West metro school briefs: Grants awarded to 4 Wayzata education projects

The Wayzata Public Schools Education Foundation has selected four recipients for its "From Excellent to Exceptional" grant program. The projects, which will receive about $19,500 total in funding for 2014-15 programming, are:

• "Lego Robotics": Expansion kits for Lego Robotics project at all three middle schools. Submitted by Tyler Shepard.

• "Augmented Reality World Book Talk": Innovative and interactive book talk project using apps and technology to engage students in reading. Submitted by Brad Gustafson, Greenwood Elementary.

• "Polar Heart Rate Monitor Initiative": Heart rate monitors for all three of the district's middle schools to help achieve state-guideline fitness levels. Submitted by Kristine Miska and Shelly Mozey.

• "Teaching for Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling in the Elementary Spanish Classroom": Teacher education for TPR (Total Physical Response) to help facilitate all levels of Spanish learning at the elementary level. Submitted by Robyn Vethe.

Since 2007, the foundation's "From Excellent to Exceptional" grant program has provided nearly $140,000 to projects in Wayzata schools in a variety of academic areas, including reading and literacy, sensory research, math, science, fine arts and special education.

A team of students from Wayzata High School in Plymouth is among 11 teams of middle and high school students nationwide that will advance to April's national finals in the 2014 National Science Bowl in Washington, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced last week.

Wayzata High's team members are seniors Jayant Chaudhary, William Zeng and Nathan Stocking, junior Orien Zeng and sophomore Joseph Chen. For more information, go to http://tinyurl.com/lnr3xt5.

Monday, Feb. 17, will be a school day for kindergarten through 12th-grade students in the Eden Prairie district, Superintendent Curt Tryggestad has announced.

Feb. 17 was initially scheduled as a day off for students and as a professional development day for teachers. Now it will serve to make up for instruction hours lost to school closings this exceptionally cold January.

The state requires public schools to accomplish a set number of instructional hours each year. Although districts build in a few extra hours each year to account for unexpected closures, Eden Prairie students have missed three school days on Jan. 7, 23 and 28.

Eden Prairie parents, staff and community members are invited to attend one of two input sessions as part of the district's budget-reduction process. The district is anticipating a budget gap of about $4 million for the 2014-15 school year.

Both sessions are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on the following dates:

• Wednesday, Feb. 5, east commons, Eden Prairie High School.

• Thursday, Feb. 6, cafeteria, Central Middle School.

Session participants will help prioritize potential budget reductions for the 2014-15 school year and help to identify possible reductions for the 2015-16 school year, which will be needed if November's operating levy is not approved.

The district is asking individuals to register to attend a session. To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/n27v355.

KIM McGUIRE