Above: Recipients of educator mini-grants from Corridor Nine (Andy Weigl Photography)
Corridor Nine recently gave out mini-grants to local educators. It was their biggest round of grants to date with 26 awards split between a dozen area schools. Grants totaled $9,177.
This time, the regional high schools attended by Southborough students captured a lion’s share of the awards. Algonquin Regional High School and Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School each received five awards. Algonquin was granted over $1,600 in funding and Assabet close to $2,000.
The awards are sponsored by area businesses. Click the photo right for more details on the sponsors.
Grant details for the two schools are listed below:
Algonquin Regional High School
The T-Hawk Stock Exchange – $374.97
Mary Beth Pappas, Applied Art & Technology Teacher
This grant will fund a television for Algonquin’s interactive financial learning lab known as the T-Hawk Stock Exchange to educate young investors. Algonquin will be one of the first public high schools in Massachusetts to provide their students with a financial literacy learning area and engage students with real world financial applications. The T-Hawk Stock Exchange will include the TV with live streaming business news with stock ticker information from the NASDAQ and The New York Stock Exchange and will be equipped with interactive financial calculators such as; credit card interest rates, car interest and payoffs, personal budget, mortgage rates and terms.
BeeKeepers Club – $330.00
Lorraine Zanini, Chemistry Teacher/Science Dept. Chair
This grant is being used to create a hive for the BeeKeepers Club. Students will learn the importance of having bees and the trouble with their colony collapse. In the spring, they will create a hive at Algonquin and it will be studied by science classes to enhance the curriculum being discussed.
School Newspaper Video Recording Kits – $306.74
Lindsay Coppens, English Teacher
This grant will fund the addition of two “video kits” to allow student journalists to produce higher quality video and audio recordings. Algonquin’s school newspaper and journalism classes have recently begun delving into the world of video and other multi-media reporting (such as podcasts) through their publication’s website. Students in the classes and on the extra-curricular newspaper staff would produce videos to report on many news events to further engage their publication’s audience while learning and practicing essential reporting and production skills.
Creating Fashion from Trash – $319.90
Nikki Ruffo, Economics Teacher
This grant funds supplies for the Fashion and Design Class to design and construct articles of clothing and accessories made from everyday items sitting around their homes. Students will use newspapers, magazines, old books, wrapping paper, garbage bags, old homework, cereal boxes, juice packets, old clothes, etc. to create various articles of clothing throughout the semester. After completing each design, students will photograph all of their designs and present their virtual fashion show as a final exam grade.
Balancing our Way to a Better Classroom Experience – $275.29
Gina Johnston, Social Studies Teacher
This grant will fund stability balls for the classroom. Rather than students taking a break, leaving the classroom and missing out on important class instruction and time, the use of stability balls will provide them the movement their body needs without missing out on the content their minds need.
Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School
Laboratory Applications of Environmental Science – $393.00
Kimberly Stencel, Biotechnology Teacher
This grant will fund Vernier probes for the purpose of teaching water quality testing and environmental science techniques to students. The use of the Vernier probes in a science classroom allows students to make connections to abstract scientific theories that may otherwise be difficult to grasp. The students will also gain proficiency in gathering and graphing environmental data through the use of this technology.
Read with M – $376.11
Stephanie Weinfurt, English Teacher/Advanced Placement Liaison
This grant will fund Kindle e-readers for students who are struggling readers and learn best when they are read to. Students will borrow the e-reader that is loaded with digital print and audio versions of the novels read for class so that they can hear the novel being read to them while they read along. The technology will be made available to students during and after school.
Controller Area Network (CAN BUS) Training for Automotive Technology Students – $398.00
Paul Airoldi, Automotive Technology Teacher
This grant will fund CAN Bus Training programs for the automotive technology students. Currently the students use state of the art automotive scan tools to diagnose and repair CAN Bus faults. These CAN Bus Training boards, paired with their Fluke Multimeters, will provide students with both the hardware and software knowledge of these systems that they will need to truly succeed in the field of automotive technology as well as most other transportation technologies using Controller Area Network (CAN) systems including motorcycles, recreational vehicles, boats, aircraft, heavy equipment and more.
Creating Peace and Understanding Using Social Media – $400.00
Deb Harper, Design & Visual Communications Teacher
Students will use their digital media skills to create a “positivity campaign” for Assabet students and possibly middle school students. The grant will be used to purchase their starter package of button materials, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and water bottles and then merchandise will be sold to raise funds for future events and other peace keeping initiatives.
Clinical Medical Assistant Phlebotomy and Injection – $400.00
Mary Miller, Health Technologies Teacher
This grant will fund training equipment to help students become more confident in blood drawing and injection skills for their Clinical Medical Assistant program.
