Chappaqua School Foundation, Inc.

E-Readers will provide meaningful support for students who are acquiring English at the secondary level be able to read material that is comprehensible as well as intellectually and emotionally engaging. E-Readers will enable English Language Learners at Bell, Seven Bridges and Greeley to look up a definition on the spot using the pre-loaded bilingual dictionaries and hear the word pronounced. In addition, students will be able to listen to a text read aloud as they follow along and highlight and annotate text, which will help them prepare for class discussions and writing assignments.
Helen Harrison, English Language Learning Teacher, Middle and High Schools

High School E-Readers ($3,500)

Assisting students to develop as readers, this grant will provide 9th grade struggling readers the ability to read books on their level, increase comprehension and build confidence in reading. This pilot project for 9th grade students presents a new way of supporting struggling readers and provides a motivating and accessible tool to help them learn and grow as readers.
Gail Schlenger, Special Education and Rochelle Mitlak, Reading Specialist

Student Reading Choice Initiative ($2,500)

Students in eleventh and twelfth grade will have the opportunity to choose reading material from an approved selection of contemporary books. This program offers a shift in the paradigm from exclusively whole-class text study to one in which students engage in reading with small, collaborative groups. Participants in the eleventh and twelfth grade literature electives of Literary Journalism; Psychology in Literature and Myth in Literature will be given a greater choice and control over their reading material, and should, as studies suggest, read more and with greater enthusiasm.
Andrew Corsilla, English Department Chairperson

This national program supports a critical goal of middle school: to help early adolescents develop positive coping skills, appropriate interpersonal relationships and a better sense of self. Rachel’s Challenge will encourage students at Bell and Seven Bridges to create positive school environments by teaching them to look for the best in others and increase their awareness of how verbal and physical bullying affects their peers. This pilot project has the potential to be expanded into all CCSD schools to meet state-mandated “Dignity for All Students Act” goals for 2012.
Jason Sclafani, Sixth Grade Guidance Counselor; Annemarie Giannettino, School Psychologist and Tim Doyle, Assistant Principal, Robert E. Bell Middle School
Martha Zornow, Principal, Seven Bridges Middle School

Continuing CSF’s support of the District technology platform, SMART™ Boards and Digital Document Cameras will greatly benefit the learning of foreign language in middle school by enhancing comprehension of vocabulary and grammar, increasing student engagement and facilitating the incorporation of cultural materials into the classroom.
Darleen Nicolosi, Director of Technology, Chappaqua Central School District on behalf of Robert E. Bell Middle School and Seven Bridges Middle School

Two SMART™ Podiums will bring an intimate, hands-on learning experience to all students in the fifth grade at Bell as a pilot for this new technology. The SMART Podium will enhance the ability of any student to receive additional help with a particular lesson or concept being taught in the classroom, as well as offer students with attention problems a more interactive, intimate learning experience. A complement to the SMART Boards already in middle school classrooms, SMART collaborative learning software fosters the building of a resource library for all middle school teachers.
Mary Comparetto, Fifth Grade, Robert E. Bell Middle School

As This state-of-the-art centralized library resource management tool will enable the elementary and middle school libraries to run more efficiently, allowing library personnel to spend more time interacting with students. Students and staff will have access to the system for research and browsing from home. Additionally, the system will provide support for the District’s literacy initiatives.
Karen Baker, Christine Eidem, Jerry Sulli, Alison Turner and Sharon Wiggins, Library Media Specialists, Elementary and Middle Schools

This The garden will provide hands-on experiences for Westorchard Elementary School with real-life applications of classroom subject matter, and teach the seed-to-table cycle, enabling students to “live the connection to the planet Earth and the food they eat.” The grant enhances science, sustainability, collaboration, health and wellness in cross-grade level learning experiences.
Jim Skoog, Principal, Westorchard Elementary School

This updated multimedia and amplification system will enhance all grade-level and interdisciplinary performances as well as all school-wide assemblies at Roaring Brook. The addition of an LCD projector and a new audio recording device will add a visual component to each performance and improve sound quality. Similar systems have been funded by CSF in prior years and installed at Grafflin and Westorchard.
Eric Byrne, Principal; Amy Fishkin, Assistant Principal and Melissa Szymanski, Roaring Brook Elementary School

