By Susan Burton, Henry County Schools Communications Director
Paris, TN – Two Henry County School System teachers were presented with big checks from Tennessee Valley Authority Customer Relations Manager, Steven Moore and Paris Board of Public Utilities Vice President and Administrator of Finance, Bethany Edwards.
D & N Harrelson STEM teacher, Marcy Raus and Henry Elementary School STEM teacher, Stephanie Carothers wrote and were awarded grants for their middle school classrooms from the TVA Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Classroom Grant Program.
Raus received a $5000 grant to purchase Sphero bots for her students to learn computer programming skills as part of the computer science requirements for her classroom. The bots are about the size and shape of ping pong balls and will allow students to learn to program the bot or robot, control the robot’s movements, and maneuver the mini robots on student desks or classroom floors. Raus believes that hands-on learning is the most engaging way to learn about science and technology.
Carothers received a $1500 grant for her students to buy supplies for a raised garden bed for school and community use. The students will also enjoy hands-on learning by designing the beds and building them from the supplies they will purchase with the grant funds. Carothers plans to plant pumpkins this spring that will be the right size for next year’s fall semester harvest. There might be an interesting pumpkin drop or other fun experiments that will await students in the early part of next school year as a benefit from spring planning and planting. Each semester will bring new ideas for plants and foods to use at school and in the community.
Photo: TVA and BPU representatives at Henry School. Photo by Susan Burton.