Teacher's Wishes

We are excited that so many curriculum enhancing tools will be purchased as a result of funds provided by the Teachers' Wishes program. Thank you to all of our teachers who have worked tirelessly to collaborate on how to best use these funds. We are also very grateful for the time and effort that our parent coordinators, Mary Ellen Gilbert (Cole) and Liz Savinelli (Spofford), have given to facilitating the success of the program this year!

Check out the following programs that have been approved by the PTO Board and are in the process of being implemented:

Kindergarten

Materials for Learning Center activities that provide skill practice and guided exploration.

First Grade

Organism unit materials which include living organisms and related supplies, and educational games in the areas of math and language arts.

Multi-Age

Organism unit materials which include living organisms and related supplies.

Second Grade

Books to update individual classroom libraries by replacing lovingly worn copies as well as providing for new acquisitions.

Art (Cole)

Funds to frame multiple pieces of he PTO/Cole Collaborative Community Canvas Project which will be displayed permanently at the Cole School.

Physical Education (Cole)

Storage display case for current year awards and achievements.

Special Education (Cole)

Supplemental materials for the four resource rooms: occupational therapy, physical therapy, guidance and speech and language.

Third Grade

Book storage carts for curriculum related reading materials (allowing easy access for the children to utilize) and science materials (weather, erosion and water cycle kits).

Fourth Grade

Videos to update and enhance the science, social studies and language arts curriculum.

Fifth Grade

Writers Express Student Handbooks which match the current writing curriculum.

Sixth Grade

Literature enrichment materials to enhance and support the Reading curriculum and Ancient Coins for Education to support the Social Studies curriculum.

Physical Education (Spofford)

Cordless head-sets and microphones to be used during Steps to Respect presentations (and will be available for other presentations and performances).

Special Education (Spofford)

School membership to Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic and two Telex Scholar CD Players to access the recordings.

Curriculum Enrichment

This year we have budgeted $12,000 for curriculum enrichment programs. Our children are very fortunate to have these supplemental programs to enhance their learning experience. Current year programs are in the process of being submitted by the teachers and reviewed by our coordinators.

Kindergarten through Sixth

Arithmetickles – This program is an interactive live theatre assembly that explores the most imaginative and entertaining aspects of math. It is a captivating format that combines comedy, pantomime and theatrical effects to demonstrate that learning math can be exciting, challenging and FUN!

2nd Grade

Abraham Lincoln – (Historical Perspectives)

3rd Grade

Weather - In this workshop the children used hands-on experiments to demonstrate basic science principles that affect our weather. They explored the answers to the following questions: What is weather? What is air pressure and how does it affect weather? How is lightning formed? Students had fun looking at weather in a whole new way. For more information go to www.techsploration.com.

4th Grade

Simple Machines - Program includes a show entitled "Simple Machines Made Fun" for the whole grade, followed by a hands-on workshop entitled "Gearing Up For Speed". Using different contraptions (i.e. levers, gears, pulleys, catapults, etc.) the show demonstrates how all simple machines trade force for distance to help us do work. In the workshops, students will get a chance to build a transmission system for their motor driven cars using gears, belts and pulleys. In the process of testing their cars uphill and downhill, students will learn how different gear combinations can be used to improve the car's efficiency and speed. For more information go to www.techsploration.com.

5th Grade

Electricity and Magnetism – Program includes a show entitled "Shocking Facts of Electricity" followed by a hands-on workshop entitled "Circuits and Electricity". The show demonstrates the basic laws of electricity and magnetism using student participation and different props including a Van de Graff generator, Tesla coil, and even a light saber. In the workshops, students get a chance to design and build basic electronic circuits to learn about basic electrical components (i.e. resistors, switches, electromagnets, etc). Once they capture these concepts, they will build their own electrical device. For more information go to www.techsploration.com.

6th Grade

Transportation –Program demonstrates the basic principals and history of transportation and flight through the use of fun props. In the workshops, students will design and build their own magnetic levitation racer out of foam and their own air water rocket. Then by using data collected and math skills they will be able to evaluate their design success. For more information go to www.techsploration.com.

Community Outreach

Currently the C.A.R.E. Committee is sponsoring the following program. Check back for additional programs as the year progresses.

Wish list

This year we purchased a brand new Yamaha upright piano for the Cole School music department. The piano was delivered in November and is currently being used for school performances. Thank you to Mrs. Spinosa and Mr. Turner for their guidance and assistance throughout the purchasing process.

In the 2005/06 school year, the following items were purchased under our Arts and Music Enrichment Grant:

• Art – Spofford (detailed proposal is pending)
• Projector for the Spofford Pond School

In the 2004/05 school year, the following items were purchased under our Arts and Music Enrichment Grant:

• Art – Cole – Materials for acrylic paintings on canvas and several original folk art works to help the children gain a fuller understanding of the role that art plays in a culture.
• Music – Cole and Spofford – Much needed new performance risers for special events were purchased. Each school now has their own set of risers. The old ones were being shared by both schools and were on their last legs!