Ridgewood November 18, 2009 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 5 Foundation awards classroom grants totaling $10,000 The Ridgewood Education Foundation recently presented the board of education with nine classroom grants for seven schools totaling $10,036. The grants include funding for: “Dinosaurs Rock!” for the Ridgewood Early Developmental program at Glen School; “Shoot for the Moon: Tales of Astronomy, Stargazing, and Space” at Hawes Elementary School; Building Bridges through Books” at Orchard Elementary School; “S.T.A.M.P. out Bullying,” a joint program at Ridge, Orchard, and Somerville schools; “Ridgewood: Our Community Through Art” at Somerville Elementary School; “Storming into Fifth Grade: An Introduction to Robotics” at Somerville; “Storytime with Paws for Literacy” and “Willard’s World of Wellness,” both at Willard School; and “The Physics of Vision: The Interaction of Visible Light with the Human Eye” at Ridgewood High School. “Storming into Fifth Grade” was proposed by fifth grade students with their teacher Scott Lupia at Somerville Elementary School. The grant will be used to purchase Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 robot kits to be used as part of the science unit on systems in motion. Students will begin by working in small groups to build and program robots. When the unit is over, the robots will continue to be used on rotating basis in the classroom as open exploration. Willard teachers Dr. Elizabeth Holley and Donald Friel and Librarian Linda Diorio have created and designed the “Storytime with Paws for Literacy” project. The show will be available online on the Willard School website where students can view Dr. Holley and/or Mrs. Diorio along with Willard School’s literacy dogs, Pedro Miguel and Juan Carlos. Students will have the opportunity to practice the skills modeled by the expert reader by reading to a “virtual” dog that will be available online at the Willard website. “Ridgewood: Our Community Through Art” is an interdisciplinary project for third grade students at Somerville Elementary School. The program will integrate language arts, science, math, and social studies through the medium of art. Students will study map skills, learn about early settlers of Ridgewood, discuss important Ridgewood geography and see how Ridgewood has changed over the years. As a reflective interdisciplinary project, students will create a Ridgewood activity book. Students will collaborate in groups or work independently to create color pages, crossword puzzles, fact sheets, and other activities for their peers to enjoy. Their work will be bound together in an activity book that they will receive as a reward at the end of their downtown Ridgewood walking tour. Teachers Susan Chambre, Kate Droske, and Samantha Stankiewicz wrote the proposal for this grant. Students at Orchard Elementary School will experience “Building Bridges through Books,” written by teacher Megan Bozios. This program will provide 20 copies of four different texts. In November, January, March, and May, each classroom will receive a copy of the chosen book for that month. During the month, teachers in each of the classrooms will use the book as a class read aloud and develop lessons around the topic of the book. At the end of the month, students will use Orchard’s weekly Community Building assembly to share the thinking that their class did about the text. “Dinosaurs Rock!” aims to spark interest in dinosaurs and fossils. The program will be offered to the students in the Ridgewood Early Developmental class at Glen School. Topics include prehistoric animals, fossil formation, and the Ice Age. Museum-quality dinosaur fossils and prehistoric items are brought to the school for a “fossil dig.” (continued on page 8) In Home PERSONAL TRAINING • Flexible Scheduling • Nutrition Guidance • Sports Specific Training • Men, Women, Children & Couples With Brad Lose 20 lbs in 10 Weeks Insured Degreed & Certified For Free Consultation call: TONE UP/LOSE FAT/ FEEL GREAT 201-925-0381 Ask us about the wines that taste like a $10 11-18-09 kathy/janine bottle that we’re selling for the ridiculously IreneFokine2x5C(11-18-09) low price of 2 x 5” HARDING WINE&SPIRIT $ It blew us away! 2 Locations Glen Rock & Passaic PASSAIC LOCATION NOW OPEN SUNDAYS! We Offer Line Of Credits And Financing Plans 5 .01 750 ml Liberty Creek HUGE WINE SELECTION Beer • Super Premium Spirits Party Planning • Gift Baskets Free Parking • Ice • Soda WE DELIVER Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel $ 201.345-5621 Barefoot Wines $ 305 E. Ridgewood Ave Ridgewood, NJ DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED 201-445-7122 Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, White Zinfandel & Moscato 5 9 .99 1.5 liter .29 1.5 liter No rain checks issued. Not responsible for typographical errors.