Rockbridge Public Schools Foundation Grant Awards
Fall, 2005 – Winter, 2010
Central Elementary School
2009-2010
Youth strings/Ensemble Initiative – Violins, cellos, music stands, and music were provided for students grades K-5 in an after-school music enrichment program that revitalizes and restores a long-standing community commitment to cultural arts programming.
Globes for Every Third Grader – For the third year in a row, in collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary and Wal-Mart, every third grader in the city and county was given, to keep at home, a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers. This year third grade teams planned questions that were sent home with students to encourage family interaction with the globes.
2008-2009
Junior Achievement – In collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary Club, curricular materials purchased make possible the volunteer-led Junior Achievement program in grades K-3. Programs include “Ourselves,” “Our Families,” “Our Community,” and “Our City.”
Playground Enhancement – Expanded opportunities for constructive play equipment enriches the school counselor’s social/emotional small group and classroom developmental units that use role-played scenarios from real life playground situations to model positive conflict resolution, compassion, sharing, leadership, and bullying-prevention.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2007-2008
iPod Technology – Central, Fairfield, Mt. View, and Natural Bridge Elementary Schools – As a result of this funding, students, parents, and teachers have the opportunity to use iPod educational technology to build background knowledge through audio and video content, to increase reading fluency, to collaborate with students around the state and world, to increase communication and parental support, and to apply high order thinking skills to create authentic real world products such as public service announcements and informational podcasts.
“I Am, I Can” Book Publishing – Funds were provided to publish a children’s book that involved the entire school in writing, editing, and illustrating. The publisher’s Creative Team will teach students and the community about the publishing process.
Playground Maps – Funds will allow United States and world maps to be painted on the playground by students. Knowledge of world geography and physical fitness will both increase as these maps are used on a daily basis by students and by the community.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
Youth Literacy – Books are purchased by the Youth Literacy Volunteers to give to elementary students who are tutored by these volunteers during the school year. These books heighten interest and achievement in reading.
2006-2007
Frog/Lizard Habitats – Another sixty third graders in 2007, experienced the hands-on natural frog habitat by feeding and caring for the tadpoles, making measurements of temperature and water volume, and tracking the growth and changes in the life cycle of frogs. With the addition of a new simulated desert habitat for small lizards, students compared and contrasted plant and animal adaptations to the two different environments.
2005-2006
Reading Intervention Program – Guided Reading Kits were purchased to meet the needs of at-risk first graders who do not reach the required grade proficiency benchmark in reading. The kits help with word attack skills, fluency, and comprehension.
Summer Reading Project – Books were purchased to mail home once a week in July to 48 high-risk K-2nd graders to provide appropriate reading levels, to motivate interest in reading high-interest fiction and non-fiction, and to provide more opportunities for students to practice their reading skills over the summer to increase reading skills retention
Frog Habitat – Sixty-five 3rd grade students designed, observed, and maintained a natural frog habitat through the purchase of a large aquarium/terrarium and other accoutrements; the adult frog survivors were released at the end of the year at Boxerwood.
FOSS Kits – These kits provided the opportunity for fifth grade hands-on innovative exploration of physics and earth science.
Effinger Elementary School
2009-2010
Globes for Every Third Grader – For the third year in a row, in collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary and Wal-Mart, every third grader in the city and county was given, to keep at home, a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers. This year third grade teams planned questions that were sent home with students to encourage family interaction with the globes.
2008-2009
FOSS Kits – Funds for the purchase of more hands-on, interactive science materials that promote cooperative learning and stimulate excitement for 4th and 5th graders about insects and plants; magnetism and electricity; the sun, moon and stars; landforms, variables, measurement, and mixtures and solutions.
Bringing History Alive into the Classroom – Period costumes were funded for the teacher to wear during the teaching of Virginia and U.S. history so that fourth and fifth graders can interact with questions for and conversations with historical figures to make these important people come alive. Other objects purchased will provide a hands-on experience for the students – SOLs made personal!
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2007-2008
Drum Circle – Drums, temple blocks, and a guiro were purchased for all students in pre-school through fifth grade to use in a drum circle, a program focusing on making music in the moment and on personal and group development, wellness, and creativity. Drum circles help develop fine and gross motor skills and increase self-esteem, cognitive functions, communication, and coping and social skills. Regularly-scheduled evening workshops include parents and other interested community members, and opportunities for cross-curricular learning with social studies abound.
