| Mamaroneck Schools Foundation Enhancing educational excellence in the Larchmont/Mamaroneck Schools |
MSF GRANTS
2006 – 2007 ($288,466)
TECHNOLOGY
SMART Enhanced Curriculum for Fifth-Grade Students
This grant will provide a SMART Board for the fifth-grade classrooms at Central School,
as well as teacher training in the technology. SMART boards connect a “blackboard” to
the classroom computer to allow work viewed on the board to be saved, manipulated
and shared through the classroom computer, and will be used across a variety of
curriculum areas.
Maximizing the Use of Video and Student Writing for Math Instruction
The Hommocks math department will purchase three document cameras and three
LCD digital projectors, one for each grade. This equipment will allow teachers to move
seamlessly from classroom instruction to utilizing technology (such as video streaming
and interactive websites) to sharing student work to give clarity to abstract math concepts
and use class time efficiently.
Creating SMART Connected Self-Contained Classrooms
Two SMART Boards will be purchased for use in the self-contained, study skills and
resource room classes in the High School. These interactive white boards are well
suited for teaching special-needs students because the technology can be used to
address a variety of learning styles, including visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
Technology for the Hommocks Science Department
Following on the success of last year’s grants to the science department, we will be
funding additional equipment including two ELMO Digital Visual Presenters, two desktop
computers, two GYRO remote wireless presenters and two media carts. The ELMO
Presenters allow teachers to place and enlarge objects on them, letting students
observe objects in motion; their digital feature allows the transfer the information to
computers and PowerPoint presentations. The GYRO remotes allow teachers to move
away from the computer, to enhance the presentation and ensure students are focused.
Automating the Youth Employment Service
The Youth Employment Service (Y.E.S.) is a non-profit organization with an office in
Mamaroneck High School that helps students find part-time and summer employment. It
has been awarded funds to automate its operations with two computers, a printer,
software and funds to develop a website. Prospective employers and students will be
able to access the website to connect directly with one another.
SMART Board for Math Labs
This grant will provide a portable SMART Board to enhance the teaching of math in the
Hommocks 7X and 8X math classes.
Writing as Writing
Four multimedia carts at Murray Avenue School, each with a document camera, wireless
mouse, keyboard, and accessories, will be used as a pilot program to support the
writing curriculum in fourth and fifth grade. The document cameras will be used
throughout every phase of a student’s writing cycle: draft, revision, and final work, to
share work with the classroom. The flexibility of this equipment allows it to be used as
part of a planned lesson or to capture spontaneous moments within the teaching day.
Asthma and Allergy Education Program
This grant will fund equipment and books needed to help students, parents, teachers
and administrators better understand how asthma and food allergies affect the day-to-
day lives of students in our schools. Each elementary school will receive a vital signs
monitor that will enable school nurses to determine the severity of an asthma attack or
allergic reaction and proceed with the most appropriate treatment. Asthma- and allergy-
related classroom activities will be incorporated into health curricula to help support
students with asthma and allergies in the school community. Books will be used to
promote understanding, empathy and support.
SCIENCE
The DaVinci Trunks
Through this grant, Central School hopes to train their children to become astute
observers like Leonardo daVinci, who had one of the best scientific minds of his time.
These trunks will be filled with specimens connected to the science curriculum in the
areas of geology, physics and biology. Students in all grades will work with both the art
teacher and classroom teachers to develop their ability to both observe and record,
helping them acquire a richer vocabulary, facilitate more precise use of language, and
inspire inquiry. This grant also includes a document camera and funds for a consultant
to provide professional development to teachers in the area of non-fiction writing.
Forensics
In continued support for the High School's growing Forensics program, the Foundation
has awarded a grant for technical equipment, including video cameras, a new
classroom computer and an LCD projector. This equipment will allow all students to
produce their own “Crime Scene Story,” a movie using forensic techniques that will be
filmed by students and shown in class..
