GRANT Program

POSITIVE supported our LGBTQ+ students. The  GSA In-House Field Trip was created to provide a space for our LGBTQ+ students and Allies where their identities are celebrated and affirmed. The students participated in a cross grade scavenger hunt around campus, followed by a therapeutic art session and a musical jam session. Workshops on how to respond to trans/homophobic microaggressions were led by the Assistant Director of the Harvard College BGLTQ Office. At the end of the program, a mini Lavender Graduation was held where the 8th graders received their pins. 

POSITIVE continuously provided maintenance funds for the DS Garden. The DS Garden was designed and built by a high school student as a Girl Scout project. Over the past five years, middle school students have taken primary responsibility for the garden during the school year, Middle school science teachers, Mary Memmot, Jessica Mainuli and Olive Woodward steward the wellbeing of the garden. Students have started seeds, helped plant the garden, fertilized, and winterized it in the fall, and harvested food to bring to the cafeteria for lunches and to donate to food pantries. The intention is to continue this work so that as many students can have access to the garden as an exploratory, hands-on learning environment.

POSITIVE supports the reinforcement of positive behavior and growth in students. Utilizing the Portrait of a Graduate stickers along with our monthly assemblies, teachers focus on one competency and have a mini lesson. We started with empathy, communication, and perseverance. By explicitly teaching about the skills and recognizing students for exemplifying the competencies, we hope to reinforce positive behavior, achievement, and citizenship in middle school. While middle school has always been a key time for reinforcing these competencies, we find the demand is even greater amid the Covid-19 Pandemic.

POSITIVE  funded two shows by the very popular Deana’s Educational Theatre arranged by the guidance department. These plays were highly popular in previous years. This year both the plays were virtual. One of the plays- BUS STOP, teaches students how to deal with bullying/ cyberbullying, particularly focusing on the cyberbullying piece. This play also shows how a cyberbullying incident that occurs outside of school can affect students’ well-being in school. It touches on issues dealing with social media and digital citizenship and allows for conversation interwoven into the program, rather than just at the conclusion of the skits.

POSITIVE helped support the Drama department’s MS musical, Zoomsical, this year by helping to offset the cost of renting the equipment for the AWESOME drive-in theatre experience.

The Middle School Math Department Received 9 Interactive HP Elite Laptops to Fortify Excellence in Remote Learning from POSITIVE Grant. To best support remote learning in Mathematics,  these interactive laptops enable teachers to write/draw on the screen and enable real-time explanations of complex topics. Karen Raymond  shared that these interactive laptops are connected to a smartboard which allows them to be sharable in Zoom. This helps facilitate more detailed explanations and richer discussions with students.

Two Rolling Book Carts were purchased by POSITIVE. These carts will facilitate instruction since teachers often teach in different classrooms and need books to be cycled through several classes. Most students & teachers in the building will benefit from these movable carts to share and use resources

In an effort to help increase the inclusiveness at our middle school, POSITIVE funded the purchase of antiracism, inclusive and community-building prints and posters. These artistic prints have been placed around the building. We hope and believe that these posters will increase affirming messages to all students and staff that DSMS is a safe and welcoming environment. 

70 Black Lives Matter at School books were purchased for all staff members. These books along with beautiful cookies were distributed by "Secret Santa" Mr. Kellett before the Holiday break! As we continue the journey of cultural responsiveness at DS, this highly recommended book will be used to create reading and discussion groups.