Digital Camera – This camera was purchased to enhance students’ speaking and presentation skills for book reviews, plays, research projects, music performances, and pen pals sharing. The camera will also make it possible for lessons to be recorded for homebound student and to document events at the school.
Youth Literacy – Books are purchased by the Youth Literacy Volunteers to give to elementary students who are tutored by these volunteers during the school year. These books heighten interest and achievement in reading.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2006-2007
Buffaloes Use Recycling for the Future and Fun – Recycling bins and environmental steward awards were funded to jump start the implementation of a school-wide, student-driven, on-going recycling project designed to increase student and community awareness of the necessity to recycle and to heighten appreciation of the impact of conservation on our future.
2005-2006
“I Can Read This” Leveled Library – Sets of student-leveled reading materials designed to expand a new, school-wide, leveled reading library were purchased so that differentiated instruction can be provided for each student to match his/her reading ability.
Growing Plants in the Classroom – The purchase of a GROWLAB II Mobile Indoor Garden give all students individual opportunities to observe, monitor, and nurture their plants destined for a Roots and Shoots garden at the school.
Fairfield Elementary School
2009-2010
Globes for Every Third Grader – For the third year in a row, in collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary and Wal-Mart, every third grader in the city and county was given, to keep at home, a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers. This year third grade teams planned questions that were sent home with students to encourage family interaction with the globes.
2008-2009
Trail Blazers – Funds to purchase ten backpacks, binoculars, thermometers, digital anemometers, field books, and pencils so that fourth graders, initially in an after-school program, can create interactive field trip interpretive guides for students in younger grades to use on Fairfield’s nature trail. With additional significant funding from a 21st Century Grant, students will use the above equipment, plus iPod Touch technology, to create, after doing Internet research, annotated video modules that focus on topics such as trees, signs of wildlife, and wildflowers.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2007-2008
iPod Technology – Central, Fairfield, Mt. View, and Natural Bridge Elementary Schools – As a result of this funding, students, parents, and teachers have the opportunity to use iPod educational technology to build background knowledge through audio and video content, to increase reading fluency, to collaborate with students around the state and world, to increase communication and parental support, and to apply high order thinking skills to create authentic real world products such as public service announcements and informational podcasts.
Girl Power! – Materials and transportation costs are funded to implement, in collaboration with the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board Prevention Coordinator, this after-school program to help encourage and empower fifth grade girls to make the most their lives through weekly meetings that emphasize self-esteem, nutrition, anger management, physical fitness, etc., and through monthly recreational and community service projects.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
Youth Literacy – Books are purchased by the Youth Literacy Volunteers to give to elementary students who are tutored by these volunteers during the school year. These books heighten interest and achievement in reading.
2005-2006
Leveled Literacy Library – Sets of books were purchased to implement a leveled library so that classroom teachers could assign books to students according to their reading levels. This supplement to the basal reader provides vocabulary growth and reading comprehension acquisition for all students no matter what their reading level.
Maury River Middle School
2009-2010
Youth strings/Ensemble Initiative – Music was provided for students in an after-school music enrichment program that revitalizes and restores a long-standing community commitment to cultural arts programming.
2008-2009
Traveling Jones Theater – Funds are provided to bring a traveling one-man show, “Edgar Allen Poe Comes Alive!”, to all 8th graders at MRMS, as well as to drama and forensic students at the high school. The presentation includes a performance and an acting workshop that serves as a springboard for student interpretation performances of literary selections.
Modern Groove Syndicate Music Performance – In collaboration with the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the school’s PTA, funds will pay for one concert at MRMS and one concert at Rockbridge Middle, as well as a master class for band students taught by the musicians. This group specializes in a jazz style that also has influences of funk, R&B, and many other genres.
Flip Camcorders for Educational Enrichment – Money to buy two camcorders for use in Spanish classes to create realistic video presentations that emphasize target conversational concepts and for use by the gifted and talented students across grade levels to create video clips of school-wide activities to be displayed on the school’s LCD screen at the school’s entrance. Additionally, all teachers will have access to these extra media resources which will generate new innovative objectives in all subject areas. The idea is to create an educational Maury River Tube.