Classic board games such as Quixo, Quarto and Othello will be used to enhance the logical thinking and problem-solving skills of fourth grade students. Students will play these strategy games individually and in partnerships in order to sharpen their language, communication, conflict management and math skills.
Warren Whitney, Fourth Grade, Grafflin Elementary School

Playaways® - Digital Audio Books (RB: $1,100; DG: $1,200)

Playaways, self-contained audio books using an MP3-like player, provide a new way for students in Kindergarten and first grade to enjoy books in a format with which they are increasingly familiar. Offering digital audio books during independent reading time will help students stay on task and interact with literature in meaningful ways, thereby increasing their independence as they develop reading and listening skills.
Stefanie Kandalaft, Kindergarten, Roaring Brook Elementary School
Yvonne Davies, Debbie Lenaghan, Marisa Boniello, Eileen Kelly, and Sandi Schassler, First Grade, Grafflin Elementary School

CSF continues its support of our District technology platform by funding SMART Boards and Document Cameras for High School Social Studies and Middle School English classrooms. This interactive technology enhances student learning, increases knowledge retention and provides an engaging, dynamic educational experience.

Supplementing the District’s musical instrument collection in the middle and high schools, this grant will enhance the ability of students to learn in large ensemble settings. With these additional musical instruments, students will be able to play the full harmonic and melodic range of instruments (bass as well as treble), and students will be able to create a more “professional” sound.

This grant will further the District’s partnership with the Lincoln Center Institute and provide three live performances – one each at the elementary, middle and high school level. These performances may take the shape of dance, music or theater and will allow students to work with a teaching artist in their classrooms both before and after the respective performances. Students will have hands-on opportunities to explore, participate in, and develop a deeper understanding of the performances in particular and the arts in general.

The anti-bullying theater performance is as an experiential learning catalyst to empower students to be active school citizens in maintaining a healthy, safe and caring school environment. The ultimate purpose of the program is to reduce the potential of bullying in school. Through classroom activities and an interactive theatre performance in which real-life experiences are told and re-enacted, students will learn about bullying and what they can do, especially as witnesses, to transform a climate of tolerance for bullying into a climate of safety and respect.

The Read Together literacy-building backpacks will enrich RBS’s first grade reading program. Each backpack contains a fiction or non-fiction book, double-sided write-and-wipe boards, literacy/word building activities, and theme-related manipulatives to use for retelling the story, sequencing story events, or creating original versions of the story. The Read Together activities accommodate multiple reading levels.

As the political, social and global landscape continues to change, so does the need to keep current with the geographic implications of these changes. Updating or replacing the out-dated wall maps, atlases and globes throughout K-4 classrooms will enable students to have accurate representations of their world. Each grade level incorporates a significant element of geography in the curriculum from Christopher Columbus' journey (Kindergarten) to the difference between rural, urban and suburban communities (second grade) to New York State geography and world explorers (fourth grade).

This updated multimedia system will enhance student grade-level, interdisciplinary performances as well as school-wide assemblies. The LCD projector and screen will provide the addition of a visual curricular component to each performance.

Adding Journalism to the fifth grade Social Studies and Language Arts curriculum, students will be taught to report on news, write “copy,” videotape and edit stories. The cameras will enhance communication and learning for all students, but especially for those who have difficulty writing or are visual and auditory learners. Other grades can access the cameras for cooperative learning, book talks, readers’ theater, plays and skits, self assessments, lab experiments, and informational projects.

The materials provided by CSF, in conjunction with CCSD funding for the “Teaching and Technology in the Digital Age” course at the Jacob Burns film center, will allow students and teachers to pioneer new constructs and interpretations of stories, poetry and essays and learn to become visual storytellers. Teachers will incorporate media and digital literacy into their classrooms through filmmaking and other methods of visual storytelling.

Continuing CSF’s signature program of SMART Boards implementation in our school district, this grant provides SMART Boards for all social studies teachers in Bell and Seven Bridges Middle Schools. This interactive whiteboard technology enhances teaching and class discussion, providing a more engaging and dynamic educational experience.

This next generation of visual presentation tools captures, projects, annotates and stores information in many different formats, including text, graphics, three dimensional objects and microscopic images. Piloted last year through a CSF grant, teachers have found that digital document cameras enhance presentation of information in the classroom, helping facilitate teaching of the writing process and allowing students to make more effective class presentations.

