BEF Grants to Twelve Corners Middle School

		2007 In-Residence with Break of Reality Funding of an in-residence experience for string players with Break of Reality, a "heavy thunder" cello and percussion ensemble. SmartBoard for Science Instruction Purchase of an additional SmartBoard and LCD projector to enhance instruction by presenting digital material -- slides, animations, videos, and material from the Web -- in a natural, interactive way. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Kiln Purchase of a new kiln for the fine arts program. 2006 Dance Dance Revolution Stations Purchase of five stations to add Dance Dance Revolution ("DDR") to the TCMS Phys Ed curriculum. DDR combines dance, music, exercise, and friendly competition in a unique way that makes fitness fun. Dry Ice Machine Purchase of a dry ice machine for the science program. Many demonstrations and experiments call for dry ice, but puchasing it is expensive and has required a special errand. Owning a dry ice machine will save the district time and money. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Digital Sphygmomanometers Purchase of eleven digital blood pressure cuffs, for use in the 6th-grade science program to help understand blood pressure, an important aspect of teaching about preventive medicine. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Odyssey of the Mind World Finals Business sponsors in the community made a targeted donation through BEF to help the district defray the cost of sending the TCMS Odyssey of the Mind team to the 2006 World Finals, held at Iowa State University. 2005 SmartBoard for Science Instruction Purchase of a SmartBoard to enhance instruction by presenting digital material -- slides, animations, videos, and material from the Web -- in a natural, interactive way. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Tiny Glover In-Residence As part of a 6th grade unit on the oral tradition, Rochester storyteller Tiny Glover worked with students on storytelling techniques and other components of a theater performance. Number the Stars Funding for an integrated ELA and Performing Arts artist-in-residence project involving 5th and 6th grade students. Student read Number the Stars, a Newbery Medal-winning book by Lois Lowry, and presented the musical version of the book. Students spent a day with Sean Hartley, who adapted the book to the stage. Funded by the William Dieck Fund, the Alan L. Lewis Fund, the W. Todd Harper Fund, and theCultural Life Endowment Fund. Fuel Cell Car Experiment Kits Purchase of fuel cell cars kits to provide TCMS 8th grade Technology students a hands-on experience with this emerging technology. 2004 Books for the Mock Newbery Club Purchase of multiple copies of 15 titles to be read by students participating in a "Mock Newbery Club." Open to all students, more than 30 chose to participate in the reading and shared discussion of books that are contenders for the 2005 Newbery Award. Model Torso for Biology Purchase of a life-sized three-dimensional colored model of the human torso with removable parts and dissectible structures. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Quizdom Remotes Purchase of seven infrared remotes for the Quizdom interactive assessment system. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. 2003 Digital Camcorder for Foreign Language Purchase of a digital camcorder with which to make mini-movies of students speaking Spanish. These movies wil be posted on the BCSD web site so that parents can see and hear students as they learn to converse in Spanish. Mobile Science Lab Purchase of a mobile lab system for science instruction. A mobile lab system will enhance teaching by improving the flexibility with which the room can be configured and enabling students to be "closer to the action." Paid for in part by the William Dieck Fund. Laser Pointers Purchase of two laser pointers for use with the telescopes purchased in 2002 with DeHaven funds. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Star and Planet Locators Purchase of 60 star and planet locators for use with the telescopes purchased in 2002 with DeHaven funds. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Teach Smart with Technology Workshop The David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship funded the participation of one teacher in a "Teach Smart with Technology" workshop. MIDI Keyboards for the Music Department Purchase of fourteen Oxygen8 MIDI Controller keyboards that interface with computers. Using these keyboards, students will be able to easily capture musical compositions, edit them on the computer, play them back, and print musical scores. Paid for in part by the William Dieck Fund. 21-inch Monitor for the TCMS Morning Show Purchase of a 21-inch NEC AccuSync 120 CRT monitor for use as a teleprompter for the Morning Show broadcasts. The large monitor will help the Morning Show reporters develop their skills, and it will also be used during the day to display student-developed presentations in technology classes. 