Wellesley Education Foundation 2004 Fall Grant Awards Home - Index

Elementary Schools

Teaching & Learning Mathematics with Understanding
Jen MacPherson: Bates, Fiske, Sprague
Funding will provide for the purchase of multiple copies of Making Sense: Teaching and Learning , Mathematics with Understanding, one for each classroom teacher, principal and special educator at the participating schools. Each school will form study groups to examine the critical features of mathematics that promote teaching and learning with understanding. They will also help to foster a culture of inquiry about mathematics teaching and learning within each participating school.

Integrating High Tech Learning in the Content Areas
Karen Poole: Hardy
Funding allows for the acquisition of a digital video camera, digital camera, and scanner for the use of the 3rd and 4th grade. Teachers will be trained to use the new equipment and successfully integrate the technology into the science and social studies curricula. This will enable students to revisit experiences in units that include: insects, sound, geology, matter, climate and Wellesley and Boston neighborhoods and geographical sights. Teachers and students will create a library of video footage and digital pictures for future use.

K & 1 Screening & Early Intervention
Clare Kehrer: Fiske
Fiske School was chosen last year by a town wide Literacy Committee to pilot teacher designed Kindergarten screening measures. This grant will allow accurate identification, with the use of The Phonological Awareness Kit, of those children at risk in learning to read. The K teachers and Fiske Specialists will use this newly gained information to drive their teaching by providing small group and individualized early intervention instruction to develop phonemic awareness.

Collection of "Big Books" to Enhance Teaching of Spanish.
Katharine Odell: All Elementary Schools
Funding for "Big Books" will allow students to follow a shared enlarged text while listening to a native Spanish speaker read, thus aiding in assimilation of these qualities of speech into their second language. Oral Expression and comprehension of thematic information will be positively effected.

Pedometer Power
Joyce Tolken: all Elementary and WMS students
Funding will provide for the purchase of three sets of 25 pedometers. Each student in a given health and fitness class in grades 3 through 8 will be able to use a pedometer for that class period as a way to assess effort, exertion, and personal performance. Lessons will be developed incorporating the use of pedometers for both inside and outside the class. Pedometers will also be shared among the staff.

Middle School Awards

WMS 2005 Mock Caldecott, Newberry & Printz Awards
Mary Holt-Wilson
Funding will allow for the purchase of six copies of the 10 Newbery and 10 Printz contenders as well as two copies of the 15 Caldecott contenders. Students and teachers will have access to the books in contention for the awards in the months of November, December, & early January. In mid-January, WMS will conduct a Mock Caldecott, Newbery & Printz selection. Grades 6-8 will participate in the Caldecott & Newbery voting, and eighth graders and faculty will participate in the Printz voting. Following the Mock Awards, the books will be housed in the WMS library as part of their collection. One elementary school will receive a set of the Caldecott contenders for their library.

Enhancing the Reading Room
Nancy C. Smith
Books purchased through this grant will provide a large number of hand-picked, high quality, age-appropriate, reading materials for the approximately 100 WMS student who have been identified as reading below their grade level. Currently, there is a severe shortage of reading materials to meet these students' independent reading level needs. The addition of these books will decrease the stigma these students feel when reading current offerings of books that are clearly different, and aid in the long-term goal of raising reading achievement.

High School Awards

Diversity Book Collection
Christine L. Wood, Alice Johnson
Funding will allow for the purchase of an extensive and comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of diversity titles for the high school students and staff. These books will be a valuable addition to the history, humanities, English, and social studies curriculum areas. They will support the Junior History Thesis Paper, Global Marketing project, and the sophomore world religions assignment.

Filming Global Change Scientist Student Talks in DV CAM
Rita Chang
Funding will allow the hiring of a professional camera and audio team to film the first of two 2 hour sessions with scientists ("Talks with Global Change Scientists Series" - funded by WEF in February 2004) in DV CAM format. The scientists will discuss global environmental change issues including climate change, renewable energy technologies, worldwide ice ages, oceanography, and the role of biology in regulating planetary systems with students. WHS TV/Video students will observe the work of the professionals in order to film the remaining two speakers in the series. 9th grade science students in future years will view the tapes as part of the curriculum.

Performing Arts Xylophone
Sandi Nicolucci, Steven Scott, Akiko Fujimoto
Funding will assist in the acquisition of a xylophone for the high school instrumental ensembles. The funding is in partnership with POPS. The xylophone will be regularly used by the Orchestra, Concert Band, Wind Ensemble, and by the Pit Orchestra for school musicals.

Presentation by Urban Improv
Richard Deppe, Kim O'Byrne
The WHS Gay/Straight Alliance will sponsor a presentation to 9th and 10th grade students focusing on homophobia and other forms of discrimination in support of the WHS improvement goal of "Building and Respecting Community". Two assemblies will be held and follow-up discussions will occur in 9th grade during Group Guidance and in 10th grade in the Health Unit.

Summer Reading Book in Common and Speaker
Ronna Frick
This summer the entire WHS community (grades 9-12, students, faculty, and staff) will read the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Next fall all classes will discus this book in English class and a speaker will come to speak on Asperger's Syndrome and other special needs in two separate assemblies. This project was very successful two years ago and enhanced common learning between all students and staff, and is intended to increase understanding and appreciation of diversity in the realm of special needs.

Building the High School Reading Program
Margaret Lynch
The Literacy Specialist is a new position at WHS. This grant will fund reading materials for both the specialist and students. Reading materials such as novels and content area passages at an appropriate independent level will help the 5-10% of students in the high school currently reading below grade level as well as those struggling at grade level. Instructional materials for the reading specialist will aid in decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and content area support.

System-wide Awards

Visual Arts Staff Professional Development through the National Art Education Association Convention
Thom Carter
Funding will allow the entire Wellesley Public School visual arts department to attend a five-day professional development conference in Boston. Sponsored by the National Art Education Association, the participants will be involved in workshops, panels, seminars, viewing 200 exhibitor booths and will hear keynote addresses by highly acclaimed professionals in the visual arts field. Professional Development Conferences of this nature provide new ideas and stimulation for educators, and the information gained will benefit both the educators and students.