D39 Foundation

Cheri Bridge and Jill Forti, Technology Specialists at WJHS, were awarded a grant to purchase 29 MERGE cubes to support the initiation of the D39 Augmented Reality program, which builds upon the existing Virtual Reality program. MERGE cubes allow students to visualize complex systems by turning 3D models into a virtual object that students can manipulate, allowing them to better ‘experience’ the content they are studying.

All four elementary schools will benefit from the grant for Sensory Paths to be installed in each of the schools.  A Sensory Path is an organized course typically placed in a school hallway that encourages a routine, predictable motor break and provides students with an additional place to take ‘brain breaks’ during the school day. This grant was a collaborative effort involving 10 staff members, namely: Elyse Adamo (Romona LBS), Michelle Mermelstein (Romona OT), Lindsey Barnes (Romona Early Childhood OT), Gabrielle Young (Romona 1^st Grade Teacher), Muffy Pinney (Harper Librarian), Anne Clark (Harper LBS), Emma Hearty (Central LBS), Kathleen Peth (Central PE Teacher), Andrea Zito (Central Nurse), Paula Lundell (McKenzie OT).

Four Gripp Grants were awarded on November 14th for the Fall 2018 grant season.

Jeneane Pence, Highcrest PE teacher, was awarded a grant for 30 Zone watches to assist students with heart rate monitoring during PE activities. Students will get accurate, real time feedback while still active to help them make a connection between their intensity level and heart rate. Teachers will also be able to use this information to personalize the students’ fitness goals.

D39 Student Services Coordinator, Taylor Harvey and Romona/Harper Assistant Principal, Elena Ryan were awarded a grant to purchase 20 Qballs and JBL Flip portable speakers which will be used in all D39 elementary schools. A Qball is a ball-shaped microphone that sends a user’s voice via Bluetooth to a speaker that amplifies their words for all to hear.  It can be passed or tossed around the classroom as students answer questions, read papers, and contribute to conversations. It supports collaboration in the classroom and an inclusive and shared learning environment for all students including those with speech and hearing special needs.

All elementary schools will benefit from the grant for 32 Sphero BOLT robots awarded to the four schools’ technology teachers Julie Garry, Lauren Wysocke, Beth Cummo and Christina Rosario. Each school was granted 8 robots which will provide students with a hands-on opportunity to expand their coding skills. With three different coding canvases – Draw, Block and Text – that move from beginner to advanced coding skills, the robots can be differentiated by age group and coding ability. Robots will be used in many different classes including math, social studies, art, etc.

Central PE teacher, Kathleen Peth, was awarded a grant to purchase 5 Gameballs to be used in PE. These balls link via Bluetooth to nine game apps that voice directions for each activity as well as updates scores, distance, etc. These games give students immediate feedback on their game skills and technique. These games can utilize math, measurement and competitive skills as well.

Due to the resounding success of Meghan Espinoza’s 2017 Gripp Grant for pedal desks in her 6th grade classroom, the D39 Educational Foundation has gifted Highcrest and WJHS up to $5000 to purchase approximately 144 under-desk pedal units to be used in classrooms across the two campuses. 

The District 39 Educational Foundation announced that three Gripp Grant’s were awarded this spring, totaling a gift of $14,031 to District 39. The Gripp Grants will impact students at Highcrest, Wilmette Junior High and those in the comprehensive needs classrooms throughout the district. Overall the District 39 Educational Foundation had a very robust year awarding 9 grants and gifting a total of $25,164. 

Moticams:  Dr. Peter Ower, requested the purchase of 4 Moticams (one per classroom) to enhance the 7th grade science curriculum. Moticams are special cameras that can be mounted to the lab microscopes already in use at Wilmette Junior High School. These cameras will allow students to take pictures of their work in biology and share this work with their teachers and other students. The current practice is for students to hand draw what they view in the microscopes or in some cases attempt to photograph their findings with iPads. Moticams will eliminate this cumbersome practice, streamline the workflow during biology labs, and encourage collaboration between lab groups and science classes. The Foundation was so excited about the potential for these cameras to significantly impact students’ class work, that the board approved the requested 4 cameras plus an additional 20 cameras. This gift allows for six cameras per classroom, or approximately 1 camera per 6 students.

