Roosevelt School Students Check Out the Stars

Students at in Burlingame will be seeing stars thanks to a recent $4,000 grant from the San Mateo County Innovation Fund. Fourth- and fifth-grade teachers Loretta O’Donnell, Christy Novack and Kerry Callaghan, with the help of grant writer Carol Prater and Principal Dennis Hills, submitted the grant to enhance the school’s astronomy curriculum.

With grant money in hand and additional funds provided by the school’s PTA, the teachers have invited Lawrence Hall of Science staff to present Family Science Night on March 30, 2011. Children in all grades, along with their parents, will have an evening of exploration, hands-on stations and activities to stimulate their interest in science.

A portion of the money will be used to enhance the school’s “Starry Night”--  an all-school night devoted to astronomy and studying the constellations. The teachers have created a star dome, much like a planetarium, that will be used for the occasion.

In addition, the grant money has helped to enrich the science curriculum for fourth and fifth graders. Lawrence Hall of Science staff have made several class visits, engaging the students in activities such as dissecting a squid and learning about chemical reactions and light wizardry.

“The kids just can’t stop talking about it,” said Callaghan.

“This grant has helped us to supplement and extend our science program,” Novack added.

Other San Mateo County Schools Win Grants, Too

Six other innovative math and science programs from schools throughout San Mateo County were also selected to receive grants of up to $5,000 from the San Mateo County Innovation Fund. With the help of these grants, fourth- through sixth-grade students at these schools will have access to stimulating curriculum and materials designed to inspire curiosity and engagement with math and science.

At Redwood Shores Elementary School, for example, fourth and fifth graders will learn what makes airplanes fly. They’ll have airplane pilots as mentors and take a field trip to a control tower to learn about flight paths. At San Mateo Park Elementary School, fifth graders will study space, build rockets and visit NASA and the Chabot Space and Science Museum. Other San Mateo County elementary schools will gain graphing calculators, interactive math and science games, FOSS science kits, resources for parent education nights and more.

This is the fifth year for the San Mateo County Math and Science Teacher Innovator awards and the first year that a special event was held to honor the grant recipients. On Jan. 18, 2011, teachers, principals, county supervisors and representatives from San Mateo County and the Workforce Development Board gathered at the Foster City Recreation Center to share their innovative projects and celebrate together.

The Math and Science Innovator Awards Program began five years ago with the help of then-Supervisor Mark Church.

“He had a continued interest in youth and wanted to find a way to help them gain skills to help them earn a living,” said Fred Slone, Workforce Development Manager for San Mateo County. Church brought together partners from the community including County Supervisor Rose Jacobs-Gibson, then-County Superintendent of Schools Jean Holbrook, County School Board trustee Rod Hsiao and local school board members to focus on creating a program that would encourage interest in math and science, build skills that would lead to future employment and make a difference for students.

The group decided that grants for innovation in teaching math and science would go a long way to inspire students. With the help of San Mateo County funds, the Innovator Grant Awards program was born.

“This year we saw more grant proposals from multiple classrooms and whole schools working together,” said Josie Yu, program director for the Innovator Grants. Applicants can apply for grants up to $5,000 and many more asked for the maximum amount this year.

“It’s a sign of the difficult times schools are having as they face budget cuts,” said Yu.

Once the proposals were submitted, the committee, which included County Superintendent Anne Campbell, County School Board trustee Rod Hsiao, former Millbrae School Board trustee Bob Miller, Fred Slone, Josie Yu and a representative from Supervisor Mark Church’s office, met to review the grants.

 “Some of the applications were a slam dunk,” said Hsiao. “They bring science and math to life and are an excellent investment. We look for programs that have longevity, so for example, where science kits could be used for several years. We also looked for programs that tie in closely with math and science standards.”

The other winning San Mateo County school programs were:

• Bob Abaya, David Silver, Jane Stein and Catherine Waldeck: a comprehensive study of space and rocketry for fifth-graders at San Mateo Park Elementary School. Students will build rockets and attend programs through NASA and the Chabot Space and Science Museum.
• Linda Costa: interactive math and science games and enhanced access to FOSS science kits at Clifford Elementary School in Redwood City.
• Victoria Defouw: inquiry-based learning centers coupled with technology that allows fourth and fifth-grade students to work independently and have greater access to hands-on manipulatives at Clifford Elementary School in Redwood City.
• Jill Grant: use of graphing calculators and online resources to stimulate student interest and application of math concepts to real-world situations at Kennedy Middle School in Redwood City.
• Linda Hendrix Fama: stimulating math and science games and access to FOSS science kits at Roy Cloud Elementary School in Redwood City.
• Kevin Mullins and Andrew Young: provide fourth and fifth-grade students with inquiry-based aeronautic projects designed to peak student interest in flight, mapping and engineering design at Redwood Shores Elementary School.