STUDENTS AT MT. VERNON MIDDLE SCHOOL in Los Angeles will travel through the "Solar System and Beyond." Students at Dodson Middle School will "Go With the Flow" in their study of marine biology and the ocean environment, while students at Nobel Middle School will discover "How Loud is Loud" in their investigation of the physics of sound.

These classroom activities will all be made possible by the Chase Manhattan Bank Foundation, which awarded these schools $5,000 grants to fund these ambitious and innovative projects aimed at introducing students to hands-on learning activities.

"These projects represent a variety of ideas and lessons," said Carmen Luna, community development officer at Chase’s San Diego office. "It’s always refreshing to see the positive impact you (teachers) have on the lives of young Angelinos in our schools," Luna told grant-winning teachers during a recent reception held in their honor.

Dodson, Mt. Vernon and Nobel middle schools received the grants from the CAL Grant Program, which may be used for all activities directly related to active learning instruction, such as staff development, instructional materials and supplies, on- and off-site projects, workshops and seminars.

Dodson Middle School received its grant for "Go With the Flow," a thematic science curriculum in which eight-grade students investigate the physical, chemical, and biological features of the world’s oceans. Mt. Vernon’s project is an interactive astronomy lesson that will enhance students’ language arts, math, science, technology and communications skills. At Nobel, sixth-grade students will study the physics of sound and the effects of noise pollution on the environment, the anatomy of the ear and animal adaptation to different sound frequencies.

"Astronomy is definitely an area where we would like to add more interactive activities and this grant will make that happen," said Bernadette Bennett, project director of Mt. Vernon’s Solar System project. "The Chase Active Learning Grant is just what we were looking for."

Margie Hickman, project director of Nobel’s "How Loud is Loud" project said her curriculum was driven by that school’s newly acquired Internet access.

"We had a real desire to integrate science subjects and the Internet will give us a chance to work with other schools around the world that are doing the same thing," she said. "We are going to use software developed by the National Geographic Society for our project, and while they make beautiful lessons they are very expensive and there is no way we could do this without this type of grant."

Grants are sponsored by Chase Manhattan Bank Foundation and managed by the Public Education Network. Grants were screened by representatives from the Los Angeles Educational Partnership, LAUSD and Chase.