POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. — If you walked by the S.T.E.A.M. Lab at Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School Friday, you’d hear the giggles of about a dozen children building.

“We’re working on a haunted house,” one 10-year-old boy said.

This room is filled with creativity. Scissors, crayons and glue. The little ones working as a team.

Children from preschool to 5th grade use the lab. Last year, the lab was overflowing with excitement. A bunch of little eggs sat in an incubator, waiting to hatch.

“When they first come out of the eggs it’s slimy in their hair and they’re all wet,” one little boy said. “Then a few days later they’re all dry and they look really puffy and cute.”

“Everybody even staff had to stop by S.T.E.A.M. Lab to check on the chicks each morning,” Paula Ledbetter, the head of school, said.

For Blessed Sacrament, the “A” in S.T.E.A.M. means agriculture.

The school was able to do this project because of the Agriculture in the Classroom grant. These are grants awarded nationwide. According to the Virginia Farm Bureau, the Commonwealth’s division of the program gave out 62 grants for the 2018-2019 school year, totaling $30,000. The grants will impact 50 localities and will give some 25,000 young people experience with agriculture and gardening.

Blessed Sacrament was awarded the grant again this year. Ledbetter hopes to use the money to expand their outdoor garden to be indoors too. Right now, each grade has their own little plot.

“They take ownership of the gardens here,” she explained. “They love to get their hands dirty, they get so excited picking out what’s going to go in.”

They plan to use the funds to take a field trip to see what it’s like on a farm. That farmer will also be stopping by the classroom.

Ledbetter says Powhatan is a somewhat rural community and they want to make sure the young people who come to school here learn about the environment and industry.

The is Catholic and welcome all faiths. Ledbetter says the grant also allows them to combine a love of learning with faith.

“Thought S.T.E.A.M., through science, in general, we feel that it is our way of fulfilling Pope Francis’ challenge to us as Christians to take care of the Earth and to take care of God’s creation,” she said.

For the kids and teachers, it’s also about the joys of learning too.

“They’re able to be creative and have fun with science and learning and agriculture,” Ledbetter said.

Here’s a complete list of the schools that were awarded grants:

  • Albemarle County: Crozet Elementary School
  • Alexandria: Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School
  • Appomattox County: Appomattox Elementary School
  • Bedford County: Montvale Elementary School
  • Botetourt County: Lord Botetourt High School
  • Caroline County: Bowling Green Elementary School
  • Chesterfield County: Grange Hall Elementary School, Alberta Smith Elementary School, Spring Run Elementary School, J.B. Watkins Elementary School and Providence Middle School
  • Fairfax County: Belvedere Elementary School, Centreville Elementary School and Justice High School
  • Fauquier County: W.G. Coleman Elementary School
  • Franklin County: Windy Gap Elementary School
  • Fredericksburg: Fredericksburg United Methodist Preschool
  • Giles County: Giles County Technology Center
  • Grayson County: Grayson County High School and Grayson County CATE Center
  • Hampton: Spratley Gifted Center, Hunter B. Jones Elementary School and George P. Phenix Elementary School
  • Harrisonburg: Lacey Spring Elementary School and Stone Spring Elementary School
  • Henrico County: Ruby F. Carver Elementary School, Maybeury Elementary School and Ratcliffe Elementary School
  • Isle of Wight County: Isle of Wight Academy
  • King William County: Cool Spring Primary School
  • King William & King and Queen counties: King William/King and Queen 4-H
  • Loudoun County: Frederick Douglass Elementary School and Potowmack Elementary School
  • Lynchburg: R.S. Payne Elementary School
  • Manassas: Grace E. Metz Middle School
  • Newport News: Hampton Roads Academy
  • Norfolk: Maury High School
  •  Northumberland County: Northumberland Elementary School
  • Orange County: Gordon-Barbour Elementary School and Orange Elementary School
  • Powhatan County: Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School
  • Prince William County: The Nokesville School
  • Richmond: J.B. Fisher Elementary School and Lucille Brown Middle School
  • Roanoke County: Woodrow Wilson Middle School
  • Rockingham County: Rockingham County Public Schools, J. Frank Hillyard Middle School and Spotswood High School
  • Russell County: Honaker Elementary School
  • Scott County: Dungannon Intermediate School
  • Shenandoah County: Strasburg High School
  • Southampton County: Southampton Middle School
  • Spotsylvania County: Post Oak Middle School and Massaponax High School
  • Stafford County: Hartwood Elementary School
  • Suffolk: Mack Benn Elementary School, Elephant’s Fork Elementary School and Pioneer Elementary School
  • Virginia Beach: Kempsville Meadows Elementary School and Seatack Elementary – An Achievable Dream Academy
  • Washington County: Meadowview Elementary School and Rhea Valley Elementary School

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