The Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR), Lycoming County Chapter (LCC), presents two yearly educational grants. Any professional or paraprofessional from Lycoming County public schools may apply for these grants. The applications are sent to each district yearly.
On Tuesday, May 3rd, two Educational Grants were presented to Loyalsock High School Music Directors Ryan Bulgarelli, David Tini, and a team of kindergarten teachers from Schick Elementary Traci Friant, Maggie Brooks, Kelly Campbell, Kim Hoffman, Becky Kaiser, and Tatianna Beard. Each group received a check for $350 to be applied to the projects presented in their application.
Bulgarelli and Tini described their project, saying, “As part of our programming for our spring 2022 concerts at Loyalsock, we have been presented with a unique opportunity to perform a piece of music that will have a profound impact on our students. Without question, the current events involving the invasion of Ukraine have had an impact on our society, community, and students. Processing events like this is difficult for everyone, but especially so for young students. One of the many ways in which we as humans begin to process these events is through music.
Brian Balmages, a renowned band composer, has written a piece of music entitled “Kyiv, 2022” as a tribute to those who are fighting to defend the Ukraine capital and a means for all of us to express our emotions regarding the conflict.”
Balmages stated, “we hope that this piece of music will help our students spark thoughtful conversations about humanity, history, culture, and compassion.”
The grant money will be used to purchase the necessary sheet music for this event and a possible zoom meeting by the students with the composer.
The Schick Elementary Kindergarten Team explained their project, saying, “Our students will observe the change in the life cycle of a chick. They will be learning the responsibilities of taking care of the eggs in the incubator and the chicks in the brooder. This will be a project continued every single year. All the materials except the consumables will be able to be cleaned/stored for repeated use. This is an exposure to farm animals that these youngsters might not otherwise get.”
The teachers who serve 120 students noted that this activity is consistent with both the science and social studies teaching standards. The grant funding will be used to purchase a heat lamp, pine bedding, eggs, etc.