Palm Pilot Technology – Maury River Middle School – Funds were provided to enhance instruction and learning for special education students. Downloaded inclusion classroom instruction onto this piece of technology gives students modification and adaptation to move at their own pace, to have information given to them in smaller parts, and/or to provide repetition. This is also a vehicle for facilitating student writing.
2006-2007
Solazo Performance – This performance for the entire student body, the public, and Rockbridge County High School Spanish Club members, funded jointly with the Virginia Commission for the Arts, will once again expose students in September, 2007, to multi-cultural music. Preparation before the performance through Spanish and world geography classes and English class writing assignments after the performance assure that learning is holistic.
Visual Presenters for Each Grade Level English class – “Elmos” were purchased to allow teachers to showcase student work, to demonstrate directions for activities, and to show pictures and pages from literature with ease. They facilitate learning and increase student interest in peer editing, revising written work, etc.
Success in Stages: Build Respect; Stop Bullying Site License Computer Software – A three-year computer site license for bullying prevention gives all students three opportunities each year for three years to respond confidentially to questions designed to increase their awareness of the role each student plays in school climate. As the system has thousands of permutations based upon student responses, the program is interactive and allows students to learn more about good behaviors with each use whether they are bully victims, bystanders, or perpetrators. Information for parents, teachers, and administrators guarantee broad-base support and follow-up, and aggregate reports trace improvement in student positive behaviors.
2005-2006
World Beat Workshop – This performance for the entire student body, funded jointly with the Virginia Commission for the Arts, exposed students to history, geography, cultural background of American, South American, and African dance and music.
“Music Alive!” – This magazine subscription offers feature articles covering a wide variety of musical genres, styles, and history plus full lesson plans and a CD. It is designed to use music to inspire teenagers to be passionate about learning.
Picture Me Scrapbooks – Scrapbooks designed to highlight and preserve student accomplishments throughout their middle school years were purchased for all in-coming sixth graders.
Mountain View Elementary School
2009-2010
School-Wide Wifi – With significant technology funding from the school system, monies from the Foundation provide what is needed to pilot at this rural school the installation of a wireless environment for ubiquitous access to online resources to enhance significantly the quality of instruction – a goal that is envisioned for all the schools in Rockbridge County.
Globes for Every Third Grader – For the third year in a row, in collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary and Wal-Mart, every third grader in the city and county was given, to keep at home, a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers. This year third grade teams planned questions that were sent home with students to encourage family interaction with the globes.
2008-2009
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2007-2008
iPod Technology – Central, Fairfield, Mt. View, and Natural Bridge Elementary Schools – As a result of this funding, students, parents, and teachers have the opportunity to use iPod educational technology to build background knowledge through audio and video content, to increase reading fluency, to collaborate with students around the state and world, to increase communication and parental support, and to apply high order thinking skills to create authentic real world products such as public service announcements and informational podcasts.
Trout in the Classroom – Equipment was purchased so that all 140 preschool-to-grade-five students could raise trout from eggs to their release in local waters for the community to enjoy. Students will monitor tank water quality, engage in stream habitat study, learn to appreciate water resources, begin to develop a conservation ethic, and grow to understand ecosystems.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
Youth Literacy – Books are purchased by the Youth Literacy Volunteers to give to elementary students who are tutored by these volunteers during the school year. These books heighten interest and achievement in reading.
Natural Bridge Elementary School
2009-2010
Youth strings/Ensemble Initiative – Violins, cellos, music stands, and music were provided for students grades K-5 in an after-school music enrichment program that revitalizes and restores a long-standing community commitment to cultural arts programming.
Globes for Every Third Grader – For the third year in a row, in collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary and Wal-Mart, every third grader in the city and county was given, to keep at home, a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers. This year third grade teams planned questions that were sent home with students to encourage family interaction with the globes.
2008-2009
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2007-2008
iPod Technology – Central, Fairfield, Mt. View, and Natural Bridge Elementary Schools – As a result of this funding, students, parents, and teachers have the opportunity to use iPod educational technology to build background knowledge through audio and video content, to increase reading fluency, to collaborate with students around the state and world, to increase communication and parental support, and to apply high order thinking skills to create authentic real world products such as public service announcements and informational podcasts.
