Small Grants
Often teachers would have an idea for a grant but the timing did not coincide with our grant cycle. In the first 5 months of the program, the following grants were awarded:
Barbara Gall Grants
Often teachers would have an idea for a grant but the timing did not coincide with our grant cycle. In the first 5 months of the program, the following grants were awarded:
- Weighted vest and lap pads for students - Occupational Therapist
- Human Anatomy Heart Models - Caledonia High School
- Advanced Placement Language Nonfiction Books - Caledonia High School
- Whitecaps Special Education Field Trip
Barbara Gall Grants
- Storytelling Recordings, Paris Ridge Elementary - $767.00. Jodi Grantz was awarded funds at Paris Ridge Elementary to use video production to assess verbal reading skills. Students and staff will videotape students reading books, poems, plays, etc. that they have written or from grade level text. Students can focus on accuracy, fluency, speed and expression. They will also have the opportunity to include visual and verbal elements such as dressing like a character or bringing in props. In addition, teachers can use this tool to model good verbal reading skills to younger students. Struggling readers will be able to see their progress and help to overcome self-doubt.
- Drawing Kids into Reading and Writing Emmons Lake Elementary - $3300.00. Learning to draw will help develop fine motor skills that will aid students in the task of writing. Teachers, led by Peg Mulherin at Emmons Lake, will be trained on drawing techniques that will enable kindergarten and first grade students to be better writers, readers and creative thinkers. Areas of focus include pencil grip techniques, eye hand coordination, mixing colors, shading objects and proportion numbers in math and letter formation.
- iPads for Special Education Students, Caledonia Community Schools Special Education - $4000 Jennifer Amorose was awarded a grant to purchase seven iPads and protective covers will be used for access the curriculum, provide tools for students to show their understanding of lessons and content through different means of output. The iPads will help with communication, vocational training and social interaction through the use of various applications. This technology can assist students with various ways to stay organized and keep on top of assignments. Apps can be set to remind students to turn in their homework. Students can be more independent and take pictures of notes on the board if writing is difficult for them. Dragon dictation is another app that can help students who struggle with writing by allowing them to say their responses and have the app translate it into text. Lastly, students will increase their technology skills and are more likely to engage with peers when there is technology. It is very powerful for students who struggle with communication and socialization to show off their technology skills to their typically developing peers.
- Anatomy in Clay, Duncan Lake Middle School - $1375.80. Helena Risdon bought the Anatomy in Clay Learning Systems to use in the Encore curriculum at Duncan Lake Middle School. This system gives students the experience of sculpting 3 dimensional human anatomic structures from clay. By creating the organs, students will have to study the general shape and position of a structure in a text or model, mold the structure of clay, and then place the structure in the correct position relative to the surrounding organs.
- Duncan Lake and Kraft Meadows Middle Schools - $1560.00. Karen Melton and Beth McLean will teach an 8th hour class covering simple sewing and clothing construction. Students will create their own clothing and have the opportunity to make items to give back to the community. This hands on, tactile learning greatly appeals to a wide range of students, including those with identified learning challenges or disabilities. The grant money will purchase machine that will be used by middle school students for these classes.
- LINKS Class, Caledonia High School - $3700. The purpose of the LINKS class (part of Caledonia’s Peer to Peer Program) is to increase socialization and independence skills of the special education student by pairing them with a general education student. The general education students in turn will increase their awareness of the needs and disabilities of special education students. The iPads purchased with the grant funds will allow the LINKS students to record data on their progress in regards to their socialization, independence and curriculum goals as well as communicate with other students and the LINKS teacher. It is designed as a virtual class so the student does not specifically have a great deal of face to face time with the teacher. Additional iPads for the program will allow more students to be involved in the program as it has grown significantly in 2 years.
- Caledonia First Lego League, District - $9250 Grant money will be used for start up and registration costs to create 14 First Lego League (FLL) programs encompassing students in grades 4-6 at all of the district’s elementary and middle schools. FLL is an extracurricular program that runs from August to December and provides students the opportunity to work as a team to solve problems using research, presentation skills, robotics kits, computer programing software and more. Teams will practice and then compete against other schools in tournament play. By implementing this program district wide at an early level, students will develop a love for engineering that would grow through advanced levels of robotics in Caledonia in the near future.
- Human Anatomy and Physiology II, Caledonia High School - $2885.32 A new Anatomy and Physiology II class will be offered starting in the spring of 2016. In order to give students a hands on experience, grant money will purchase several models and tools for the class as the school budget does not have funds for larger start up items. With these models, students will be able to get away from computer screens and worksheets to be able to manipulate and understand the positioning and orientation of the human anatomy. Additionally, using 3-dimensionl models allows for “lab practicals” as assessments in which students demonstrate their understanding in a manner similar to college courses. Models will also be shared with AP biology classes and Sports medicine classes as well.
- UAV (Unmanned Automated Vehicle) Flight Technology, Caledonia High School Applied Technology Department - $2100.00 The purchase of a UAV will help to teach programming code writing and the control of operational procedures. Students will design projects that require them to learn the system structure and functions of the UAV and then adapt those functions by writing code instructions for the system to attain the project goals. Students will come face to face with the application of Physics in the real world. They will apply their knowledge of coding to a specific job as they work with clients outside of the school through hands on application and evaluation.
