E
ach year, the Peters Township Education
Foundation is proud to fund projects in
classrooms throughout the District. Supported
solely through memberships and donations
from District families, staff members and area
businesses, the Foundation has donated more
than $35,000 to the schools over the past five
years to support the education of students in
Peters Township.
The winners of the 2016 GEO (Granting Educators
Opportunities) Grants are:
Mary Beth Barnes: Pleasant Valley, Third Grade
Mrs. Barnes will receive nine Osmo Systems that
work in conjunction with the building’s iPads.
These systems extend the current function of
the technology with manipulatives that foster
cooperative learning and creative thinking. The
kits support reading, science, math and art.
Megan Myers and Rebecca Edwards, Bower
Hill Elementary, Second Grade
Mrs. Myers and Ms. Edwards will receive funding
to continue their planting project with the
students. Students receive seedlings from a
local nursery and care for them in the classroom
as they learn about the environment and the
importance of plants in our everyday life.
Behind the scenes, those involved in the planning know how much work
is involved – checking to make sure the games pieces are intact, arranging
for the more than 25 student volunteers who staff the rooms to help explain
game rules or fill in as an extra player if necessary, finding “celebrity” bingo
callers, planning for snacks, box top collections with raffles and prizes, set up
crews, clean up crews, and the list goes on. All in all, a committee of 35-40
people makes the event a success each year.
“The effort of the PTA is tremendous,” says Bower Hill Principal Rob Garvey,
who also served a bingo caller for the night. “Successfully educating our
students at this level is a family effort, and we love the opportunity to have
our families come into our school for such a positive event.”
Family Game Night is not a new idea for Bower Hill – it was introduced
during the 2007-2008 school year and has been a family favorite ever since.
Games on the list each year run from classics like Chutes and Ladders and
Candyland in the kindergarten classrooms to newer favorites like Apples to
Apples and Uno Attack for some of the older students. If a new hot game hits
the market, the PTA will try to add that to the list as well.
While researchers point out that family game nights at home or at schools
like Bower Hill help improve a child’s motor skills and problem solving
abilities, just a quick visit to Family Game Night will also tell you that it’s just
plain fun. Go ahead, it’s your move!
Stephanie Van Balen: Peters Township Middle
School, Computer Applications
Mrs. Van Balen will receive ten Makey Makey kits
for her classroom. Students will write a video
game program and use their creativity and
problem solving skills to create an interactive
game controller using the components of the kits
(Makey Boa rd, clips, cables, connector wires, etc.)
Katie Stouden, Peters Township Middle School,
Librarian
Mrs. Stouden will receive funding for an audio
book collection using PlayAway devices for
Peters Township Middle School that will support
learning outcomes and students’ needs. The
enhancement to the library’s collection will help
improve fluency and vocabulary in struggling
students and will also help with comprehension.
To learn more about the Education Foundation
or to donate to its efforts, please visit their
website at www.pt-educationfoundation.org.
Peters Township | April/May 2016 | icmags.com 97
P E TE RS TOWN SHI P SC HOOL DI STRI C T NE WS
lassrooms full of families playing Blokus, chess, Twister and Scrabble,
may not be a typical sight in schools across America, but the students
and families at Bower Hill were lined up out the door for the building’s
annual Family Game Night.
“My kids love Family Game Night,” says PTA President Karen Lingis. “Even
my fourth grader looked forward to returning to play games with his brother
and friends – I enjoy being part of the event to help create these memories
for and with them.”
Organized by the PTA in
January of each year, the
event may seem simple
to the casual observer.
Multiple boxes of at least
25 different board games
are placed in classrooms
throughout the school.
Families are invited to
come by and simply have
fun playing the games
together.
Peters Township
Education Foundation
Announces Grant
Winners
Peters Township
Family Game Night
C