MILLSTONE TOWNSHIP, NJ, May 28, 2015 – Millstone Township Foundation for Educational Excellence (MTFEE) awarded seven grants today totaling $15,253.30 to Millstone Township Schools. In January, MTFEE awarded three grants totaling $13,591.40. Between its two grant cycles this school year, MTFEE awarded a total of $28,844.70. Since 2002, MTFEE has awarded more than $515,500 to its schools. There are currently more than 60 MTFEE-funded grant programs running in the Millstone Township School district. Every child that matriculates through the school district will in some way benefit from an MTFEE funded grant. 

This grant cycle awards included a set of timpani drums, fitness equipment, professional development responsive classroom and language comprehension workshops, historical figures performances, mosaic garden of stepping stones, and fans to enhance the STEAM curriculum. 

Following is a listing of the grants and recipients: 

Timpani-A-Plenty ($4,269.96) (Adam Gruber, Elementary School Band Director/Music Teacher) - The grant consists of a new set of timpani, large kettle shaped drums that have a defined, resonating tone and are tuned and pitched to match the rest of the ensemble. This grant will not only benefit the percussion section, it will also allow the ensemble, as a whole, to play the repertoire with more complex timpani parts. When educationally appropriate, the students will learn how to use, tune and play the instrument. 

Millstone Planet Fitness ($3,459.92) (Kelly Rossetto, Middle School Physical Education Teacher) - The grant consists of fitness equipment that will be used by middle school students several times a week to give them a gym-like workout. The grant will expose, enlighten and encourage every student to be physically active. Some of the equipment includes stability balls, balance disks, agility ladders, training hurdles, plyo boxes, yoga mats, stabilizing blocks, dumbbells, resistance tubing, medicine balls, kettlebells and fitness exercise posters. 

Responsive Classroom Four-Day Workshops for Elementary Educators ($2,548.44) (Brittani Adams, First Grade Teacher; Jennifer Reed, Second Grade Teacher; Gloria Arevalo, Foreign Language) - The grant consists of a "Responsive Classroom Four-Day Workshop for Elementary Educators." These teachers will bring back new ideas to add to the school community and share findings with colleagues to improve classroom practice, student learning and overall performance. 

Lives of Historical Figures Through Portrayals ($2,000) (Dr. Christopher Huss, Middle School Principal, in Partnership with The Friends of Millstone Township Historical Registered Properties) - The grant consists of three half-day performances at the middle school (one for each grade level), by an actor portraying a historical figure, to enhance the social studies curriculum and bring history to life for students. Proposed figures include Abe Lincoln for sixth grade students, George Washington for seventh and Edgar Allan Poe for eighth. The Friends of Millstone Township Historical Registered Properties piloted the program in the middle school last year and it was very successful. 

Stepping Stones: Creating Outdoor Inquiry Learning Spaces ($1,439.80) (Shannon Bell, Primary & Elementary School Art Teacher) - The grant consists of teachers and students planning, creating and installing a mosaic garden of stepping stones in the primary school. Students will not only learn a new art form: mosaics, but the project will also encourage numbers and letters recognition. 

Workshop: Visualizing and Verbalizing® for Language Comprehension & Thinking ($1,071.22) (Meredith Weibel, Elementary School Reading Specialist) - The grant consists of a Lindamood-Bell ® Workshop on Visualizing & Verbalizing ® (V/V). Research suggests that mental imagery is strongly tied to comprehension and memory. Higher levels of mental imagery are correlated to greater recall and deeper comprehension. In addition to implementing it for her students in the fall, Mrs. Weibel will share findings from the workshop with colleagues to incorporate into their classrooms. 

Winds of Change: Innovation and Exploration ($463.96) (Beth Topinka, Elementary School Teacher) - With the purchase of two different fans, this grant will enhance the STEAM curriculum by offering students hands-on opportunities to design investigations and engineering challenges in a variety of fields including physical science, earth science and life science. Data generated through these investigations will be readily applicable for cross-curricular application in mathematics as well.