2018-2019 Reach for success grant highlights
Kevin Hakes Miller, Career and Technical Education Teacher of Kirkland Middle School, explained that the grant was used to purchase kits and accessories to extend Computer Science instruction and after school clubs. He added that "students learned how to program a remote to control the movement of the robotic car and how to use infrared sensors to get the bot to independently follow a line."
The Natural Leaders from Rose Hill Elementary received a Reach for Success grant for this school year from LWSF and shared with us about their recent "Games Around the World" event that brought in 430 people! "The idea was born out of the desire to share with our school community an event that embraced and celebrated the diversity of our school population. We set up eight classrooms, each represented by a country one or more of our families (Natural Leaders) are from." Natural Leaders greeted the families as they walked into each classroom and taught parents and students how to play games from their country. "Latin America, India, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Israel, Ukraine, and Africa. Students were given passports when they arrived and as they played they received a stamp for each game played. The goal was to get around and play as many games as you could. When they completed a game, they got to sample a piece of candy from that country." They added - "Families were engaged, played games together and learned about the different countries. We shared our diverse heritage and noticed more commonalities than differences. It was a true celebration!"
With the help of LWSF's Reach for Success grant, Justin from Redmond Middle School said that their Robotics Club has won 4 awards and have been qualified to enter state-level competitions! He added, "The financial support and whole-hearted encouragement from LWSF's Reach for Success program and their staff was a great help to initiate the Robotics-based STEM education effort. From the next year forward, the Redmond middle school robotics team will have a good foundation to achieve further based on this years' experience."