Students Benefit from Classroom Grants

Students Benefit from Classroom Grants “Students are far more driven to go above and beyond in exploration if they can choose their path. The one challenge they were most excited about? Water droplet photography,” shared Kellie MacKinnon, advanced digital photo teacher at Lathrop High school and one of five CalRTA grant recipients this year.

needed to be dark and, in order to get the results they hoped for, the project required equipment with precise macro focusing and flash control.

CalRTA stands for California Retired Teachers Association and their San Joaquin – Division 20 branch recently sponsored a Teacher “Mini-Grant” program for secondary teachers in Manteca Unified.

Of the many applicants, five were selected as $250 grant recipients based on their project proposals:

“The CalRTA grant is going to help move our project forward,” added Ms. MacKinnon.

Grant money will be used to purchase lightMs. Kellie MacKinnon proof activity cubes, which allow for complete darkness even with classroom lights on, a special hot shoe to control flash, and a reverse lens mount to turn an ordinary lens into an extreme macro (close-up) lens. “I’m excited to see what happens.

Ms. Juliet Mathews, East Union High

Physics, AP Physics, Conceptual Physics, and Chemistry

Ms. Bonnie Stogner, Weston Ranch High

English and Theater Performing Arts

Ms. Erlinda Selga, Lathrop High Life Management

Ms. Kellie MacKinnon, Lathrop High Photography

I have students that cannot wait to keep climbing toward their goal,” expressed Ms. MacKinnon.

This is Ms. MacKinnon’s 10th year teaching in Manteca Unified.

Ms. Janet Sanders, Sierra High English Language Development For her project proposal, Ms. MacKinnon tackled water droplet photography with her students. “I set aside an area in my classroom for the advanced digital photo students to use as an inquiry-based learning station,” described Ms. MacKinnon. “The students chose their topics and journaled their results.”

Photographing water droplets proved to be quite a challenge for Ms. MacKinnon’s students; it required patience, skill, and the right conditions.

Students learned to calculate shutter speed, sync the flash, and even learned to control the release of the droplet (some students partnered with STEM classrooms to get the calculations down).

Troublesomely, students learned that the classroom

Water droplet photo by Zohaib Farooqi.

Ms. Juliet Mathews will use her grant money to fund student registration fees for the regional Science Olympiad competition. Ms. Mathews is the Science Olympiad (SO) club advisor Ms. Juliet Mathews for East Union and reported that, due to the pandemic, the club was unable to hold their fundraisers that typically fund the registration and club expenses.

“I’m thrilled that my students are able to compete in the Science Olympiad event this year,” said Ms. Mathews. “As a science teacher, I see the importance of STEM education and how these exams help identify a child's capability and potential. These events motivate students to have a deeper understanding of scientific facts and further enhance their reasoning, analytical and problemsolving skills.”

the show must go on!

“I asked CalRTA for a grant to fund voice amplifiers for my theatre students to use while they perform on stage wearing masks,” described Ms. Stogner.

Specifically, a Giecy voice amplifier which is an individual microphone plus speaker that is portable and attaches to the performer’s costume.

“I’m trying to create a sense of security for my students. Though we have not been able to create traditional shows, we have done a Zoom play, radio, and short film,” explained Ms. Stogner. “We are working on trying to recreate our artform in a pandemic and post pandemic.”

Ms. Stogner has been teaching English and theatre for 16 years.

“I will do just about anything to get the right book in the right hands.”

-Ms. Janet Sanders “I will do just about anything to get the right book in the right hands. It is not just ‘get a book and read,’ it is ‘let me show you great books that I think you might want to try,’ every day. I share tidbits from books I am reading, show what I just finished reading, and what book is on deck.”

Ms. Janet Sanders “I also have a bulletin board where the kids hang paper hearts on forks to show that they are feeding the need to read,” shared Ms. Sanders.

The SO team is equally as thrilled and is busy preparing for the mini SO virtual tests held on March 6th.

As they say in show business, “the show must go on!” Meaning, regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned must still be staged for the audience. Figuratively, the phrase is meant to encourage someone to continue despite the difficulties present or Ms. Bonnie Stogner challenges ahead. In Ms. Bonnie Stogner’s Theatre and Performing Arts class at Weston Ranch High,

herself, she wants her students to also enjoy reading outside of school. To help encourage this, students select books from the classroom library, school library or digital libraries, and read for pleasure for the first 10 minutes of class.

In the vast world of English literature, from fiction, history, biography to poetry, Ms. Janet Sanders from Sierra High aims to prepare her students for the reading demands expected of college freshman, across all subject areas. “We are working on increasing student reading volume and stamina in the English Department at Sierra High School,” described Ms. Sanders. “Most college freshman read 300-600 pages a week and we want to get our students ready for that challenge.”

As Ms. Sanders is an avid reader and book lover

The CalRTA grant will be used to build and update Ms. Sanders’ classroom library. A company called Booksource has a dedicated team of experts that helped her order 30 new, exciting titles.

Family and Consumer Science teacher Ms. Erlinda Selga from Lathrop High has a unique approach to using her grant money for her Life Management classes.

Amid the pandemic, time in the school’s kitchen classroom has been considerably limited. But Ms. Selga describes the cooking component as a very important segment if the Life Management curriculum, and they want to make the most of their

lab time.

“It would be easy to ‘just do demonstrations’ or ‘omit’ the cooking labs entirely, but then students could not apply their skills or learn new skills about kitchen safety, sanitation, reading recipes, or measuring accordingly,” said Ms. Selga. “In this portion Ms. Erlinda Selga of the course, students develop communication skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills as a team.”

When Ms. Selga received her grant, she went shopping for electric griddles, silicone turners, and other kitchen gadgets. “I plan to have students make whole wheat pancakes, French toast, and grilled cheese sandwiches. If the griddles get hot enough, I'd like to teach them how to make homemade flour tortillas,” expressed Ms. Selga.

Alongside the electric mixers and blenders, Ms. Selga and her students look forward to the cooking labs, where they create yummy food and students learn and develop skills while having fun.

Each teacher would like to thank CalRTA for the opportunities the “Mini-Grant” has provided for their students and classrooms. Further, they appreciate the retired teachers who have had a hand in mentoring them as early educators and who continue to give back.