This Year's Project: VR Headsets
About Our Organization
Westwood Community School Foundation is an affiliate of the Siouxland Community Foundation. It was formed to provide financial and material resources to enhance the quality of education for the students and staff of the Westwood Community School District. The Westwood Community School Foundation provides grants to our teachers and staff, curriculum support to the school, and scholarships to graduating seniors annually.
Current Project: VR Headsets
Help us bring a whole new dimension of learning to our K-12 classrooms by purchasing VR headsets. Students will be immersed in learning, providing enhanced engagement and improving their knowledge retention. Students will travel to places they wouldn't otherwise be able to go. Arts, culture, math, science, engineering are just some of the subjects that can be enhanced with VR. Students studying our solar system will be able to stand on the surface of Mars or stand in space studying the constellations. They will be able to study our ecosystems by swimming with fish off the Great Barrier Reef, hunting with polar bears or standing next to a volcano. In addition to providing VR headsets, we'll also invest in teacher training to ensure they can effectively integrate VR into their lesson plans. While VR technology requires an initial investment, studies have shown it can improve learning outcomes. We plan to create a VR usage plan to ensure equitable access for all students. Learning at Westwood will never be the same!
A set of 8 VR that puts the student in the lesson. PK-12 students can go on a variety of lessons from seeing constellations in space to standing on Mars. See all the different categories below.
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Animals 3D
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Chemistry 3D
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Earth Science 3D
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Engineering3D
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Historical Objects3D
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Human Anatomy 3D
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Space 3D
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Fantasy and Sci-Fi 3D
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Mathematics 3D
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Arts and Culture 3D
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Skulls and Skeletons 3D
Teacher grants / Mini Grants
Project Details
Help us raise more funds to support our annual teacher grants and mini grants. Each year we provide up to $5,000.00 worth of teacher grants for our Pre-K to 12 teachers. In addition to that, we provide $100.00 mini grants to teachers that they can use for new activities or supplies in their classrooms. Teachers can use the mini grants up to once per school year. Please consider helping us reach our goal so that we are able to keep these grant opportunities available to our teachers!
To date we have provided 61 teacher grants totaling $28,459.00 and 23 mini teacher grants totaling $1,902.00.
GaGa Ball Pit
Project Details
Gaga is a fast paced, high energy sport played in an octagonal pit. The more players the better! Dubbed a kinder gentler version of dodge ball, the game is played with a soft foam ball, and combines the skills of dodging, striking, running, and jumping, while trying to hit opponents with a ball below the knees.
This set is made of structural composite boards and provide a custom order alternative option to treated or untreated wood and ships directly from the factory to you. This recycled plastic lumber product is manufactured from high quality HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), ultraviolet stabilizers, colorants and fiberglass strands to increase rigidity. Also, it is virtually free from splintering, warping, sagging and rotting.
Sphero Bolt Programmable Robots
Project Details
Funds will be used to expand and further support STEM education activities at Westwood Community School. Staff are attending training in the coming months focusing on incorporation of more coding activities into the school's 7th and 8th grade cirriculum. Research shows coding combines critical thinking with creativity, instills the concept of cause and effect, promotes teamwork, develops problem solving skills, and teaches persistence.
Our goal is purchase the Sphero BOLT Power Pack robotics kit and accessories including a 7" tablet, screen projector, and rubber carrying case. The gift to our school will include 15 Sphero BOLT promgrammable robots with accessories. These robots will be targeted to our Junior High students. The robots will allow students to expand on the programming skills learned in elementary classrooms and teach students more complex programming while completing educational activities.