Lake Forest High School’s annual Grant Day happened last week as the LFHS Foundation generously awarded many of the school’s departments with funds to purchase new programs and items to improve the learning in each class.

Some of the big ticket items included: website programming for the journalism class, new projectors and microphones for the RMA, projectile launchers for physics classes, and new lab equipment and tables for many of the science classrooms.

“The grants really make all the difference. They allow us to serve students in many different ways,” English Department chair Mrs. Carlson said. ” They improve student learning with technology, furniture and different kind of learning experiences that we hear about and study at conferences.”

Students have already taken advantage of the new programs and equipment.

“It’s been really easy for me to edit pieces, schedule them ahead of time for publishing, and even publish other authors. I loved the added bonus of sports scores and polls, and the reception has been great,” Forest Scout Editor in Chief Katie Pierce said.  

The Foundation has also become completely responsible for the new underwater robotics program that is being run at the high school. The program has been provided with the tools and programs necessary to let students experiment with and create robotic systems. This program is unique to the high school and has given students the freedom to create their own curriculum.

All in all, the grants totaled over $147,000 and will help provide students with more hands-on learning opportunities in their classes.

 The Foundation and all of the grants have really allowed us to continually rethink what student learning looks like,”  Carlson said.