Science Reference and Research Center
This grant will fund the transformation of three storage rooms at Chatsworth into a
Science Reference and Research Center. The center will have three main areas: an
experiment lab, a research room and a display/presentation center with state-of-the-art
equipment including a desktop computer, a laptop computer, PDAs, microscopes,
gardening tools, terrariums, aquariums, animal cages and a variety of other tools for the
hands-on learning of science. All Chatsworth teachers will be invited to make use of this
facility.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Feeding a Running Stream
The grant will fund the second year of a program intended to support professional
development through a private donation. Annie Zimmer, assistant superintendent for
curriculum and instruction, has selected a series of conferences, planned workshops
and speakers for a Superintendent’s Conference Day and also selected a library of
professional literature. All of these will support the district’s goal for the 2006-2007
school year of improving instruction in writing.
Building a Professional Video Library
This grant, also funded by the private donation for staff development, will establish an
elementary-school-level professional video library. Materials will explore state-of-the-art,
research-based practices in education for staff development purposes. A database will
be established to create a lending library for all district elementary school staff.
Supervisory Technology
This grant will fund the acquisition of video equipment for use by Hommocks
administrators for teacher observation and evaluation.
Sounds and Pictures Worth a Million Words
This grant will provide teachers and administrators at Mamaroneck Avenue school with
an industrial-grade video camcorder, and a “sound-kit” set of microphones to produce
more effective, high quality video for use in the classroom. It will facilitate the ability to
capture the speaking voices of children and adults in an active classroom environment,
and will be particularly useful for teacher and staff professional development and the
presentation of student/classroom work.
ENRICHMENT
American Historian Series
A series of lectures by prominent historians will be sponsored during the academic year
for the entire junior class at the High School. The focus of the lectures will be the
Abolitionist movement, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lecturers will visit students
throughout the day, particularly the U.S. History Regents and AP classes, and the
students will be assigned readings by the lecturers prior to the visits.
Kinder K.R.A.T.E.S. (Kindergarten Readiness and Teaching Early Skills)
The Central kindergarten teaching team has designed a set of materials to support and
stimulate the development of phonemic awareness in the kindergarten classes.
Teaching tubs will be filled with objects that students use to match rhyming sounds.
“Letter builders” will support the handwriting program. Books and CDs will feature
rhythmic language and familiar repetition for pre-reading skills. With these materials,
students will make connections between written and spoken language, and develop
vocabulary and grammar to communicate ideas and emotions.
Science Trunks: Scaffolding Students’ Schema
“Schema” is a term used to describe the knowledge that a student brings with him or her
to a given learning situation. Many of the children who attend CO-OP Camp over the
summer are lacking a significant amount of schema about the world around them.
These trunks are designed to support a hands-on approach to learning about different
areas of the fifth-grade curriculum: U.S. landforms, the human body, and the solar
system. During the school year these trunks will be housed at Mamaroneck Avenue
School and made available to all elementary schools.
Dinner Music Club
This grant will fund a music library of CDs covering many styles of music throughout
many time periods, for families to listen to together—over dinner, in the car, or wherever
they choose. The music will be selected for its musical importance as well as its ability
to stimulate conversation. The club will encourage learning and discovery of music
outside the classroom in an informal way. “Members” of the dinner music club must
agree to listen to all the selections as a family, at least once, and to post a comment on
the club website or club bulletin board in the school.
ATHLETICS
Dance Revolution System
This grant will enhance Murray Avenue’s already popular dance unit as part of the
Physical Education curriculum. In addition to being a fun aerobic workout, DDR allows
children to participate at an individual level, which is beneficial to students who may shy
away from more traditional athletic activities. The new equipment will allow more
students to become engaged in interactive dance sessions by practicing the moves
shown on the TV while following along using color-coded practice pads. When gym
space is available, this equipment will also be used as a supplemental recess activity
and an alternative gym activity on inclement weather days.
Softball Complex
An exciting project for the Athletic Department will be launched with an award to renovate
an existing softball field at Central School. This grant will allow the district to create a
Girls Softball Complex, where girls on the Modified, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams can
practice, play games and host tournaments. The new field will also be available for use
by the Little League. The School District will also be contributing to the funding of this
project.