Digital camcorders will enhance the curriculum in grades K-4 across subject areas - - including English, science, and social studies - - through the use of student-created digital videos. This powerful and easy-to-use form of communication will motivate students, providing the opportunity to organize, present and analyze ideas.

The installation of retractable backboards will change the way physical education is taught at Grafflin. It opens the gym to numerous games and activities that have been compromised by old-style fixed backboards. The use of retractable backboards will benefit the entire range of students and will dramatically increase the effective utilization of the gymnasium.

Roaring Brook kindergarteners will experience hands-on explorations in a featured art form to gain a deeper understanding of the arts. Teaching artists from the Lincoln Center Institute (LCI) work collaboratively with classroom teachers during a summer workshop and throughout the school year to plan the curriculum, and also work with students during their visits to the school. The program culminates with a live performance at the school, and is open to the entire Chappaqua student body.

To enhance the District’s commitment to character education, Roaring Brook will employ the Responsive Classroom approach to provide a framework that emphasizes social, emotional and academic growth in a safe, positive and supportive school environment. Developing common principles and practices around social, emotional development will support students’ abilities to make sound decisions.

Amy Fishkin, Melissa Szymanski, Peggy Schatzle, Jodi Smyth, Jenny Steingruebner, Joe Schippa, Andrea Mortati, Rhonda Reagan

By incorporating current technology into the classroom, digital listening centers will enhance the kindergarten literacy program at Westorchard. Listening centers are an integral part of the kindergarten literacy program as they provide a model for fluency and phrasing as well as build students’ comprehension skills.

The installation of an updated multimedia system will enhance all of the grade-level, interdisciplinary performances as well as the school-wide assemblies. The new system will provide the ability to produce high-quality recordings of the performances, and will enable the Westorchard Student Service Organization to promote and present short videos of their various community-based projects.

Establishing a school composting program will enable Bell students to recycle natural waste into rich compost for return to the school gardens and plant beds. The program will enhance the science program in every grade by bringing to life various curriculum topics including decomposition and biodegradability, bacterial growth, soil studies and nutrient studies.

By using the power and emotional energy of American musical theater masterworks and evocative resources from the New York Historical Society, seventh and eighth grade social studies students will gain important insights into the specific political, economic and social conditions in a given historical era. The format of the program encourages students to use visual literacy skills to support critical thinking and to apply problem-solving skills. The program brings history to life through music, theatre and art.

Utilizing AirLiner Wireless Slates will enable teachers to teach from anywhere in the classroom and students can connect wirelessly to the interactive SMART Board from their seats. The technology will promote small group collaboration, increase inclusion of shared student work, cultivate student-centered instruction, and enhance teachers’ ability to differentiate and vary the presentation of materials.

Following in the footsteps of the CSF-funded Bell School Garden established last year, the entire student body will be involved in planting and harvesting days, growing food to serve a salad or soup made entirely from planted ingredients,cared for and harvested by Seven Bridges students.

Seventh and eighth grade students will create and experience art of significant scale, the goal of which is to impress, inspire, awe, amuse, inform and educate. Students will work in groups to design large-scale paintings/murals to be displayed permanently in the school hallways.

Cintiq drawing tablets, cutting-edge digital design technology, will enable students to maintain the skills and “feel” of drawing with a pencil while experiencing all of the exciting possibilities of digital graphic arts. All Seven Bridges students will create digital art portfolios using the drawing tablets and be able to share and collaborate on work via SMART Board interaction.

The addition of portable piano keyboards, stands and headphones will enrich high school music theory classes, chorus rehearsals and individual student practice throughout the school day. Portable keyboards provide instant aural feedback to students’ compositions and enhance their ability to hear the sounds of different musical cords and intervals.

Providing life stories and vivid illustrations of both historical and contemporary aspects of Chinese civilization, audio-visual supplements on “Exploring Chinese Culture” and “Journey through China” as well as various hands-on activities, will extend students’ understanding of the Chinese language and help them to appreciate Chinese culture.

Enhancing “behind-the-scenes” elements of theatrical performances, this interactive DVD series provides a multimedia approach for students to learn more about the technical aspects of production, including set design, lighting, audio and stage management.

