The Bristol Warren Education Foundation (BWEF) has awarded $43,000 in grants to support programs in the Bristol Warren Regional School District (BWRSD) for the 2012-2013 school year.
Teachers and staff from all six district schools — Mt. Hope High School, Kickemuit Middle School, Hugh Cole, Guiteras, Colt-Andrews, and Rockwell elementary schools — applied for the opportunity to receive funding for innovative programming.
Grant recipients will pursue high-quality educational experiences for hundreds of district students that otherwise would not be funded.
This year's grant process was as competitive as any to date, as more district educators became aware of BWEF's mission and resources.
Students will participate in programs focusing on a range of disciplines such as math, science, filmmaking, literacy, music, art, communication, foreign language, physical education and community building, using both school and community resources.¨Thanks to strong support from the community through the Annual Drive for Educational Excellence, the Bodacious Bee, and the Thank-a-Teacher program, BWEF was able to significantly increased the amount of annual funding this year. BWEF has awarded over $125,000 in grants since its inception in 2007.
2012-13 Grants
Mt. Hope High School
• Healthy Relationships, Healthy Self — A curriculum for helping at-risk students develop healthy relationships.¨
• Reaching Out – A Community of Learners — A collaboration between Roger Williams University and Mt. Hope High School art programs to provide figure drawing opportunities for Mt. Hope High School art students.¨
• Mentoring program — Provide funding for motivational speaker Chris Herren to speak with at-risk students.¨
• Community String Project — Purchase violins to increase the number of scholarship students participating in this established strings program.
Mt. Hope High School and Kickemuit Middle School
¨• iPads to increase communication — Purchase three iPads for use with students on the autism spectrum to assist in increasing communication skills.
Kickemuit Middle School¨
• Nature's Classroom field trip — A five day field trip to Nature's Classroom to facilitate developing a sense of community, responsibility, cooperation and self confidence through nature-based academics.¨
• Beginning Band Project — Providing individualized instruction to beginning band students by professional musicians.
Hugh Cole School¨
• Colonial Day Project — Providing a range of activities that highlight the life of the early colonist, involving parents and community members as volunteers and experts.¨
• Hugh Cole School Productions — HCS Productions seeks to enrich the K-5 curriculum by giving shape and form to textbook knowledge through the creative process of filmmaking.¨
• Science enrichment program — Bringing science out of the textbook. Supporting and extending the existing curriculum by offering students science time and resources.¨
• Physics of Music Making — RI Philharmonic program reinforces the sound concepts that all third grade students learn in science and general music.
¨• Outdoor fitness stations — Funding outdoor fitness stations to support recess activities for all ages within the existing HC playground.¨
• Publishing student books — Purchase a book binding machine to enable third- to fifth-graders to publish their own books.
Colt-Andrews School¨
• Beyond Question: Student Response System — In conjunction with another grant, funding the “Beyond Question” response system in order to increase classroom participation and provide formative assessment data.¨
• Welcome to Grade 2 — Providing each incoming second grade student with a new, grade level appropriate, high interest book to foster their appreciation of reading on the first day of school.¨
• Battle of the Books — Purchasing books so students can read, write a book review, and ultimately participate in a “Battle of the Books.”
Guiteras School¨
• Playaway “View” Into Science — Purchasing science focused e-books to support the new science curriculum.¨
• Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. — Funding unlimited, district-wide access to Brainpop and BPjr websites.¨
• Creative Movement Residency — Island Moving Company (a non-profit ballet company) will teach creative movement during physical education classes.¨
• Concert and Workshop with Susan Reed — A concert and workshops with students by singer/songwriter/story teller Susan Reed.¨
• Survey Monkey — Upgrading to a professional “Survey Monkey” account that will facilitate larger and more complex community feedback opportunities.¨
• Audubon Society: Learning to Use Outdoor Space — Expanding learning beyond the classroom by integrating the outdoor environment surrounding Guiteras School into the school's curriculum, providing students with the benefits of environmental education.
Rockwell School¨
• A Christmas Carol — An integrated arts program involving theater and learning. Students will study “A Christmas Carol,” in conjunction with Trinity Rep, comparing its context, motivations etc., to today's world.¨
• Science collaboration with the Audubon Society — A series of science lessons provided by Audubon instructors.¨
• Spanish enrichment — Providing four instructional levels of Spanish Language Enrichment to first through fifth grade students.
All elementary schools:
¨Guiteras/Rockwell/Colt Andrews/Hugh Cole¨
• K-Welcoming Kit for new kindergarten students — Mailing each incoming kindergarten student a welcoming package in preparation for their school experience.¨