By Jason Kane
The Winchester Star
Winchester — Even the maddest of
scientists can’t work their magic without the right
potions and gizmos — and Catholic school kids need a few
supplies to pull off scientific feats, too.
So when a local group discovered that Sacred Heart
Academy’s new science lab needed to be stocked with more
supplies, they stepped up, pulled in some donors, and
wrote a giant check.
With $3,000 donated from the Air Force Association
(AFA) — a civilian group that promotes public
understanding of aerospace power and national defense —
science teacher Kim Dooley now plans to go on a shopping
spree for safety goggles, microscopes, hot plates, and
pulleys.
Overview
“This money means that each student will now have a
hands-on opportunity where they might have been an
observer before,” she said.
The Catholic school near Amherst Street completed its
new wing in January, creating additional space for
music, art, and science — but funding wasn’t available
to equip the squeaky-clean science lab with as much fun
stuff as Dooley hoped.
Meanwhile, an anonymous donor who attends Sacred
Heart of Jesus Catholic Church caught wind of the
shortfall and decided to donate $1,500 to the cause from
his own pocketbook.
Incidentally, the same man was a member of the Air
Force Association’s Northern Shenandoah Valley chapter —
so the money multiplied.
The chapter convinced the Virginia Air Force
Association Educational Fund and the Air Force
Association Headquarters in Arlington to chip in $500
and $1,000, respectively.
The association’s interest in a middle school lab
stems from one of the AFA’s core goals: to promote
learning in science, technology, education and math.
And it’s particularly important to “bring young
children into this type of education early,” said Norman
Haller, the group’s president.
“If we can get two of these kids in here to be
scientists, we’ve done our jobs,” said Thomas Shepherd,
vice president of aerospace education for the group.
Among the science gear to be purchased will be 10
pairs of safety goggles to help kids participate in
experiments safely; five microscopes to allow them get a
closer look at the structure and movement of cells; 10
electric hot plates for experiments involving kinetic
energy, thermal energy, and chemical reactions; 15
tabletop pulleys; and a “transformation of energy”
device.
Lastly, some of the money will be used to buy an
aquarium, because a science room wouldn’t be complete
without something to help students learn to take care of
another living thing, the AFA members said.
The students will probably love that opportunity,
Dooley said.
“They already like to bring me dead things to
inspect,” she said, laughing. “We have science happening
here spontaneously every day.”
In coming months, AFA members have committed to
returning to the classroom as guest speakers to discuss
everything from gravity, rockets, and missiles to the
process of refueling aircraft.
All of that high-level science stuff is a far cry
from middle school science, the AFA delegation admitted.
But even rocket scientists have to start somewhere.
— Contact Jason
Kane at
jkane@winchesterstar.com
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