Horace Greeley High School/ Seven Bridges Middle School/ Robert E. Bell Middle School

This next generation of visual presentation tools capture, project, annotate and store information in many different formats, including text, graphics, three dimensional objects and microscopic images.

Students in all grades will be taught printmaking processes and techniques as well as enhance their study and understanding of cultures explored in their Social Studies units and the Foreign Language Department’s International Film Festival.

Integrates Art and Social Studies units as students create projects that draw upon what they learn about cultural imagery, form, function, symbolism, and their application to ceramic techniques, methods and personal expression.

Through direct, hands-on experiences for students, the garden will teach the seed-to-table connection that is critical to enhancing students’ understanding of the concepts of sustainability, health and wellness. Community building will be fostered as students care for the garden together and seek guidance from local senior citizens from the New Castle Community Center.

Teacher training to create curriculum and materials that support interdisciplinary learning through the lens of sustainability education; includes systems thinking, problem-solving and the impact on the world of various factors and decisions.

Students will connect what they learn in theirArt and English units each year as they are taught printmaking techniques that will culminate in individual journals of each student’s own writings and corresponding illustrations.

Westorchard Elementary School/Roaring Brook Elementary School /Douglas Grafflin Elementary School

Continuing CSF’s support of this interactive whiteboard technology, this grant will expand SMART Boards to all fourth grade classrooms in the district, providing teachers with a powerful tool to engage students and enhance learning.

Introducing new books covering a range of reading levels organized around specific themes which enhance students’ interest in reading and comprehension skills. (* Since its inception over ten years ago, with the kindergarten bookpack program, CSF has been a continuous funding source for the elementary school bookpack program.)

Live remote conferencing via computer that extends learning beyond the classroom by connecting Roaring Brook students in kindergarten through fourth grade with schools and experts around the world. This cutting edge technology makes possible virtual field trips to planetariums, aquariums, rainforests, museums, and more!

Digital recorders combined with digital photography enhance the fourth grade curriculum, including the Immigration unit, where students will use this technology to capture stories from family members as they share their life experiences and journey to America.

Uses technology to enhance the reading program across all grades by providing access to popular animated storybooks on the Tumblebooks website and digital audio players for listening to audio books at school or at home.

Enhancing the computer science curriculum with the use of robotics and tablet PC’s, teaching problem solving, artificial intelligence and innovative technology by constructing and programming robots. In the 2006/2007 grant cycle, Horace Greeley mathematics teacher, Joshua Block, submitted a grant proposal to the Chappaqua School Foundation (CSF) for funding of a Teaching with Tablets and Robotics Program. This innovative program, with a budget of nearly $37,000, is the largest grant ever awarded by the Foundation. We recently sat down with Mr. Block to learn how this program will be implemented in the high school curriculum.

Promoting student literacy in foreign languages and broadening exposure beyond the classroom curriculum through the study of authentic materials, including storybooks, magazines and other media.

An interactive, computer-based practice system developed by Wynton Marsalis which provides skill-building methods, stimulating practice exercises, helpful assessment tools and accompaniments for more than 30,000 titles.

This technology will enhance class discussion, lectures and demonstrations to provide students with a more varied and stimulating educational experience and to make history more engaging.

Providing a SMART Board in the Seven Bridges Media Center to enhance information literacy skills, assist in teaching the research process and expose all faculty members to this new technology.

The design of a real-time weather station incorporating on-line based software and enabling the integration of meteorology as a curriculum topic through all middle school grades. Students at Seven Bridges Middle School have a new way of tracking the weather – not from weather stations miles away – but by one located right on the roof of their school, recording 27 different real-time weather measurements, including temperature, wind and rainfall.

A fully automated greenhouse designed and constructed for the purpose of germinating and growing native tree species and demonstrating how technology can be applied to control an environment.

Students will design and create a small, thriving butterfly garden in the school courtyard, providing a teaching lab for science and reinforcing environmental stewardship and conservation attitudes. Sixth grade students will make Bell School a better place after they design and create a small but thriving butterfly garden in the school's courtyard. "When people experience a direct connection with the natural world, they discover a sense of beauty, balance and creativity," explains Bell science teacher Sarah Geronimo. "Through the butterfly garden, we can foster this connection with nature."

