A Partnership Within: Art Students
Support Primary Mathematics
T
accomplish this; foam board, pony
he Elementary Mathematics
Department decided to look for beads, and pipe cleaners were all it
a partnership within our schools to would take. There was a major hurdle
support the math learning for the to manage, however: foam board
students in the four primary schools. can’t be bought in a manageable size.
Over the past few years the We needed people who could manage
implementation of the CT Core the tools of an artist to prepare foam
Mathematics curriculum’s focus on a board and make it useable in
deep understanding of number sense classrooms. So the Mathematics
introduced us to many new strategies Department turned to Richard Fahey
for helping our young learners deeply and his high school student artists.
investigate how our number system They agreed to partner with us and
prepare the materials needed for
works.
primary students to build their own
tools.
One tool that has been
introduced into our instruction is the
Rekenrek®, a manipulative developed
by a Dutch mathematician, used to
decompose and compose numbers.
We wanted to put a Rekenrek® into
the hands of every one of our 1,100
K-2 students throughout district.
We knew that with a few
High School students configure
affordable art supplies, we could
material for number racks.
Painstakingly, they cut 1,100
pieces of foam board into 4 x 6
rectangles and provided them to the
primary school Art teachers, Ms.
Delisio and Mrs. Martin, who, with
the support of the building Math
Consultants, had students make their
own number rack. Now the students
in the primary buildings are using
their bead racks to understand 1 and
2-digit numbers, add and subtract
within 100, and understand 2-digit
place value. They are becoming
better mathematicians through the
help of the high school students.
We sometimes only have to look
within our own district to find great
collaborations to enhance student
learning. Thanks to the high school
art students for supporting the
learning of our younger students!
ShopRite Supports Enfield Public Schools
From the beginning of their time
in Enfield, Ray and Charles Miller
have built a relationship with Enfield
Public Schools. They are yearly
supporters of the Family Resource
Center, through which they provide
financial support for the Autism
Support Group and other parenting
programs. The Millers also highlight
EPS students. They sponsor the
m o n t h l y R a c h e l ’s C h a l l e n g e
Exceptional Acts of Kindness
Awards. This award recognizes
students from John F. Kennedy
inSights - Winter 2015
Middle School, Enfield High School,
and Enrico Fermi High School for
exemplary citizenship, leadership,
and commitment to others.
Recipients of this award have their
picture and a brief write-up posted in
Shop Rite’s lobby. The Millers go to
each school and present the award
and prize to each student. They also
take out an advertisement in local
newspapers to publicly acknowledge
the recognition these students have
received. Shop Rite has also offered
their in-house dietician as a speaker
to interested classes or school
groups. Soon, the Art Department
from EPS will be show-casing
student work throughout the store. In
addition, the Business Department
has been working with Shop Rite
and the Millers to bring real-world
marketing experiences to their
students. This is a partnership that
continues to grow in new and
exciting ways!
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