PERFORMING ARTS
Pace Theater Piano
The Foundation, in partnership with the School District, is awarding PACE, the high
school’s Performing Arts Curriculum Experience, funding to purchase a new upright
piano for the Pace Theater. PACE produces at least ten evening music performances
each year, and the piano also will be used for classes, rehearsals, daytime programs,
assemblies and other programs, benefiting the 220 Pace students and their audiences
and guests.
Afterschool Fiddling Performance Group
This grant supports a district-wide after-school fiddle group open to 5th, 6th, and 7th
grade students by audition. The group will include violinists, violists, cellists, and bass
players. Fiddling encourages string students to learn to play music by ear and develop
pitch memory, and also gives them a unique opportunity to play as part of a small group
ensemble. Various fiddling traditions will be incorporated.
Music Enrichment for Minority Students and Low-Income Families
This grant seeks to provide music enrichment to students who many not continue music
once they reach Hommocks, due to cultural or socioeconomic factors. This grant seeks
to extend the District-wide instrument rental program (currently offered in grades 3-5), so
that it will be available to students through the eighth grade. This grant has three
initiatives: 1) to allow the District to purchase instruments over a two-year period so they
can be made available to outgoing fifth graders to rent at a nominal cost; 2) to provide
instruction in band, chorus, and orchestra during the District’s summer co-op camp; and
3) to offer free music instruction at lunch and/or after school. This grant will fund the
program for two years.
Orchestra Partnership
This grant will establish a four-year music education partnership between the
Mamaroneck High School orchestra and the N.Y. Philharmonic. Instructional sessions
will be given at MHS by Philharmonic musicians, including master classes for the full
orchestra, coaching for orchestra sections and chamber groups, training in specialized
skills, and lessons connected to the orchestral studies curriculum. MHS orchestra
students will also attend Philharmonic performances at Lincoln Center, including private
post-concert Q & A sessions with the musicians. Hommocks eighth-grade orchestra
members will participate in the activities during the spring before their initiation into the
high school orchestra. The program will additionally be funded through a combination of
other sources, including donations from the orchestra parents, a subsidy from the N.Y.
Philharmonic and funds from the district.
LITERACY
Building Community Reading (R.O.A.R.)
Building on the CORE? program being started at Murray Avenue School, which focuses
on themes of community, cooperation, communication and conflict resolution, this grant
will be used to purchase books to reinforce and enrich these themes and connect them
to literacy instruction. The books will be read aloud by teachers with follow-up student
discussions and activities, so that a common understanding and language can be built
across grade levels.
Let’s Talk Books
This grant will fund the establishment of literature circles at the High School and at
Hommocks. Small groups of students will choose their own reading materials and meet
on a regular schedule to discuss their reading with a teacher acting as a facilitator. The
literature circles are used as part of the English curriculum and serve to encourage
independent reading. Five teachers and over 500 students will be served by this grant.
Classroom Libraries in Ninth-Grade English
The High School English department will be receiving a grant to establish libraries in
each 9th grade English classroom. The purpose of these libraries is to encourage
students to borrow books from them and read outside of the class; the libraries will
provide students with greater access to books in a more informal way as well as
encourage them to share their reading experiences with other students. The teachers
will purchase a wide variety of books, including young adult and contemporary literature.
Video Digital Arts
Keeping the Dream Alive
This grant is designed to involve Hommocks Middle School and Mamaroneck High
School students in the production of a video honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and the legacy of the civil rights movement. Residents of Larchmont and
Mamaroneck who participated in the civil rights struggle, knew Dr. King personally, or
have messages of equality to convey will be interviewed and videotaped for this project.
The Human Rights Commission, the Larchmont Mamaroneck Summit, and the Interfaith
Council will solicit community members to be interviewed, primarily through local
churches and synagogues. Under the direction of the Hommocks media teacher,
students will learn video production skills including video editing, story composition, and
interviewing. The end product, which will incorporate archival video footage, will be a
documentary video that will air on LMC-TV during the week of Martin Luther King's
birthday in January 2007. The video will also be supplied to the Hommocks and High
School social studies departments and the elementary schools.
