BOOKS, PLAYGROUND
EQUIPMENT AMONG GIFTS

By SUZANNE M. SCHMIDT

Students interested in science at Greco Middle School can soon celebrate, thanks to the Temple Terrace City Council.
Greco was one of 10 area schools that applied for school improvement grants through the City of Temple Terrace. Nine schools were awarded the grants, based on recommendations by the Temple Terrace School Support Committee. The city council members selected the grant recipients at its March 6 meeting.
Bart Birdsall, media specialist at Greco, applied for a $993.90 grant to purchase up-to-date science books for its library.
“I noticed during our last science fair there were a lot of students checking out books,” Birdsall said. “It occurred to me there was a lot of interest in science by our students. We are constantly having to replenish our science collection, because there are so many new breakthroughs and new theories. We can survive on an old fiction collection, but science is not like fiction. Science is constantly evolving.”
It was a tough decision for Birdsall. He had difficulty determining a specific request since there are so many needs.
“It is a real tug of war,” Birdsall said. “We never have enough money for books for all the sections. I always have to choose one section and try to replenish and then I can move onto another one.”
He said he chose science books because they are additions he thinks the whole school can benefit from.
“We really need to beef up the science collection,” Birdsall said. “It might be a way to help with the science fair, which is a school-wide project. It not only helps the students, it helps the teachers as well. I was very happy when I found out we were awarded the grant.”
Birdsall submitted a list of books and DVDs he will buy for the media center. Some specific book topics he sought included biology, astronomy, body sculpting, cells, cloning, global warming and recycling.
“I was trying to find subjects that someone could use to spring board into creating a science project,” Birdsall said. “I wanted to get books that would pique the interest of the students. Every book that I picked is up to date and was published within the last few years.”
Gabi Unanue, seventh-grader at Greco, said she is excited there soon will be new science books.
“We have a lot of books with old information in it,” Unanue said. “Lots of things have changed since those books were published. Many of the books still have Pluto listed as a planet.”
Tiffany Kissinger said she is happy too, but for a different reason.
“I am glad they will be getting more science books in the library,” Kissinger said. “There were not enough books for everybody. When we have to find a book to do a book report on, it is always hard to find a book.”
Greco science teacher Iris Willis-Boody can’t wait for the books to be ordered.
“We need to have more current science titles,” Willis-Boody said. “Birdsall chose the books based on input from the science teachers here. He knew what our curriculum was and he knew where our biggest shortages were.”
Principal Judith Kennedy knew about the grants and encouraged Birdsall to apply for one.
“The principals in Temple Terrace are in very close contact with the City of Temple Terrace,” Kennedy said. “We appreciate the support of the city. Our school continuously needs support and we are grateful to Temple Terrace for helping us.”
Kennedy said she anticipates that more of her teachers will apply for future grants.
“We are going to need funding to have a new math computer lab wired up,” Kennedy said. “We are always working on beautification projects, we are looking to get fencing around the school and we always need more books.”
Temple Terrace Elementary School, Riverhills Elementary School, Terrace Community Middle School and King High School also applied for and received grants from the city council.
Temple Terrace Elementary was granted $500 for its Math Super Stars program, a supplemental 25-week tool to help students excel in math.
Riverhills elementary received three grants – $633.95 for reading homework backpacks, $696 for new preschool playground equipment and $720 for its We the People instructional fifth-grade program about the U.S. Constitution.
Terrace Community Middle School was awarded $429.96 for educational craft products, $497 for new books in its media center and $469 to purchase learning materials about nutrition.
King High School $500 request for books, activity materials and transportation subsides for students in its pre-kindergarden program for disadvantaged children in the community was also granted.
Gwen Mora, member of school support committee, said most of the school grant applications met the criteria.
“We look at the population that will be served by the grant,” Mora said. “We look at the goals of the project, the actions or activities planned and the evaluation component. We like to know how well things work out after we award the money. We took into consideration all of those things and awarded different point totals to each.”
The city council awards about $5,000 in school improvement grants three times a year to schools in Temple Terrace.