Giant Periodic Table Poster
School: Groves
Teacher: Jeffery Swietlik
Amount: $148.30
Students Impacted: 300/year
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "I would like to purchase a super large periodic table poster printed on banner material. The poster measures 50 inches high by 172 inches across. I designed the poster myself to be far superior to the comparable periodic tables [on the market]. The one I designed is bigger, more colorful, less expensive and contains more information."
School: Groves
Teacher: Jeffery Swietlik
Amount: $148.30
Students Impacted: 300/year
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "I would like to purchase a super large periodic table poster printed on banner material. The poster measures 50 inches high by 172 inches across. I designed the poster myself to be far superior to the comparable periodic tables [on the market]. The one I designed is bigger, more colorful, less expensive and contains more information."
Birmingham Robotics and STEAM grant
School: Seaholm & Groves
Teacher: Bernie Simms
Amount: $5,000
Students Impacted: 50
From the Foundation Grant Application: "This will be Birmingham's 9th season participating in competitive robotics, including the Oakland County Robotics Competition and the FIRST robotics program. Our students get the opportunity to work alongside engineers and other technical adults to not only try to build a competitive robot for a competition, but more importantly, they get to interact and ask questions about careers to help them as they decide on their futures."
School: Seaholm & Groves
Teacher: Bernie Simms
Amount: $5,000
Students Impacted: 50
From the Foundation Grant Application: "This will be Birmingham's 9th season participating in competitive robotics, including the Oakland County Robotics Competition and the FIRST robotics program. Our students get the opportunity to work alongside engineers and other technical adults to not only try to build a competitive robot for a competition, but more importantly, they get to interact and ask questions about careers to help them as they decide on their futures."
Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MINDS)
School: Seaholm and Groves
Teacher: Brian Hafner & Kathy Trupiano (Groves) and Abigail Mencotti & Mary Golanka (Seaholm)
Amount: $2,200
Students Impacted: 625
From the Foundation Grant Application: "All students will become more aware of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of mental illnesses. Students will also learn about the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses and how to help someone struggling with a mental illness. The founder and presenter of MINDS created the program to dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness and understand that it's ok to ask for help."
School: Seaholm and Groves
Teacher: Brian Hafner & Kathy Trupiano (Groves) and Abigail Mencotti & Mary Golanka (Seaholm)
Amount: $2,200
Students Impacted: 625
From the Foundation Grant Application: "All students will become more aware of the causes, symptoms, and treatment of mental illnesses. Students will also learn about the most commonly diagnosed mental illnesses and how to help someone struggling with a mental illness. The founder and presenter of MINDS created the program to dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness and understand that it's ok to ask for help."
Breakfast & Books
School: Groves
Teacher: Sharla Lawshea
Amount: $350
Students Impacted: 15-25
From the Foundation Grant Application: "Groves Breakfast & Books Club is a collaborative reading group led by staff and students, open to all Groves students. The purpose of our club is to encourage student reading for pleasure and the chance to meet with others to discuss selected titles."
School: Groves
Teacher: Sharla Lawshea
Amount: $350
Students Impacted: 15-25
From the Foundation Grant Application: "Groves Breakfast & Books Club is a collaborative reading group led by staff and students, open to all Groves students. The purpose of our club is to encourage student reading for pleasure and the chance to meet with others to discuss selected titles."
4th Grade Students to a Live Performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
School: All Elementary Schools
Teacher: Laurie Frick
Amount: $3,144
Students Impacted: 488
From the Foundation Grant Application: "The Birmingham Public School Music Department would like to take all 4th grades down to Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Michigan to see and hear the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra has created a series of Educational Concerts designed for students in grades 3-8 for just this purpose."
School: All Elementary Schools
Teacher: Laurie Frick
Amount: $3,144
Students Impacted: 488
From the Foundation Grant Application: "The Birmingham Public School Music Department would like to take all 4th grades down to Orchestra Hall in Detroit, Michigan to see and hear the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The Orchestra has created a series of Educational Concerts designed for students in grades 3-8 for just this purpose."
