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1999/2000 Grant Awards

By Sandy Mouat
CORRESPONDENT

The Lafayette Arts & Science Foundation has awarded several new grants to Lafayette schools, providing many innovative projects and pilot programs for the year 2000.
        Springhill Elementary School received two grants, the first for a pilot program directly tied to the new social studies curriculum guidelines. Using historical figures as subjects, the second graders will learn basic note taking, research, and report writing skills. The students will participate in guided reading groups with new sets of biographies and cassette tapes to accompany each book.
        The second grant acknowledges that there are many different levels of reading ability among students entering first grade. This new reading program differentiates and addresses these varied levels of reading ability and aids in the tracking of student progress throughout the school year.
        Two grants were also awarded to Lafayette Elementary, one of which will supply well-produced instructional videos to enrich the school music program. The other involves a school-wide project to create and maintain a website where work by students from all of the grades, across the curriculum, will be uploaded and accessible on the internet, at the "Lafayette School Publishing Post".
        Burton Valley Elementary received a grant for a new project that will enrich the third grade study of the history of Lafayette. The students will create a floor-size, (6’ by 8’), map of Lafayette in the early days, and design and construct three-dimensional models of the buildings of old Lafayette.
        Through another grant, the fourth grade classes at Happy Valley Elementary will begin a social studies program tied in with the celebration of the California Sesquicentennial. They will research important events in the state’s history and develop a website to display their reports and related multimedia materials gathered during their research.
        Stanley Intermediate School received three grants. One will provide two computer midi stations for the new music building. The midi lab will allow the students to use the computers, keyboards, speakers, and earphones to compose and share student developed compositions, learn and reinforce music theory, and increase listening skills.
        The second grant to Stanley will support a newspaper to be published by the students in the foreign language classes, a creative way for them to apply their acquired knowledge. The third grant will give new sewing machines to the home economics department, providing support to the very popular eighth grade Skills for Living class and the seventh grade home economics MASCH rotation elective.
        Three grants also went to Acalanes High School. The first will help to provide an outdoor classroom for biology students. The "Riparian Classroom" will give the students the experience of fieldwork via hands- on data collection, while supporting environmental science studies.
        The second grant to Acalanes will support a mural project, to be designed and painted by students from all four grades, under the direction of renowned artist, John Werhle. The third grant will give all students in the choral music program an authentic experience with African music and drumming. African percussion instruments will be purchased and guest artists will teach African drum techniques and dance.

3/00 Reprinted with permission. Visit the Contra Costa Times on the web at www.contracostatimes.com.

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