Sharon Education Foundation Awards $25,000 in Grants for 2016-2017 School Year

The Sharon Education Foundation (SEF) recently announced that 18 grants totaling $25,000 were awarded to Sharon teachers and administrators for the 2016-2017 school year to enhance existing programs or address an unmet need in the community.

Among them are the continuation of several successful and previously SEF funded programs including Morning Math Wizards, Mindfulness in the Classroom, LEGO WeDo Robotics, the popular Authors’ Series, Music Mentors, Genocide and Human Nature, Think Kids Parent Mentor Program and Ukuleles in the Classroom. Other programs supported, including Sharon STEM Talks, STEAM in the Arts, a Solar STEM project, a Recycling and Landfill Tour, a Classroom Garden and Squishy Circuits were also funded.

“We are excited to kick off this school year with many new programs to enrich Sharon Public Schools’ curriculum,” noted SEF’s co-president David Shore. “One of the most rewarding parts of our involvement is having the ability to bring new programming into the schools that could not be funded without the support of our community donors.”

SEF enhances, enriches and supports public education in Sharon by funding educational, recreational and community programs that deliver innovation and excitement into the classroom and the town. SEF funds a broad range of projects, including those that focus on traditional academic subjects, visual and performing arts, promotion of multi-cultural and community learning experiences and professional development. A complete list of grants is at the bottom of this release.

“We want to thank parents, friends and supporters in the Sharon community whose contributions to SEF have made these awards a reality,” said Tara Frier, SEF’s co-president. “It is particularly gratifying to visit the schools and see how these programs have impacted students and our community.”

A list of the 2016-2017 Sharon Education Foundation grants is below. For additional information, please visit the Sharon Education Foundation website at www.sharoneducationfoundation.org or email SEF at sharoneducationfoundation@gmail.com.

Sharon Education Foundation Grants 2016-2017

Squishy Circuits – Fourth and fifth grade students will create complete circuits using Play-Doh (which is conductive), clay (which acts as an insulator), wire and LED lights – Heights Elementary.

STEAM in the Arts– Teach STEAM to all 3rd graders in art to have them develop problem solving skills, be able to work in a group and develop confidence in all areas of STEAM – Heights Elementary.

Mindful Classroom – Create a tranquil classroom environment that is flexible in approach to the broad needs of at-risk students with disabilities to help them be more engaged in learning East Elementary.

Sharon STEM Talks – Promote knowledge of science to the members of the community and those interested in science through a series of public lectures throughout the school year – High School.

Ukuleles – Purchase ukuleles for the music classroom for use by all East Elementary students.

Solar STEM Project – Provide science students with hands-on experiences in the field of solar energy with teachers and interested students building a stand-alone, portable two-panel solar array – High School.

Sit Stand or Cycle – Purchase cycling adjustable standing exercise desks and a standing desk to accommodate students in the Developmental Learning Program at Cottage Street School.

Classroom Garden – Creating a classroom garden for Middle School students in the Developmental Learning Program to parallel the state curriculum frameworks and their prevocational life skills classes.

Recycling Center Landfill Tour– Provide a group of students selected from each of the schools, the opportunity to visit the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation’s facility in Johnston RI to learn about landfills and recycling centers to highlight the need for waste reduction.

Fostering Global Understanding Virtual Reality – Purchase virtual reality headsets for High School students to go on virtual 3-D field trips across the globe.

Think Kids Parent Mentor Program – Workshop for training to teach parents to implement collaborative problem solving at home. This grant was an extension of a lecture last spring by Dr. Larry Epstein from the Think Kids/MGH organization.

Music Mentors – Provide district-wide music students with advanced instruction from a music specialist to promote greater progress in students’ playing ability.

Artist in Residence Mural – Support an Artist-in-Residence program at Heights to create a mosaic mural installed next spring.

Genocide and Human Nature – Provide guest speakers and a field trip for High School students to promote what they have learned and apply the lessons through real-life actions that impact people in and beyond the Sharon High School community.

Science Projects Children’s Center – Support the implementation of a science curriculum program for pre-kindergarten students at the Children’s Center.

LEGO WeDo – Supporting LEGO engineering robotics at all elementary schools for hands-on learning, team problem solving and critical thinking.

Recycling Sustainability Projects – Heights students will learn about recycling and sustainability with a composter, rain barrel and worm farm and how each tool contributes to the regeneration of life in the form of garden plants and vegetables.

Morning Math Wizards – Continuation of the popular Morning Math Wizards in all elementary schools.