Addition of a SMART Board in the Roaring Brook Media Center providing cutting edge technology to advance student learning in the media center, in collaboration with classroom teachers. Not everyone realizes that the Library Media Center has evolved from a place to borrow books to a central hub for learning outside of the classroom. Dotti Baier, library media specialist at Roaring Brook for the past 22 years, wanted to incorporate newer technology to enhance student learning. She requested the installation of a SMART Board to facilitate her ability to teach the important life skills of how to find information and conduct research.

An outdoor fitness program designed to enable the physical education department to bring students to another level of fitness by focusing on balance, coordination, agility, flexibility, abdominal strength and upper body strength.

Providing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) units to foster student interaction as scientists promote observation and experimentation and improve knowledge of mapping, navigation and geography. Located on approximately 50 acres of land, Westorchard Elementary School is an ideal setting for students to learn how to use Global Positioning Systems (GPS). A network of satellites circling the earth, GPS technology makes it possible to record locations and navigate to and from these destinations.

Creating a nature trail on the Westorchard property with a bird feeding station, display boards and interpretive trail signs, will help educate students on outdoor resources and enhance appreciation of nature.

Use of digital recorders will capture fourth graders’ student book club discussions, giving teachers a valuable tool to encourage thoughtful conversation strategies, provide appropriate student feedback and foster improved reading comprehension. Helping students become better readers and enhancing children's book discussions are goals in the Grafflin 4th grade classroom. During the year, children are introduced to book groups to help accomplish these goals. Part of the curriculum is to teach “accountable talk” strategies that enable students to hone their discussion skills. Teachers model these discussion skills and provide students with ample opportunity to practice them.

The addition of a digital piano to the school’s music program to enhance grade level performances by providing performance-quality piano as well as harpsichord, strings, jazz organ, choir and guitar accompaniment.

toward the purchase of SMART Boards to equip the Math and Science classrooms at HGHS.

Westorchard Elementary School/Roaring Brook Elementary School /Douglas Grafflin Elementary School

Brand new books to fill the Kindergarten Book Packs of this signature CSF project, a highly successful program for over 10 years

Advanced mathematics software set in engaging real-world scenarios which motivates students with a range of challenging questions.

An interdisciplinary physical education program where students are given pedometers so they can track progress of their journey across America on a map of the USA. Imagine walking all the way from Maine to California! That’s exactly what students and staff at Westorchard Elementary school are doing as part of a program called “Walk Across America,” funded by a Chappaqua School Foundation grant. “Walk Across America” combines geography, social studies, math and physical education into an exciting and meaningful program that encourages students to stay fit!

"Animation: Minds in Motion" an innovative program for 4^th graders developed by the Jacob Burns Film Center to teach children the essentials of film animation. urth grade Grafflin students will explore the world of animation by collaboratively writing, storyboarding, directing and producing their own animated films through Animation: Minds in Motion!, an innovativFoe film program designed by the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC).

Adventure, challenge and discovery are guaranteed with the addition of a climbing wall to the physical education program.

A program for all 7^th and 8^th graders involving Chris Crowe’s award-winning novel Mississippi Trial about racism in the 1950s, based on the story of Emmett Till.

Seven Bridges Middle School/ Robert E. Bell Middle School/Westorchard Elementary School/Roaring Brook Elementary School /Douglas Grafflin Elementary School

Videoconferencing capabilities extend learning beyond the classroom by connecting Chappaqua Middle and Elementary school students with other schools and experts around the world. A videoconferencing grant funded by the Chappaqua School Foundation provides interactive, real-time communication with students and content experts throughout the world! Students are able to connect to classrooms in far away places, museums, aquariums and many other interesting and educational venues.

Bright, colorful concrete, outdoor chess and checker tables with coordinating benches which will be designed and painted by Bell art students.

Materials inspired by the cave paintings at Lascaux, including large posters of the paintings at Lascaux, a DVD about the paintings and their discovery and a CD with animal/cave sounds.

The creation of a bluebird trail around the perimeter of the Bell School will foster a respect for birds and wildlife, as well as an appreciation for their conservation.

Bell Foreign language literacy and cultural understanding is enhanced through the study of authentic materials in a foreign language including books, magazines, poetry and videos from the native countries.