Grants awarded in 2015 included:
ALL KINDS OF FAMILIES: INCREASING DIVERSITY IN FPCS KIDS LITERATURE
$300 to increase the availability of LGBTQ inclusive books at the Early Education Center and Gilles-Sweet Elementary School. Fairview High School Mosaic Club members will assess the current level of diversity in the literature available to students.
Grant submitted by: Colleen Sliwinski, Fairview High School Mosaic Club
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BOARD BOOKS
$200 to purchase board books for a Pre-Kindergarten class at the Early Education Center. Board books teach fine motor skills while providing students with thicker pages that will allow them to better handle a book without teacher intervention.
Grant submitted by: Clair Mayfield, Courtney Rushnok
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COMMUNITY HELPER COSTUMES
$350 to purchase two sets of career costumes for a Pre-Kindergarten class at the Early Education Center. These costumes help students develop imagination through role play of future career choices as well as fine motor skills by teaching students to dress themselves.
Grant submitted by: Clair Mayfield, Courtney Rushnok
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CONNECT KIDS TO SCIENCE WITH K’NEX
$1,787.50 to purchase K’Nex brand building sets for Lewis F. Mayer Middle School. These K’Nex sets will provide a deeper understanding of scientific topics like friction, energy, and motion through the hands-on activity of designing and building vehicles.
Grant submitted by: Kristen Conner, Robin Schlesinger, and Heather Lechowicz
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DUPLO LEGOS
$200 to purchase Duplo themed legos that students can use to cultivate fine motor skills and team play without risking their safety. The large size of these legos reduces the risk of choking hazards while still fostering learning.
Grant submitted by: Clair Mayfield, Courtney Rushnok
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ESCAPE
$480 for a full day workshop called “Escape” for 8th graders at Lewis F. Mayer Middle School. This program studies the Underground Railroad and other important events such as the Abolitionist movement and the experience of slaves. The students, through their English and Social Studies classrooms, will get a better understanding of these important events from our history through interactive performance, research and cooperative group work.
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HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AND ONE ANOTHER
$900 for interactive activities to teach the 1st graders at Gilles-Sweet Elementary School appreciation for plants and gardens. Students will view special exhibits at the Cleveland Museum of Art and create an impressionist garden landscape as part of an art studio class. An educator from the Holden Arboretum will then visit Gilles-Sweet and facilitate a “plant science” investigation focused on native trees and seasonal change. Fairview High School environmental science students will serve as mentors/”resident educators” throughout this process.
Grant submitted by: Colleen Sliwinski, Olivia Hvizdos, Val Garcia, Sarah Eppler, Emily Miller, Melissa Koenig, and Jeff LeFevre
Click to view: Activity Photos
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INTRODUCING MODELS INTO DNA INSTRUCTION
$865 to purchase DNA model kits that will allow 9th and 10th graders at Fairview High School to construct molecular models of DNA. This hands-on activity will aid in the instruction of the structure, replication, transcription, and translation of DNA.
Grant submitted by: Dave LeBrun
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MY AUTHOR IS AN ALIEN: AN AUTHOR VISIT WITH BRUCE COVILLE
$1,500 for partial funding of a visit by author Bruce Coville to Gilles-Sweet Elementary School. Mr. Coville is author of the popular book, My Teacher is an Alien.
Grant submitted by: Diane Ward
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR REENACTMENT
$100 for funding of a Revolutionary War reenactment for fourth graders at Gilles-Sweet Elementary School. The instructor makes the Revolutionary War come to life so they can form a better understanding of both sides of the war.
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ROCK THE BIKE
$900 for partial funding to purchase a bike blender from Rock the Bike. Bike blenders are a fun way of raising awareness of the benefits of fruits and vegetables while also encouraging exercise.
Grant submitted by: Allison Klodnick and Diana Hall
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SEEDFOLKS
$303.12 to purchase a class set of the novel Seedfolks and supplies to create a classroom community garden. Participating students will produce vignettes based on their planting experience to add to the novel.
Grant submitted by: Natalie Hudak
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SHIPWRECK CHALLENGE
$804 to bring to Lewis F. Mayer Middle School the Shipwreck Challenge, a program in which 8th graders will work as a team to design, build, and test sea craft prototypes.
Grant submitted by: Janice Frygier, Erin Frank, Matt Ziemnik
Click to view: Sun News Article
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TOWER GARDENS
$1,690 to purchase three Tower Gardens at Gilles-Sweet Elementary School. Tower gardens are aeroponic five-foot tall vertical gardens housed inside the school building. The food services department is planting various plants, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and strawberries, which will be used in salads and parfaits served to the students. Coordination with a second grade classroom will teach students about growing, tending to the garden, nutrition facts and coordination with state standards in learning science, math, social studies and language arts.
Click to view: Sun News Article