The Conestoga Valley Education Foundation (CVEF) awarded $16,252.40 in grants during its 2022 fall grant cycle. CVEF officially approved the grants at its October 21 meeting.

Below are the following grants that were approved:

Hydroponic Plants (Brownstown): Students will grow hydroponic herbs without soil to harvest herbs and make simple recipes. Students will learn the pros and cons of growing plants without soil and apply this to real-world situations, and will also learn about the scarcity of land and the practicality of hydroponic plants in urban areas.

Farm-to-Table (Fritz): With this grant, fourth grade students will be exposed to a farming experience that relates to current science standards. The ultimate goal of this project-based learning opportunity will be to grow enough produce to sell, thus also providing students with business experience.

Pickleball Stress Relief (CVHS): This grant is intended for use by the high school’s RISE program which supports students who are not, for a number of reasons, experiencing success in the traditional classroom. Many of these students lack healthy strategies to deal with stress in their lives and the goal is to add pickleball as a new stress management technique.

Adopt a Plant and Plant Pals (Fritz): This grant will be piloted at Fritz Elementary and will be a collaborative project with Ken’s Gardens, a local greenhouse, in which classrooms will “adopt” a plant. This project will promote responsibility and provide students hands-on experiences with living things.

InstaSong: Songs of Social Media (CVHS/GHMS): This grant will fund a custom choral arrangement for singers in grades 6-12 which will premiere at the March 2023 concert. Students will meet with the arranger to learn about the process of composing and arranging music. This grant will also cover the cost of performance t-shirts for the participants.

Apple Pencils for the Art Department (CVHS): Apple Pencils will allow for the extension of art concepts through creative and communicative visual imagery. All CV students use an iPad and the addition of the Apple Pencils will allow for easier revisions, sketching and planning, and documenting of work.

Emotional Regulation is a Skill Worth Celebration! (Leola, Smoketown): This grant will help provide emotional support students with supplemental materials designed to facilitate de-escalation while also teaching social skills. Items purchased will teach students how to use coping and emotional regulation strategies, enhance the ability of emotional support students to recognize “big” emotions and self-regulations, and decrease the number of yearly incident reports that address concerns such as physical aggression.