Home

2006-2007 Academic Year Grants

The Guilford Fund for Education approved the following grant applications in 2006-2007.

APPLE Pi Robotics (An Elizabeth C. Adams Grant)

This proposal adds a dimension to the opportunities at GHS by establishing a FIRST Robotics Team - FIRST standing for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. FIRST is also sponsored by NASA and is open to any high school students. A Robotics Team will build a robot in a six week period and compete in a regional competition. It provides a unique enrichment experience for our students, creates an atmosphere for cooperation amongst a diverse group of students having different interests, fosters an opportunity for both students and parents to participate together in an activity, and exposes students to problem-solving methods in engineering science. Granted: Funds to buy the additional parts needed to enable the robot to perform the tasks that the design team deems necessary.

Guilford to Iraq Online Exchange. (An Elizabeth C. Adams Grant)

Students in Michael Dalton's World Issues/Civics courses at Guilford High School will partner with students in the Rzgary Girls School in Iraqi Kurdistan. Through regular e-mail sessions the students will jointly complete a project that focuses on a major world issue which students will explore, analyze and offer solutions to. Students will be required to consider cultural differences of their peers, adapt to those differences, and work in a positive way in the completion of their analysis. Granted: Funds to help pay for 10 refurbished computers to be sent to Kurdistan.

Smartboard (inter-active whiteboard) for Math Instruction.

Celia Wanat and the Math department at Guilford High School will develop and implement lessons which incorporate technology into math instruction through the use of an inter-active whiteboard. The teachers will learn to use the equipment though professional development provided by the district. In keeping with the district's mission, these lessons will maximize effort and rigor in teaching and learning. Granted: Funds to purchase a Smartboard, the mounting stand, and shipping costs.

People to People Ambassador Program for Physics Teachers.

Raisa Roginsky, a physics teacher at Guilford High School, will participate in a summer teacher exchange program with China where her focus will be on learning instructional strategies effective for maximizing rigor and effort in the classroom and in the lab including lecture, lab work, discussion, team work, research, field trips, and international cooperative projects. In addition to bringing her new learning to her classroom, she will explore the possibility of starting a partnership with a high school in China so that students my may work on joint projects. Granted: Some funds contingent on the applicant finding additional funding to reach the $4995 required for this project.

Guilford Free Library Oral History Podcasting Project. (An Elizabeth C. Adams Grant)

In partnership with Adams Middle School, the Guilford Free Library is proposing a long term program that will enable students to record local oral histories in the form of the a podcast. Utilizing this new technology, which represents a paradigm shift for older generations, is not only appealing to the students who will be participating in this program, it is also second nature. The byproducts of this project are many: the preservation of Guilford's history; an intergenerational encounter and learning experience; student development of new media skills; a nontraditional learning opportunity; and the acquisition of journalistic skills. Granted funds to purchase a laptop computer and attendant equipment and software. (read more - see photos)

Students for Health and Social Justice (SHSJ) Film Presentation (An Elizabeth C. Adams Grant)

Students for Health and Social Justice (SHSJ), a group formed at Guilford High School to raise awareness and provide an opportunity for students to come together to work for positive change in the world, is planning an event to increase awareness about the situation in Darfur. The group is proposing to have an evening screening at the Madison Art Cinemas of God Grew Tired of Us, a new award-winning documentary produced by National Geographic about the "lost boys of Sudan." The screening will include a discussion featuring a "lost boy" now living in New Haven. To raise money and awareness for the dire situation in Darfur, the students will organize a community-wide Darfurfast and break-fast, with all contributions going to charitable organizations working on behalf of Darfur and the "lost boys." Through extensive publicity, the student organizers intend to attract and educate both students and adults in the community. Granted funds to cover cinema rental, film rental & film rights, printing & tickets and miscellaneous expenses. (read more - see photos)

Preserve an Endangered Language (An Elizabeth C. Adams Grant)

A group of students from Guilford High School (2 seniors and 1 underclassman) will be traveling to southwest China to work on a project to help preserve Gelao, an endangered language, according to China and the United Nations. Activities of this project include audio recording the Gelao's spoken language and music, video recording traditional Gelao's costume, living environment and daily activities, translating the dictation into English and learning basic IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) from Yale linguists. An additional group of students will not travel, but will also learn IPA and work on transcription after the trip. Afterward, the students will mount an exhibition documenting their experience. The primary goal of this project is to expose students to other cultures by learning to save an endangered language. Students will learn some basic research skills and approaches to linguistic study, while accomplishing the task of adding Gelao to important language databases. Granted funds to cover a digital still camera, audio digital recording equipment, software, and exhibition materials.

Harkness Method of Instruction

The Guilford High School English and Social Studies departments, led by English teacher John Terenzi, will pilot the Harkness method of instruction, thus providing a new platform for teachers to approach their instructional practices and for students to be active participants and authentic learners. Long established outside of our district, the method moves students out of rows of desks and chairs, away from teacher-driven lessons, beyond objective-based lessons, into an interactive pedagogy. The innovation of the Harkness Table, an oval-shaped table with individual "slides" for each participant, makes this possible. Granted funds to help set up a model classroom to be used in this pilot project. (read more - see photos)