Mar. 22 - Apr. 4, 2011
COMMUNITYNEWSPAPERS.COM
Page 11
FPL selects area teachers to get classroom grants BY AMELIA GOMEZ
Florida Power & Light Company recently announced that several Miami-Dade teachers were selected to receive funding through FPL’s 2011 Renewable Energy Teacher Grant program. The winning teachers will receive the funding to support classroom projects that help teach students about renewable energy and adhere to the Florida State Board of Education’s Sunshine State Standards. In total, 43 teachers across FPL’s 35-county service territory have been selected to receive a total of $43,000 in 2011. “As renewable energy becomes more prevalent in the everyday lives of Floridians, an understanding of the technology is critical for our next generation of leaders,” said Manny Rodriguez, FPL’s external affairs manager for Miami-Dade County. “We applaud these dedicated teachers for creating forward-thinking, exciting projects that will enhance the science curriculum in their classrooms.” The winning teachers, schools, and projects in Miami-Dade are: Laurie Futterman, grades three through eight at David Lawrence Jr. K-8 Center. Students take on a real-life goal of reducing energy usage by educating their classmates, families and communities in “Reducing Energy Costs and Carbon Emissions One School at a Time.” Roberta Stanley, grade six at Arvida Middle School. In “Home Sweet Energy Efficient Home,” students become architects as they design blueprints for an efficient home, taking into consideration insulation, windows, lighting, appliances and landscaping. Suzanne Wojcik, grades kindergarten through five at Poinciana Park Elementary School. “Powered by the Sun Fun” enables students to assemble a variety of solar powered machinery including windmills, trucks, scooters, racecars and motorboats. Susy Chu, grade eight at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School. After learning about the functionality of solar panels, students will design and build a model for their own “Solar Powered Vehicles.”
Karen Helding, grade eight at South Dade Middle School. While enjoying home-cooked hot dogs and s’mores made from solar ovens built by hand, students will study the effects of climate change and create a cookbook with recipes in “Solar Cooker.” Mohanalatha Pamajala, grade nine at Coral Reef High School. In “Solar Vehicles – Saving Energy in Transportation,” students apply their knowledge to design, build and race a vehicle powered only by sunlight. Award recipients are selected by the National Education Energy Development (NEED) project, a non-profit organization working with energy companies and agencies to bring balanced energy curriculum and training to the nation’s classrooms. “We are honored to be a partner in FPL’s effort to provide teacher training, solar installations, curriculum and classroom grants to schools in its service territory,” said NEED executive director Mary Spruill. “In our second year of the program, we’ve seen strongly written grants that will raise the level of energy knowledge among Florida’s teachers, students and families. At a time of declining school budgets, these grants provide educators the opportunity to truly teach science and to integrate practical knowledge of energy in their classrooms.” The awards range from $500 to $3,000 per project, based on the proposed budget and number of students that will benefit, and come from the NextEra Energy Foundation, which is funded by shareholders of FPL’s parent company, NextEra Energy Inc., the nation’s largest producer of renewable energy from the wind and the sun. This is the second year for FPL’s Renewable Energy Teacher Grant program and is part of a larger commitment to the state. Projects were judged according to stated goals, energy content, creativity and plans for budget and evaluation. Completed projects may be featured on FPL’s Solar Station website at <www.FPL.com/solarstations>.
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Lowe Art Museum exhibitions and programs are sponsored in part by The State of Florida, Division of Cultural Affairs, The Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.