The dollars that you give to the Wayland Public Schools Foundation go directly to your children’s classrooms. Here are just 4 of the nearly 300 grants recently funded through donations to the Foundation:
WHS "Smart Classrooms"
In one of the largest Wayland Public School Foundation grants ever awarded, nine science labs were outfitted as “smart classrooms’ in 2007, enabling students and teachers to connect with interactive textbooks and remote Web sites. These technologies vastly increase the pace and excitement of learning and enable access to worldwide resources. Each teacher is able to do something he or she couldn’t do before. Gone are black and white Xeroxes, replaced with colorful displays from the internet, books and magazines in fine detail, microscope hook-ups allowing for actual demonstrations, etc.
“We’re bringing Wayland into the 21st century, and giving our students learning opportunities that are essential in today’s world. And we’re giving our teachers a chance to learn about technology so they can stay ahead of the curve. We can’t wait for the new high school building; we need to teach students as best as we can now.”
-Ken Altshuler, Science Department Head, Wayland High School
"The English Department will benefit greatly in 2008 from the generosity
of the Wayland Public Schools Foundation.
Thanks to the WPSF, English teachers Dana Holland and
Janet Karman will be bringing back poet Regie
Gibson and his entourage of street poets for an
energizing Winter Week poetry slam. In addition,
Ms. Karman and Mrs. Holland will use part of their
WPSF grant to bring in poet Iyeoka Okoawo to lead
selected students in a series of writing workshops.
All College Preparatory English 1 students will attend
a WPSF sponsored production of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream when Shakespeare Now! visits
in May. The Last Word and the Wayland Student
Press Network (WSPN) will be able to purchase
significant computer hardware and software upgrades
to increase their production. Finally, the
English and Math Departments received a substantial
WPSF grant to create “smart classrooms”
equipped with ceiling-mounted projectors and digital
document cameras in the shared Math/English
building. Thank You, Wayland Public Schools Foundation!"
-Brian Keaney, English Department Head, Wayland High School
WMS Hands-On Electric Circuits
"When students learn about electricity, there is really no substitute for a hands-on experience. Our new series circuit boards are designed specifically for middle school students to experiment in a fun way with serial and parallel circuits. In no time, students learn about voltage and resistance. The boards are so simple but they make a huge difference in teaching. The ability to teach circuitry with these hands-on tools, learning by doing through trial and error, is a tremendously effective tool for teaching."
-Sean Carabatsos, Wayland Middle School Science Department
Orange and Black
Christine Robinson,
Graeme Robinson, Middle School
Software
and funds for the production of a professional looking, well written quarterly
newspaper publication, allowing a diverse range of students to enhance their
writing and critical thinking skills while building solid leadership foundations.
Students preparing a podcast for the online version of Orange and Black newspaper
Click here to read more about all of last year’s grants.
