Mrs. Hutson (Jr. High Fine Arts), Mrs. Mitchell (Jr. High Grammar/Writing), and Mrs. Williams (Jr. High Science) each recently received the Operation Round Up Star Light Award through Baldwin EMC Operation Round Up program. This is an educational grant program designed to provide support to teachers for the direct purpose of improving learning through a specific lesson and/or project in the classroom using innovative or creative techniques.  

Mrs. Hutson, Jr. High Fine Arts
8th grade students will be learning a new painting technique – Fluid Painting. They will be creating a painting by pouring paint onto a canvas, rather than using a brush. By adding some Floetrol, a paint additive, to make the paint move more easily, and some oil, the students will be able to create some remarkable results. This is a contemporary painting method that is popular with artists today. 8 ^thgrade students will be very excited to try something new in the Art Room.
 
Mrs. Mitchell, Jr. High Writing/Grammar
Each year Jr. High students are taught strategies for gathering, analyzing, and evaluating 
information through critical thinking. Students will be working on creating a book according to the assignment for each grade level.This project will take the reading, writing, and technology skills students are learning in class, and transfer them to real world writing situation. 
 
Sixth grade students will read and analyze Fairy Tales.  They will select a tale to retell. They will also write a fractured version of that same tale by changing the setting or characters.  
 
Seventh grade students will read Cinderella stories from around the world. They will research Australia in order to write a Cinderella story form Australia. They will learn about the culture, food, animals, people, etc. of Australia to write their fairy tale.
 
After reading, analyzing, and evaluating American folklore (Native American and African-American), and tall tales, eighth grade students will create original tales based on their interpretation of the tales they have evaluated.  
 
Once the students have completed their stories, they will work in the classroom, Technology Lab, and in their art class to create their books. This process will challenge the students to use their imagination, write creatively, and work cooperatively to produce their books. 

This project goes beyond the regular curriculum by allowing students to use what they have learned in class to create an original book to share with family and friends.

Mrs. Williams (Jr. High Science)
Mrs. Williams will be purchasingan outdoor weather station to be placed outside the classroom. This weather station will monitor current weather conditions, including indoor and outdoor temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, dew point, and rainfall. The weather station includes weather forecast icons, moon phases, sunrise/sunset times, and can graph weather trends. 
 
Mrs. Williams will use the weather station in her 6 ^thgrade Earth Science classes. Students will keep a daily log to enter in temperature, wind speed, humidity, and pressure. They will use this information to study trends and possibly predict weather forecasts. Students will take turns being in charge of the weather data log, and giving forecasts.
 
These g​rants are funded through the Baldwin EMC Operation Round Up program, which uses change collected from the rounding up of participating members’ electric bills for charitable causes. Thank you Baldwin EMC!