Having fun & getting creative while building fine motor skills

More 2011 Grant highlights…
Off to the State Capitol
KHS teacher Joseph Lewerk’s grant
helped students in three American Citizenship
courses participate in a field trip
to the Connecticut General Assembly in
Hartford. Joseph filed this fascinating
report. “One hundred and ten students
participated in the trip. Prior to the trip
students researched bills proposed by
Connecticut legislators and tracked the
progress of these law proposals up to and
beyond the visit. Based on this prior research
many students had insightful questions
to ask of their current representatives.
Students also visited the Connecticut
State Museum and completed an enjoyable
and enlightening scavenger hunt that
acquainted them with many of the highlights
of Connecticut's history.
By the end of the school year students
revisited the bills they'd been following
and discovered that very few actually became
law, demonstrating the intentional
complexities of the law-making process
and the need for citizens to voice their
opinions to their representatives when
they want to see legal changes effected.”
Helping Foster Social Skills
KIS teacher Lorraine Mcleish’s FOLK
grant was used to purchase a social skills
DVD set that is designed to help students’
social competence in everyday situations.
Lorraine uses the multimedia materials
with her students and also shares them
with other teachers. KMS Special Education
teacher Jean Hemmig, who also uses
YouTube and puppets in her teaching
strategy, found the DVD complemented
her lesson on “Brushing Teeth and Going
to the Dentists”. She reported, “Overall,
the videos have been a great enhancement
to our program. Thank you FOLK!”
Bike Safety Week at KCS
KCS teacher Colleen Lugauskas used her
grant to support a bike safety initiative, Ride
Safe, Ride Smart, for the school’s 3rd and 4th
grade students. Colleen reported that Don Dauphinais,
owner of Danielson Adventure Sports,
taught the children about bike maintenance and
how that can impact rider safety. At the end
of the afternoon, each student was given Gail
Gibbon’s Bicycle Book, which was purchased
with the FOLK grant. Students were encouraged
to design a bicycle safety poster; and
those who did so participated in a raffle for
bicycle safety gear. “Through all these efforts,
it is our hope that students will ride safe and
ride smart,” she explained.
Learning about Vampires
& Other Captivating Subjects
KIS Grade 6 Social Studies teacher Julie Corden
used her FOLK grant for a class subscription
to the award-winning World History
magazine Calliope. She explains how the
magazine is engaging her students:
“This year our social studies students have
greatly enjoyed reading Calliope magazine. We
started off the school year reading about "30
Events That Changed the World". It opened
their eyes to see that actions of one or a few
can and do impact the world. In October, the
students read the "Vampires: They're Everywhere!"
issue. They were fascinated to learn
about the history of vampires, both myths and
legends, and gain an understanding that often
these myths grew out of a lack of scientific
knowledge in the past. For example, "moaning"
heard from a corpse does not mean they
are alive; rather it is the bacterial gasses escaping
the body by flowing over the vocal cords.
When the bodies were moved, this allowed the
gasses to escape, thereby creating this sound—
not the vampire finally dying because you have
now jabbed a stake in his heart!”
FOLK in the Local News (continued from p. 2)
KCS first graders at Mystic Aquarium
A Trip To Mystic Aquarium
Barbara Porter’s FOLK grant helped defray
costs of a fieldtrip to Mystic Aquarium by KCS
first graders. Barbara reports on this adventure:
“It was a great chance for students to get out of
the classroom and experience what they had
studied in the area of sea life and animals. The
first “ohh” and “ahhs” came as we crossed the
Thames River on the Gold Star Bridge on the
way to the aquarium.
Upon arrival several groups ate their lunches
so they were free to explore the inside and outside
of the aquarium without having to stop
later; plus first graders are always hungry!
There was a nice picnic area right outside of
the aquarium where we were able to eat the
lunches we brought.
After lunch, most attended the sea lion show
in the Marine Theater where they learned first
hand about sea lions and how they differ from
seals, and how talented and intelligent the sea
creatures are. We were also very fortunate to be
the ONLY school group at the aquarium, which
meant there was room enough for all at all the
exhibits and hands-on learning stations.
We also had a close up view of Belugas, sting
rays and the penguins (after all, our school
mascot is a penguin!). My students’ favorite
part was the touch tank where they got to explore
starfish, hermit crabs, and a type of small
shark. More than one first grader was heard to
exclaim, “This is the best day of my life!”
“All of the proposed projects had special qualities,
so it’s next to impossible to single out any as
more noteworthy than the others,” said Ahola-
Sidaway “I was particularly pleased and impressed
with the fact that teachers are sharing
resources with their colleagues and that educational
specialists are partnering up to to carry out
exciting interdisciplinary initiatives. It’s wonderful
to see that teachers are much less isolated
from each other than was so often the case in the
past in virtually all schools across the country. It
is such a pleasure to be associated with the FOLK
initiative, which is helping support Killingly educators
in these joint endeavors.”
Teachers at KIS, Vasbinder and Gauthier, have
teamed up to carry out a project called “Killingly
Connections.” Gauthier’s classes will research
and develop material about the history of Killing-
ly; and Vasbinder’s classes will use this material
to develop, design, and produce professional
style brochures for publication. The
$400 grant will be used to purchase a digital
scanner and cameras.
The project will culminate with the placement
of our student-created brochures in the
Killingly Town Hall for community use,” Vasbinder
explained.
Special education teachers Sandra Kelley
and Ann McLeish teach multi-handicapped
students in Killingly Intermediate School’s
Chrysalis program. Kelly, who is Killingly’s
2011 Teacher of the Year, explained that the
students have been reading about different
modes of transportation.
“We recently read The Polar Express,
which sparked an interest in trains,” she said.
Her $250 grant will help make it possible for their
21 students to take their first ever train ride, a return
trip to Boston’s historic South Station.
Killingly Memorial School occupational therapist
Karen Kent will be using her $250 grant to purchase
supplies for “fine motor boxes” for each of the eight
kindergarten classes at KMS and KCS. The boxes
will contain a range of items that will be used to
complete 10 different activities specif-ically designed
to develop hand musculature that is important
for writing and other life skills. “These activities will
be able to be used on an individual basis as well as
within small groups,” Kent explained. The boxes
will also help the teachers to spot students who may
need special fine-motor interventions. Clare Hopkins
may be reached at (860) 928-1818, ext. 112, or
by email at clare@villagernewspapers .com.
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