Grants

• · Vinyl Printing and Cutting (SHS)

The purchase of this new printer will greatly expand the applications that students will be learning in the commonly used process of vinyl printing. It will allow students with the Technology and Engineering Education Program to create everything from decals and stickers to banners and textile graphics. While learning the skills involved, the approximately 60-80 students in the Graphic Design 1 and 2 classes can also apply these skills to projects for other departments and school organizations. 

• · Art Department Color Printer (SHS)

This new printer will replace a worn out black and white model and provide added flexibility and many additional uses, such as printing accurate reference images, digital images in computer art and other courses, and mixed media processes.

• · Flexible Seating for 1st Grade Teachers (SES)

These new seating options for students will support the implementation of new teaching methods requiring more involvement and movement from students. They will also help students feel more secure when working with more difficult and challenging material. The effectiveness for student learning of these seating options is supported by considerable research and by use by other teachers in the building.

• · Film Studies Movie Theater Experience (SHS)

The purchase will provide a top-quality experience of the movies viewed so that subtleties of shading, camera angles, lighting, etc. can be noted and discussed as part of the artistic presentation of the director. This will help students analyze a movie’s effects on a more sophisticated level.

• · Communication Boards for Outdoor Play Areas (SES)

These boards facilitate communication for individuals who have communication differences in speaking or verbal expression. These individuals will be able to communicate more easily with peers and teachers. On one side, the board has pictures depicting 48 basic words and concepts such as “throw,” “sit,” “come,” “swings,” “thirsty,” and “hurt” that students can point at to communicate with others.  The other side has letters and numbers arranged as a keyboard to allow a student to point and spell out their need, idea, or problem.

The number of students who use Alternative Augmented Communication (AAC) Devices has increased and those devices are difficult to use in a playground setting. The boards will make it much easier for these students to communicate and participate with others. 

Continued in next column.

•     ·Slab Roller Replacement (SHS) 

A slab roller rolls sheets of clay to the desired thickness, so that students can use it for their artistic creations. The old slab roller is inoperative and of inferior quality, and students spent class time rolling their own clay with wooden rolling pins, a laborious and inefficient use of their time. The new slab roller is very high quality, will operate efficiently, and will last for a long time. The 80+ students who take ceramics every year will all benefit by the addition of this equipment. 

• · IPadPro for Music Classes (MBA and SHS)

This technology will allow the choral Director to project the musical score a group is working on while in rehearsal.  The teacher can read from parts of the score and annotate them for the students, or she can quickly direct students to a section, zoom into it on the screen and highlight specific voicings, rhythms, or terms.  A page-turn pedal allows the director to turn the pages of the score with her feet, keeping her hands free for directing. The grant includes separate pedals for each school so that only the IPad needs to be transported.

• · Non-Permanent Vertical Surfaces for Curriculum Collaboration (MBA and SHS)

Research suggests that erasable, movable surfaces can stimulate more creative and useful problem-solving discussions than traditional approaches using paper posted on walls. These surfaces will be used primarily to enhance curriculum development and planning but will also be available for teachers to use them for problem solving in the classroom.

• · Outfitting the Robotics Club (MBA)

The grant will purchase robot kits that will allow students to develop their skills and compete in the regional Robotics competitions. Robotics is an important field within the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. Although students are introduced to robotics through the technology education curriculum, this club will allow students to pursue their interest in a much deeper and more concentrated way. 

• · Tuba for Middle School Band (MBA)

This grant will create another option for the many students now moving into 6th grade who want to continue their studying of an instrument. This tuba is ¾ size, specially sized for younger players who would like to try the Tuba. 

• · Traditions of Chinese Acrobats (MBA)

This grant will enrich the students’ lives, exposing them to arts in another culture by 

presenting a solo acrobatic performance. The performer will point out connections to Chinese art and culture and explains some rituals of the Chinese New Year and teach the audience some basic Chinese phrases.

• · Rockin’ Readers (SES)

This grant will establish a new section in the SES library where books that connect to music and performing arts are featured. All students at Somers Elementary attend both music and media every week. These books will facilitate cross curricular connections, foster a love of reading, enhance student understanding of our music curriculum, and enable students to continue learning outside the classroom and at home with friends and family. The grant provides for shelving to house the books and many new books to populate the shelf.

• · Gallery Wall Project (MBA)

One way to motivate students is to let them see their own work and that of their peers on public display. This project will provide the frames to attractively display every student’s artwork throughout the halls of MBA. This will enhance the personalization of the learning environment, beautify the hallways, and allow students to share their talents with peers and staff.

• · Enhancing WIN services (SHS)

The WIN program steps in to help students with learning gaps and skill deficits. The grant will provide a white board table, on which students can try out ideas, make easy corrections, and experiment freely. New furniture will encourage participation and collaboration and allow for individual attention when needed.

• · Enhancing the Reading Environment (SES)

This is an additional way to encourage students to read and reflect by providing temporary outdoor seating in the enclosed courtyard at Somers Elementary. It will provide more space for students to read on their own in a quiet setting.

Continued in next column.  

• · Smart Pass for Somers High School (SHS)

This software uses student chrome books to issue, approve, and track student pass usage. This will first provide data on the extent of any problem of over-using passes and significant loss of learning time. It will also provide data on who is using passes, how often, and with whom, so that steps can be taken to intervene where appropriate. This is all done with very little teacher time wasted on enforcement or checking up on students. Instead of rules that hamper all students, those who simply need a pass and those with an unhealthy or illicit motivation, this system would allow for a precise response affecting only those who are operating outside the rules.

• · Exploring the World beyond the Classroom (SES)

This grant will establish a fund for visual field trips, aligned to curriculum content, that connect students to real world experts. For example, as students are learning about weather, they can explore how the sun affects our Earth’s weather with an interactive experiment comparing hot and cold air with experts at a science center in Colorado. We are already equipped with the technology to make connections with National Parks, museums, laboratories and many other sites. This grant will fund those connections, bringing students virtually to the site where they can interact with experts at the site. The STEM leader will work with classroom teachers to connect students to those real-world experts.

• · Multimedia Communications Class Studio Upgrade (SHS)

Multimedia class at Somers has been using old equipment that severely limits what they can produce. This equipment upgrade will give the production a more modern feel and better prepare the students for real world broadcasting. The equipment would also allow the class to record in a single take with less editing, which in turn would provide more time for interviews and highlight stories that would bring together the SHS community.