February 2012
 

Amherst Planetarium - Gill School - Kindergarten & 3rd grade will go to the planetarium to see a show. Both grades are studying the Solar System at their level.

Birds of Prey - Gill School ---This program by Tom Ricardi provides information about the care of injured birds that he has and how they can or cannot adapt back to their natural environment.

Clay Supplement - Middle School Gr 7 & 8 - This grant will provide a "wedge board" which is used to help recycle and reuse clay.

Community Service Trip to Kentucky - TFHS Members of the Rise Up Class - This is the third trip to help the Kentucky community. The trip allows students the opportunity to expand their community service work while investigating and experiencing the challenges the Appalachian community faces.

Dining in Style - GFMS Grade 6 - Family & Consumer Science curriculum has been reinstated This grant will provide some of needed supplies for students to have hands on life skills experiences as they demonstrate proper table setting, table service techniques and manners.

Dr. Seuss Birthday Celebration will be an evening reading event for all Montague Elementary School teachers and students. As a means to encourage family engagement, this grant will purchase "The Little Yellow Trolleycar to be read by author, Marie Bartlett. A copy will go home with all families.

ESL American Culture Trip to Boston - TFHS This grant will provide an overnight experience in Boston, visiting Museum of Science , Boston Aquarium and other cultural highlights.

Food for Thought Program - GFMS 7th grade - This grant will provide some of the funds needed to run the program. Each food bag will provide a weekend supply of nutritious foods and recipes for children when school lunch and breakfast is unavailable. It is our hope these resources will support health, behavior, and achievement of every student that participates.

Gill School Community Gardens - Gill School Girl Scouts and whole school - This grant will help to fund a community garden that was started last year at the Gill School . The Girl Scouts, from Gill, will begin the project and it will then flow into the classrooms.

Inquiry-based Exploration of wind turbine technology - TFHS 24 Students and on-going next year This grant will enable the teacher to take a workshop at UMASS on WindWise Education for middle and high school levels on the use of the AL Wind Turbine kit. In class, the students will explore wind turbine technology by trying different turbine configurations.

Magic Tree House Adventure to the Stars - MES - Hillcrest building 54 Kindergarteners - This grant will enable the kindergarteners to go to the Amherst Planetarium to view a planetarium show. It will be a great enhancement to their Tools of the Mind curriculum unit on the moon, using the Magic Tree House series.

Non-fiction Literature and Music from the 1900's - MES - Sheffield building grade 4 - This grant will allow the fourth grade teachers to expand on a nonfiction unit in their LA block. They will purchase additional biographical books, and their CD's, on famous singers and musicians.

Pioneer Valley Symphony Educational Concert - MES and Gill Schools grades 3 & 4 - This grant will help defray the cost of buses for students to attend a special performance of the PV Symphony. Prior to attending, the students will learn about the different components of a symphony orchestra.

Sensory Integration and Enhanced Student Achievement - MES Sheffield building grade 2 - This grant will purchase sensory integration materials that will benefit regular education students. Teachers have seen how these materials help the Special Education Student and feel that regular ed students would also benefit.

Arts Night Exhibition - TFHS 100-150 exhibits-- materials for students to formally mount and frame their projects. The Arts Night will bring in the community to view student work. 

 

October 2011

Postcards from the River's Edge - Gill & Montague Elementary Schools. Pre K-6. The project is to create "a sense of place" for the Gill and Montague elementary students. This is a whole year study of bridges and how bridges connect communities. This grant will "bridge" the two communities. The Post Card activity will enhance the study of the two communities. Students will exchange information of important places/landmarks in their towns.

Career of the Month - TFHS--- A "Career of the Month" workshop in conjunction with Franklin Hampshire Regional Employment board will be offered for the entire student body. Each month will highlight a 'career cluster' where students may sign up for discussions with a particular career

Field Trip to Harvard Research Forest - Gill students This grant will support curriculum studies in Grade 2 with the forest habitat and Grade 6 will enhance their study of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid.

Field Trip to the Psychology Dept. at UMASS Amherst - TFHS - AP Psychology students This grant will enable the AP students to actually see and hear firsthand, about the research studies that are being conducted at UMASS. They will have the opportunity to speak with some researchers as well as observe a highly functioning laboratory in the field of Psychology research.

GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Activity Support --TFHS--Gr 9-12 - 20 Students. This grant will enable the students to attend some events and to purchase various materials to promote LGBT awareness.

Image-Making Within the Writing Process: Focus on Nature - MES Sheffield Building---SPED room. Image-making Within the Writing Process is a program being used in this classroom. This grant will allow the students to join art and writing. The grant will allow for purchase of art materials and bookbinding materials so the students each receive a book of their work. These books will be shared at a 'reading event' during school, and at the end of the year.

Mathematics in Technicolor -  TFHS math students. This grant will provide a color printer with a built-in Ethernet connections. It will allow the teacher to print out notes generated from the class that were created on the SMART Board. Some of the notes are very sophisticated and trying to reproduce them, by copying them, is almost impossible. Having the ability to make copies of these notes will help the students greatly, in that they can spend more time engaged in the lesson than trying to reproduce the notes.

Picture this: Student Photography on Display - TFHS---approximately 40 digital photography and advanced graphic arts students. This grant will supply materials so that the students can professionally show their work in the community.

Rise Up Cares for Kids--TFHS - Gr 9-12 Rise Up Classes - This grant will provide materials to bake birthday cakes for children living in homeless shelters. They will also be baking cupcakes for the Griffin’s Friends, (an organization providing support for children receiving treatment for cancer at Baystate Medical Center) and for children to eat post-treatment. In addition, they hope to provide a meal once a month at the Family Inn. They also will be raising some of their money by holding bake sales through out the year. In addition, they use ‘guest bakers’ and the assistance of the bakers at Second Street Bakery.

Small Animals in the Classroom  - Montague Elementary School Sheffield building, and Gill Elementary School---Grade 2 – 67 students This grant will allow children to have hands-on exposure to real live animals in the classroom, provided by the Hitchcock Center. This opportunity will enhance their literature study of "Amazing Animals". It will also tie in their Science unit of mammals and forest habitats.

Transition Calendar Marketing Job Project - TFHS Transition classroom--This grant will supply materials for the students to produce calendars and to sell them. The project will help these students prepare for employment through skills training, functional academics, on-site work experiences, and special projects. They will learn collaboration skills and hopefully gain self-confidence in their abilities.

Winter Wonderland--Gill Elementary - Grade 1 and Grade 2 This grant will help fund a field trip to Northfield Mountain where they offer programs for both science units of study: Mammals and Winter.