John Witherspoon Middle School Receives $500 Grant for Math, Science

For the fourth year in a row, Princeotn's John Witherspoon Middle School is the recipient of an ExxonMobil National Math and Science Initiative grant of $500.

Rocky Hill Exxon Station manager, Jaswinder Singh, nominated the school for the grant and presented it to Principal Jason Burr, who accepted it on behalf of the school on Nov. 20.

"We will use [this year's] grant to start an exciting project that we plan to make into an annual event," Burr said.

The plan involves, under the supervision of tech prep teacher Paul Skalka, the design and construction of full-sized boats by teams of students.
"The boats will be made entirely out of cardboard, with a piece of plastic to waterproof the bottom," explained Skalka. "They will have to hold two students, so they'll do displacement and buoyancy testing."

Eighth-grade science teachers Janet Guadino and Bill Merritt collaborate with Skalka for the physics components. Stay tuned for the final step: boat races across the JW pool.

The grant was presented by Singh and Joseph Hooven of Consumers Oil Corporation. Also present were two JW students, Mose Mahiri and Margaret Evered, two of the JW eighth graders who will directly benefit from the gift.

The Math and Science Initiative is a a nonprofit program that aims to promote advancement of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education throughout the country.