Bosch Gives $25,000 to Plymouth-Canton Schools

When teachers in the Plymouth-Canton district returned to classes in September, they were greeted with a video with representatives from Bosch, an automotive technology company, who informed the educators of grants for environmentally friendly projects in the classroom.

The response from teachers was enthusiastic — district superintendent Jeremy Hughes counted 42 proposals by the grant program's October deadline — and the 15 selected teachers were awarded $1,000 grants Thursday at the Bosch Plymouth Technical Center by Maximiliane Straub, the company's chief financial officer, to fund the green-friendly efforts.

An additional $10,000 was awarded to the district to develop an environmental conservation curriculum, Hughes said.

Among the projects funded included iPad 2 devices for multimedia, music and video projects, digital cameras for introductory journalism students and a Plymouth-Canton Educational Park-wide school recycling program with hopes to eliminate 6.5 tons of landfill waste and reducing garbage weight by 15 percent while promoting a recycling competition between Plymouth, Canton and Salem high schools.

The selection process, Hughes said, spanned about three hours as he and company officials weighed the merits of the 42 diverse proposals. The grants come as Bosch, a global company with headquarters in Gerlingen, Germany, celebrates its 125th anniversary.

Hughes said the push for environmentally conscious programs can help "preserve what we have for future generations."

He said the district currently lacks cutting-edge technology, but with some of the new technology afforded by the grants, such as the iPad tablets, with it can come some creativity from students and educators.

Among the grant recipients were:

• Kristi Berry, teacher at , for plastic visquene, duct tape and high-velocity fans for study of Earth's natural resources and life sustainability on Mars. 
• Michelle Larson, media specialist at , for an Apple iPad 2 to increase interest in nonfiction science texts. With this program, students select environmental science books from the library, read the books and use the iPad to provide video book reviews, upload videos to an education video resource site and generate a QR barcode posted on the back of the books that links to the videos.
• Judith Hanson, art teacher at , for nine clear backpacks, a digital camera and drawing supplies to learn, study and draw at the school's nature center.
• Krystle Bence, Lauren Snell and Susan Porter, teachers at , for three document readers and projectors to conserve paper and overhead transparencies. 
• Michael Gold and Lynn Barlow, teachers at , for an iPad 2 to enhance learning about sustainability. Paperless projects iwll include using iMovie to create dramatizations about technology that conserves natural resources and using the GarageBand application for students to write and record songs about sustainable resources. The Keynote application will allow the students to create and share presentations about using technology to minimize waste and pollution.
• Stephanie Knight, teacher at , for containers, ingredients and books to help students develop Kids Care cleaning kits for student gifts to parents using eco-friendly ingredients.
• Becy Leiting, teacher at , transportation and admission for a Rouge Factory tour for 83 fourth-graders to see sustainability in action.
• Mark Trzeciak, technology education teacher at , for a plotter to allow students to design and create cardstock and vinyl 3-D models using AutoCad inventor software. These materials are recyclable and recycled materials will be used in making the 3-D models. 
• Robert McLaren, current events teacher at , for an Apple iPad 2 for science and technology groups to research current event stories using websites and science applications. Students will record green-screen footage, import video, picture and audio, create movies and post the finished movies online in an electronic classroom.
• Leola Gee, introduction to journalism instructor at , for nine Sony digital cameras for students to conduct a photojournalism assignment to develop an ecology story for possible publication in the student newspaper.
• Beth Savalox, adviser of National Honor Society, recycling bins and promotional materials to implement a Plymouth-Canton Educational Park-wide recycling program (qualified for $3,000 — $1,000 each for , and high schools).
• Sean Gray, geophysical science instructor at , for 40 model solar cars and supporting materials to implement a solar-car lesson to increase knowledge of how solar energy can save natural resources.
• Diana Woodward, hospitality and culinary arts instructor, an indoor lighting system for soil and compose-based gardening to teach about self-sustaining, eco-friendly food service practices.