AMHERST — Expanding an after-school table tennis club at Amherst Regional High School, ensuring Summit Academy students can get through the day without cellphones and printing a series of decodable comic books are among projects being supported with Amherst Education Foundation grants.
The foundation recently held its first-ever reception for Excellence Award Grant recipients, which took place at the Mill District Local Art Gallery. There, some of the work from the previous year’s recipients were on display, such as the Saori loom and weavings made by Wildwood School students.
Also on view were some of the photographs and watercolor paintings created as part of “A Wider Lens: An Intergenerational Art Project” that opened last week at the Amherst History Center, while Emily Dannen, who works at the Amherst Early Education Center, talked about “Neurodiversity in Play” and the sensory materials purchased for the program.
The latest five recipients are receiving a combined $27,648.
For the table tennis club, founder and advisor Atticus Robbins plans to purchase three new tables and more equipment so more students can participate. The funding will also support a stipend for club leadership and training from professional coaches.
“Look-Up: the Bell to Bell Solution at Summit Academy” was sought by administrators Jess Nardizzi and Diane Chamberlain. This money will be used to train teachers in a no-device policy, purchase materials to properly secure phones, and acquire devices for listening to music as a tool for self-regulation.
Peter Nolan, a teacher at Wildwood School, will print a series of decodable comic books that he has developed for English learners and students with special needs in the early elementary grades.
Others getting money are Jordan McCarthy, the high school physical education teacher, who will access cardiovascular fitness equipment for Foundations of Personal Fitness and Strength and Conditioning courses. McCarthy will purchase 18 cardio exercise machines, including treadmills, rowing machines, stationary bikes and ellipticals.
And in preparation for the fall opening of Amethyst Brook Elementary School, special education teacher Shyanne Jackson will purchase evidence-based instructional materials, social-emotional learning resources, executive functioning supports, flexible seating and self-regulation tools to outfit the AIMS, Building Blocks and a Transition Classroom, three specialized education classrooms.
The evening concluded with AEF President Shawn Fortin presenting an enlarged check to Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman.
Meanwhile, the Wider Lens temporary exhibition brought students at Amherst Regional High School together with Amherst-area elders, with interviews and conversation as well as black and white film portrait sessions.
This will be at the 45 Boltwood Walk site, with a community reception May 14 from 6 to 7 p.m. Regular public hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with also open May 12 and May 13 from 1 to 4 p.m.
Student-led thrift store
Amherst Regional Middle School’s Student Council is putting on a thrift shop Saturday to raise money to buy a gift from the eighth-grade class.
The pop-up fundraiser will feature clothing for all ages and sizes.
With bake sales no longer allowed at the school, the students hope that both residents and college students will drop by to find affordable items.
Cuppa Joe
The fiscal year 2027 town budget will be the next focus of the Cuppa Joe with Paul Bockelman, featuring Finance Director Sean Mangano.
This event will take place on Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Room 101 of the Bangs Community Center.
All community members are welcome to join the conversation about the latest budget, which was unveiled this week to the Town Council.
This will be the second Cuppa Joe with Paul “After Hours” event, rather than the traditional Friday morning timeslot.
IFT Achievement Award
A University of Massachusetts professor is earning an achievement award from the Institute of Food Technologists, a nonprofit scientific organization committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system.
David Julian McClements will receive the Distinguished Lipid and Flavor Science Award in honor of Stephen S. Chang at the event in Chicago on July 12. That day will feature a reception and ceremony that provides members of the food science community an opportunity to join their peers in celebrating the leaders, innovators and visionaries shaping the global food system.
“We are honored to recognize this year’s IFT Fellows and Achievement Award
recipients, leaders whose contributions have had a lasting impact on the science of food
and the global food system,” IFT CEO Christie Tarantino-Dean said in a statement.
New polling location sought
The polling location for Precinct 2B, which is at the Fort River Elementary School gymnasium, will be unavailable for the September and November elections as the building gets demolished to make way for Amethyst Brook.
In a weekly report to the Town Council, Bockelman wrote that Town Clark Amber Martin will be reviewing options for relocating this polling location and has consulted with the councilors who represent the district.
A proposal for a new location will be brought to councilors at some point. The last change in a polling location took place in July 2024, when Precinct 1A moved from the North Zion Korean Church to the North Amherst Library community room.
