The Ithaca Public Education Initiative (IPEI) has awarded $4,331 in its third quarterly round of Red and Gold Grants for the 2014-15 school year. The 10 new grants will assist teachers, administrators, students, and community members with projects that strengthen and enrich education across the Ithaca City School District (ICSD).
IPEI Board President Jennifer Engel expressed: “I favor the Red and Gold Grants because they focus on that ‘special something’ that enriches, improves, and strengthens a classroom or school project. The creative uses of the grant money continue to amaze and inspire me as a donor and board member.”
Red and Gold Grants in this cycle include projects that use sculpture, illustration, writing, and drawing to build on classroom learning. The following two Red and Gold Grant recipients and their projects are just a sampling of the 10 projects funded. These two projects are particularly good examples of how IPEI grants fund collaboration between school and community.
Local scientific illustrator Louisa Sandvik will teach seventh-grade students in Boynton Middle School how to make scientific illustrations of nutrient-rich foods they are studying in their science class.Their illustrations will then be made into hallway murals in the school. Later in an art class, she will show the students how to use what they learned in making scientific illustrations to create line drawings and ceramic tiles. Their tiles will be installed in the community mosaic wall mural project on First St. in Ithaca, adjacent to the Sciencenter.
“Together, art and science can impart valuable information,” Sandvik said. “In this project students will be able to see the connection between art and science and gain an understanding of how a community effort like the First Street Mosaic Project can impact and enrich lives.”
Patrick O’Neill, a coach for the Public Achievement program in Cornell’s Public Service Center, will conduct the “Human Body Book Project” with Chris Bell and his first-grade class at Fall Creek Elementary School. Cornell students in the program have been teaching the children about human body systems since the beginning of the school year. Now with their help, the elementary students will write and illustrate what they’ve learned about the human body. Their work will be collated and published in a professional-looking book, to be distributed to each student in the class and the school library. “This IPEI grant gives us a great opportunity to work with the students to create their very own science book,” said O’Neill.
The first-graders will then read their books to other children in the school and spread their knowledge of the human body. “In doing so, the first graders will be able to educate other students and provide sound advice for improving health,” said O’Neill.
The newly awarded Red and Gold Grants are listed below. The full list (including the first two rounds of this year, Teacher Grants, Community Collaboration Grants, and Connecting Classrooms Grants) is found at ipei.org.
IPEI is a not-for-profit organization that connects the Ithaca City School District and the community through collaboration, engagement, gifts and grants. For more information, see www.ipei.org or contact 256-IPEI (4734) or ipei@ipei.org.
Boynton Middle School
Plantastic, Louisa SandvikBoynton and DeWitt Middle Schools
Common Strength, Furaha Shululu, Mac Knight and Joseph Dhara
Caroline Elementary School
Introduction to Sculpture Tools and Imaginary Worlds, Kathleen Downes and Ann Reichlin
Fall Creek Elementary School
Fall Creek First Grade Core Knowledge Enhancement, Susie Gutenberger and Catherine Hart
The Human Body Book Project, Patrick O’Neill and Chris Bell
Ithaca High School
IHS Model UN Participation in UNAR Conference in Rochester, NY, Bella Culotta and Jeffrey Miller
Equipment for Food Science Course, Andrew Lesser
Fun and Games in the IHS Library, Armin Heurich
Improvisation and Process in Sculpture, Jackie Richardson and Ann Reichlin
South Hill Elementary School
Building and Construction Enhances Learning in Kindergarten Classroom, Lita Remsen