Region – At the Nov. 21membership breakfast, with over 200 members and guests in attendance, the Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce awarded 22 mini-grants to educators in 13 schools totaling $7,866.79. Grants were awarded for projects that benefit students from kindergarten to grade 12. The chamber's mini-grant program is designed to support the development of innovative teaching ideas and increase student motivation and enthusiasm by providing funds for instructional experimentation and enrichment activities.
Since the mini-grant program's inception, 375 grants have been awarded totaling over $112,000.? Funding for the grants is dependent upon donations from Chamber members, including private individuals, businesses, and corporations. Special thanks to the following sponsors: Platinum Sponsor: Berkshire Bank; Gold Sponsors: Avidia Bank, Bank of America, Emseal Joint Systems Ltd., Marlborough Savings Bank, PENTA Communications, Inc., St. Mary's Credit Union, and United Bank; Silver Sponsor: Central One Federal Credit Union; Bronze Sponsors: Aalanco Service Corporation, Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Centers, BJ's Wholesale Club, CK Educational Services, Cumulus Global, Datachem Software, Inc., Glick Nissan, Marriott Residence Inn, New England Coaching, Shrewsbury Federal Credit Union, and Webster Five Cents Savings Bank; Copper Sponsors: Precision Marketing Group, LLC, and UniBank.
The 2013 mini-recipients are:
Westborough High School
Mary Flanagan, World Language Teacher
Project Title:? Advancing Foreign Language Speaking Skills through Storytelling and Games
Paton School
Camille Viscomi, 1st Grade Teacher
Project Title:? Award Winning Broadway Productions
Fales School
Kate Finn and Beth Ramos, Reading Specialists
Project Title:? A Community of Readers
St. Bernadette School
Peg Lien, Art Teacher
Project Title:? Community Labyrinth
Mary Anne Jezierski, Grades 6-8 Social Studies Teacher
Project Title:? Walking the United States
St. Mary's School
Cheryl Dolan, 1st Grade Teacher
Project Title:? Practice Makes Perfect!? Fluency Fun in Grade One!
Peaslee School
Lisa Miranda/Andrea Daunais, 5th Grade Teachers
Project Title:? Engaging Scientific Inquiry through Technology with Elementary Students
Nancy Kellner, Librarian
Project Title:? Find Your Voice: Using VoiceThread to Motivate and Engage Young Learners
Trottier Middle School
Amy Reilly, Grade 6-7 Science/Math Teacher
Project Title: Bringing Cells to Life for All Students through Interactive Models and Visualization
Parker Road Preschool
Melissa Johnson, Classroom Teacher
Project Title:? Creating Little Scientists: Empowering Creativity through Science and Math
Lisa Robinson, Preschool Program Director
Project Title:? Mathematicians in Preschool, and
Kathleen Lange-Madden, Director of K-12 English Language Education
Project Title:? Increasing Literacy through Dual Language Libraries
Proctor School
Joanne Giancola, Library Teacher/Sylvia Pabreza, Reading Specialist
Project Title:? An Author Study of Jacqueline Davies
Diane Gage, School Nurse/Joanne Giancola, Library Teacher/ Fernando Ferreira, Physical Education Teacher
Project Title:? Jump, Skip, Run….READ!
Liz O”Neil, 5th Grade Teacher and Lois Shaughnessy/Amanda Sharpe, Learning Center Teachers
Project Title:? Let's Catch the Reading Bug: Investing Struggling Learners in Independent Reading
Amy Mara, 2nd Grade Teacher
Project Title:? It's in the Bag! Math Games for Families
Algonquin School
Danielle DeCiero, Visual Art Teacher
Project Title:? Permanent Gallery
Susan Vaughan, Science Teacher
Project Title:? Crime Scene Investigation
Oak Middle School
Jason Ponticelli, 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
Project Title:? Scrabbled Eggs: Hatching Better Spellers!
Zeh School
Mary Lincoln, Reading Specialist
Project Title:? The Missing Link! Advancing Knowledge in Science and Literacy
Tami Johnson, Special Education Teacher
Project Title:? Manipulative Mania: Math and Literacy Methods for Mastery
Melican Middle School
Steven Knight, 7th Grade ELA Teacher
Project Title:? Elective Affinities: Skate Club
