Grants Awarded in June by the Nebo Education Foundation

Submitted by lana.hiskey on Fri, 06/17/2016 - 14:08

The Nebo Education Foundation is composed of 20 volunteer board members who live in cities serviced by Nebo School District.  Board members meet each month to review and award grant requests, consider fund-raising avenues and other items that advance the educational opportunities for Nebo School District students.  Many of the donations received are for selected projects, yet a substantial amount is available for the greatest need.  Greatest need monies are considered for grants submitted by area schools. 

"The Nebo Education Foundation couldn't fund these grants without the tremendous support we receive from the Green Fever golf tournament, business partners, and  individual donors. Thank you for the generosity of our community. The students in Nebo District have a more enhanced education than they would otherwise receive. We are grateful for all the good we see happening as a result of all those who support the Nebo Education Foundation," said executive director Lana Hiskey. 

Congratulations to the following teachers that continue to inspire the minds of students. 

Brockbank – Sherry Plaisted
Sherry Plaisted, Brockbank facilitator, said, “Thank you so much for awarding us the grant. You are an amazing support to the students and staff at Brockbank. The leveled library materials will be used to assist in our new tutoring program that we will be implementing next year, as well as be available for classroom teachers to check out. The take home books will be available for student check out and replace some well worn titles as well as provide more non fiction reading opportunities. YOU ARE THE BEST!!!”

Spanish Fork High – Deon Youd
“Receiving a Nebo Foundation Grant means so much to our students and school. This money will help us add important books to our curriculum. With the money, we will purchase books that will teach students important themes about life, justice, and citizenship. We will also be able to provide a richer experience as we talk about how to compose strong academic argument. All of this will help the students at Spanish Fork High School be more college and career ready. We are grateful to the foundation for making our wishes come true. This is a great day to be a Don,” replied Deon Youd, English teacher at Spanish Fork High.

Riverview Elementary – Shalese Rogers
Shalese Rogers, sixth grade teacher, said, “I am ecstatic to hear the great news about receiving the Nebo Education Foundation's Grant! This grant will be used to buy current books for guided reading sets for my classroom. I will make sure to share these sets with my entire sixth-grade team so that the books can benefit more students. These books will be treasured by my classes for years to come. I can't wait to start planning meaningful guided reading lessons for these students with up to date books they haven't had a chance to read yet. This will bring meaningful discussions, group projects, and a love for books to our classroom.  Thank you Nebo Education Foundation I could not have provided these books to my students without you.”

Salem Junior – DeAnna Ashworth
“I am currently in the middle of creating curriculum for two brand new classes here at Salem Jr High. These ASUS ZenPads tablets are for the new Film Studies class. I’m really grateful for this grant because my students will use the tablets to learn how to create their own videos. We are going to be able to take a practical approach to learning about films. I’ve learned that students in this age range enjoy learning more when they are immersed in hands on projects. With this grant I am able to do more for my students then if we were just watching movies and talking about theory. My students will now be able to learn both theory and be able to apply what they have learned. I am looking forward to seeing my students create and learn through film,” replied DeAnna Ashworth, drama teacher at Salem Junior High. 

Maple Mountain High – Cory Mendenhall
Cory Mendenhall, choir teacher at MMHS, said, “Vicki and I are thrilled the Nebo Education Foundation and Mr. Penrod have seen fit to award our classroom and students with this grant!  Thank you very much for your consideration!  

“We have applied for the grant to purchase the Zoom recorder so that we can have recording capability in the choral classroom that we do not currently have. It will be used primarily during rehearsals so that the students can listen to immediate playback and assess their efforts for themselves as the teacher facilitates group discussion and discovery.  In the same way that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ hearing what they have just sung gives the students an accurate aural blueprint of their current level of success, and equips them with formative assessment tools as they seek to make changes in order to improve their sound.  Using this learning tool, students will increase their awareness within the group and can increase their ability to monitor and adjust more easily during the rehearsal and eventual performance.  Valuable rehearsal time will be saved, making the rehearsals more efficient and effective.  The students will become more independent and accurate as they learn to appropriately discriminate their musical art and learning outcomes.”

Rees Elementary – Rachelle Orton
“I will be using my iPad as a student device in my resource room.  I love the capabilities of an iPad with younger students K-3 whom have not yet developed their keyboard skills and are still learning letter recognition.  I have also used an iPad extensively with older students. The ability to use iPads in reading and math has helped me facilitate quick assessments, practice and differentiate learning. This is so important in 30 minute pull-out groups. This grant will allow my students to have 1:1 technology which will facilitate their learning in a way that will benefit each child,” replied Rachelle Orton, special education teacher at Rees Elementary. 

Payson High – Justin Meyer
Math teacher, Justin Meyer’s said, “Last year we received a similar grant for calculators and have loved having them in our classroom. With all the teachers having a classroom set of the same type of calculators, students can switch classes or receive help from other math teachers and not have to learn how to use a different calculator.  We are expanding our math staff by one and this grant will go towards buying our new math teacher a classroom set of calculators.”

Another grant was awarded to Mr. Meyers. He said, “I have been experimenting with ways of making material available to students at home in order to help them with their homework.  In the past I have posted solutions, but I think looking at my final work can only help so much (and can probably be somewhat confusing). Towards the end of this previous school, year I played around with filming myself teach specific concepts and then posting them online for students to watch.  While it hasn't really caught fire yet, I'm hoping that next year when I implement the video assistance from day one, things will work out better.  When I first started recording myself, I was using a crummy microphone that didn't work very well.  This new microphone sounds awesome and will really give my videos a more professional sound to them.”

Spring Lake Elementary – Venus Ernst
“Spring Lake Elementary is so grateful for this grant. The $1,800 will be used with matching funds to help update the guided reading library at Spring Lake. As we inventoried the library, we found specific levels that were weak. We also noticed a need for non-fiction text. Titles were specifically selected to go with multiple core subjects in grades 3-6. These books will be an important asset in the education of our students. Thank you for your willingness to help,” replied Venus Ernst, specialist at Spring Lake Elementary.

The Nebo Education Foundation functions through generous donations made by individuals and businesses.  The Foundation helps enrich students’ education in Nebo School District.  Anyone interested in the Nebo Education Foundation or who wish to make a donation for education is encouraged to contact Lana Hiskey by email lana [dot] hiskey [at] nebo [dot] edu, by phone 801-354-7400, or mail 350 South Main, Spanish Fork, UT 84660.  

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Lana Hiskey
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