Hudson Valley Seed
Submitted by Ava Bynum (Hudson Valley Seed)
$4,000 – Grades K-4
Hudson Valley Seed establishes educational school gardens and runs weekly curriculum-integrated garden lessons for 1,500 students across Putnam, Dutchess and Orange Counties. Through weekly visits to the garden, students experientially learn math, science and more while being provided with the knowledge, skills and environment to make healthy choices. By uniting academic achievement and wellness education, healthy eating and hands-on learning is integrated into the weekly schedule of students. HVS works closely with teachers to integrate nutrition education with core curriculum studies.
www.hudsonvalleyseed.org
Garrison Art Center - Community Resource Series
Submitted by Coulter Young (GUFS)
$3,700 - Grades K-4, 6-8
This multi-discipinary art program is organized in conjunction with the Garrison Art Center. Each grade has the unique opportunity to work with an experienced artist provided by GAC, and work with techniques and materials not typically used in the classroom. This rich program also offers an opportunity to connect with our local community of talented artists. Mediums include clay and pottery, stained glass, sculpture, stamping, drawing/writing/book making, paper mache, textile design, and paper marbling. Project themes include nature (forest floors, butterflies, animal tracks), Native American traditions (traditional Iroquois pottery design), locally found objects, and medieval stained glass. All programs will take place at GAC.
Click here for detailed project descriptions.
Artist in Residency – Andrew Lattimore
Submitted by Coulter Young (GUFS)
$1,100 – Grades 3-8
This year GUFS will host Hudson Valley artist Andrew Lattimore for a three-session residency to work with students in grades 3-8 on drawing, perspective, and art history, and to share his experience as a professional artist. The program will commence with a plein-air workshop by Mr. Lattimore on School Forest Day in May 2015 in the School Forest.
www.sunywcc.edu/locations/arts/faculty/faculty-bios-by-area/faculty-profile-andrew-lattimore/
PTA After School Program – Chess
Submitted by Julia Wynn (GUFS – PTA)
$320 – Grades 3-8 (Fall)
$175 – Grades 1&2/3-8 (Winter)
This grant partially covers the fee for chess educator Ernie Johnson to teach chess as an After School program at GUFS.
www.gufspta.org/programming-fundraising/after-school-enrichment
K-2 Outdoor Discovery Lab
Submitted by Julie Greene and Stacy Ricci (GUFS)
$1,500 – Grades K-2
This new outdoor discovery lab in the GUFS courtyard will include equipment such as sand/water tables, sensory toys, balls, block and various nature items. This workspace for K-2 students will encourage sensory play, exploration, and discovery by providing hands on learning activities. This experience in the “outdoor classroom” will enhance the science curriculum and other academic areas.
PTA After School Program – "Patterns, Prints, and Process" with Kate Daley
Submitted by Julia Wynn (GUFS – PTA)
$480 – Grades K-3 (Spring)
This grant partially covers the cost of bringing Kate Daley to teach an after school art class for grades K-3. Kate Daley, an artist and teacher with the Garrison Art Center will bring her experience to GUFS to teach "Patterns, Prints and Process". Students will learn how to create block prints and collographs, express their ideas and build their visual vocabularies. Using the natural world as a theme, students will create images using lines, shapes and patterns.
www.gufspta.org/programming-fundraising/after-school-enrichment
PTA After School Program – Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Submitted by Julia Wynn (GUFS – PTA)
$360 – Grades K-3 (Spring)
$360 – Grades 4-8 (Spring)
This grant partially covers the cost of bringing the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival to GUFS After School. Two programs will be offered: "ImagineNATION!" for grades K-3, includes theater games and basic acting techniques to introduce characters and language. Children will learn what it means to be part of an ensemble and work together to create their own version of a Shakespeare scene. "TheaterMANIA" for grades 4-8 involves theater games, improvisation activities and exploratory exercises to learn basic acting techniques. They will work together to explore characters, language and more by rehearsing and performing a Shakespeare scene. Both classes are taught by Laura Brackley, a professional actress and trained Teaching Artist for the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.
www.gufspta.org/programming-fundraising/after-school-enrichment
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Company
Submitted by Ian Berger (GUFS)
$1,925 – Grades 7 & 8
This touring production of Macbeth, Shakespeare’s thrilling tragedy about a young man’s murderous ambition to steal the throne of Scotland by the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, is brought to GUFS for a one time in house performance. Students have the opportunity to engage with the actors after the performance for a Q and A and workshop.
2015 School Forest Day "Living Land, Living History"
Submitted by Stephanie Impellitierre and Trisha Mulligan (GUFS)
$2,250 – All grades
School Forest Day is a wonderful way for everyone to get outside and feel part of this land that has long been an extension of GUFS. All students have two or three age appropriate activities that have been scheduled with environmental professionals. Multidisciplinary activities include stream study, sensory awareness, orienteering and reading the signs of flora and fauna in the forest.
Revolutionary War/Colonial Day Living History Reenactment
Submitted by Chris Caliendo (GUFS)
$2,350 - Grades 4, 5 and 7
With the guidance of the Living History Education Foundation, the 7th graders will recreate a Colonial Day/Revolutionary War reenactment camp site (at the South Redoubt of the school forest), complete with cooking fires and tents. They will participate in drills and experience battles fought in the Revolutionary War acting as typical soldiers during that time. The 4th and 5th graders will visit the campsite and participate in activity stations including candle making, cooking, drilling, playing military music, sewing haversacks, creating cartridges and tin tapping.
