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  • February 7, 2024

Previously, there was a very limited amount of therapy materials and lesson plans available to support our students’ social-communication and social-emotional learning needs. Everyday Speech, an online subscription, complemented the district’s existing curriculum (“Social Thinking”) by providing district speech language pathologists with access to evidence-based materials for use in individual lessons, small groups, and classroom presentations. These materials could also be shared with parents for home generalization. Everyday Speech gave PreK-12 educators access to a full curriculum of materials, including social skill modeling videos, handouts, interactive activities, and the capability to assign homework and share materials with families.

In relation to the core curriculum, the project expanded learning opportunities for students in a creative and innovative way. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increased need for supporting our students’ social-emotional health and well-being. Addressing our students’ social-emotional needs led to a reduction in aggressive behaviors and promoted a more positive school environment for everyone. Everyday Speech offered creative and innovative ways to learn social-emotional and social communication skills by providing lessons through various modalities, ensuring that all types of learners could benefit.

  • February 7, 2024

This is a community partnership grant to bring best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims to speak to our community. Dr. Lythcott-Haims, a former dean of freshman students at Stanford University, shared insights from her New York Times best-selling book, “How to Raise an Adult.” Drawing on research, conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean, Julie highlighted the ways in which over-parenting harms children and prevents them from developing self-efficacy: the knowledge that one’s own actions lead to outcomes.

While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to over-helping, Julie offered practical strategies that underlined the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary to become healthy, thriving adults.

These topics were the exact struggles that many of us dealt with every day as parents when trying to raise our families in a world where their mental health seemed to be challenged on a daily basis. Our community and, therefore, our students, benefited from hearing her perspective.

  • February 7, 2024

Speed racks were used to place prepped materials such as dough in the refrigerator for storage prior to baking, as well as to house hot pans as they came out of the oven. These were utilized for summer Career Exploration Camps (Saline Elementary and Middle School students) and for Intro to Baking and Intro to Foods (Saline High School 9-12th grade students) and for SWWC Culinary (11th and 12th grade students). With the addition of two (2) speed racks, students were able to prepare a greater quantity of product during a Career Exploration Camp or during class. There were numerous times throughout the year when there were large events and projects that required the compact storage of many items that the speed racks provided.

The project related to the core curriculum and expanded learning opportunities for students in a creative and innovative way. Students in a summer camp or class prepared products from scratch. Therefore, students participated in the cooking/baking process by reading the list of ingredients (reading), learning about the why and how things occur (science), measuring each ingredient within the recipe (mathematics), documenting their progress (writing), and articulating steps and progress to the instructor and with their peers (communication).

  • February 7, 2024

The “Scaling up Decodable Text” grant allowed each K-2 teacher to have their own set of decodable texts to use with their students. Previously, teachers were sharing one set per grade level, which was challenging because the books weren’t always easily accessible when a teacher needed them, and they required a lot of advanced planning. With each teacher having their own set, they saved time and were able to be more responsive in the moment within small group instruction, as well as better match readers with the most suitable book.

The grant provided each K-2 teacher and student with access to books that were engaging, diverse, and decodable. Students received small group instruction and time to practice reading these books that highlighted the specific phonics skill they needed. Teachers could differentiate by matching kids to the book and skill they needed to work on. In the core curriculum, while teachers explicitly taught phonics, kids also needed practice reading books with those specific phonics skills in them. Decodable books gave kids the opportunity to do just that. The Jump Rope Reader series had taken what could be a very boring type of book and created creative storylines, engaging characters, and books that kids really enjoyed.

  • February 7, 2024

This grant helps to bring new Spanish texts to students of Spanish 1A and 1B. This grant allows students to
read an entire class novel in Spanish 1.

Spanish 1A students will read the novel “La Familia de Federico Rico”.

Spanish 1B students will read the Spanish novel “Cabybara con botas”.

  • February 7, 2024

The Woodland Meadows’ Art Gallery featured 3 to 4 portraits/paintings/projects per year that other Art students saw as “mentor” projects that they were able to aspire to. Furthermore, it enhanced Woodland Meadows by giving the art hallway a “gallery” look.

Within the Michigan Standards for Visual Arts, there were standards where students looking at the art needed to explore and discuss art. By having the art in the hallways, and with guided conversation by the teacher, the students were able to do this easily. Moreover, because these pieces were “exemplary” pieces, students had an example of what the art pieces could look like.

  • February 7, 2024

The grant enabled the Girls Who Code club to purchase 8 Makeblock mBot Starter Kits and 4 Arduino Education Starter Kits. The mBot Starter Kits, which are robots that can be programmed using Scratch and Python, allowed the girls to code the robots to move and interact with their environment. The Arduino Education Starter Kits provided lessons in coding, hardware, and electronics.

The project was designed to align with the core curriculum and broaden learning opportunities for students in a creative and innovative manner. By introducing these kits, the club aimed to enhance coding skills among a demographic underrepresented in computer science and the tech sector, specifically girls. The hands-on experience with robotics and coding was intended to spark interest in future computer science, graphics, and engineering classes at SHS. Additionally, having access to these resources significantly improved the overall enjoyment and engagement of the club members.

  • February 7, 2024

The “Keep Calm and Clean” grant supported the practice of daily living skills for students while at school. The grant facilitated the acquisition of a working dryer, enabling students who swim 3-5 times a week to learn and practice proper laundry techniques, including washing and drying their clothes. Additionally, the grant provided the means for students to practice loading and unloading a dishwasher, which is an essential skill for job preparedness, employability, and living independently.

The primary goal for the Life Skills students was to enhance their employability and independence. The grant allowed students to engage in hands-on activities that prepared them for their future by reinforcing job skills and everyday life competencies. As students transitioned to high school, the opportunity to practice laundry and dishwasher skills became increasingly important. The items purchased with the grant played a significant role in continuing the students’ education and preparing them for this transition.

  • February 7, 2024

A creativity wall was established in the Innovation Lab. The initiative aimed to offer a unique feature distinct from the media center’s LEGO wall. A large magnetic whiteboard was installed, enabling students to map out their projects and utilize a variety of magnetic building toys. This new addition provided a collaborative space where multiple students could work together simultaneously.

The creativity wall served as a tool for students to engage in the Design Process, which includes the stages of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, Improve, and Communicate, particularly during building challenges. It offered a substantial area for groups to visualize and organize their construction plans. Moreover, the magnetic aspect of the wall allowed students to experiment with building vertically using five different types of magnetic building materials available in the iLab, introducing unique challenges compared to building on a flat surface.

  • February 7, 2024

The Feelings Buddy basic tool kit, along with corresponding items, was introduced to the ECSE program through a grant from the school foundation. This initiative was aimed at assisting students in understanding emotions and developing self-regulation skills, which are considered critical for future success. The program emphasized the importance of distinguishing between feeling an emotion and embodying it, as the latter can lead to uncontrolled reactions.

The Michigan State Board of Education’s Early Childhood Standards of Quality highlighted the necessity for children to develop the ability to experience, express, and control their emotions and social interactions. The Feelings Buddy tool kit was designed to support this development by fostering emotional security and social connection among children, which in turn would encourage them to explore and learn confidently.

The tool kit employed a mix of drawing, dictating, and writing activities to help children narrate events, sequence them appropriately, and express their reactions. This approach was intended to facilitate children’s emotional and social learning within a nurturing and positive educational environment.