Youth Literacy – Books are purchased by the Youth Literacy Volunteers to give to elementary students who are tutored by these volunteers during the school year. These books heighten interest and achievement in reading.
Globes for Every Third Grader – In conjunction with the Sunrise Rotary Club and Wal-Mart every third grader in the city and county was given to keep at home a 12-inch, mountain relief globe that contains over 4,000 current names and boundaries of countries, cities, oceans, rivers.
2006-2007
Folk Tales from our Global Community – Books, maps, colored pencils, and a set of encyclopedias for all current and future third grade students allows them to read a variety of genres, including folk tales and poetry, from various cultures; to color the country of origin on their maps; to research fun facts about the country; to produce brochures, music, and art about the culture; and to increase their appreciation for the oneness of our world.
Rockbridge Middle School
2008-2009
Modern Groove Syndicate Music Performance – In collaboration with the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the school’s PTA, funds will pay for one concert at MRMS and one concert at Rockbridge Middle, as well as a master class for band students taught by the musicians. This group specializes in a jazz style that also has influences of funk, R&B, and many other genres.
2007-2008
STOP the Violence – Funds were provided to this anti-bullying prevention program to pay for a theatre company’s presentation to these middle school students and to some students from Maury River Middle School, to purchase anti-bullying pledge bracelets, to supplement funds for a STOP the Violence Fair involving community professionals, and to pay for some incentive and awards for pledge-keeping.
2005-2006
Artscape – The purchase of supplies allowed this project to combine elements of artistry, local history, research and school pride to create art illustrating local historic figures for downtown display.
Visual Presenter – Three-dimensional, state-of-the-art, across the curriculum marvelous machine was purchased to allow math and English teachers to project student work for illustration and correction and science teachers to project items beneath a microscope for an entire class to see.
Rockbridge County High School
2009-2010
Junior Achievement - In collaboration with the Lexington Sunrise Rotary, funds for Success Skills curricular materials make possible the business leader volunteer-led Junior Achievement program for all the freshmen. Topics include work-readiness skills, effective communication skills, teamwork and cooperation in the workplace, conflict management skills, decision-making skills, preparing a resume, and mock employment interviews.
Explore Learning Site License – Because of a grant written by the Foundation and funded by Washington and Lee University, chemistry students and other science and math students have access for a year to an interactive website that gives students the opportunity to visualize many of the “invisible” processes integral to the understanding of chemistry and other disciplines instead of their simply writing down processes and working equations.
Pro Quest: Ancestry Library Edition – Funding this site license for two semesters over two years allows students from all grade levels to access a data base by typing in their family names. This data base, which houses public documents such as marriage licenses, obituaries, census records, ship lists, draft records, etc. allows students to use this information to see how their family fits into a particular period of history and a particular literary period.
Canadian Brass Concert – Funds to provide discounted tickets for 100 music students was given to allow them to attend the performance of the world class Canadian Brass at the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville. Backstage opportunities and the chance to hear the ensemble play music RCHS students will perform at their concert highlight the experience.
Romeo and Juliet at Blackfriar’s Theatre – Purchase of tickets was funded to provide the entire freshman class the opportunity to attend this performance before reading the Shakespeare play this year. Preparation before the event by retired director and theatre professor Al Gordon and by English and world history teachers, as well as writing and discussion after the production, serve to enrich the actual studying of the play. The entire experience is designed to foster an appreciation, if not a love, of Shakespeare for students’ entire lives.
Art Technology Equipment – Funds for the purchase of a projector, document camera, and presentation cart enables students, who now have come to expect academic technology in all disciplines, to view illustrations, to display the output of a computer or DVD player, to zoom in on an important artistic detail so that all can see at the same time for enhanced classroom discussion. Social studies and other departments are enriched by the use of the technology as well.
2008-2009
Virginia Shakespeare Company Performance – All freshmen and drama students are once again exposed to “Romeo and Juliet” in a workshop with professional actors where they will role play, ask questions, and see the performance with some classmates acting in minor roles.