Mamaroneck Schools Foundation Post Office Box 123 Larchmont, New York 10538
copyright 2004 Mamaroneck Schools Foundation
Privacy Statement
2006 – 2007 ($288,466)
TECHNOLOGY
SMART Enhanced Curriculum for Fifth-Grade Students
This grant will provide a SMART Board for the fifth-grade classrooms at Central School,
as well as teacher training in the technology. SMART boards connect a “blackboard” to
the classroom computer to allow work viewed on the board to be saved, manipulated
and shared through the classroom computer, and will be used across a variety of
curriculum areas.
Maximizing the Use of Video and Student Writing for Math Instruction
The Hommocks math department will purchase three document cameras and three
LCD digital projectors, one for each grade. This equipment will allow teachers to move
seamlessly from classroom instruction to utilizing technology (such as video streaming
and interactive websites) to sharing student work to give clarity to abstract math concepts
and use class time efficiently.
Creating SMART Connected Self-Contained Classrooms
Two SMART Boards will be purchased for use in the self-contained, study skills and
resource room classes in the High School. These interactive white boards are well
suited for teaching special-needs students because the technology can be used to
address a variety of learning styles, including visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
Technology for the Hommocks Science Department
Following on the success of last year’s grants to the science department, we will be
funding additional equipment including two ELMO Digital Visual Presenters, two desktop
computers, two GYRO remote wireless presenters and two media carts. The ELMO
Presenters allow teachers to place and enlarge objects on them, letting students
observe objects in motion; their digital feature allows the transfer the information to
computers and PowerPoint presentations. The GYRO remotes allow teachers to move
away from the computer, to enhance the presentation and ensure students are focused.
Automating the Youth Employment Service
The Youth Employment Service (Y.E.S.) is a non-profit organization with an office in
Mamaroneck High School that helps students find part-time and summer employment. It
has been awarded funds to automate its operations with two computers, a printer,
software and funds to develop a website. Prospective employers and students will be
able to access the website to connect directly with one another.
SMART Board for Math Labs
This grant will provide a portable SMART Board to enhance the teaching of math in the
Hommocks 7X and 8X math classes.
Writing as Writing
Four multimedia carts at Murray Avenue School, each with a document camera, wireless
mouse, keyboard, and accessories, will be used as a pilot program to support the
writing curriculum in fourth and fifth grade. The document cameras will be used
throughout every phase of a student’s writing cycle: draft, revision, and final work, to
share work with the classroom. The flexibility of this equipment allows it to be used as
part of a planned lesson or to capture spontaneous moments within the teaching day.
Asthma and Allergy Education Program
This grant will fund equipment and books needed to help students, parents, teachers
and administrators better understand how asthma and food allergies affect the day-to-
day lives of students in our schools. Each elementary school will receive a vital signs
monitor that will enable school nurses to determine the severity of an asthma attack or
allergic reaction and proceed with the most appropriate treatment. Asthma- and allergy-
related classroom activities will be incorporated into health curricula to help support
students with asthma and allergies in the school community. Books will be used to
promote understanding, empathy and support.
SCIENCE
The DaVinci Trunks
Through this grant, Central School hopes to train their children to become astute
observers like Leonardo daVinci, who had one of the best scientific minds of his time.
These trunks will be filled with specimens connected to the science curriculum in the
areas of geology, physics and biology. Students in all grades will work with both the art
teacher and classroom teachers to develop their ability to both observe and record,
helping them acquire a richer vocabulary, facilitate more precise use of language, and
inspire inquiry. This grant also includes a document camera and funds for a consultant
to provide professional development to teachers in the area of non-fiction writing.
Forensics
In continued support for the High School's growing Forensics program, the Foundation
has awarded a grant for technical equipment, including video cameras, a new
classroom computer and an LCD projector. This equipment will allow all students to
produce their own “Crime Scene Story,” a movie using forensic techniques that will be
filmed by students and shown in class..
