2009 Grants
Your donations make it possible for the Hingham Education Foundation to fund these programs which enrich curriculum, encourage professional growth, foster school/community relationships, and develop creative programs in new educational areas.
We are pleased to provide a list of the grants by school:
All Schools
- “Multi-sensory Approach to Handwriting” - This grant will allow teachers and paraprofessionals access to materials to enable them to teach handwriting using multi-sensory approaches and supplementing Handwriting Lending Libraries at the elementary schools.
- “K-8 Robotics” – Additional training will be provided for elementary and middle school teachers interested in increasing their working knowledge of the LEGO NXT Robotics kits provided by the HEF last year.
- “Cyberbullying: Fostering Proactive, Community-based Solutions to School Violence” – A national speaker will share his son’s tragic story of cyberbulling to the middle school, 9th through 11th grade high school classes, and an evening lecture open to the public. This presentation will raise awareness of the issue and communicate practical strategies to prevent cyberbullying and promote a safe and tolerant school climate.
- “Universe on Wheels – Modeling Objects in Space” – A rolling cart for each elementary school Grade 3 classrooms was provided to be used during their space unit. A variety of models (moon, orbiting planet, and scale solar system models) will help address student’s questions and curiosity.
- Continued Vision: Supporting HPS Writing Curriculum. A partial grant was given to implement a new writing curriculum for Grades 3 and 4.
- Animal Kingdom-Hands on Classification. This grant will allow students in Grade 2 to have a tactile experience to complement their science literacy unit featuring books about the major vertebrate groups in the Animal Kingdom
- 5th Grade Tours of Old Ordinary. A partial grant was given to the Hingham Historical Society to help subsidize the 5th grade tours of the Old Ordinary House Museum. This trip gives the 5th Grade a real-life connection to the American history they’ve studied throughout the year.
Hingham High School
- “Environmental Science Program” – Probes/equipment purchased to enhance Environmental Science and Human Anatomy & Physiology courses.
- “Snapfashun” – Computer and software for Family and Consumer Sciences program will allow students to custom design fashions as well as their own line of fashion.
- “Study Skills Program” – Funding to implement an after-school academic support program assisting in completion of homework, test preparation, and organization study skills.
- “Life Science Mobile Tech Lab” - HEF partially funded this grant by providing the remaining laptops to fill the Mobile Laboratory.
- Konica Minolta Magicolor/Printer – Language Lab. Over 900 students that rotate through the Language Lab each cycle will benefit from this grant. The printer is used by students when researching cultures of other countries and it will allow them to accurately display and exhibit their work.
- Senteo Aicker Response System/Math. This grant provided the Senteo Clicker System, which is a powerful assessment software that allows teachers to create tests and manage, track, and evaluate student results instantly.
- SMART Document Camera/Math. This was granted to be used in conjunction with a SMART board to engage the students by displaying real-time images of any physical object or activity.
- Naturally Speaking (Voice Activated Software). This grant will allow the English Department to provide feedback on student writing by speaking into the computer. The computer then generates a word document of feedback that can be printed and handed back to students with their essays.
- Improv Shakespeare. This grant will help fund a program that will involve students and enhance their appreciation and application of Shakespeare as a performing art.
- Teachers as Scholars. This grant will allow seven teachers to learn, discover, explore, and develop by attending seminars providing access to valuable scholarly content and intellectual exchange.
- HarborGear School Store. A counter/display case and cash register was purchased with this grant. This will create a simulated retail operation for students to learn vocational and social skills within the school community.
- RAD/Skill in Self-Defense for Females. Sophomore classes have been trained in RAD self-defense during PE class. This grant will allow the purchase of updated equipment.
- LCD Projector/Family & Consumer Science. The LCD projector provided by this grant will allow the Family & Consumer Science program to have access to the internet with a larger display and bring the classroom up to date with 21st century technology.
Hingham Middle School
- “Senteo Remotes” – The Senteo remotes purchased through this grant allow every student to actively participate in the classroom using the remotes to answer questions and the teacher can instantly assess every student’s understanding of the material.
- Hingham 375th Samplers. In conjunction with Hingham celebrating its 375th anniversary in 2010, an after school project will be offered for students interested in needlework. Needlework was part of Old Derby Academy’s curriculum for girls in the 1700’s and 1800’s.
- Tool purchase and repair. This grant will benefit the 150 students who take woodshop by providing some new equipment needed at the Middle School.
- The Plants We Eat (fruit & veggie analysis). The health coordinator will be able to use the fruits and vegetables for taste tests and plant analysis in 40 classes (10 per term). This “hands on” experience can influence healthier food choices.
- HMS Nature Trail. This grant will allow for the expansion of the natural trail, which has proved valuable to students, teachers, and faculty of all grades, ages, and subject areas at the Middle School. Science and Social Studies classes have used the trail for research purposes.
- Promoting Science Literacy in Middle School. Books will be purchased to build upon resources that are available to students and to enrich their educational experience through science literature.
- Putting Hingham into the History Curriculum. This grant will allow for the purchase of equipment in order to document Hingham history. This would allow access to documents for teachers and students for curriculum and immediate use.
- Laptop Setup/Projector/Card (Foreign Language Dept). This purchase will enhance the foreign language experience for every middle school child at HMS. The technology will offer a variety of interactive lessons to groups of diverse students
Foster School
- LCD Projector/For Existing Smartboard. The new LCD projector purchased through this grant will be used in conjunction with the SMART board that was received 3 years earlier.
Plymouth River School
- “Lexia Reading Software” - A request to accommodate 10 computers to be able to utilize the Lexia reading program was granted to PRS. The program supports reading skills development with explicit practice in fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- Art Room Technology Boost. This equipment will allow the Art teacher to make the curriculum more interactive, engaging, and leave a lasting impression on students. A website for student artwork will be created for parents to get a glimpse of what is happening in the art classroom.
- Mad About Science. A science book club that will pilot at two grade levels and be devoted to reading expository text. Students will borrow from a collection of approximately sixty book bags with three books in each.
South School
- Listen UP! The grant will allow for 2 additional amplification systems to be purchased. The system makes it easier for all children to stay focused. When projects are shared in the classroom, this tool helps project their voices and aids in their confidence in public speaking.
- A Novel Idea. This grant provided 5th grade classrooms with new copies of novels that are used for reading groups and to improve classroom libraries.