This academic year the Ewing Public Foundation (EPEF) provided more than $38K grants for our Ewing public schools. One of the long-standing repeat grants is to Antheil Elementary school via corporate community partner New Jersey Manufacturers, supporting the Hands-on-Science Night with a Dash of Math, which is scheduled to take place this year on February 5th.
Now in its 15th year, the first Hands-On-Science Night took place in 2000 and was inspired by the E=MC2: Inquiry-Based Science Training our district teachers received through Bristol-Myers Squibb. Second Grade science teacher Jan Fay approached then Principal Joan Zuckerman with the idea and it grew from there incorporating the math element several years later with the involvement of 2nd Grade Math teacher Cathie Meyers. Zuckerman credits this program as “A positive turning point in parent/family involvement in the education process at Antheil”. She goes on to tout the long-term impact by saying, “At Antheil, girls are just as comfortable with science and math as boys”. Zuckerman retired in 2012 but remains committed to the Ewing community and serves on the Board of Directors for EPEF.
Hosted at Antheil each year, this activity has evolved into a district-wide community event. In 2014 it boasted more than 900 attendees, and included all three elementary schools, Fisher Middle School and Ewing High School’s Robotics Team 2016. Additionally, volunteer groups from The College of New Jersey, Princeton University and Rider University participate in the program.
“By providing our students with an opportunity to explore math and science in a fun way at Antheil’s ‘Science with a Dash of Math Night,’ we are setting the stage for our future engineers, architects and scientists! Moreover, through events like this, we continue to see an increase in student motivation, self esteem, collaboration and a partnership with parents and community members. All stakeholders truly look forward to this special night, and we are grateful for the Ewing Public Education Foundation grants that continue to make Antheil’s Hands-On-Science Night with A Dash of Math program possible,” said Principal Jennifer Whitner.
Antheil also received two other grants from EPEF this year supporting fundamental learning. Fidgets for Focused Learning was initiated by teacher Susan Bozarth-Smith, and Speech Recognition Software to Improve Literacy Skills for students on the Autism Spectrum was initiated by Cheryl Bomba.
Steve Szmutko, EPEF Board President said, “Providing these innovative EPEF grants to teachers is a great privilege and pleasure, one that fosters innovation, creativity and excellence in unique educational programs. We want every student in our district to benefit from these programs! For that reason, we are reaching out to every family in Ewing to invest in EPEF’s $20 for 20 Capital Campaign Appeal. The more involvement from our community the more resources we can gather to support our teachers to develop programs that enrich the educational experience for our kids here in Ewing.”
Celebrating 20 years of giving to the students of the Ewing Public Schools, the Ewing Public Education Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit citizens’ organization whose mission is to build community support and acquire supplementary resources for innovative educational programs, experiences and technology that enhance teaching and learning. Additionally, EPEF awards scholarships to graduating Ewing High seniors.
Help us help our students and consider making your tax-deductible contribution today at www.EPEF.org.