Standing Tall in Mathematics
School: Groves
Teacher: Thomas Kaufman
Amount: $148
Students Impacted: 315
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "High School students spend between six and seven hour sitting down in classrooms each day. I would like to place two standing tables in my classroom to provide an alternative place where students can work in my classroom. These two standing tables will be placed in a "collaboration corner". These tables will help engage all learners in my math classroom. Some students need movement to stay engaged and cannot sit all day."
School: Groves
Teacher: Thomas Kaufman
Amount: $148
Students Impacted: 315
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "High School students spend between six and seven hour sitting down in classrooms each day. I would like to place two standing tables in my classroom to provide an alternative place where students can work in my classroom. These two standing tables will be placed in a "collaboration corner". These tables will help engage all learners in my math classroom. Some students need movement to stay engaged and cannot sit all day."
Academic Language Group for English Language Learners
School: Pierce and West Maple
Teacher: Jen Hilzinger, Amanda Papahanian, & Becky Gilbert
Amount: $249.52
Students Impacted: 20
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "ESL kids often lag behind English native speakers for no other reason than the language of school is not something they have been exposed to. Kids learning English at school need engaging, robust and rich expressive language experiences to incorporate that language in to what they are learning academically. This process can take up to 8 years for full acquisition; meanwhile they are expected to be able to learn the curriculum at their grade level r they will fall behind at such a rate that it can be difficult to overcome.
Our intention is to provide academic language experiences in science topics for our ESL students that will give them opportunities to learn academic vocabulary embedded in observable science activities within their school day that are aligned with their classroom science goals."
School: Pierce and West Maple
Teacher: Jen Hilzinger, Amanda Papahanian, & Becky Gilbert
Amount: $249.52
Students Impacted: 20
From the Small but Mighty Grant Application: "ESL kids often lag behind English native speakers for no other reason than the language of school is not something they have been exposed to. Kids learning English at school need engaging, robust and rich expressive language experiences to incorporate that language in to what they are learning academically. This process can take up to 8 years for full acquisition; meanwhile they are expected to be able to learn the curriculum at their grade level r they will fall behind at such a rate that it can be difficult to overcome.
Our intention is to provide academic language experiences in science topics for our ESL students that will give them opportunities to learn academic vocabulary embedded in observable science activities within their school day that are aligned with their classroom science goals."
University Choir Mentors
School: Groves
Teacher: Carolyn Priebe
Amount: $1,000
Students Impacted: 30
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "My plan is to invite four university students who are studying vocal performance to act as mentors to the Groves High School Choir. These students would attend three rehearsals and the collage concert performance on November 17, 2017. They would be asked to work with the choir in sectional rehearsals and to sing along side them as the choir practices four university-level choir songs for the collage concert."
School: Groves
Teacher: Carolyn Priebe
Amount: $1,000
Students Impacted: 30
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "My plan is to invite four university students who are studying vocal performance to act as mentors to the Groves High School Choir. These students would attend three rehearsals and the collage concert performance on November 17, 2017. They would be asked to work with the choir in sectional rehearsals and to sing along side them as the choir practices four university-level choir songs for the collage concert."
Setting Up The Choir for Success!
School: Groves
Teacher: Carolyn Priebe
Amount: $2,100
Students Impacted: 30
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "The Groves High School choir students will be attending choir camp this fall for the second time. Students involved in any trimester of choir will be invited to participate. The group will leave Groves on Friday, September 15 and travel to the Howell Nature Center. They will spend the next 48 hours rehearing music with guest clinicians and engaging in team-building activities. Camp will come to a conclusion with a short concert."
School: Groves
Teacher: Carolyn Priebe
Amount: $2,100
Students Impacted: 30
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "The Groves High School choir students will be attending choir camp this fall for the second time. Students involved in any trimester of choir will be invited to participate. The group will leave Groves on Friday, September 15 and travel to the Howell Nature Center. They will spend the next 48 hours rehearing music with guest clinicians and engaging in team-building activities. Camp will come to a conclusion with a short concert."
