Your support today will put essential tools into the hands of teachers!
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The Bellingham Public School’s Foundation awards dozens of grants to individual teachers every year. When you give passionate and caring teachers the resources they need, amazing things happen! Thanks to our generous donors, teachers throughout the school district are able to provide their students with incredible opportunities!
A few grants we funded in 2023
In 2023 we are funded dozens of grants to individual teachers in the Bellingham School District
Shuksan Salish Sea Adventures
This spring, more than two hundred 6th graders from Shuksan Middle School had the wonderful opportunity to explore our bay and tide flats, all thanks to your generous support. While 7th and 8th graders receive hands-on STEM learning through CTE funding, 6th graders have fewer resources to dive into science. Your gifts changed that.
Each week, a class of 6th graders headed to the community boating center in Fairhaven. They spent the day exploring the shore with a marine biologist, learning about the ecosystem around our bay. Then, the students ventured out in kayaks to observe marine life up close.
This hands-on experience made learning about things like food chains and water clarity come alive. Despite being so close to the bay, many
Many of these students had never been on the water or explored the shore. Watching them discover crabs and critters under rocks was an absolute blast.
One tough-acting student was seen squealing with joy upon finding a huge purple sea star. His excitement and smile were priceless, showcasing the impact of these experiences.
Even on gloomy, rainy days, the joy was evident. Students splashed and laughed in the cold water, making unforgettable memories.
Pneu“MAD”ics about Robotics
Squalicum, Bellingham and Sehome robotics programs focus on equipping our students with the necessary tools and resources to develop and explore cutting-edge technologies.
They compete against larger school districts and regional teams with large budgets, corporate sponsors and families who pay thousands of dollars a year so their students can have access to the best equipment and supplies that VEX robotics has to offer.
This grant funded the pneumatic components that high school robotics teams across the entire district needed to be able to compete with the top programs in the state. These enhanced tools helped the robotics program take a big step toward their goal:
“developing students and graduates who are scientists and mathematicians; skilled users of technology and innovation; leaders, collaborators, and team players; confident individuals who challenge themselves; critical thinkers and problem solvers; innovators and creators.”
Solving Problems Through Dystopian Literature
In 8th grade, we like to explore the hero’s journey through the dystopian setting. Unfortunately, we have been using the same text for a lot of years (decades?).
Thanks to a BPSF grant our teachers updated our current texts to demonstrate the hero’s journey through more modern texts that also reflect more current issues in our world.
Students read books in small groups in the spring of 2024. Then moved into the final part of the year which will use informational texts to help us explore and discover solutions to real global problems correlated with issues found in the dystopian setting and overcome by the hero’s in the story.
Cup Stacking
Thanks to your kindness, our students are not only having fun but also boosting their reading skills in surprising ways.
David Mazur, a dedicated teacher at Cordata Elementary School, requested a $300 grant to purchase sets of cups for teaching “Speed Stacking.” This activity involves students stacking cups in set patterns to form pyramids of varying complexity. It’s quick, engaging, and judging by the laughter and excitement, students love it. However, the true benefits extend far beyond just fun.
Speed stacking involves movements that help the brain develop in ways crucial for reading, writing, communicating, and problem-solving.
When kids cross the vertical midline of their bodies while stacking, it encourages the two sides of the brain to work together more effectively. This teamwork within the brain can make reading and writing easier and more enjoyable.
Studies show that children who engage in speed stacking several
times a week can improve their reading skills significantly compared
to those who don’t participate.
Our top funding priorities for this year include:
Mental Health and Social Emotional Learning
Projects promoting youth mental health and social emotional resiliency through creative expression in either the fine or performing arts
Libraries and Literacy
Projects that provide students with books and other supports to ensure that every Bellingham student can develop an appreciation for books while learning to read at a high level
Creativity in STEM
Projects that help provide outstanding experiences in STEM both in and out of the classroom. Particularly focusing on those projects that expose younger learners to STEM concepts or help make the sciences approachable to a wider audience.
