KUDOS TO PIERCE TEACHERS!

Please join me in congratulating Pierce teachers on their successful Brookline Education Foundation (BEF) grants. In addition to her grant, Melissa London will also receive the Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship Award from the BEF this afternoon at the Celebrating Teachers program. The Gelfand award is an additional fund that is added to Melissa's grant for her Tanzania trip this summer! Also, please congratulate Chris Smith and Kate Coleman Gallahue on their grant awards. A big thank you to the BEF!

Melissa London, Pierce School, 6^th grade science: $1,800

London will travel to Tanzania to interview several experts about how various communities and biological ecosystems in the region have been impacted by global climate change. (Also awarded the Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship Award.*)

Purpose: To learn more about issues related to climate change, such as warming oceans, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification, and to incorporate this knowledge into Pierce's interdisciplinary unit on global climate change.

Chris Smith, Pierce School, 6^th grade ELA & World Geography: $2,500

Smith will explore Peru, studying its history and geography by visiting schools, working with artisans, learning from archaeologists, and visiting Lima, the ancient Inca city of Cusco, and Machu Picchu. 

Purpose: To help create a unit on South America for all of Brookline's sixth-grade classrooms, utilizing new knowledge, photos, and artifacts from Peru, and also to incorporate this learning into Pierce's interdisciplinary unit on global climate change.

Kathryn Coleman Gallahue, Pierce School Comprehensive Learning Center (CLC): $2,325

Gallahue will become certified in the Level 1 Wilson Reading Program, a multi-sensory program proven to be effective for students with language-based learning disabilities.

Purpose: To provide a systematic, language-based reading program for those students who have not learned to read using traditional general education reading methods, especially those CLC students who require intensive, explicit language/reading instruction.

2014 American Occupational Therapy Association Conference: $3,430

Pierce: Erin McQuaid (OT); and Lincoln: Mary Ann Biele (OT).

These two occupational therapists (OT) will attend their annual professional conference to learn about new ideas in this field. This grant will enrich the professional learning of all Brookline OTs and the services of all Brookline students who receive OT services.

Application of Brain Research to Classroom Practice: $4,215

Pierce: Jess Colby, Pre-K; Heath: Min-Jen Wu Taylor (Pre K), Chari Dalsheim (Gr. 2); Lynch Center: Melissa Lyons (Pre K); Runkle: Tanya Paris (K); BEEP: Latrisha Szoke (Speech Pathologist), Dr. Regina Watts (Psychologist), Vicki Milstein (Principal)

Eight Early Childhood educators will attend the acclaimed Learning and the Brain Conference. They will learn how the brain works and impacts school success and will maximize learning in their classrooms through effective strategies developed from brain research. They also will create a newsletter on conference topics to share with all Brookline educators

*Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship

The Adam Russell Gelfand Fellowship is a specially named annual teacher grant program administered by the BEF. Funding for the program was provided with the generous support of the Gelfand's friends and family and the Adam Russell Gelfand Family Trust. Recipients are BEF Teacher Grant applicants whose grant proposal most closely represents the goals of the Gelfand Fellow Program.

Goals:

- To commemorate the life of Adam Russell Gelfand and his love of education and to create a lasting tribute to his memory

- To honor an outstanding Brookline Public School teacher each year

- To provide the financial resources to support the professional development of each Gelfand fellow through a grant, such grant to be used for continuing education/training, travel, curriculum development/enrichment, or other similar pursuit

- To recognize the importance of geography, mathematics, and poetry as part of the elementary curriculum in the Brookline Public Schools and to encourage innovation in their teaching

- To acknowledge the unique relationship that can exist between teachers and their students 

Learning Together at the National Science Teachers Association Conference: $5,700

Baker: Yasameen Sharif (Gr. 6/7), Joe Mitchell (Gr. 7/8); Devotion: Bob Kondel (Gr. 6), Deb Allen (Gr. 7), Marilyn Yorgey-Williams (Gr. 8); Driscoll: Eric Hazlinsky (Gr. 6), Yana Davis (Gr. 7/8); Heath: Bob Miller (Gr. 6), Mark Goldner (Gr. 7/8); Lawrence: Maxine Hunter (Gr. 6/7), Ryan Keser (Gr. 7/8); Lincoln: Brandynn Heino (Gr. 6), Sue Zobel (Gr. 7/8);  Runkle: Djems Domerson (Gr. 6), Chad Pelton (Gr. 7/8); System-wide: Janet MacNeil (Science Coordinator)

All 6^th/7^th/8^th grade science teachers (18 teachers) and the preK-8 Science Coordinator will attend the National Science Teachers Association Conference to learn about new ideas in science education. This grant will enrich the learning of all Brookline middle school science students by exposing their teachers to science/engineering teaching techniques, materials, and activities, as well as new ways to integrate science with literacy.

Dr. Pipier Smith-Mumford

Principal

ANNUAL PARENT SURVEY - DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY, 5/17

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NOTICE FROM SUPERINTENDENT ABOUT 2013-2014 SCHOOL YEAR

A copy of Superintendent Bill Lupini's letter is here on the school website:

http://www.pierceschoolbrookline.org/index.html

As Dr. Lupini describes in his letter, the daily schedule for students will be different next year. The 2013-2014 school calendar is posted here on the school website:

http://www.pierceschoolbrookline.org/calendar.html

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VOLUNTEER AT THE PIERCE LIBRARY

PTO NEEDS VOLUNTEERS