Brighton Education Fund Grants to Council Rock Primary School

		2008 Multilingual Book Collection Funding to help build a multilingual book collection for the more than 180 students at Council Rock speaking other languages. The books will be available in the library for everyone's use. 2007 1950s History Program Funding for the development and delivery of programming that helped all of our first- and second-graders understand life in the 1950s. The staff of the Strong National Museum of Play presented two interactive assemblies for first graders, and second graders went to the Strong Museum and enjoyed a variety of '50s-themed activities developed expressly in celebration of Council Rock School's 50th anniversary. Story and photos... Poet in Residence Funding of a four-visit in-residence program for two second-grade classes with Rochester poet Sally Bittner Bonn. Funded by a grant from BEF's Cultural Life Endowment Fund. Soundfield Amplification System Purchase of a soundfield amplification system for a Council Rock classroom. The system permits students with a variety of hearing impairments to learn productively, side-by-side with students whose hearing is unimpaired. Funded by a targeted donation from a district family. Story and photos... 2006 Local History Field Trip Funding for a field trip for a blended second grade class including stops at Indian Landing, the waterways of Ellison park, High Falls and the Stone-Tolan House. The trip is an integral part of a unit on local history. Funded with monies from the Al Lewis Fund. Story and photos.... Language Games for ESOL Classes A targeted donation from Charlotte and Nelson Cohen in memory of Bessie Bloom funded the purchase of language games for use in ESOL classes at Council Rock. Field Trip to Genesee Country Village A targeted donation from Anthony Amado allowed us to fund a field trip to Genesee Country Village for Michelle Oravec's second-grade class. Speech Recognition Software Purchase of a copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking for use with students who have unusual difficulty with written expression. These are students who often have strong verbal abilities but who struggle with the act of writing. A representative from AchieveResults willl work with teachers and students to refine their use of the software. Purchase funded with monies from the Al Lewis Fund. Wireless Microphone Purchase of a new wireless microphone for the Council Rock auditorium. A wireless mic will allow speakers, storytellers, visiting authors, and musicians to make their performances more natural and dynamic. 2005 Bagel Bakery Field Trip Funding of a field trip to Bruegger's Bagel Bakery for Melissa Klein's first-grade class. The class was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the bakery in honor of Ms. Klein's having been named Teacher of the Week by Bruegger's and the Messenger Post newspapers. Story and photos... "Dance Asia" Field Trip Funding of a field trip to the Auditorium Center for a performance of "Dance Asia," which celebrates the traditional dance and acrobatics of the Chinese culture. Two first-grade classes will see this production in conjunction with a unit on cultural diversity. Funded by a grant from BEF's Cultural Life Endowment Fund. Story and photos... Rochester Children's Theater Field Trip Funding of a field trip to the Nazareth College Arts Center for the Rochester Children's Theater production of "A Year with Frog and Toad." Two second-grade classes will see this production that brings a favorite piece of literature to life. Funded by a grant from BEF's Cultural Life Endowment Fund. Counseling Library Funding for the second phase of a library of children's literature for use by the Counseling Department. The books focus on social and emotional issues that impact primary school students. They will be used to encourage conversation and writing around topics that are often hard for children to discuss. Phase 1 funding was awarded in 2004. Story and photo... 2004 Impressionist Art Study This grant enabled Mrs. Waugh's blended second grade class to undertake a special art project: They studied the work of Joseph Turner (an Impressionist painter), took a trip to Corbett's Glen to capture landscapes with digital cameras, then worked on their own paintings with the help of Dick Kane (a nationally-known artist). Funded by a donation from Jody Siegle and Reuben Epstein. Story and photo... Japanese Culture CRPS teacher Karen Allen traveled to Japan as part of the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program. This grant enabled her to share her experience with students in a number of ways that complement curriculum units on diversity and community. A series of workshops on Japanese storytelling with noted storyteller Jay Stetzer was included. Story and photo... Wireless Weather Station Purchase of a wireless weather station allows children to gather, record, report, and analyze local weather data in real time. In addition to student use, the school nurse now uses the data to make informed decisions on the safety of playing outdoors at recess; without this equipment, a school-wide decision was made based on the weather at the airport. Counseling Library Purchase of a library of children's literature for use by the Counseling Department. The books focus on social and emotional issues that impact primary school students. They will be used to encourage conversation and writing around topics that are often hard for children to discuss. Story and photo... GEVA Theater Field Trip Funding of a field trip to the Geva Theater for two first-grade classes and two second-grade classes. They saw a performance that tied into their efforts to incorporate drama with their social studies unit on diversity. Story and photos... 2003 Jack Gantos Author Visit BEF provided partial funding for a visit from author Jack Gantos, popular author of the Jack Henry* and Rotten Ralph series.* Ink-Jet Printer for the Art Program Purchase of an HP 6127 ink-jet printer, to enrich the art program. Initially, this printer will enable production of instruction cards that improve the effectiveness of the teacher and provide some autonomy for the students. It will also be used for the creation of display materials and family communications. Later, it will provide students the opportunity to design illustrations and other computer-generated graphics. The purchase includes supplies and network interface equipment. Funded by the Stephen Monk Gift. 2002 GEVA Theater Field Trip Funding of a field trip to the Geva Theater for two second-grade classes. They will see a performance and tour the theater, the costume shop, and other backstage areas. Story and photos... Robin Pulver Author Visit Funding to bring guest author Robin Pulver to visit. Robin Pulver is a popular local author, who will work in groups with all the students. Story and photos... Ed Klorman, Artist-in-Residence As part of a three-week artist-in-residence visit that took him to every school in the district, violist Ed Klorman taught a music lesson to each of the first- and second-grade classes. Ed's work in the schools was funded by a special gift from Robert Gianniny. Story and photos... 2001 Mozart for the Classroom Purchase of three classroom sets of "The Mozart Effect: Music for Children." Each is a three-CD set of discs containing selections intended to: improve focus, concentration, and listening; calm the mind and body; or inspire creative processes. 2000 Nancy Carlstrom Author Visit Funding to bring in author Nancy Carlstrom to visit the school. Story... 1999 Storyteller Doll for the Art Program There is an annual interdisciplinary program on the American southwest that utilizes Native American storyteller dolls as a centerpiece. We purchased a doll to serve as a model and a departure point for the work in this unit. Story and photos... Magnetic Audio Card Reader for the Speech Program Purchase of a device used by speech therapists to allow children to practice pronunciation independently. Eric Kimmel Author Visit Another author visit to allow children to meet a working writer of children's books. Story... Butterfly Garden Funds were provided to purchase materials for the children to plant a permanent garden designed to attract butterflies. 1998 Inuit Play As a culmination to an interdisciplinary unit on the Inuits, a production of a play about their lives was presented during two assemblies. 1997 Paul Zelinsky Author Visit The three-time Caldecott medallist and winner of numerous other recognitions, came to read his books and visit with the students. Story... 1996 Books to Supplement a Memorial Art Gallery Exhibit about Illustrators The children went to the gallery to see the original art, then studied the illustration styles from the books along with the stories, finally writing stories of their own and illustrating them in the manner of artists from the exhibit. 1995 Interdisciplinary Art and Literature Author's Series A collection of children's literature tied to a particular event in the school. June, 2008 Brighton Education Fund c/o Brighton Schools, 2035 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618 voice (585) 461-0434 fax (208) 975-7494