Chelmsford Schools Foundation Awards Third Round of Grants Friday, February 09, 2007 (05:38:47) Posted by Sherm The Chelmsford Schools Foundation (CSF) has awarded its third round of grants to a diverse group of recipients including several local educators, a school counselor, and a parents group. With their educational grants program, CSF has maintained their commitment to support, promote, and fund the best possible educational opportunities for Chelmsford’s children. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $13,000 in grants. Grants were awarded to projects that were deemed to be creative and cost-effective, with the potential to serve many students over the long-term. Successful grant applicants this cycle include Sharon Giglio, Librarian of McCarthy Middle School, for funds to be applied to the purchase and installation of a ceiling-mounted LCD computer projector in McCarthy’s 100-seat lecture hall. The projector will be used for student instruction and staff professional development, and will be made available for use by community groups. A grant awarded to Donna Martin (Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator, grades 5-12) and Gail Rines (Reading Curriculum Coordinator, K-12) will provide social studies trade books for fifth graders at both McCarthy and Parker middle schools. The purchase of books with social studies content to cover ELA (English/Language Arts) topics will be an effective interdisciplinary tool. Mary Moriarty and Mary Martin of McCarthy Middle School received a grant to fund a cross curricula literature unit for 6th grade English/Language Arts and Social Studies. The grant will be used to purchase historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt. Westlands’ School Counselor Sue Yates-Scott received a grant for a health program, “Bully-proofing our School,” to enhance the Westlands Pride and Second Step programs at Westlands Elementary School by identifying and appropriately dealing with bullying behavior. The entire school (K-4) will participate in monthly assemblies that integrate bullying themes, and individual classrooms will benefit from resources that instruct students on bullying themes. Collaboration with the Professional Support Personnel (PSP) staff by the school principal and counselor will ensure carryover on the playground. Information will also be sent home to parents. This program will “pilot” at Westlands, and then may extend to the other four elementary schools through the Health curriculum. Joan Strodel and Deb Bergholm-Petka of the Westlands Family Learning Connection received a partial grant to fund two family learning activities: a Family Math Night and parent-run “Hands-on Learning” clubs. The Family Learning Connection, a newly organized subgroup of the Westlands School Association (WSA), was developed as a parent initiative to support and extend the classroom efforts of the teachers by providing materials to families for at-home application of school-taught concepts. This program has the potential to be readily implemented at other schools in the district. The purpose of the CSF grant program is to provide members of the Chelmsford education community an alternative way to obtain funding for valuable educational learning experiences or projects. The Foundation hopes to stimulate creative learning initiatives that further enrich the educational opportunities already available in our public schools. The Chelmsford Schools Foundation, a non-profit organization with tax-deductible status, has two grant cycles per school year. Applications for the spring grant cycle are due on or before May 15, 2007. Educators from all grade levels are encouraged to apply, and can obtain more information at the CSF website, www.chelmsfordschoolsfoundation.org. Applications for the spring cycle will be available soon. Run entirely by volunteers, CSF has been actively raising funds through private donations and public events, including its highly successful Chelmsford Strides Forward, A Walk for Chelmsford Schools this past fall. CSF has two major fundraisers per year, and is very excited about its second annual Spelling Bee to be held on May 1, 2007, at the Senior Center. Teams of adults comprised of area businesses, clubs, organizations, and friends are invited to compete for the high honor of being CSF Spelling Bee Champions, 2007! Content received from: CSF Member Portal, http://www.chelmsfordschoolsfoundation.org/member