Middle School Could Get $100K Grant

Want to help win $100,000 worth of technology? Your vote can help the school do just that.

The middle school produced a video which has been chosen as one of the top 12 finalists by Samsung in its Solve for Tomorrow contest. Four winners will be chosen by a committee, and a fifth will be chosen by receiving the largest number of votes online. Click here to vote. Voting is open until March 12. You can vote once a day per email address.

The video’s top 12 status has already earned it $70,000 in technology, which will be provided by Samsung, DIRECTV, Adobe and Microsoft.

The project started when Doug Walker, the district’s supervisor of instructional technology, found out about a grant from Samsung and brought it to the attention of Dr. Nancy Harris, teacher of the Gateways gifted and talented program at the middle school.

The project called for students to solve an environmental problem using STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Harris decided that her students would create an app informing residents and visitors of the potential for invasive species infiltrating lakes and ponds in town.

“We have so many lakes and ponds here, including the largest lake in New Jersey (Lake Hopatcong), so we thought this would be a great topic for us,” Harris said.

Harris submitted the topic on behalf of the school, and was informed that the idea was among the top 25 of 1,500 participating schools. The school received a laptop, video camera and software with which to create the video.

Students began work on the video, which shows how the app would be created and what information it would provide, in November. They submitted it at the end of January. Students are now working on actually producing the app, and preparing it for release.

After the voting ends on March 12, winners will be notified on or about March 15. The top five will win an additional $30,000 in technology. In addition, four people from each of the winning schools will be invited to Washington DC in April for the Solve for Tomorrow Awards ceremony.