Science Reference and Research Center
This grant will fund the transformation of three storage rooms at Chatsworth into a
Science Reference and Research Center. The center will have three main areas: an
experiment lab, a research room and a display/presentation center with state-of-the-art
equipment including a desktop computer, a laptop computer, PDAs, microscopes,
gardening tools, terrariums, aquariums, animal cages and a variety of other tools for the
hands-on learning of science. All Chatsworth teachers will be invited to make use of this
facility.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Feeding a Running Stream
The grant will fund the second year of a program intended to support professional
development through a private donation. Annie Zimmer, assistant superintendent for
curriculum and instruction, has selected a series of conferences, planned workshops
and speakers for a Superintendent’s Conference Day and also selected a library of
professional literature. All of these will support the district’s goal for the 2006-2007
school year of improving instruction in writing.
Building a Professional Video Library
This grant, also funded by the private donation for staff development, will establish an
elementary-school-level professional video library. Materials will explore state-of-the-art,
research-based practices in education for staff development purposes. A database will
be established to create a lending library for all district elementary school staff.
Supervisory Technology
This grant will fund the acquisition of video equipment for use by Hommocks
administrators for teacher observation and evaluation.
Sounds and Pictures Worth a Million Words
This grant will provide teachers and administrators at Mamaroneck Avenue school with
an industrial-grade video camcorder, and a “sound-kit” set of microphones to produce
more effective, high quality video for use in the classroom. It will facilitate the ability to
capture the speaking voices of children and adults in an active classroom environment,
and will be particularly useful for teacher and staff professional development and the
presentation of student/classroom work.
ENRICHMENT
American Historian Series
A series of lectures by prominent historians will be sponsored during the academic year
for the entire junior class at the High School. The focus of the lectures will be the
Abolitionist movement, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Lecturers will visit students
throughout the day, particularly the U.S. History Regents and AP classes, and the
students will be assigned readings by the lecturers prior to the visits.
Kinder K.R.A.T.E.S. (Kindergarten Readiness and Teaching Early Skills)
The Central kindergarten teaching team has designed a set of materials to support and
stimulate the development of phonemic awareness in the kindergarten classes.
Teaching tubs will be filled with objects that students use to match rhyming sounds.
“Letter builders” will support the handwriting program. Books and CDs will feature
rhythmic language and familiar repetition for pre-reading skills. With these materials,
students will make connections between written and spoken language, and develop
vocabulary and grammar to communicate ideas and emotions.
Science Trunks: Scaffolding Students’ Schema
“Schema” is a term used to describe the knowledge that a student brings with him or her
to a given learning situation. Many of the children who attend CO-OP Camp over the
summer are lacking a significant amount of schema about the world around them.
These trunks are designed to support a hands-on approach to learning about different
areas of the fifth-grade curriculum: U.S. landforms, the human body, and the solar
system. During the school year these trunks will be housed at Mamaroneck Avenue
School and made available to all elementary schools.
Dinner Music Club
This grant will fund a music library of CDs covering many styles of music throughout
many time periods, for families to listen to together—over dinner, in the car, or wherever
they choose. The music will be selected for its musical importance as well as its ability
to stimulate conversation. The club will encourage learning and discovery of music
outside the classroom in an informal way. “Members” of the dinner music club must
agree to listen to all the selections as a family, at least once, and to post a comment on
the club website or club bulletin board in the school.
ATHLETICS
Dance Revolution System
This grant will enhance Murray Avenue’s already popular dance unit as part of the
Physical Education curriculum. In addition to being a fun aerobic workout, DDR allows
children to participate at an individual level, which is beneficial to students who may shy
away from more traditional athletic activities. The new equipment will allow more
students to become engaged in interactive dance sessions by practicing the moves
shown on the TV while following along using color-coded practice pads. When gym
space is available, this equipment will also be used as a supplemental recess activity
and an alternative gym activity on inclement weather days.
Softball Complex
An exciting project for the Athletic Department will be launched with an award to renovate
an existing softball field at Central School. This grant will allow the district to create a
Girls Softball Complex, where girls on the Modified, Junior Varsity and Varsity teams can
practice, play games and host tournaments. The new field will also be available for use
by the Little League. The School District will also be contributing to the funding of this
project.
