![\"Cindy](\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/IMG_4249-Becker-posed.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cOur school of 800-plus students has a physical science laboratory and well-organized science lab program because of Cindy,\u201d explained John B. Dey PTA President Pamela Faraino. \u201cShe has worked with each grade level to customize two to three science labs per grade level, per school year. Focusing on SOL curriculum or needed areas of improvement, each class experiences and conducts hands-on experiments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only does Becker collaborate with teachers on every grade level, Faraino added, but she designs the grade-level experiments, sets up all the labs in advance and leads the students through the stations.<\/p>\n
Becker attributes the science program\u2019s success to the support of many dedicated volunteers. \u201cOur science lab program brings in many parents that would otherwise not volunteer,\u201d she said. \u201cMany of them have expertise in the field that is contained in the lab, and they are able to share with the students how they would use what they are learning in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parents helping with a recent third-grade lab on simple machines needed to recall their own grade school lessons about the pulley, lever, wheel and axle, screw, wedge and inclined plane.<\/p>\n
Where does a fulcrum need to be placed to provide the most leverage? <\/em><\/p>\n Which simple machines are found in the compound machines of a clock, can opener and bicycle? How does the slope of an inclined plane impact the force needed to raise a given weight?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAwww,\u201d said the students in unison, not wanting to switch because they were clearly having so much fun with the simple machines at their current stations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is breathtaking to watch young minds discover science, and Cindy has joyfully brought science alive at our school,\u201d said Faraino, one of a half dozen volunteers assisting in the lab.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with students, teachers and parents, Cindy is a delight,\u201d said John B. Dey principal Beth Bianchi. Bianchi was thrilled to be reunited with Becker at John B. Dey after seeing the positive impact of her volunteer service at Old Donation Center, where Bianchi was an assistant principal.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is a smart and an innovative thinker,\u201d Bianchi said. \u201cThere is no box that can hold all of the ideas that Cindy has to share. She knows no limits when it comes to creating opportunities for students to think critically and experience higher level thinking opportunities in math and science.\u201d<\/p>\n Math is another focus of Becker\u2019s volunteer service, noting that \u201cmath is important, too.\u201d She visits Michelle Reed\u2019s third-grade class every Wednesday to review math skills with up to three students who need to spend more time on a particular lesson. Said Reed, \u201cMy students love her and my parents are grateful for her commitment in promoting student achievement of students she doesn\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n When people learn that Becker has more time on her hands, they may enlist her help at other schools.<\/p>\n She was already recruited by a friend who teaches at Lynnhaven Elementary to help with science experiments in her class. Becker would like to volunteer more at Great Neck Middle School, and perhaps her alma mater, Cox High School, will benefit from her service when her son becomes one of the Falcons this fall.<\/p>\n At John B. Dey, they are grateful for all of Becker\u2019s efforts, which have encouraged others to get involved. \u201cWe are privileged to have many volunteers. I believe we are in this fortunate spot because of inclusive volunteers like Cindy,\u201d said Faraino. \u201cNot only is her individual impact great, she has also created many opportunities for people to have meaningful volunteer opportunities within our school.\u201d<\/p>\n Bianchi is also grateful for the opportunities Becker has provided to students, opening their eyes to all that science and math have to offer. She declared, \u201cThere is no doubt in my mind that as a result of the tireless efforts of this fabulous lady that we have more engineers, scientists and mathematicians in the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n To find ways you can get involved, visit the division\u2019s Get Connected page at <\/em>vbschools.com\/getconnected<\/a> and find volunteer opportunities available in VBCPS schools. For more information about the <\/em>Volunteers in Education<\/a> program as a whole, visit the page to learn more about the service of VBCPS volunteers.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why has Cindy Becker, a Target pharmacist and mother of two sons, spent nine years volunteering weekly at John B. Dey Elementary School? Her answer is simple. \u201cBecause I want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3650,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3646\/revisions\/3650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a>After eight minutes, Becker blinked the lights to indicate that it was time to rotate to a new station.<\/p>\n<\/a>Though Becker intends to hand over the reins of managing the science lab to others when her two boys transition next year to middle and high school respectively, she plans to continue assisting John B. Dey students with math in classrooms like she has in Reed\u2019s class. She also hopes to have more time to provide math enrichment to advanced learners who need extra challenges to extend their learning.<\/p>\n