Kiddo! Announces Teacher Grants

Grants Support Innovative and Creative Teaching

Kiddo! is pleased to announce the recipients of its Teacher Grants for the 2012-2013 school year.  Kiddo! Teacher Grants are awarded in support of programs that foster creative and innovative classroom teaching.  Each fall, an Awards Committee comprised of one teacher from each school, a representative from the administrative council, and a parent from PTA Council reviews teacher proposals and selects award recipients.  This year, Kiddo! is providing $19,296 to fully or partially fund 23 programs in all six district schools.

Without donations from the parent community these grants would not be possible! Thanks to your generosity, our children will enjoy the following exciting programs this year:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SOCIAL STUDIES GRANT

Kate Kellman & 4^th Grade Teachers – Walk Through California – 4^th graders at all elementary schools (district-wide) will gain a common experience and understanding of the history of our state through an interactive, creative and fun program presented by California Weekly Explorer, Inc.  Upon completion of the program, students receive an expert card, allowing them to share their knowledge with others.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER GRANT

Lori Adessa – Let It Rain! – 2nd graders at Park, Tam Valley, and Old Mill make South African rain sticks of different sizes from mailing tubes, nails, and rice or beans.  They explore how the size and composition of the rain stick affect the volume and pitch of the instrument, and learn and perform a Spanish song.

EDNA MAGUIRE TEACHER GRANTS

Lisa Monge – Young Author Fair– After several library lessons focused on writing, students in grades 1-5 write a short fiction piece that is their “ticket” to a half-day fair celebrating storytelling.  Students further their understanding by using last year’s writing as a model. The event strengthens students’ writing ability and sense of community.

Anna Isler – ESGI (Educational Software for Guiding Instruction) – ESGI is an online assessment tool that allows teachers to assess all aspects of the Kindergarten curriculum, including letter sounds, numerals, patterns, shapes, coins, etc. This information can be shared with parents.

Tara Ordonez & the 1^st Grade Team – American Dance Through the Decades – This weekly half-hour dance class, conducted by local dance instructor Annie Leese (Artistic Director, Performing Arts Academy of Marin), teaches 1st graders about the history of dance from the 1910s to the 1970s – from soft-shoe to disco.  The class also introduces students to American culture in different periods.

OLD MILL SCHOOL TEACHER GRANTS

Aimee Demaret & Karen Levin – Let the Math Games Begin! – Old Mill’s 4th grade teachers purchased twelve interesting, enriching, and engaging math board games to be used during weekly Math Games. These games reinforce and strengthen students’ math skills. When children play, they learn and have fun!

Jennifer Berry – Winter Solstice Animals Puppet Making & Performance – 1^st graders enhance and reinforce their year round learning of plants, animals, and insects through puppet making, scene planning and painting , directed by Helen Haight, an artist and puppet maker, educator and registered art therapist.

John Selix, Erica Dowell, & Katie Guenther – 3rd Grade Musical  - 3^rd grade teachers and students write a script and compose songs for a musical that promotes mutual respect and collaboration.  Students conduct surveys of their peers to determine topics of interest, and the play gives students a memorable performance opportunity.

Lisa Spangler – Old Mill Creek Watershed Puppet Making and Performance – With the help of local puppeteer and artist Helen Haight, 1st graders in Lisa Spangler’s class make puppets and a puppet theater that represent the Old Mill watershed ecosystem and its inhabitants.  They write scripts for puppet shows that will teach and reinforce what they’ve learned about the watershed.

PARK SCHOOL TEACHER GRANTS

Andrea Dunn & Danny Marsh – Scientists at Sea – As a supplement to their biology curriculum, 5th graders spend a day on the bay aboard a 90-foot research vessel operated by the Marine Science Institute.  They collect and study plankton, run hydrology tests, observe wetland ecology, operate trawl nets, and identify fish they catch (and release).

