Grants in Action
2024 Community Connections
Greenland Central School: Stacey Gosselin
Focusing on building life-long physical fitness among middle school students, the class “Lifetime Sports and Activities” introduced a wide range of activities that students can participate in for the rest of their lives. The grant funded both specific machines, including rowing machines, stationary bikes, and materials to create a disc golf course. The grant also funds exposure to types of fitness through field trip and guest visits from Exeter Fencing Academy, High Standards Stables, New Hampshire Fish and Game, Golf and Ski Warehouse, and Maxway Performance.
Stacey shared: “The biggest success I have had with this grant is the relationships that been formed by reaching out to community organizations”
2024 The Regulated Classroom
Dondero School: Katie Joffes
Addressing the needs of incoming students with limited self-regulations skills, this grant provides tools and strategies typically used in Occupational Therapy settings within all kindergarten classes to proactively provide self-regulations skills. Tools purchased include, but are not limited to fidget tools, therapy bands, wiggle stools, lap desks and weighted blankets, as well as professional support in the introduction of these materials to young learners through the text and online site of The Regulated Classroom.
Katie shared the biggest success of this grant so far has been “seeing Kindergartners take ownership of their learning and discovering strategies that are helpful to them.”
2024 Mobile Art Panels
Little Harbour School: Andrew French
Seeking to bring together the entire Little Harbour Community through whole school art shows and other community events, this grant provides mobile art panels to display student work in an environment accessible by all members of the LHS community. The panels also provide for multi-disciplinary cross grade level events, including, but not limited to, musical performances or academic celebrations paired with art to showcase integrated, project based learning.
Andrew shared: “ Last year’s art show was a tremendous success thanks to the implementation of the art panels. We have also used the panels (throughout the year) for grade level plays, presentations, and backdrops for events.”
2023 Alphabet Garden
Rye Elementary: Eileen Murphy
Embedding curriculum into real-life, sustainable learning, this grant provides for the design and creation of a “working” Alphabet Garden, showcasing plants from each letter. Students are responsible for choosing the plants, researching the needs and habits, measuring the spaces, calculating costs and planting and maintaining the actual garden. The project, now spanned over several grade levels, creates environmentally literate citizens who can become stewards of our Earth, able to make decisions using scientific, ethical and aesthetic lenses.
Eileen shared “the biggest success was watching the students engagement in real life problem solving work. They knew what the task was and understood that this… was for a garden they were plannting and that it was important for our school” and added…” they were motivated and excited to be a part of something bigger.”
2023 Vacation Weeks STEAM
New Franklin Elementary : Tammi Truax + Sarah Jones
Designed to invite students to experiment, problem-solve, learn and see themselves as innovative designers, this grant provided materials for all learners in grades 3 -5 with individual take-home STEAM vacation packets. The grant allowed for the purchase of motors, magnets and other high interest components, serving to ignite student curiosity. Prior to each vacation week, students were presented with a range of challenges and invited to choose their own materials.
Sarah commented: “ The biggest success was hearing how excited the students were with their designs and the problems they needed to solve. I have one student tell me he didn’t do the challenge but had made something totally different with the items. This felt like a total win!”
2022/23 Clipper Ripper
Portsmouth Middle School: Emily Sherman
Focusing on the newly developed STEM program at Portsmouth Middle School, the grant provided the funds for the preparation, deployment and tracking of a 5 foot sailboat equipped with a GPS transmitter through the partnership with Educational Passages. Students connected the design and items included within the hull to celebrate Portsmouth 400 and presented the boat at Prescott Park in February before launching in March of 2023. You can follow the Clipper Ripper’s progress here.
2021/23 Wired Wednesdays
Dondero Elementary School: Alex Clithero & Allison Smick
Focusing on introducing real world skills, this grant allowed for the creation of a coffee cart with students in charge of all the components: making the order forms and the actual coffees, delivering the coffee to staff, and collecting the money. Students work together in delivery teams.
2022/23 Vertical Grow System
Maude H. Trefethen School: Anna Spalding
Bringing science standards to life by providing hands-on experiences growing food year round with an aeroponic growing system , this grant serves all learners and staff at New Castle Elementary school. Students observe, collect data and enjoy the efforts of their labor through cooking and providing snacks. A full school curriculum has been enacted with the purchase of the system.
2022/23 Career Pathways Resource Center
Portsmouth High School: Nicole Bellabona
This grant increased the visibility and accessibility of Career Technical Education programs at Portsmouth High School, neighboring schools and trade schools. Interested students come to the newly designed space to explore careers through offerings such as internships, work-based learning, apprenticeship pathways, part time job opportunities, and entry level work opportunities for new graduates.