2017 Grants
ADMINISTRATION
Executive Functions Workshops As a continuation of the Executive Functions workshops funded by the LFHS Foundation and implemented by the Rush Neurobehavioral Center in 2016-2017, 25 LFHS faculty members will attend one full-day, on-site workshop and receive two half-days of on-site coaching. Additionally, two parent/community meetings will be hosted by Rush to explain the premise behind Executive Functions curriculum and its benefits for our students. Studies show a clear link between Executive Functions and improved student performance in school, both academically and socially. ART
Art Room Redesign Art room 120 will undergo an extensive transformation. Outdated and immobile furniture will be replaced with 25 new, adjustable drafting tables, adjustable stools, and compartmentalized storage cabinets giving students mobile, organized spaces for creating and safely storing artwork and supplies. New ceiling lighting will be added by District 115 to further enhance the space. Digital Cameras 28 new Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR Camera kits with 18-55mm lens, 75-300mm lens, and camera cases will support Photography 1, 2, 3, & 4, Animation 1, 2, & 3, Yearbook, Animation Advanced Studies, Art Studio, Art Studio Honors and AP Art Studio. These next generation cameras will allow more students access to high quality cameras for assignments in and outside school. BUSINESS EDUCATION
Incubator Part 2 Room 19 will transform into a 21st Century learning space to match the highly successful LFHS Business Incubator. This grant will allow students real-world business experiences and interactive collaboration using white-board surfaced technology tables with 40" TVs, 25 mobile task chairs, 2 storage systems, and a 60" commercial TV with Soundbar. The Business Entrepreneurship classes will utilize this classroom along with Fashion Merchandising, Business Management, Business Technology, Marketing, and Sports & Entertainment Management. Business Incubator - MVP and Pitch Night This annual grant provides funding for each Business Incubator group to create a Minimum Viable Product in order to determine viability of their business idea and gain knowledge regarding possible alterations necessary to develop their product or service. At year's end, this grant supports next-step funding of up to $10,000 for the student group(s) chosen to move forward at Pitch Night in May. ENGLISH
LFHS Student Newspaper Journalism classes will have a renewal of funding for the first newspaper magazine of the year. As in 2016, the funding for this grant is a 50/50 partnership between the LFHS Foundation and LFHS Boosters. Wireless Interactive Classrooms The English department will pilot a program making 2 classrooms fully wireless using WePresent presentation platforms, allowing students and teachers to become more mobile, and share and enhance the collaborative nature of the classrooms. This will allow students to work individually or in small groups while providing immediate sharing of work and feedback. LIBRARY
Collaborative Learning Commons The library's second floor tutoring space will transform into the Collaborative Learning Commons. This study area and work space will allow students to engage in tutoring from both peers and professional educators as well as study during free periods. The Learning Commons will be staffed with professional tutors before and after school to increase academic support for all LFHS students. Collaboration Tables The library, which is visited by 800 students per day, will add 4 collaborative group tables with dry-erase surfaces, electronic displays, and charging capabilities compatible with any device. The tables will provide seating for 5 and include attached TVs allowing students to showcase their work and learn together easily. By having collaboration tables in the library, students and entire classes will have access to technology integration workspaces previously limited to Social Studies, Business Education and World Language classes. Sound Studio This grant provides LFHS with a multipurpose and professional sound studio to be housed in the library. Equipment includes microphones, audio cables, microphone stands, digital mixers and an Apple iMac desktop computer. In addition, 5 digital recording kits will allow for mobile audio-recording. The sound studio will be used by students to record podcasts, presentations and other audio projects. WeVideo For Schools A 3-year renewal subscription for 500 transferrable licenses to WeVideo For Schools, a web-based video editing program that allows collaborative video editing, sufficient cloud storage, advanced video length and editing features, for all multimedia assignments and projects. |
SCIENCE
Biotechnology Lab Equipment State of the art biotechnology instructional lab equipment will allow all biology classes hands-on lab experiences in biotechnology experiments. LFHS will offer a biotechnology class in 2018. PASCO Devices and Software The physics classes will receive 21 PASCO 550 Universal Interface Boxes and PASCO Capstone software. This new technology will replace 20 year old, outdated hardware and software. The PASCO boxes incorporate cutting-edge educational technology into the physics curriculum so students can gather data from experiments. This information is critical for scientific understanding of many physics concepts. The new equipment will also be used by chemistry, biology and environmental science classes. Physics High Speed Cameras With the addition of 3 Sony high-speed RX100 IV compact cameras, physics classes at LFHS will have the opportunity to study the motion they create. These devices capture 1000 frames per second and then allow ultra-slow motion video enabling. Students can examine processes that are too fast for the human eye to see. These cameras will also be used in materials science, chemistry and robotics. SOCIAL STUDIES
Newberry Consortium The Newberry Teacher Consortium in Chicago offers a series of intellectually stimulating, content-based seminars led by scholars from area universities and colleges. The one-day seminars give teachers tools to enrich academic and curriculum delivery for students as well as opportunities to collaborate with peers from other districts in the Chicago area SPECIAL EDUCATION
Emotional Disabilities Classroom The Learning Strategies Resource will refurbish their classroom with new furniture and equipment to create a welcoming and calming experience for students with stress, anxiety and emotional challenges as well as meet the educational needs of students identified with emotional disabilities. The new space, staffed by 2 SPED teachers as well as a social worker and behavior specialist. Social Thinking Clinical Training Four SPED teachers will attend the 3-day Social Thinking Clinical Training Program. This out-of-state conference addresses the treatment and educational needs of individuals with a broad range of social and communication challenges. The training will allow therapists to further develop their skills while exploring options for expanding its use to more students. This grant also provides for 3 iPad Pros with Apple Pencils to be used for video modeling, video taping student groups, accessing videos online, teaching social skills, and collecting data. SOCIAL WORK
Student Services Suite The Student Services suite, one of the most utilized spaces in the building, will be reconfigured and redesigned to create a welcoming environment for students seeking social and emotional support. In this partnership with District 115, the space will be staffed to ensure students are greeted upon entry, directed to the support they require, and provided with a private, comfortable area to decompress, work, and relax while waiting to see a social worker. WELLNESS
iPads Twelve 32 GB Wi-Fi iPads will be used daily by all Wellness teachers and coaches. With their expanded memory, these iPads are excellent training tools allowing immediate feedback on skills and exercises for students and athletes. Teachers/coaches create their own programs, project them onto monitors, and provide continuous visual representation of exercises thereby cutting down on explanations and demonstration time allowing students more activity time within class periods. This grant is a 50/50 partnership between the LFHS Foundation and LFHS Boosters. Rollerblades To permit the continuation of a 20-year-old Wellness unit that remains one of the most popular among students, 30 pairs of rollerblades and 30 sets of safety equipment will be provided to students in the Healthy Lifestyles classes. |