Andy Sheehy Award for Citizenship Graduation Awards
Robert Williams – MEMS
($150 approved)
Each year one special education student from each community and one student from the departmentalized program is awarded a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card for the Andy Sheehy Award for Citizenship. This award impacts and promotes the student’s work ethic and desire to reach their academic potential, achieving high marks and becoming a role model for their peers. Hopefully, these characteristics encourage others and enhance their desire to reach both academic and behavior social goals.
National History Day
Lorne Daccurso – MEMS
Michael Laufer – Pine Brook
($600 approved)
National History Day (“NHD”) is a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for teachers and students to engage in real historical research. NHD is not a predetermined by-the-book program but an innovative curriculum framework in which students learn history by selecting topics of interest and launching into a year-long research project. The purpose of NHD is to improve the teaching and learning of history in middle school and high school.
Reading and Writing Institute
Jackie Klask – Wemrock Brook
Marie Zofrea – Clark Mills
($1,650 approved)
The Reading and Writing Institutes at Teachers College consists of the most current Common-Core aligned instructional practices for literacy. The Institutes focus on literacy instruction across the curriculum, with a heavy emphasis placed on the reading and writing workshop framework. The Institutes promote a variety of ways to increase the rigor of instruction through the use of inquiry-based learning and collaboration. The Institutes also will discuss the importance of assessment-based instruction and provide the most current techniques for using learning progression to develop targeted learning goals for students. The Institutes will emphasize a variety of methods that can be used to hold students accountable for doing their best work. In addition, the Institutes will examine effective ways to create a classroom learning culture that promotes the use of the critical thinking skills needed to interpret and synthesize information.
Shakespeare: All the World is a Stage
Cindy Pope – MEMS
($2,400 approved)
Shakespeare Live! from the Shakespeare Theater of NJ will be invited to perform at MEMS for our Grade 7 students for a spring performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This play will supplement the Grade 7 curriculum, since students read the play in their class. This grant will allow students to see a live theatrical performance and enjoy another form of artistic expression and entertainment. It will allow students to have a greater understanding of Shakespearean theater by seeing it performed by professional actors that are familiar with the language and the manner of speech of the era. Students will be able to make a comparison between the written version of Shakespeare’s play and the live performance.
STEM Program
Margaret Pierciey; Stacy Johnson; Lindsay Singer – Lafayette Mills
($3,025 approved)
The items requested through this grant will be used to implement a STEM program at Lafayette Mills. STEM activities combine the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This program will give students of all grade levels an opportunity to engage in activities that allow them to problem solve, collaborate and innovate. These are 21st century skills that are necessary for students to be successful in our global society. Students will also be encouraged to make real world connections through the projects and activities set forth in the program. The grant will provide students with the opportunities to engage in STEM related activities that can be applied to learning both academically and socially.
Chromebook Special Education Cart
Felicia Hardman and Christina Ditaranto – Lafayette Mills
($6,100 approved)
The cart will be for the exclusive use of Lafayette Mills resource and in-class support special educators. These Chromebooks will provide students with more frequent access to the following programs: Reading Assistant, Learning Ally, Typing Pal and Google Classroom. The Chromebook will be used so that “Reading Assistant” can be utilized as a station/center. This will allow classified students to complete the recommended duration of the program and will aid in the writing process for these classified students.
Chromebook Initiative
Dr. John Marciante – Superintendent (All Schools)
($15,000 approved)
The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School district is committed to preparing students to be college and career ready – communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills are essential to thrive in the 21st century. This is why the MERS district launched the Chromebook Initiative, to bring a 1-to-1 Chromebook learning environment to our students. Having ongoing access to technology will allow our students to consistently practice and apply those 21st century skills and prepare them for a variety of post-secondary options. Since the inception of the Chromebook Initiative, The Foundation for MERS has granted over $90,000 in funding to the district for the purchase of Chromebooks.
Playground Equipment for Clark Mills
Jayme Orlando – Clark Mills
($15,000 approved)
The planning, design, purchase and installation of this state of the art playground was a collaborative effort with funds from The Foundation for Manalapan-Englishtown Regional Schools, the Clark Mills PTO, ELC PTA and an anonymous donor. This updated, current, 21st century equipment enables more children to utilize the apparatus and participate at one time. The newly designed Clark Mills playground encourages children to exercise all parts of the body. Slides provide climbing exercise for the legs, bars utilize arm and shoulder muscles, while jungle gyms emphasize a total body workout. Together, all of the all equipment encourages children to run from one piece to another, giving them a needed dose of heart healthy exercises. Having students observe their peers engaged in active play influences them to become more involved, practice social skills, and develop decision making skills through activities offered by the various playground equipment components. This all-inclusive playground features systems and components that allow more children with all abilities to play together in a rich and engaging way.