2002 Digital Camera for the Art Department Purchase of one Sony MVC-CD400 Digital Camera, for use with and by students in art and the performing arts. Funded by the Stephen Monk Gift. Story and photos... Two Telescopes Purchase of one Orion Skyquest XT10 Dobsonian telescope and one Meade Ext-125 EC telescope. 8th grade Earth Science studentswill use these two telescopes to make solar and lunar observations. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Reading Motivation Program Funding for a reading motivation program called "Reading Counts" from Scholastic. The program encourages recreational reading by giving each student access to recommendations made by other students, then collecting feedback and delivering an online comprehension check when a reader has completed a book. Teachers can use the results to check understanding and help target students at risk. The grant funds a building-wide license. Greenhouse Test Equipment Funding for the purchase of a conductivity meter that allows the rapid measurement of pH. This enables quick and accurate assessment of the condition of the nutrient solution used in the hydroponic greenhouse, a key variable in experiments conducted by students. Paid for in part by the William Dieck Fund. Ed Klorman, Artist-in-Residence As part of a three-week artist-in-residence visit that took him to every school in the district, violist Ed Klorman led rehearsals of the viola sections of both orchestras and performed two mini-recitals. Ed's work in the schools was funded by a special gift from Robert Gianniny. Story and photos... 2001 Camcorder for the Foreign Language Department An 8mm video camcorder to enable students in the Foreign Language Department to produce video projects, exercising their speaking skills. Equipment for the Magic Club A grant awarded to the TCMS Magic Club funded the expansion of its lending-library of tricks. This library allows club members to develop their skills at home, and it helped enable the club to stage a full-scale magic show that secured the future of the club and raised money for a charitable project. Story and photos... 2000 STANYS Conference Funding for Two Teachers Funding to send two science teacher from the middle school to the Science Teacher's Association of New York State conference. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Photo Lab Timers for the Technology Program Electronic timers for the photo lab printers in the Technology department. Paid for by the William Dieck Fund. Ascending Arc Induction Coil for the Science Program Purchase of an ascending arc high voltage induction coil for the Science department. Story and photo... 1999 Specialized Lego Sets for the Technology Program Purchase of specialized Lego sets for use in understanding engineering principles for the Technology program. Paid for in part by the William Dieck Fund. Digital Camera for the Science Program A digital camera for use by the science department, particularly to enable students to document their experiments and include those photographs in their lab write-ups. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. 1998 STANYS Conference Funding for Two Teachers Funding to send two science teacher from the middle school to the Science Teacher's Association of New York State conference. Funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Music Scoring Software and Mac Computer System for the Music Program A computer set-up for the music department along with software for arranging music. Media Literacy Pilot Program Support for the development and introduction of a unit on media literacy for eighth grade English students, later incorporated into the eighth-grade curriculum. Digital Camera for the School Newspaper A camera for the middle school newspaper. 1997 Van De Graaf Generator for the Science Program An electrostatic charge generator for the science department. Story and photo... Upgrade of Library Science Collection A general upgrade of the Twelve Corners Middle School library's science collection, funded by the David DeHaven Memorial Fellowship. Story and photo... Fiddling String Music (District Wide) Purchase of fiddle music so students could experience playing of bluegrass music after an introductory presentation by a visiting musician. Data Collection Software And Hardware for the Science Program Software and special hardware such as temperature probes to for the science lab computers to enhance data collection in experiments. Books for the Library Additional donor gifts targeted to support the middle school library's general collection. Books for Battle Of The Books Competition Purchase of specific books for a reading competition among the students. This program has continued annually. 1996 Oxford English/Library Reference CD-Roms for the Library December, 2007 Brighton Education Fund c/o Brighton Schools, 2035 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618 voice (585) 461-0434 fax (208) 975-7494