Dartmouth teachers will bring virtual reality goggles, DNA equipment, and quadcopters into their classrooms with grants awarded by the Dartmouth Education Foundation.

About a dozen teachers received funding from the group at a ceremony on September 6, totaling $17,000 The organization helps raise money for teachers in Dartmouth to use to start new projects and buy new gadgets and technology for their classrooms. Teachers were free to submit ideas to implement a new form of learning for their students in the new school year.

Among those receiving funding was chorus teacher Tara Thomas. She received a grant to replace a piece of music equipment at the middle school.

"It is a CD burner, but also changes key and tempo," Thomas said. "It is needed in middle school, especially for the boys with their voices changing.”

Dartmouth Middle School librarian Laura Gardner will buy virtual reality goggles for her students. Gardner said that the goggles will be used to virtually show students scenes from outer space, anatomy, and historical monuments. Also at the middle school, Jamie Guile received a grant to buy a bandsaw, and Mary Lynch will buy books.

Kate Powers, a library media specialist at Quinn Elementary, was awarded a grant to buy new robotics hardware and Lego kits, along with kindergarten teacher Marygrace Condon. Powers said they will be buying advanced kits that involve coding to teach the older students how to write code.

Also at Quinn, Celeste McGreavy’s grant will pay for US atlases, and Christine Tafe will purchase reading materials with hers.

Dartmouth High School Science teacher Peter Bangs was awarded grant money to buy new equipment such as a thermal cycler for the science labs to help with DNA analysis.

"Students will be able to look at their own DNA," Bangs said.

High school teacher Samuel Brodsky plans to purchase a quadcopter with his grant.

At DeMello, teacher Michaela Markey will fund a children's literature program. Potter Elementary Principal Heidi Brooks received funding for K’nex kits for her students.

John Beauregard, the director of the Dartmouth Education Foundation, thanked the administration and the teachers for all their hard work at the awards ceremony.

"We gave out $17,000 worth of grants this year and it wouldn't be possible without the annual Spelling Bee," he said.

Every year, the Dartmouth Education Foundation hosts a spelling bee for teams of adults and Dartmouth High School students. It is the group’s main source of fundraising dollars, explained School Committee and DEF member and Shannon Jenkins.

Lara Stone, the foundation’s new chair, said that the annual spelling bee raises anywhere between $15,000 to $25,000 and all the money raised goes towards giving grants to sponsor Dartmouth school teachers' new educational projects.

This year’s spelling bee is scheduled for November 2 at Dartmouth High School. Interested spellers can register a team and help raise money for grants to improve Dartmouth students’ education.

For more information about the spelling bee, visit the DEF Facebook page or email Stone at lhstone@comcast.net.