 

 

Raspberry Pi Boards:  Connie Clark, related arts teacher at Highcrest, was awarded a grant to purchase Raspberry Pi coding boards for her Introduction to Computational Thinking Classes. The Raspberry Pi boards will be integrated into Ms. Clarks’ curriculum providing differentiated instruction for the varying coding skill levels of her students. The grant will purchase 12 Raspberry Pi programming boards, two monitors, protective cases and all required accessories to support this Highcrest course.

Multi-Sensory Equipment for Comprehensive Needs Classrooms:  Betsy Crosswhite was awarded a Gripp Grant on behalf of the parent advisory committee PASS39. Mrs. Crosswhite’s grant will provide innovative multi-sensory equipment for each of the comprehensive needs classroom areas throughout the district. Often, some special needs students can become overwhelmed with the continual sensory inputs during a regular school day and finding a quiet place to re-group is required. The elementary schools will each receive two bubble water tubes that can be used to calm and re-center students through soothing sounds and soft lights. Highcrest and WJHS will each receive a back-lit LED marble wall panel. This large-scale sensory tool with soothing lights and marbles will assist students in their efforts to calm themselves. The purchase of these tools for all the schools will provide a unique experience to help these students stay at their ideal regulatory state. The equipment will be placed in the classrooms in Dr. Denise Thrasher’s name as appreciation for all she has done in the past 18 years to make education and learning more accessible for this population of students.

Six Gripp Grants were funded for the 2017 Fall grant cycle:

Mayaan Sloane and Samantha Sutton, Highcrest Technology Innovation Specialists, were granted the purchase of video and recording equipment to transition the weekly WHMS News into a live student written, directed and executed broadcast. Currently only two students per homeroom participate in the broadcast creation and all of the editing, filming, etc. is done by Ms. Sloane and Ms. Sutton. The new, student-led format allows one homeroom each week to write, prepare, film and star in the broadcast. Students will choose roles: scriptwriter, feature creator, anchor, editor, camera operator, sound mixer, meteorologist, or producer. Every student who desires to participate will have the chance to actively create a final live broadcast shared with their classmates and community. 

The elementary school Differentiation Specialist Teachers, led by McKenzie’s Julie Garry, were awarded a grant to create individual recording studios.  This inventive grant will fund the creation of sound-proof cubes to be used across all 4 elementary schools.  The cubes will enable students to record assignments onto their laptops and iPads in a “soundproof booth”.  The cubes will aid in the production quality of individual recordings and provide a private space for less confident learners.  Thanks to this grant each school will have 12 recording studios available for use in their Learning Commons.

Rachel Frost, WJHS Technology Applications Teacher, will purchase 9 Cue the Cleverbots to augment the current Technology Applications courses with a more sophisticated hands-on coding experience. These robots bridge the gap between simplicity and complexity experienced by 8th grade students learning to code. When students are coding in Python, it is difficult for them to visualize what they’re creating, because they only see output of numbers and letters. This does not align with the advanced, flashy technology they know and use daily. By programming a robot using Python, students will be able to test and see the physical output of their program. This experience helps them actualize what they’re coding, build confidence and interest, and bridge the gap between the computer and physical worlds.

WJHS and Highcrest Library/Information Specialists, Daphna Neirick and Kristy Rieger, were awarded a grant to pilot a NewsELA Pro news subscription service providing quality news and article sources tailored to students’ individual learning abilities. This pilot will allow Highcrest and WJHS to evaluate the usability of NewsELA Pro, a high-quality, reliable reading subscription series that can be tailored to a student’s reading and understanding level, in relation to other subscription series currently used within the district.

Harper School’s art teacher, Katherine Robinson was awarded a grant to purchase materials to fund her school wide Only You art project.  All children at Harper will read Only You by Linda Kranz.  Following class discussion students will have the opportunity to paint a small rock inspired by the book’s message: There is only one you in this big world, make it a better place.  Upon completion, the rocks will be used to create a pathway in the Harper School Outdoor classroom.

Central School’s Julie Mirabelli and Kathleen Peth partnered on a grant to purchase Kid Power Bands for Mrs. Mirabelli’s third grade classroom.  The bands combine individual fitness tracking with the reward of assisting individuals in underdeveloped countries.  As the students track their physical activity they will unlock charity funding for the country of their choice.  In addition to directing charity dollars to their chosen country they will learn more about the part of the world they are assisting.  The grant will help Mrs. Mirabelli’s third graders improve their fitness, set and achieve personal goals, and gain a broader global perspective.