OCPS Service Learning Mini-grants Awarded

November 2008

CONGRATULATIONS!

With funding from a Florida Learn and Serve OCPS District Grant, and TCHS Florida Learn and Serve grant, service-learning mini-grants have been awarded to the following schools and teachers:

Maitland Middle School
Arlene Ginn
“A Call to Service - Development of a Public Warning Tract About Amoeba Encephalitis”
After a summer where three young Orange County boys died from contacting encephalitis from amoebas in lakes, a 7th grade team adopted this innovative science-based project. Student will conduct research and then create an informative brochure containing information about the disease and preventive measures that can be taken. The brochures will go to every house in the community.

Sunrise Elementary School
Patricia LaChance
“Kids Care”
Thirty-six gifted students will participate in this inter-disciplinary project that involves the study and implementation of poverty and homelessness projects. The recipients of this year-long project will be homeless children that live in the area homeless shelters.

Wyndham Lakes Elementary School
Nathaniel Fountaine
“Patients Enjoy - Multicultural Poems, Flowers and
Pottery”
Combining Language Arts and Visual Arts, 125 fifth grade students will study ethnic artist and use creative writing and the arts to interact with the elderly at a health care facility. Many guest speakers and artists will participate in this explosion of the arts!

Ocoee High School
Sheila Jackson
HONOR - Helping Out Now! Ocoee Recycles!
Ocoee High School has 267 students in Agricultural Science and Leadership classes that will lead a school-wide recycling program. Through research, public service announcements, banners and fliers students will learn the importance of recycling. The grant will help to purchase recycling bins for the school.


Cypress Creek High School
Nicolle Boujaber-Diederichs
ICARE -Immigrant Community Appreciation, Reading and Education Program
To address isolation and challenges of immigrant students at CCHS, 125 students in Global Studies and World History classes will conduct a year-long project to address immigrant students’ problems. The project include tutoring to improve English language proficiency, helping to create a social network, sports days, weekend backpacks for migrants, and appreciation activities.

Timber Creek High School
Amy McGrath
“Future Educators Lending A Hand”
Seventy-five members of the TCHS Young Educators Academy will mentor low achieving elementary school students. They will create lesson plans, and use creative teaching strategies with crafts for teaching academic content to elementary students.

Cherokee School
Chris Shirk
“Ready, Set, Perform!”
Fifteen talented students will utilize recorders, drums, bells and literature and teach a rhythmic part to the senior citizens at a nearby retirement home. They will read music and compose musical patterns for each character in selected literature. Senior citizens will be a part of the performance!

Dr. Phillips High School
Maggie Hilt, Colleen McElroy, and Tommy Tucker
“Join the Winner’s Circle: Read!”
Expanding on a Reading Rocks program established last year for 22 trainable mentally handicapped students, this project will help students learn to read through giving service to others. This venture will improve students’ reading and love for books and boost confidence and self-esteem!

Arbor Ridge School
Cheryl BeMent
“Think Globally, Act Locally”
This project involves 25 gifted students who will investigate global environmental problems, find solutions, and plan positive actions to benefit the local surroundings. They will study national parks and work with the Park Ranger at Blanchard Park to help with environmental, wildlife and conservation programs.

Lake Silver Elementary School
Terrell Daniel
“Watch Our Senses Grow”
The ““Gifted Gardeners”, the 3rd grade gifted students will read The Secret Gardner, study plants and the environment, and learn about gardening. They will team with 7 ESE students to take care of two gardens, one in the ground and one in a wagon. The focus of the gardens will be the five senses and will feature smells, color, tastes and textures.

University High School
Lee Ann Spillane
“Reading Rocks”
Fifteen service learning students will become reading buddies for 30 fifth grade students. Collaborative reading and writing about animals and the ecosystem are the main activities of the project. After completing interest/attitude surveys with their young buddies, the high school students will share literature about their interest. The younger buddies will write about their interests and the final product will be a class anthology.

Cherokee School
Jennifer NeSmith
“On Target”
In this physical education project, emotionally handicapped elementary students will learn a new sport, disc golf. After studying needs and behaviors of senior citizens, the students will be teaching the sport to the senior citizens of Westminister Care. Monthly trips to play and interact with the senior citizens will improve not just physical fitness, but empathy, compassion and inter-generational understanding.

Grand Avenue Primary Learning Center
Gail Przeclaswski
“Being Safe is Grand!”
About 80 first grade students will combine math, reading, writing, social studies, technology, and science to study the problem of the lack of signs identifying Lee Street as a school zone. Students will write letters, conduct interviews, and create a video to present their case to governmental departments charged with road safety. Education majors from UCF will be working with the students as partners.

Meadowbrook Middle School
Orvie Mizzell-Bullock, Kimberly Granger,
Lachinda Mitchell, Catherine Rochester
Science and Reading FCAT Projects: “Students Helping Others”, “Novelettes”
Through a series of service-learning activities that combine cooperative learning methods, science manipulatives, novels, parents participation, and student mentoring. Students in Meadowbrook Middle School will raise their FCAT reading and science scores, develop leadership, learn team-building skills and improve their grades.

Hiawasse Elementary School
Lantanya Nichols
“Learn and Serve Club” Fifth grade students in the Peer Mediation Program will develop a service-learning club that links the school to the needs in the community. The students will participate in leadership, mentoring, and community-wide projects that build character and raise FCAT scores. They will also create a peer-to-peer newsletter!

Timber Creek High teachers:

Marcia Gregory
“Painting Workshop” Portfolio art students will teach other art students the techniques of how to paint with oils.

Laura Scheuplein
“The Green Roof Project” Students combine the mini-grant funds with other funding sources to research , plan and build an energy-saving green roof at TCHS.

Pat Franklin
“Operation Santa” Beta Club students will collect holiday books and gifts for needy children and sponsor a holiday celebration with a reading focus at the Bithlo Community Center.

Elise Gardner
“American Sign Language” American sign language students will teach hearing impaired students sign language and reading skills.

Lynette Elliot, Jon Frankos
“Reading Buddies” Students will improve their own reading skills as they create books and read to low-achieving readers at Avalon Elementary School.

David Gardner
"Herps and Humans" A look at how the Avalon Park development is impacting wildlife in the wetland area of TCHS.