Education Foundation Awards Grants

The East Brunswick Education Foundation announced that it has recently awarded more than $30,000 in  grants to district schools this year.

Everything from helping to fund concerts and musical performances, to purchasing state of the art equipment and staff training, the foundation has awarded 11 grants to East Brunswick teachers and educators.

The EBEF awards grants every month throughout the school year. Twice a year it allows educators to submit grant requests for larger amounts. Grants awarded at the elementary, middle, junior high and high school levels include:

• $2,352 to Lauren Basselini of Warnsdorfer to buy iPads for the program, Success! We Have an App. For That! The lesson is designed to help students strengthen basic skills and increase reading levels.
• $6,706 to Sandra Wodakow and JoAnn Yonchiuk, of Warnsdorfer,  to buy iPads for their program iThink, iLearn, iSoar with the iPad. The iPads will be available to “implement data driven instruction through differentiated guided groups in an effort to maximize instructional gains.”
• $3,238 to Anne Sanelli for the Waksman Student Scholars Program (Kabus Grant). Students will get the opportunity to become active participants in their learning process as well as enhancing student performance in science.
• $2,500 to Jill Ventrice, for the Respect 4 All program. The grant will be used to train staff and students to effectively diffuse discriminatory and bullying behavior that may occur before, during or after school. 
• $2,000 for Arts Education to fund the upcoming Denis Diblasio Quartet and A Night of Jazz (Decarois Grant). Jazz ensembles from Hammarskjold, Churchill, and the high school will perform in a second “Night of Jazz.” A guest artist is employed to provide second half entertainment and education.
• $1,500, also to Arts Education for Anita Chen, violinist and pianist (Kupchynsky Grant). The former East Brunswick student presented three master classes at each of the secondary schools and followed with an evening concert that also featured East Brunswick Students and the EBHS Chamber orchestra.
• $3,279 to Jeanette Mueller and Donald Viske of Hammarskjold. Students will use cameras and camera equipment to study animal characteristics found among various phyla as related to the sixth-grade curriculum.
• $1,009 to Christine Connolly of Irwin for a Touch of Class, a program designed to increase student reading levels by developing fluency, word identification and understanding, comprehension and reading interest through the use of iPod Touch devices.
• $2,943 to Jenifer Foung and Joanne Squire at Churchill for Get a Head Start…Think SMART! The grant will go to two SMART boards to enhance media center instruction.
• $2,325 to Paul Kimmel and Sandra Krupinski at the high school for Clickers in the Classroom. Clickers will be used by students to answer questions as a way of providing instant feedback and increasing class response.
• $669 to Adrianna Sarapochillo for Electronic Jeopardy in the Classroom. A game system will be used to enhance subject areas and build student confidence and motivation.

Sarapochillo said the she appreciates the grant and is confident it will make the classroom experience even better.

“The fourth- graders in my class will be able to further enhance their math, social studies and science skills by the use of games,” she said. “Jeopardy is an excellent avenue for them to learn.  We can also make up our own questions to specifically fit the needs of our curriculum.  We are most appreciative for the system in our class.”

Wodakow said the number of applications for the iPad makes it a powerful tool for learning in the classroom. The iPads will be used in a variety of ways in the classroom.

"The iPad will be used as a tool for enrichment for those students who have completed assigned work in science and social studies. There are non-fiction and literature applications that will enhance the curriculum in these subject areas," she said.

She also said students of any level will use the iPad during guided group math with activities.

"The group that is struggling with the math concept can use the iPad to get extra practice in an engaging and exciting way," she said. "The group that is secure with the math concept can use the iPad to extend student learning with more challenging activities related to the concept. The activities that the iPad is used for on a particular guided math groups day will change to coincide with the curriculum."