Greenbrier Bunker Trip – All juniors will have the opportunity to experience the Cold War mentality when the tickets to the Greenbrier Bunker are purchased. Preparation before the trip, as well as writing assignments after the event, will serve to enlighten students about the moral and ethical issues raised by the creation and exposure of this facility.
Traveling Jones Theater – Funds are provided to bring a traveling one-man show, “Edgar Allen Poe Comes Alive!”, to all 8th graders at MRMS, as well as to drama and forensic students at the high school. The presentation includes a performance and an acting workshop that serves as a springboard for student interpretation performances of literary selections.
Chess Enrichment – Funds allowed the acquisition of materials needed to begin chess enrichment to expand extracurricular offerings; to support students’ intellectual, social, and emotional development; and to encourage a love of chess, a game of logic and strategy that has shown to increase reading ability, reasoning, IQ, and problem solving.
Foreign Language Instruction through Technology – Funds to allow the highest quality language learning experience available today through use of smartboards and laptop computers that provide opportunities for videostreaming, international media access, interactive grammar activities, and technology-rich student presentations were given.
Reading Tutorials – Monies were provided to augment a piloted one-on-one reading program with high interest fiction books at varying reading levels, manipulative tile sets that allow student to actively learn language patterns, and rewards to celebrate student progress.
2007-2008
Model United Nations – Some funding was provided for the second time to continue the highly-successful hosting of the second annual, two-day Model UN by Rockbridge County High School at Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute in which nine high schools with a total of 151 delegates participated in March, 2008.
Algebra through Movement – Ten calculator-based motion sensors allow Algebra I, Parts I and II; Algebra I CP; Algebra II; Algebra III/Trig; and physics students to see how their own movement or that of a ball can be graphed over time. Students can explore rate of change (slope) and intercepts and create equations representing that motion. Physics students can investigate the relationship between time and distance. Abstract math concepts come alive with this technology for all levels of math expertise.
Interactive Yabla Website – This involved purchase of 35 one-year student and teacher memberships to this website, four teacher memberships to Lo MasTV, and a one-time set-up fee. This Spanish site, which includes English subtitles for students not in Spanish classes, offers first-hand learning in Spanish about current events, culture, ecology, and music based on lessons designed by classroom teachers. The program immerses students in real world language situations with native speakers from all different regions of Latin America and Spain.
Romeo and Juliet at Blackfriar’s Theatre – Purchase of tickets was funded to provide the entire freshman class the opportunity to attend this performance before reading the Shakespeare play this year. Preparation before the event by retired director and theatre professor Al Gordon and by English and world history teachers, as well as writing and discussion after the production, serve to enrich the actual studying of the play. The entire experience is designed to foster an appreciation, if not a love, of Shakespeare for students’ entire lives.
Digital Tablet Graphics Enhancement – This equipment was purchased for student use in photojournalism, photography, art, architectural drawing, and in independent study projects to allow them to develop new graphic design techniques; to learn to use sophisticated, state-of-the-art design equipment, and to prepare them to use the same technology in place in most college graphic arts classes and in many work places.
Community-Based Learning – Funds are used to provide safety and social skills experiences for special education students in the community as part of a work experience program. Goals for the program include achieving quality work performance, following directions for a variety of work requirements, adhering to safe work practices at all times, and developing social skills required by industry employers.
2006-2007
Calculus Unlimited Software – A network version of a comprehensive software program was purchased to complement Algebra I CP instruction. It is designed to amplify and facilitate intellectual inquiry – to make math come alive, to help students think as mathematicians.
From Binge to Blackout Assembly Presentation – Juniors and seniors, mentors, teachers, interested parents were provided with science-based information about alcohol consumption – its effects on brain development, increased risk-taking behaviors, and school performance – through a program brought to the area by Washington and Lee University. Pre and post tests, mentor meeting follow-up, program evaluation, and student behaviors all analyzed by W&L and/or RCHS attest to the efficacy of the program. A videotape of the event can be used in future education.
2005-2006
Dreamweaver 8 Software – This cutting edge, industry-standard software was purchased for the Web Design class and for the high school staff to facilitate design and creativity.
Model United Nations – Funding was provided to the newly-formed International Relations Club’s to host the first-ever Model UN to held at Washington and Lee University in February, 2007.