Visiting Artist Steve Harpster of Harptoons
School: All Elementary and Middle Schools
Teacher: Sarah Smith
Amount: $3,000
Students Impacted: 5,000
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "Several years ago we had the artist Steve Harpster visit all the elementary schools to do a presentation on drawing and how to use letters and numbers to create artworks. Since then he has come out with new books and creations and we as a department decided we would like to bring him back because it was such a success last time. He comes to each school and will do two presentations where the students draw along with him. He also talks about what it means to be an illustrator and how he got started in art.
School: All Elementary and Middle Schools
Teacher: Sarah Smith
Amount: $3,000
Students Impacted: 5,000
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "Several years ago we had the artist Steve Harpster visit all the elementary schools to do a presentation on drawing and how to use letters and numbers to create artworks. Since then he has come out with new books and creations and we as a department decided we would like to bring him back because it was such a success last time. He comes to each school and will do two presentations where the students draw along with him. He also talks about what it means to be an illustrator and how he got started in art.
Marquis Theater, Northville, Sleeping Beauty
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Amy Denys, Lynn Cronin, & Amy Denys
Amount: $405
Students Impacted: 50
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "We would like to address the "opportunity gap" in the area of performance arts for our second grade students at Greenfield. A live theater performance is something that many of our children have not experienced. This field trip will expose them to a community theater with many child performers. Children who enjoy music, movement, and artistic expression will certainly be impacted by this opportunity."
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Amy Denys, Lynn Cronin, & Amy Denys
Amount: $405
Students Impacted: 50
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "We would like to address the "opportunity gap" in the area of performance arts for our second grade students at Greenfield. A live theater performance is something that many of our children have not experienced. This field trip will expose them to a community theater with many child performers. Children who enjoy music, movement, and artistic expression will certainly be impacted by this opportunity."
ABC Bootcamp with Zoo Phonics
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Judie Teodoridis-Clarke
Amount: $400
Students Impacted: 12 each year
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "Last fall, our kindergarten teachers, instructional specialist and reading teachers teamed up to run ABC boot camp for the first 10-12 weeks of school. WE found that introducing one letter per week was not getting us the results we needed for our students to be competitive and achieve their reading goals. According to the kindergarten assessment, given in the beginning of the year, many students come to us knowing several of the letters and sounds. However, there were a handful of students in each classroom who were not familiar with letter names and sounds at all." The teachers will use the Zoo Phonics kit to help all students learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet.
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Judie Teodoridis-Clarke
Amount: $400
Students Impacted: 12 each year
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "Last fall, our kindergarten teachers, instructional specialist and reading teachers teamed up to run ABC boot camp for the first 10-12 weeks of school. WE found that introducing one letter per week was not getting us the results we needed for our students to be competitive and achieve their reading goals. According to the kindergarten assessment, given in the beginning of the year, many students come to us knowing several of the letters and sounds. However, there were a handful of students in each classroom who were not familiar with letter names and sounds at all." The teachers will use the Zoo Phonics kit to help all students learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet.
Early Literacy Night for Parents and Students with Zoo Phonics!
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Rhonda Fenner, Shelly Potter, and Judie Teodoridis
Amount: $1,000
Students Impacted: 75
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "We are planning at Early Literacy Night around Reading and Zoo Phonics for all of our Kindergarten and select first grade parents and students. Part of our goal is to decrease our opportunity gap by involving parents in the education of their students.
School: Greenfield
Teacher: Rhonda Fenner, Shelly Potter, and Judie Teodoridis
Amount: $1,000
Students Impacted: 75
From the Great Idea Grant Application: "We are planning at Early Literacy Night around Reading and Zoo Phonics for all of our Kindergarten and select first grade parents and students. Part of our goal is to decrease our opportunity gap by involving parents in the education of their students.