Julie Herrera, Cristin Coleman, & Joe Martini – Astronomy Fair – During their Moon and Planets science unit, 3rd graders host an astronomy fair for their fellow students, at which each student presents on an astronomy topic. Students who attend the fair receive a solar system passport, hear student presentations and ask questions, and have their passports stamped at each booth.

Julie Herrera – Astronaut Training Camp – 3rd graders in Julie Herrera’s class learn what it takes to be an astronaut by running an Astronaut Training Camp for other Park School students.  The 3rd graders design and operate training stations that educate both trainers and trainees about the challenges astronauts face during space travel, and how they prepare for them.

STRAWBERRY POINT TEACHER GRANTS

Karin Haley – Ancient Artifacts of Native Americans – 5th graders at Strawberry Point learn about the daily lives of Native American tribes through active storytelling and handling of period artifacts from various nations.

Jan Bolgla, Elizabeth Caroli, Kimberley Russell – Insta Success with Insta Learn – These guaranteed, durable, and long-lasting boards and tiles help 1st graders learn decoding skills. Students progress from simple word types to more complex word structures. The Insta-Learn program has three components: perception, language, and math, providing a success-oriented approach to learning.

Martina Heppner &  Kindergarten Teachers – Insta-Learn Number Boards  – Insta-Learn Number Boards are a powerful tool in creating excitement when it comes to learning number sense. The boards are designed to encourage independent learning at an appropriate pace with immediate feedback.

Jan Bolgla, Kimberley Russell, Elizabeth Caroli – Dance Through the Decades  – This dance class, conducted by local dance instructor Annie Leese (Artistic Director, Performing Arts Academy of Marin), teaches 1st graders about the history of dance from the 1910s to the 1970s – from soft-shoe to disco.  The class also introduces students to American culture in different periods.

TAM VALLEY TEACHER GRANTS

Nicole Carter & the 1st Grade Team – Dance Around the World – Local dance instructor Annie Leese (Artistic Director, Performing Arts Academy of Marin), teaches 1st graders dances from various cultures and countries around the world. This program will provide students with fun insight into these interesting places and peoples.

Mary Whitney & the 1^st Grade Team – Character Education Through Song Writing – Guest artist Jerome Rossen helps students create songs in their own words on one of these topics: honesty, kindness, belonging, or respect. Jerome then produces the songs in his recording studio, and plays them back for the students.

MILL VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER GRANTS

Marlene Buono, Lance Lewis, Joanna Petrone – Current Event Magazine: New York Times Upfront – A subscription to this Scholastic magazine helps 8^th graders research and understand current events. With outside the textbook non-fiction reading, they become more engaged in debates, while learning to analyze different points of view.

Brandolyn Patterson & Kathleen Schostack – Murder Mystery and GFP Biotechnology Labs – 7^th graders are introduced to tools and applications of biotechnology by acting as crime scene investigators, using blood type analysis and researching the role of dominant and recessive traits in genetic inheritance. The labs are directly tied into the life science curriculum through the genetics, evolution, and cellular biology units.

Jay Schulman, Darby Doyle, Robyn Gerssler – Design & Living Space – 6^th graders work with fractions and mixed numbers in a real-life situation by designing a scale model four-room living space on a 900-square foot footprint and then building a 3D version of the layout. Students will apply their mathematical skills in a creative, design-oriented way.

Brandolyn Patterson – Bringing Organisms to Life – 7^th graders gain a better understanding of two types of evidence of biological evolution – the fossil record and homologous structures – by studying fossils and skeletons first hand.

Kathie Fischer – Anne Rovetta Comes to 7^th Grade Science Classes – Naturalist, storyteller, and artist Anne Rovetta visits 7th grade science classes to lead a lesson on biological drawing.  Students use their new skills to create scientific drawings of invertebrate organisms, enhancing their study of invertebrate biology.

Cayce Carnahan – Sectional Coaches – Middle school band students work with top Bay Area musicians, breaking up into small groups of like instruments to work with a section coach. Students receive training and mentoring to become better musicians, and get to know professional musicians who have made music a permanent part of their lives.