New Albany-Plain Local Schools has the opportunity to win one of three $10,000 grants this year in the NBC4 Make A Difference School Grant Program. The grant is meant to provide resources to academic and extracurricular school programs that give kids the opportunity to grow and develop.
Starting February 4 and continuing through March 7, the public will have the opportunity to make a positive change in their schools through engagement in online social voting via Facebook and at www.NBC4MakeADifference.com. Anyone can vote up to one time per day. Schools will be competing for top votes in each size classification. The top six vote-getters will advance to the final round of judging which will be decided on by a panel of five judges. Judges
will select three grand prize winners and will be announced May 16, 2013.
How to Vote Online:
- 1) Go to www.NBC4MakeADifference.com
- 2) Click on the Vote tab
- 3) Search New Albany Elementary School
- 4) Vote once each day!
How to Vote on Facebook:
- 1) Search NBC4 on Facebook
- 2) Click on the Make a Difference Grant logo
- 3) Click on the Vote tab
- 4) Search New Albany Elementary School
- 5) Vote once each day!
- Posting on Facebook to encourage your friends and family to vote.
- Tweeting the link to our voting page so your followers can vote.
- Sending an e-mail to your family and friends, letting them know the great news and telling them how to vote. (Click here for a sample e-mail to get your started!)
New Albany Elementary School has submitted proposals for two grants this year. They are:
Winter Garden - First graders at New Albany Elementary are working on answering the question: Can we grow our own Farmer’s Market in the wintertime? This project is in its initial year as we prepare to meet Ohio’s New Common Core Standards. The Project Based Learning model was used to prepare students to answer this driving question. Students will be integrating reading, writing, and science in order to take their thinking to a deeper level of understanding. The scientific method will be used to complete science lab experiments that expose first graders to a richer, inquiry based learning environment. Students are being challenged to learn new information through research with nonfiction texts. They will document their journey on a daily basis and use their observations to make informed decisions about how to get their plants to grow in a cold frame garden structure. Along with learning how illustrating ones ideas can make them clearer, we will look at authors and still life artists who followed similar methods. To extend the project outside of core curriculum areas, the first graders will be using their garden produce to create a large still life painting which will be sold at our winter Farmer’s Market. At the winter Farmer’s Market, students will be making and selling products to the community. We will use the funds raised to give back to our student body. The money made at the Farmer’s Market will be used to purchase non-fiction books for families in the district who are not able to grow their own personal libraries. These non-fiction libraries will be given to students to encourage our student’s interest in science, technology, and math and to help prepare them for the expectations of a 21st century global citizen.
Innovative Classrooms – We know that today’s children are digital learners. They use technology on a daily basis and will be expected to be well versed in various types of technology in order to function in the 21st century. With the new Ohio Common Core Standards students must be able to research and prove their understanding through various published products. Technology is an engaging tool that helps students accomplish this goal. One problem schools face is that technology is always changing and it is difficult for schools to keep current with the technology options available to students. The Innovative Classroom is a project we would like to try in our Elementary classrooms. With the purchase of Mac books, iPod Touches, and mini iPads, students and teachers will be able to create digital content that will push students into the 21st century. Through the use of Google Applications students will be able to collaborate and enhance their work in real time. They can Face Time with other classrooms both in our own district and in other districts. These tools will also allow students to create their own video and audio projects that can be used in other grade levels. Teachers will benefit from this project as well by using iPod touches during small reading and math groups. The Apple devices are so intuitive that students as young as second grade will be able to pick up the iPad mini and complete research for animal projects and turn it into a puppet show with the help of an App. In the Innovative Classroom anything is possible and this grant would allow us to show students that technology can help them reach an even higher level of understanding.