PERFORMING ARTS
Pace Theater Piano
The Foundation, in partnership with the School District, is awarding PACE, the high
school’s Performing Arts Curriculum Experience, funding to purchase a new upright
piano for the Pace Theater. PACE produces at least ten evening music performances
each year, and the piano also will be used for classes, rehearsals, daytime programs,
assemblies and other programs, benefiting the 220 Pace students and their audiences
and guests.
Afterschool Fiddling Performance Group
This grant supports a district-wide after-school fiddle group open to 5th, 6th, and 7th
grade students by audition. The group will include violinists, violists, cellists, and bass
players. Fiddling encourages string students to learn to play music by ear and develop
pitch memory, and also gives them a unique opportunity to play as part of a small group
ensemble. Various fiddling traditions will be incorporated.
Music Enrichment for Minority Students and Low-Income Families
This grant seeks to provide music enrichment to students who many not continue music
once they reach Hommocks, due to cultural or socioeconomic factors. This grant seeks
to extend the District-wide instrument rental program (currently offered in grades 3-5), so
that it will be available to students through the eighth grade. This grant has three
initiatives: 1) to allow the District to purchase instruments over a two-year period so they
can be made available to outgoing fifth graders to rent at a nominal cost; 2) to provide
instruction in band, chorus, and orchestra during the District’s summer co-op camp; and
3) to offer free music instruction at lunch and/or after school. This grant will fund the
program for two years.
Orchestra Partnership
This grant will establish a four-year music education partnership between the
Mamaroneck High School orchestra and the N.Y. Philharmonic. Instructional sessions
will be given at MHS by Philharmonic musicians, including master classes for the full
orchestra, coaching for orchestra sections and chamber groups, training in specialized
skills, and lessons connected to the orchestral studies curriculum. MHS orchestra
students will also attend Philharmonic performances at Lincoln Center, including private
post-concert Q & A sessions with the musicians. Hommocks eighth-grade orchestra
members will participate in the activities during the spring before their initiation into the
high school orchestra. The program will additionally be funded through a combination of
other sources, including donations from the orchestra parents, a subsidy from the N.Y.
Philharmonic and funds from the district.
LITERACY
Building Community Reading (R.O.A.R.)
Building on the CORE? program being started at Murray Avenue School, which focuses
on themes of community, cooperation, communication and conflict resolution, this grant
will be used to purchase books to reinforce and enrich these themes and connect them
to literacy instruction. The books will be read aloud by teachers with follow-up student
discussions and activities, so that a common understanding and language can be built
across grade levels.
Let’s Talk Books
This grant will fund the establishment of literature circles at the High School and at
Hommocks. Small groups of students will choose their own reading materials and meet
on a regular schedule to discuss their reading with a teacher acting as a facilitator. The
literature circles are used as part of the English curriculum and serve to encourage
independent reading. Five teachers and over 500 students will be served by this grant.
Classroom Libraries in Ninth-Grade English
The High School English department will be receiving a grant to establish libraries in
each 9th grade English classroom. The purpose of these libraries is to encourage
students to borrow books from them and read outside of the class; the libraries will
provide students with greater access to books in a more informal way as well as
encourage them to share their reading experiences with other students. The teachers
will purchase a wide variety of books, including young adult and contemporary literature.
Video Digital Arts
Keeping the Dream Alive
This grant is designed to involve Hommocks Middle School and Mamaroneck High
School students in the production of a video honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. and the legacy of the civil rights movement. Residents of Larchmont and
Mamaroneck who participated in the civil rights struggle, knew Dr. King personally, or
have messages of equality to convey will be interviewed and videotaped for this project.
The Human Rights Commission, the Larchmont Mamaroneck Summit, and the Interfaith
Council will solicit community members to be interviewed, primarily through local
churches and synagogues. Under the direction of the Hommocks media teacher,
students will learn video production skills including video editing, story composition, and
interviewing. The end product, which will incorporate archival video footage, will be a
documentary video that will air on LMC-TV during the week of Martin Luther King's
birthday in January 2007. The video will also be supplied to the Hommocks and High
School social studies departments and the elementary schools.
Mamaroneck Schools Foundation Post Office Box 123 Larchmont, New York 10538
copyright 2004 Mamaroneck Schools Foundation
Privacy Statement
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