-hand how plants grow and thrive (Science). By having the opportunity to grow their own plants and work outdoors, students will see if a career in the Environmental & Agricultural Systems career pathway is something they would like to pursue in the future; students will learn about various careers in the Environmental & Agricultural Systems career pathway and how those careers tie-in to the vegetable gardens (College & Career Readiness). The hope is to give students the opportunity of a hands-on experience to apply what they have learned in their classrooms and therefore help them to have a lasting impression of what they learned.

GRANT OUTCOMES
The group was planning on starting up the gardens last Spring, but had to postpone due to the pandemic shutdown. The team was able to purchase the materials needed for the raised garden beds and were able to put them together on Saturday, October 31st. One of the volunteers helped to find a better price for materials so four raised garden beds were created instead of the two raised beds proposed in the grant. In the Spring, the team will purchase additional items, such as a garden hose, rakes, etc. to complete materials for the garden.

PHOTO GALLERY

 

Grant Spotlight Archives

Grant Spotlight – Family Engineering Nights

Approximately 100 families attended and participated in a variety of STEM activities. The purpose of the program was to introduce our parents to the engineering process and the new Makerspace Room at MIS.

read more

Grant Spotlight – Robotics Club

The new Robotics Club expanded to two teams for competition in 2018. These students will be exposed to a CAD program donated to all first teams to develop their robot virtually before they start building one.

read more

Round 36 grants for 10 MCSC programs awarded

The grants for Round 36 were awarded in May of 2020.  Ten grants totaling $7,943.11 were awarded to enhance learning experiences for Merrillville students.  Raise the Score in Reading, Out in the Garden,  Coffee Cart, Classroom Amygdala Station and Little Free Libraries are just a few of the winning grant ideas.

Since 2002, the Merrillville Education Foundation has awarded 435 grants to teachers totaling $372,082.66.  These grants have impacted more than 119,426 student experiences in grades Pre-K through 12.

To get more details about these programs, view the complete listing of the Round 36 awarded grants…

 

Round 35 grants for 14 MCSC programs awarded

The grants for Round 35 were awarded in October of 2019.  Fourteen grants totaling $7,506.69 were awarded to enhance learning experiences for Merrillville students.   Building Our Brains with STEM,  MIS Music Boomwhackers, Manipulatives for Remedial Math, Explore Opera with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Ultimate Coding and Circuit Kits to Teach C++ are just a few of the winning grant ideas.

Since 2002, the Merrillville Education Foundation has awarded 425 grants to teachers totaling $364,139.55.  These grants have impacted more than 116,726 student experiences in grades Pre-K through 12.

To get more details about these programs, view the complete listing of the Round 35 awarded grants…

Round 34 grants for 11 MCSC programs awarded

The grants for Round 34 were awarded in May of 2019.  Ten grants totaling $6,772.94 were awarded to enhance learning experiences for Merrillville students.  Enriching a Student’s Experience through the use of Raise the Score in Reading, Simulating the Industrial Revolution with Tinker Toys, From Consumers to Creators, and Impairment Goggles are just a few of the winning grant ideas.

Since 2002, the Merrillville Education Foundation has awarded 411 grants to teachers totaling $356,632.86.  These grants have impacted more than 112,107 student experiences in grades Pre-K through 12.

To get more details about these programs, view the complete listing of the Round 34 awarded grants…

Grant Spotlight – Crazy Traits

Grant Spotlight – Crazy Traits

GRANT TITLE
Crazy Traits

GRANT AUTHOR, SCHOOL, IMPACT & FUNDING
Cheryl Austin – Merrillville High School, Biology Dept. – 500 students – $1218.84

GRANT PERIOD
Round 29 for Fall 2016; implemented in Fall 2016

GRANT APPLICATION
“Crazy Traits” is a hands-on, modeling kit that engages students while teaching them the role that chance plays, in an organism’s inherited traits. Additionally, it gives students an opportunity to model things they can’t see, such as the genotypes of parents and the alleles inherited from each, and those of the offspring resulting from parent crosses. Student engagement level will increase because they will be having fun while using “Crazy Traits” to study how traits are passed from one generation to the next. They will benefit by seeing the results of genetics crosses that can only be done, currently, using paper-based activities. These 3-D models should significantly enhance understanding and retention of genetics concepts that are often difficult for students to comprehend.

GRANT OUTCOMES
Biology 1B students discovered that there are two types of traits: dominant and recessive. Using “Crazy Traits” kits, purchased via a Merrillville Education Foundation grant, students developed a model for how probability influences genetic variation. Students flipped coins to determine which alleles a Crazy Creature offspring would inherit from its parents. Students then built their creature and compared them to the creations of their classmates. They discovered how genetically diverse the population can be even with just 14 traits, all while using “Crazy Traits”! The program has been successful for two years now and continues to give Freshmen students a hands-on model that enriches their concept of genetics.

PHOTO GALLERY

Grant Spotlight Archives

Grant Spotlight – Family Engineering Nights

Approximately 100 families attended and participated in a variety of STEM activities. The purpose of the program was to introduce our parents to the engineering process and the new Makerspace Room at MIS.

read more

Grant Spotlight – Robotics Club

The new Robotics Club expanded to two teams for competition in 2018. These students will be exposed to a CAD program donated to all first teams to develop their robot virtually before they start building one.

read more