TORRANCE TRIBUNE December 15, 2016 Page 3 Torrance Ed Foundation Awards $39,500 in STEM Grants to Teachers Grants to Support 48 Projects for K-12 Students Torrance Education Foundation (TEF) recently announced it has awarded $39,500 in grants for STEM-related learning projects at Torrance Unified School District (TUSD) schools through its third annual round of STEM Initiative Grant Awards. Forty-eight projects in District elementary, middle and high schools will take place in the 2016-2017 Academic Year, involving an estimated 6,000 students. Lead Teachers for each project will this week receive the grant awards through special access accounts at Torrance Unified School District (TUSD). Funds will be used to purchase materials and supplies for participatory projects focused on science, technology, engineering and/ or mathematics, and for competition entry fees. “Torrance Education Foundation has created a groundswell of excitement and enthusiasm with their STEM grants,” comments Torrance Unified Superintendent, Dr. George Mannon. “The District applauds the key role that the STEM Initiative Awards play in bringing interactive and hands-on extra-curricular learning opportunities to our students.” The response from our teachers this year was tremendous. The 48 winning projects represent a 55 percent increase over the 31 awards granted in 2015. Says TEF Board President Kevin O’Brien, “Our teachers, students and families are actively engaged in 21st Century learning, and they are doubling down on their experience and knowledge and building their competitive edge. We encourage our community to visit their neighborhood school for a Family STEM Night, or attend another STEM-related Club competition to witness firsthand how our students are preparing for their futures.” About the STEM Initiative Grants TEF created its STEM Initiative Grant Program in 2014 to encourage and enable teachers to offer K-12 TUSD students new and sustainable STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics) learning opportunities that promote collaboration among all schools. Application for TEF STEM Initiative Grants is open to all teachers in TUSD with an interest in promoting STEM subject learning. In the 2016 round of applications, TEF expanded the number of qualifying target projects from five to seven. Teachers submitted applications for qualifying expenses to coordinate and execute one of the following eligible programs: After School Engineering Club – targeting K-8 students, this club empowers youth to tackle real-world engineering problems using the engineering design process along with creativity, collaboration and mentorship using the “Engineering is Elementary” program protocol developed by the Museum of Science, Boston. Family STEM Night – introduction to STEM subjects through interactive workshops, handson activities, and other challenges for students, parents, and teachers, held on campus at school. Math Counts - a middle school club that incorporates team competition in geometry, combinatorics, counting, number theory, and algebra. First LEGO League/Robotics - a club for students in grades 4-12 that incorporates team competition; students engage in a “Challenge” by programming a robot to score points on a themed playing field. Science Olympiad – targeting both middle schools and high schools, this team competition give students the opportunity to compete in “events” pertaining to various scientific disciplines, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. CyberPatriots – Students in grades 6-8 and 9-12 train for the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. A partnership with the U.S. Air Force Association, CyberPatriots inspires students toward careers in cybersecurity, as well as other STEM disciplines critical to our nation’s future. Hour of Code – School-wide coding events across Grades K through 12 target participation by all students in order to provide computer science education for every child, not just a lucky few. • Torrance Education Foundation honored 2016 STEM Grant Awardees from Torrance Unified School District at a reception hosted by the Edelbrock Family Foundation at Vic’s Garage and vintage automotive museum in Torrance. Find out more about TEF’s STEM Initiative at www.TorranceEducationFoundation.org. Photo Provided by Torrance Education Foundation. • We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Herald Publications Holiday Schedule Our offices will be closed the following days for the holidays. Friday, December 23 | Monday, December 26 | Friday, December 30 Up and Adam Lady Saxons, Warriors Look to Stay on Top By Adam Serrao The North High Saxons girls’ basketball team has been nothing short of exceptional over the last few years. The team’s reign, under head coach Lauren Kamiyama, has lasted four years now--and with the way that things are looking, North’s domination may just be poised to continue at least one more season. While predicting the Pioneer League has traditionally been extremely difficult to do, Kamiyama and her roster of talented players have done their part to make things rather uncomplicated for all of those looking from the outside in at the league. The West High Warriors have been successful in their own right. While the Warriors have given the Saxons a run for their money, though, it continues to look like North may just have the firepower to keep their rivals from the west side at bay for another year longer. Coach Kamiyama has to go all the way back to 2012 to remember a season in which her basketball team did not finish in first place in the Pioneer League standings. That year, Kamiyama and the Lady Saxons finished in third place, yet still made it to the playoffs and all the way to a quarterfinal matchup. That was when the team was just scratching the surface of their potential. Since the 2012-‘13 season, the Lady Saxons have rattled off four first place seasons in a row, and in that same amount of time have only lost one game in league play (to the South High Spartans by four points). The victories that North High has racked up haven’t been for nothing. In the 2014-‘15 season, the Lady Saxons went on to win the CIF championship in an exciting one-point finish over El Dorado. Now, two years later, Kamiyama and her club are trying to reach back into the past and bring home another Sports Shorts See Up and Adam, page 4 Former Eagle Finds Cross Country Success at El Camino Brianna Harmon, former El Segundo High School cross country standout, continues her running ways at El Camino College. Brianna was the varsity team captain for the 2015 league champion cross country Eagles. Now running for the Warriors, she was the only female El Camino cross country runner to advance to the state championship round in Fresno 2016. Brianna with men’s cross country team in Fresno. Photos by Tom Harmon. Brianna Harmon with El Camino cross country coach Dean Lofgren. STARS & STRIPES A M E R I C A N M A D E C L O T H I N G S T O R E COME CHECK US OUT! 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