Constitution Marsh Program
Submitted by Stephanie Impellittiere (GUFS) and Rebecca Schultz (Constitution Marsh)
$1,700 - Grades K-3 and 5
Through this program with Constitution Marsh/the Audubon Society, each grade participates in age appropriate activities during their visit to the Marsh and experience tidal marsh ecology first-hand. Activities include a Nature Scavenger Hunt (designed to discover the sights, sounds and feel of the wildlife sanctuary), boardwalk hikes (where students use binoculars and other learning tools to identify marsh and forest birds including the residential Eagle's nest), stream studies (where students collect and identify organisms from Marsh), and canoe trips (students canoe from Indian Brook Road into the Marsh and through the wildlife sanctuary).
Jazz Ensemble
Submitted by Karen Bresnan (GUFS)
$3,350 – Grades 6-8
Jazz Ensemble provides students an opportunity to learn about jazz music style and technique. Students explore the jazz idiom and repertoire in a large jazz ensemble format. In addition to reading jazz band arrangements, students are encourage to improvise solos and address the basic rhythms and scale choices that are part of the jazz vocabulary. Students are further encouraged to explore areas of syncopation and rhythms that are common in jazz and contemporary music. This grant allows Eric Star to direct the group.
Percussion Ensemble
Submitted by Karen Bresnan (GUFS)
$1,200 – Grades 4-8
Percussion ensemble provides students grades 4-8 the opportunity to work with a professional percussionist/teacher who will share the nuances and knowledge of percussion playing and music. The Percussion Ensemble is another way for students to take their skills to a new level and expand their horizons musically. This grant allows Chris Hugh to bring his talent and insight in this area to the students. Students will become more proficient at their instrument and excited about music performance, that will hopefully lead to life long participation in music.
Constitution Marsh Eagles Program
Submitted by Amy Kuchera (GUFS)
$500 – Grade 4
This three-part program for our fourth graders is done together with Constitution Marsh. The program starts with an assembly where educators from the Marsh visit our classroom and teach our students about Eagle’s habitats and adaptations. The second part is a trip to the Marsh where students observe eagles on the Hudson through binoculars and telescopes. The third and final part is another classroom visit from Marsh educators, where students play a game in which they play the part of an eagle and try to take a successful journey to a particular point, facing real life obstacles along the way. They also use longitude and latitude coordinates to track routes of certain eagles. This program is directly linked to the life science section of the fourth grade science curriculum.
http://constitutionmarsh.audubon.org/eagles-hudson-winter-field-trips
Chef in the Classroom
Submitted by Laurie Gershgorn (Healthy Culinary Creations)
$1,260 – Grades K-4, 6
This program provides monthly cooking sessions using sustainable, local, seasonal produce to promote healthy eating and lifestyles, and to educate students about nutrition and local Hudson Valley farming. Some dishes planned include roasted winter squash, potato leek sauté, beet salad and mustard green frittata.
www.healthyculinarycreations.com
Clearwater Sloop Sail – The Sailing Classroom
Submitted by Robin Waters, Karen Bresnan and Coulter Young (GUFS)
$1,250 – Grade 5
This grant covers the cost of the annual 5th grade sail on the Clearwater Sloop, as part of their study of history, ecology, art and music through the Hudson River. Students have the opportunity to help raise the sails, navigate the boat, visit learning stations to examine river life, perform water quality tests, and study plankton and other invertebrate life under field magnification.
www.clearwater.org/education/sailing-classroom/
Philadelphia Constitution Convention Center
Submitted by Chris Caliendo (GUFS)
$400 - Grade 8
As part of the 8th grade field trip to Philadelphia, this grant covers the cost of their visit to the National Constitution Center and the Betsy Ross House. At the National Constitution Center, they will participate in the Living News Program, a performance and discussion around controversial constitutional issues which encourages students to explore their own points of view. They will have the opportunity to cast votes in a voting booth or take the Presidential Oath of Office, as well as visit the Liberty Bell. This one day trip is aligned with their American History curriculum, specifically their studies of the American Revolution and the foundation of the Constitution.
constitutioncenter.org/visit/group-visits/student-and-youth-groups
Liberty Science Center
Submitted by Amy Kuchera (GUFS)
$362 – Grade 4
This grant partially covers the cost of the 4th grade visit to the Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. In addition to experiencing the regular exhibits at the Center, students will participate in a hands-on lab workshop called Bee-bot Robot Challenge, where they will learn to program robots using algorithms and a variety of math skills.
Challenger Space Center
Submitted by Kevin Keegan (GUFS)
$350 – Grade 6
On this trip to the Challenger Space Center, the 6th graders will go on a simulated mission to Mars! Working in teams at the Mission Control Center and Spacecraft simulators, students transform themselves into astronauts, scientists, engineers and researchers by participating in the Center’s simulated space adventures. They work at navigation, life support, robotics, geology, communications and medical stations. The Challenger Center uses a student's natural curiosity and enthusiasm for space to create innovative problem-based learning experiences for young minds. The Mission Control and Spacecraft simulators within the Center allow students to apply Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) concepts to an authentic, real-world experience that is truly out-of-this-world!!
GUFS Library Connection Phase 1: Connection to Literacy
Submitted by Stephanie Impellitierre (GUFS)
$10,000 – All Grades
This grant is to support the updating of the GUFS library -- to establish a state of the art library to foster growth and learning. Phase 1: Connection to Literacy involved the purchase of over 400 content rich, relevant and intellectually challenging books selected to help K-8 students develop their literacy skills and habits. The selection of books was compiled by faculty and administration following Common Core standards, linked to the curriculum and earmarked for specific classroom projects.
