On behalf of the fifth- and sixth-grade students at Munsey Park, we would like the community to know how much we love the SMARTBoards that are in our classrooms. Using them makes our lessons much more interesting and fun. The teacher has access to the Internet, which gives us much information. They are great!

We are very happy to hear that the Tower Foundation has a goal of buying SMARTBoards for every classroom in the Manhasset school district. It makes us very happy because then all of our sisters, brothers and friends in all of the grades will get the same benefit of using the SMARTBoards.

Please support the Tower Foundation and help them reach this goal.

Riley Garcia, Munsey Park Student Council President

Thomas Duran, Munsey Park Student Council Vice President

Monday evening, Jan. 28, I attended a demonstration at Shelter Rock Elementary School on the use of Interactive Whiteboards in the classroom. I was familiar with it since my second grade son has one in his classroom and is always talking about all the amazing things they are able to do in class. Even with this knowledge I was blown away by how this system works.

The days of a teacher droning away at the chalkboard as the children diligently copy the information in their notebooks is over. The use of textbooks that are outdated before the ink is even dry is over. With this system specialized computer software is used to project images from a computer screen onto a large, touch-sensitive surface. The computer is manipulated via the whiteboard using a finger, a pen or other specialized devices. They are able to access all the information the Internet has to offer and incorporate it into their lessons. This type of technology has now become the recognized standard in a majority of public and private schools throughout the country.

Quite simply, what this does is make lessons come alive!

Last week the children in Mrs. Weinstein's second grade class did not just read about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech, they witnessed it! Larger than life they saw Dr. King make his speech, they saw the faces of the people marching. What they are learning now in school is tangible to them, it is not just words on a page. Think of how this impacts their learning! My son does not go to a flat wall map and point to an outline of Hawaii. He walks to the Whiteboard and accesses satellite photos, he is able to see the lava flowing from volcanoes, he hears the surf crashing on the beaches. Unfortunately, my praise and examples cannot do justice to all this technology has to offer our children.

My children are currently learning about the difference between needs and wants. An interactive whiteboard in every classroom in our district is a need.

The Tower Foundation of Manhasset is devoting its fundraising efforts for 2007/2008 towards installing Whiteboards throughout the district. All funds donated to the Tower Foundation go to this goal. The cost to have one of these systems in every classroom is about $400,000. If every family who has a child in the schools donated we would be well on our way to that goal. Information about the Tower Foundation can be found at www.towerfoundation.com.

I feel I should note, to all the skeptics, I am not on the committee for the Tower Foundation. I am a parent who sees the necessity of bringing our children forward in 21st century technology and providing them with the tools to excel in academics.

We are a community that values education and provides our children with every advantage. This will impact their learning throughout all their years in the Manhasset Schools. We need to keep moving forward to prepare our children for the next step in their education.

A little help from everyone in the community will make a tremendous impact on the quality of the learning experiences our children will have in the classroom.

Karen Corcoran

As the executive director of the Manhasset/Great Neck EOC, I would like to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to the Manhasset Press for its coverage of the recent HGTV Change the World contest and the many people who took the time to vote for Long Island on the HGTV website. Unfortunately, we were not selected as one of the winning communities, but our Hagedorn Community Center will be the recipient of some rehabilitation/renovation work through a collaboration between Rebuilding Together and HGTV.

I would also like to thank those of you who have responded so generously to the appeal letter we sent out in November as well as those of you who supported the Manhasset/Great Neck EOC and Adventures In Learning Second Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Gospel Brunch.

The generosity and support of individual community residents, area businesses, local foundations, civic, community and faith-based organizations are what make it possible for us to continue to provide quality programming in a safe and nurturing environment.

Thank you, again, for your support.

Stephanie Chenault

Executive Director

Manhasset/Great Neck EOC