CAPE Spring Grants and Call for Volunteers

As we prepare to head , I thought it was a good time to focus on some of the great things going on in our pubic schools.  

One of the best things to happen to our schools was the  (CAPE),  CAPE is a non-profit volunteer-run organization that provides grants to the Canton Public Schools to help fund programs and projects that are not able to be funded through the usual school budget.  CAPE has been awarding grants to the since 2004.

The good work of CAPE is due solely to the tireless dedication of the many parent volunteers who have given much time and energy over the years for organization, fund raising and serving on the grant committee.  With many students graduating and moving through the system, CAPE is in need of new parent volunteers to take over.  CAPE has announced that if no new parents step up to keep the program running, then the program will come to an end.  Please consider stepping up to help keep CAPE moving forward.

Here is  just a small sample of the good things going on at CAPE.  At the end of the 2011-2012 school year, CAPE awarded their Spring 2012 Grants:

ADD/ADHD Tables:  This grant was awarded to teachers Aimee Lyden and Cynthia DeVito.  These tables facilitate learning for those students who need to stand at their desk to learn and who find writing on a whiteboard distracting when they have to hold it on their own.

High Interest Library for Struggling Readers: This grant was awarded to English teacher Patrick Murphy. In order to support those high school students who are struggling readers,students needing extra support will be enrolled in reading support and skills class.  The materials for this new class will be provided by a CAPE grant.

CHS FIRST Technical Challenge Robotics Team:  This grant was awarded to Canton High School   Team Coach, Mentor & Parent Kathleen Healy. this grant will be used to establish a FIRST Technical Challenge extra-curricular program at Canton High and is a follow up to a similar grant awarded last year to the Galvin Middle School.  This program will encourage  students to pursue careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.

Journey Books for Elementary Libraries:  This grant is awarded to all three elementary school librarians.  The elementary schools' new reading curriculum, Journeys, uses excerpts from novels in its materials.  This grant allows for the purchase of the full texts of these novels and allows teachers in Grades 3, 4 and 5 to expand their students' learning experiences.

eBook Collection: This grant is awarded to the Librarian Nancy Stockwell-Alpert.  This grant will provide access to a wide collection of eBooks for students and teachers.  This will allow the library to keep up with technology and the ever-increasing use of eReaders.

Camcorders: This grant is awarded to Canton High School TV/Media Teacher Ed McDonough.  This grant allows for the purchase of 5 new camcorders and the related accessories.  At the time of grant submission, the media department only had 2 working camcorders.  Students will use the equipment for their ongoing programming for the cable student station which serves the entire town through .

ICare Program:  This grant was awarded to the Kennedy School Special Education Teacher Annemarie Adams.  This grant will bring a program called Introducing Children to Acceptance  through Reading and Education to Canton's elementary schools.  The program helps students learn about and learn how to interact with their special-needs peers.  The program will begin in the Kennedy school, with the hope that it expands to all Canton's elementary schools.

Music Video-Utilizing Cameras in the Music Classroom: This grant was submitted by K-12 Coordinator Sarah Collmer.   This grant will supplement the technology currently available to the Galvin Middle School and CHS Performing Arts students and faculty.  It will allow for the purchase of a digital camera, flip video camera and tripod for use in creating movies, documenting events and performances and rehearsals for both learning and self-evaluation.

SMART XE Response System: This grant was awarded to Canton High School Math Teacher Donald Devoid.  The Canton Public Schools has used SMART boards in its Math classrooms for a number of years.  This request will add 32 clickers to use in conjunction with the SMART boards.  This clickers will allow the teacher to have the students answer a question during a lesson via a response clicker.  This enables the teacher to see  if the class understand what is being taught and either move on or stay with the lesson.

Mathematics Progress Monitoring:  This grant was awarded to Galvin Middle School Math Department Advisor Nancy Dobbins.  This grant will provide for a high quality math inventory program to allow the department to measure individual student progress.  This grant will allow the department to purchase 150 licenses to use with at-risk math students and will enhance their ability to match instruction to the particular needs of these students.

CAPE grants are funded through the generosity of Canton businesses and individuals that donate to and participate in its fund raising programs like the annual Spelling Bee, Spring Gala and Honor Thy Teacher program.

To learn more about CAPE and to find out how YOU can help keep this program going, visit the CAPE website:  http://www.cantonma.org/pages/CantonPublicSchools/Community/CAPE

How can you volunteer to keep CAPE going?

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About the Author: Christine Smith is a Realtor, Buyer's Agent, Attorney, social media fan, parent and Canton resident. She writes about real estate and events in the Canton area on her blog – Canton MA Events and Real Estate.