Grant Recipients - Brian Cohen, Trish Donohue, Keith Lamphere & Karen Marino // These pilot camps are designed to be a research-based intervention for struggling math students. While the objectives are not new, the strategies/interventions being tried are new to the district and CNY. The goals are (1) to improve the mathematical learning of the students that attend the camp and (2) to test strategies/interventions with our teachers and students for possible inclusion into the regular math classroom. The elementary camp will accommodate up to 12 students. The middle school camp will accommodate up to 24 students. Students will be identified and invited to attend the camp. Each family will contribute $20.

Grant Recipients - Richard Allen and Dan Kurzen // The flipped classroom model is the basis for this project that will develop video-based lectures and link other content delivery systems together to allow students to receive these at home instead of the classroom. By “flipping” the classroom, students can read and learn at their own pace at home, which frees up classroom time for more experiential learning and individualized help with problems from the teacher. This pilot grant would fund 50 hours of development time to create the vodcasts and link other supporting materials through Haiku.

Grant Recipients - Mary Arnott, Paul Blair & Brian Cohen // Promoting a love of science, technology, engineering and math will be the primary focus of this camp. Campers will learn and refine their use of the engineering process leading a greater discovery and exploration of the world around them. Two sessions of 20 campers each will be offered in the summer of 2015. Results from the pilot project will be analyzed for possible annual offerings.

Grant Recipients - Erin Brown and Brian Cohen // Promoting a love of science, technology, engineering and math will be the primary focus of this camp. Campers will learn and refine their use of the engineering process leading a greater discovery and exploration of the world around them. Two sessions of 20 campers each will be offered in the summer of 2015. Results from the pilot project will be analyzed for possible annual offerings.

Grant Recipients - Paul Blair, Heather Buff & Scott Stagnitta // 3D printing is becoming more main stream as it is being used in many different applications and jobs and embraced by many different industries. From architecture, to medicine, to engineering to marketing, exposing our students to 3D printing at an early age will help them understand the unique benefits and opportunities the technology provides, and the software coding that makes it all happen. This grant will expand upon the 2013 High School 3D printing program and fund 3D printing equipment and supplies for 5th – 8th grades.

Grant Recipients - Scott Stagnitta // This grant funded a 3-day hydroponics training session at Epcot Center for MS/HS Technology teacher Scott Stagnitta. Coursework included techniques in hydroponic greenhouse growing, "See the Future of Food Production," a tour of Epcot's Living with the Land Attraction, and a "Behind the Seeds" tour of their research facility.

Grant Recipients - Paul Blair, Michael Kringer, Dan Kurzen & Corey Riley // Audio engineering and the ability to experiment on sound are the basis for this grant. The audio lab will provide technology allowing students to learn about sound generation, measurement and recording and will be utilized by music, physics and math courses, and as an extension of the Zoom Room by humanities courses in social studies, language arts, and business courses such as marketing and journalism. The studio will support a proposed new CRT program in Audio Engineering.

Grant Recipient - Scott Stagnitta // Growing hydroponically is no longer the method of the future, but of today. In fact, most of the world’s greenhouses are growing fruits and vegetables using hydroponics.This grant will fund an opportunity for students to experiment with new forms of hydroponic growing systems. Through this experience, students gain firsthand knowledge of the scientific principles that control the developmental stages of plant life. This type of content goes beyond the classroom as students gain responsibility and awareness of how small systems, if implemented on a large scale, can make a great impact on the world around them. The produce that we will produce will be donated to our own school cafeteria and to the family and consumer sciences program for cooking.

Grant Recipient - Heather Buff // This project will serve as an introduction of video and multimedia concepts for 5th graders. Through the use of iPads and iMovie software, students will create, edit and learn to communicate ideas and concepts using video and multimedia. The devices will be shared across the 5th grade and involve projects in multiple disciplines including science, health and social studies. This project will also serve as a pilot in the use of classroom-based iPad devices as learning tools.

Grant Recipient - Karl Norris // In any of the physical sciences, understanding the behavior of gases is a key concept. Being able to observe this behavior first hand is an excellent learning tool. Also, the ability to observe the behavior of other types of matter, or a physical or chemical process, under the conditions of vacuum or pressure has countless applications in the areas of earth science, chemistry, and physics. While a vacuum pump is a common piece of equipment in a high school laboratory, an apparatus that can produce both vacuum and pressure and can also be adapted for specialized filtration and separation methods is not. This grant would fund such instrumentation.

Grant Recipients - Erin Brown and Brian Cohen // A 2011 study found that students are deciding as early as second- and third grade whether they like, and think they are good at, math and science. Other studies suggest engineering activities help build classroom equity. The engineering design process removes the stigma from failure; instead, failure is an important part of the problem-solving process and a positive way to learn. Equally important, in engineering there’s no single “right” answer; one problem can have many solutions. In addition to building these 21st century skills, engineering activities call for students to apply what they know about math and science. And, because engineering activities are based on real-world problems, they help children see how math and science are relevant to their lives. This grant will bring more engineering units into State Street Intermediate School, giving our students the opportunity to develop and nurture both skills as well as a love for math, science, technology, and engineering.

Grant Recipient - Richard Allen // Students discover the joy of Newton’s laws with this 40" wide hovercraft. Newton’s first law of motion says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. However, on Earth there are other forces all the time, friction being the most ever-present. Because of these forces, it’s difficult to show kids just what Newton meant. With the assistance of the Hovercraft, students will feel for themselves.