WEEF funded $20,017 to 19 different initiatives for the 2013-2014 school year. Congratulations to our grant recipients!
2013-2014 Grants
1.) Audiobooks - Third graders at State Street School will receive quality literature in the form of audiobooks to enable underachieving readers who have difficulty decoding words to practice higher-order comprehension skills with their peers allowing them to think about, enjoy and respond to literature critically.
2.) Cameras in the Classroom - High School English students will have an alternate, non-written means to demonstrate their proficiency as readers through use of video cameras in the classroom. Video cameras will integrate common core standards and be available for students to work collaboratively to demonstrate what they know, think, want and question.
3.) Culinary Arts POS System - Culinary Arts students will get to design, edit, create and utilize a real live point of sale system through an iPad and will run a full service restaurant that will cater to the public.
4.) Currently Current - Westerly Middle School students will have the opportunity to learn the latest news about their world through Chromebooks. They will benefit from working collaboratively and become motivated and engaged by showing their learning through projects with this technology.
5.) DCS Learning Garden - Dunn’s Corners School students will create a school garden with beds that relate to grade specific content in the curriculum and will benefit from experiential learning.
6.) Interactive Metronome - WEEF has contributed to funding for an interactive metronome to be used at Easter Seals in Wakefield, where over half of the clients are Westerly school children. A computerized Interactive Metronome uses images and sound to greatly enhance concentration, language processing, balance, coordination and sequencing in children with special needs. It will be used in speech, occupational and physical therapies to expand the academic competence and social skills of local students.
7.) Lego & Lego Robotics Group - Elementary aged children and their caregivers will have an opportunity to come together and engage in creative play, apply mathematics and engineer Lego creations that move, race, carry objects and fly in a Lego Robotics Club based at Tower Street School Community Center.
8.) Reluctant Readers Club - Westerly Middle School will create a club for 6th and 7th graders who avoid reading but show leadership potential. Many students have little opportunity to enhance vocabulary, increase reading skills, or sustain text-based critical thought due to reliance on technology. Students will be able to explore books, ask questions and ultimately enjoy reading.
9.) Serendipity - Teachers, students, parents and other community members will be able to join together and find common ground in exploring critical questions through literature and non-fiction. S.E.R.E.N.D.I.P.I.T.Y stands for Support Exciting Reading partnerships, Experiencing New Ideas, Discovering Infinite Possibilities In pairs; Together You create the wonder.
10.) SSS Blended Learning Classroom - Grade 3 students at State Street School will be exposed to technology and educational math computer programs to create a “blended classroom” which provides differentiation to all students and enables them to use technology daily.
11.) Structured Recess Initiative - Elementary schools will be implementing a structured recess model to support positive play, increase self-esteem, decrease bullying opportunities & help children achieve better academically.
12.) Technology in the Community Workplace - Transition Academy students (18-21 year old population) will have a level playing field when transitioning from schooling to the vocational world with the help of Chromebooks. This technology will assist students whose ability to communicate is impaired and will help them understand what skills they need to acquire to become an integral part of their town.
13.) Ten Ukuleles - Elementary aged students have been responding favorably to the new ukulele program which launched last year with the help of WEEF. Ten additional ukuleles were purchased to establish two full sets to be shared amongst the four elementary schools.
14.) The Walking Bus - An initiative to improve student attendance & school readiness for at risk children in low socio-economic neighborhoods. It is a non-vehicular means of transporting a student on foot to a school or community center.
15.) Tooling Up For Engineering - Students at the high school will be exposed to an assortment of tools to help design, layout, build and test engineering challenges.
16.) Think Fun Math Games - 50 families participating in the Westerly Parent Academy’s interactive math workshop will receive a highly motivating math game to be played at home. Current data suggests that parent involvement leads to school success and the WPA will provide this opportunity.
17.) TSSCC Butterfly Garden - A service learning project which will involve 9 programs located at Tower Street School Community Center in the design and development of a butterfly garden to benefit the Westerly community.
18.) TSSCC Greenhouse - An addition to the Grow & Go Seek Garden which involves the construction of a greenhouse to extend the gardening season & increase learning opportunities for students of all ages.
19.) The Magic School Bus - WEEF’s 2013-2014 Focus Grant for an Interactive Whiteboard System was awarded to Kristen Federico for her “Magic Bus” proposal. Kristen plans to bring “magic” into her classroom the way Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus series did. Ms. Frizzle has an anthropomorphic school bus which takes her students on daily field trips to impossible places, such as the solar system, the bottom of the ocean or even inside a human body. Mrs. Federico’s students will get to experience learning in the same interactive, innovative and creative way. This technology will allow Mrs. Federico to take her students on field trips to the Bronx Zoo, Times Square or Niagara Falls without leaving the classroom! She will have the ability to reach students at different levels and appeal to different learning styles. Click here for an update on the Magic School Bus initiative.
