After receiving several grant requests for sensory materials from different schools, the Foundation saw the need, and decided to make one large grant to impact ALL the schools. Coordinated by Dr. Susan Coleman, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services, the grant was used to purchase carpet, bean bags, a swing, mats, and numerous sensory tools for Spencer Loomis. At Isaac Fox, the Chill Zone is now decked out in style, with a new swing, canoe pod, bean bags, mats and additional sensory tools. At Middle School South, Chillville now has a water feature, light box, and other smaller sensory tools, thanks to this grant. The High School Sensory Room got new bean bags too! Every school in D95 received funds to purchase additional sensory tools. Dr. Coleman worked with D95 staff and OTs to determine each school's needs. The Foundation is thrilled to be able to provide these additional therapeutic resources for students and staff to utilize!
Drum circles are a way to create community through individualized performance and improvisation. Students have enjoyed using verbal and non-verbal communication to play a variety of musical games that reinforce musical skills of rhythm, performance, and collaboration. The drum circle kit is being integrated into the Transitional Cadet Choir class, which is a completely integrated regular and special educational music performance class. Students work together (modeled after integrated PE and SNAP) to create meaningful musical experiences based on singing, movement and composing/creating.
Click HERE to see a video of the drum circle in action!
A viable school library addresses the evolving needs of its 21st century students; the STEM/STEAM initiative is a learning opportunity that enables librarians to provide additional opportunities for exploring real world problems. This grant establishes several "innovation stations" that will be utilized in ALL 5 elementary school libraries and classrooms. Stations include cubelets, KEVA planks, edison robots, bitsbox, LEGO WeDo, snap circuits, and bloxel builders. Thank you to Ms. Delzell and Ms. Kuehl for spearheading this wonderful opportunity for all D95 elementary school students!