Fall 2014 Venture Grants!

Penn Manor Education Foundation Fall 2014 Venture Grants

Headphones to Enhance Reading Instruction
Hambright Elementary School – Grade 2

Forty sets of headphones will be purchased so students can work independently to improve their reading comprehension, fluency and word recognition and reinforce reading skills and strategies. The headphones will reduce distractions as students work on laptops. They will be used by up to 80 students.

Listening Center
Eshleman Elementary School – Grade 2

Five Listening Centers will provide multiple sets of headphones to enable students to listen to the same device, such as a CD player or computer, simultaneously as they work independently to develop their reading skills. In the first year, 45 students will use the equipment.

Optics Lab Equipment
Penn Manor High School

Optics expansion kits, mirror sets, laser pens and other lab equipment will replace outdated, inaccurate and unsafe gear, improving the lab experience for students enrolled in physics courses. About 65 students will use the equipment in the first year.

Comprehensive Restorative/Rehabilitative Art Therapy to Support Students
Twilight Program

Broadway actress Q Smith will conduct workshops designed to help students explore their creativity and self-expression, work as teams and develop strategies to improve their speaking, listening and academic skills. About 15-20 students will participate.

Improving Parent Communications
Central Manor Elementary School

The grant will be used to purchase a bookshelf and brochure holder to display resources for parents, such as brochures on academic development and study habits, textbooks and other resources parents can keep or borrow.

College Mentoring Program
Penn Manor High School

High school students will be matched with Millersville University student mentors, who will meet weekly with the younger students to familiarize them with college life. The mentors and mentees also will engage in team-building and other activities designed to emphasize goal-setting, personal decision-making and future planning. About 60 students will take part.

Document Cameras for Close Reading & Effective Writing
Penn Manor High School, grades 9-10

The grant will be used to purchase six document cameras to assist in developing students’ close reading strategies with texts, promoting comprehension and critical analysis skills. About 900 students will utilize the cameras.

Headphones for “Daily 5” Reading Program
Conestoga Elementary School, Grade 4

The grant will be used to purchase headphones to enable students to listen to reading without extraneous noise. About 50 students would use the headphones in the first year.

Virtual Reference Library
Penn Manor High School – all grades

The grant will be used to expand the virtual reference library to include more materials for content areas, specific topics and research projects. The intent is to provide more materials to a larger number of students simultaneously. Potentially, all high school students could benefit.

Readathon
Penn Manor School District

The Readathon, planned for March 1 in the PMHS East Gym, will include stations based on Dr. Seuss books where children can play games that encourage literacy. Guest readers will entertain children with stories, songs and “drop everything and read” activities. The event draws 200 to 350 participants.

What Is Your Energy Use and Carbon Footprint?
Manor Middle School – grade 8

The grant will fund the purchase of Kill a Watt Edge Power Monitors for science classes. Students will use the monitors to determine how much energy is used – and how much is wasted – each day by common items around their homes, such as cell phone chargers, hair dryers, computer monitors and toasters. About 250 students will use the equipment.

Journaling and Mentoring Project
Penn Manor High School – Twilight

The grant will fund journals, refreshments and other supplies for a mentoring/journaling program that will pair students with adults two days a week for one-on-one counseling. Students will document their experiences, goals, questions and ideas in the journals. As many as 30 students will participate.

Yearbook Cameras
Manor Middle School

The grant will fund four high-quality digital cameras to be used by yearbook staff to document school activities and capture images for use on posters, signs and website postings. The current cameras are about eight years old.

Zambombazo: Language & Culture
Penn Manor High School – Spanish classes

The grant will fund the purchase of an e-book bundle from the Spanish language pop culture website Zambombazo, including 16 e-books focusing on a variety of topics, from Hispanic music and art to verb conjugation and vocabulary usage. About 60 students per semester will use the materials.

Integrating Science in Meteorology CD-ROM Lab
Central Manor Elementary School – grade 6

The grant will fund “Weather and Water” FOSS kits with CD-ROMs that simulate a weather station to enable students to collect data and formulate weather forecasts based on real-time weather variables.

Drugs 101: What Parents Need to Know
Penn Manor community

The grant helped fund a public presentation that focused on educating parents about the various forms of drug use by youth, signs their children may be using drugs and alcohol and the peer pressure students face to use drugs.

Sensory Room
Manor Middle School – all grades  

The grant will fund materials, including a mini-trampoline, therapy balls, bean-bag chairs and other items to be used by students who have sensory processing difficulties associated with autism and ADHD. “Sensory breaks” enable these students to increase their attention and focus. Currently, about 20 students will use the materials.

Science Lab Equipment
Central Manor Elementary School – grade six

The grant will fund microscopes and slides for lessons on plant and animal cells, providing students with hands-on experience in identifying cells and understanding how they work together. About 100 students will use the equipment.

Reading in the German Classroom
Penn Manor High School – foreign language

The grant will pay for subscriptions to German foreign language magazines that highlight German language and contemporary culture. The magazines will help student build their grammar, vocabulary and writing skills. About 90 students will use the magazines.

PMEF Fall 2014 Venture Grants

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