To view 2012-2013 Grants click here
2.) Cameras in the Classroom - High School English students will have an alternate, non-written means to demonstrate their proficiency as readers through use of video cameras in the classroom. Video cameras will integrate common core standards and be available for students to work collaboratively to demonstrate what they know, think, want and question.
3.) Culinary Arts POS System - Culinary Arts students will get to design, edit, create and utilize a real live point of sale system through an iPad and will run a full service restaurant that will cater to the public.
4.) Currently Current - Westerly Middle School students will have the opportunity to learn the latest news about their world through Chromebooks. They will benefit from working collaboratively and become motivated and engaged by showing their learning through projects with this technology.
5.) DCS Learning Garden - Dunn’s Corners School students will create a school garden with beds that relate to grade specific content in the curriculum and will benefit from experiential learning.
6.) Interactive Metronome - WEEF has contributed to funding for an interactive metronome to be used at Easter Seals in Wakefield, where over half of the clients are Westerly school children. A computerized Interactive Metronome uses images and sound to greatly enhance concentration, language processing, balance, coordination and sequencing in children with special needs. It will be used in speech, occupational and physical therapies to expand the academic competence and social skills of local students.
7.) Lego & Lego Robotics Group - Elementary aged children and their caregivers will have an opportunity to come together and engage in creative play, apply mathematics and engineer Lego creations that move, race, carry objects and fly in a Lego Robotics Club based at Tower Street School Community Center.
8.) Reluctant Readers Club - Westerly Middle School will create a club for 6th and 7th graders who avoid reading but show leadership potential. Many students have little opportunity to enhance vocabulary, increase reading skills, or sustain text-based critical thought due to reliance on technology. Students will be able to explore books, ask questions and ultimately enjoy reading.
9.) Serendipity - Teachers, students, parents and other community members will be able to join together and find common ground in exploring critical questions through literature and non-fiction. S.E.R.E.N.D.I.P.I.T.Y stands for Support Exciting Reading partnerships, Experiencing New Ideas, Discovering Infinite Possibilities In pairs; Together You create the wonder.
10.) SSS Blended Learning Classroom - Grade 3 students at State Street School will be exposed to technology and educational math computer programs to create a “blended classroom” which provides differentiation to all students and enables them to use technology daily.
11.) Structured Recess Initiative - Elementary schools will be implementing a structured recess model to support positive play, increase self-esteem, decrease bullying opportunities & help children achieve better academically.
12.) Technology in the Community Workplace - Transition Academy students (18-21 year old population) will have a level playing field when transitioning from schooling to the vocational world with the help of Chromebooks. This technology will assist students whose ability to communicate is impaired and will help them understand what skills they need to acquire to become an integral part of their town.
13.) Ten Ukuleles - Elementary aged students have been responding favorably to the new ukulele program which launched last year with the help of WEEF. Ten additional ukuleles were purchased to establish two full sets to be shared amongst the four elementary schools.
14.) The Walking Bus - An initiative to improve student attendance & school readiness for at risk children in low socio-economic neighborhoods. It is a non-vehicular means of transporting a student on foot to a school or community center.
15.) Tooling Up For Engineering - Students at the high school will be exposed to an assortment of tools to help design, layout, build and test engineering challenges.
16.) Think Fun Math Games - 50 families participating in the Westerly Parent Academy’s interactive math workshop will receive a highly motivating math game to be played at home. Current data suggests that parent involvement leads to school success and the WPA will provide this opportunity.
17.) TSSCC Butterfly Garden - A service learning project which will involve 9 programs located at Tower Street School Community Center in the design and development of a butterfly garden to benefit the Westerly community.
18.) TSSCC Greenhouse - An addition to the Grow & Go Seek Garden which involves the construction of a greenhouse to extend the gardening season & increase learning opportunities for students of all ages.
19.) The Magic School Bus - WEEF’s 2013-2014 Focus Grant for an Interactive Whiteboard System was awarded to Kristen Federico for her “Magic Bus” proposal. Kristen plans to bring “magic” into her classroom the way Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus series did. Ms. Frizzle has an anthropomorphic school bus which takes her students on daily field trips to impossible places, such as the solar system, the bottom of the ocean or even inside a human body. Mrs. Federico’s students will get to experience learning in the same interactive, innovative and creative way. This technology will allow Mrs. Federico to take her students on field trips to the Bronx Zoo, Times Square or Niagara Falls without leaving the classroom! She will have the ability to reach students at different levels and appeal to different learning styles. Click here for an update on the Magic School Bus initiative.
To view 2012-2013 Grants click here
