The $1,000 grants were awarded to two Santa Rosa County schools as a part of the AFCEA Educational Foundation’s Science Teaching Tools Award program. This program is a joint effort between individual AFCEA Chapters (Blue Angels Pensacola Chapter) and the Educational Foundation to promote effective science teaching and to enhance the abilities of capable teachers in K-12 schools worldwide. The AFCEA Educational Foundation will provide $1,000 for an elementary, middle or high school science teacher to purchase supplies and/or equipment that would augment their science and/or information technology activities in the classroom.
A $1,000 grant was awarded in the 2007-2008 school year to Shannon Farrell, Science Teacher Woodlawn Beach Middle School, (Teacher of the Year 2007-2008 WBMS). Farrell who played an instrumental part in the WBMS Robotics Team and their participation in the Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) local competition, which they won and then went on to compete at state level that year.
In 2007, the $1,000.00 grant was awarded to Oriole Beach Elementary. All schools are facing budget cuts and elimination of extra programs it seems, so it’s nice to see a real world situation of parents and groups taking action and doing a better job at involving their talents and time towards our future. OBE is a true testimony of schools, parents and organizations coming together to do the best they can towards prioritization and applying funding for the long gain – such as technical students, to fill technical jobs of the future, in Gulf Breeze or where ever. Dr. Pierre Barkhuisen and Laura Robinson, Science Volunteers at Oriole Beach Elementary both play an influential part in the OBE fourth and fifth graders science morning program. If not for these dedicated volunteers and non-profit organizations, the school (OBE) may not have been able to offer the well received Science Program in the 2009-2010 school year. “This grant will make a big difference at our school (OBE), it will allow us to challenge the kids in a positive way, and not just with videos, but with air pressure, combustion and working labs;” offered Laura Robinson. A OBE 4th grade student attending the before school science program was able to apply Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion recently while in the library. He was watching something inside the fish tank, which caused something else to happen, and spoke out loud to the teachers present that he was witnessing Newton’s 3rd Law. When Robinson heard about it that was all she and Dr. Barkhuisen needed to know that they were making a difference and will continue the program for as long as possible.
"It's a fact that students who participate in science with a hands on approach do well, achieve more and sometimes continue their curiosity in science as a lifetime interest," stated Robyn Philips, Blue Angels Chapter VP Awards and Education. This is exactly what the AFCEA Science Teaching Tools Award program grant is for, so learn more check out the organizations website at :
www.afceapns.org or find out how to volunteer at your school and help create a passion for learning with your son or daughter’s school.
The funding would be used to solely fund the Woodlawn Beach Middle School RoboticsClub. Each year the club engages in a competition in which the students must engineer arobot to accomplish a certain task. The students are responsible for designing all electrical and mechanical parts of the robot. Students in the club also must develop amarketing plan to “sell” the robot and carefully document all design and engineeringprocedures through a technical notebook.