Nebo Education Foundation Gives Grants March  2017

Submitted by lana.hiskey on
Nebo Education Foundation Gives Grants March  2017
 
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.
 
These grants are funded through the fund-raising efforts of the Nebo Education Foundation board.  One fund-raising effort is the annual “Green Fever” golf tournament that helps fund these various grants throughout the year.  The “Green Fever” tournament will be Thursday, May 18, 2017.  Also, the foundation accepts donations from individuals and businesses to support projects.

Congratulations to the following teachers that continue to bless the lives of students. 

Mt. Nebo Junior – Courtney Hanks
Courtney Hanks, English teacher at Mt. Nebo Junior, said, “As part of the school wide launch of ‘Discover Mt. Nebo’, an academic intervention and enrichment plan, I was able to create and facilitate Mt. Nebo Jr High's first ever student news & broadcasting class! Mt. Nebo News-Be the Voice Behind the ROAR has been a huge hit with the students and faculty. I am so proud of the ambitious, talented kids I get to work with each week to make this happen.   Working together in small ‘crews’, students research stories, conduct interviews, film, take and edit photos, produce mini segments, and now are producing weekly news episodes!  Episodes are posted to the school’s Youtube channel and other social media websites. While some students have their own digital device they can use to capture the news, most do not. I requested two Apple iPads for student use on the news crew.  I have found the iPad to be the best, most effective, student friendly, device for creating and sharing videos. The students are able to take, create, compile, and share media.  The iPad enables students to have the resources and the apps needed to produce and publish school news efficiently. 
 
“The iPads have been a huge asset to the news crew. Students are completely engaged with the devices and are discovering talents, strengths, and interests they didn't even know they had!” exclaimed Courtney Hanks, English teacher. “We are grateful and very excited to be chosen to receive funds from the Nebo Foundation to make this possible. So on behalf of MT. Nebo's "Behind the ROAR" news crew, THANK YOU!   And remember.... check out our YouTube Channel; Mt Nebo Jr High!” 
 
Rees Elementary – Jill Darrington
“Thank you for the grant money. I applied for a grant to buy some additional guided reading books for my classroom and grade level.  With the grant, I will be purchasing some low-reading level, high-interest books for the struggling readers in third grade.  I will also be purchasing some high-reading level and high-interest books for the high readers in third grade.  This means so much to me, I'm grateful to be able to have access to more books for my students.  Thank-you again!” exclaimed Jill Darrington, third-grade teacher at Rees Elementary.
 
Taylor Elementary – Doni Bufton
Doni Bufton, Sixth-grade teacher at Taylor, stated, “Thank you so much for granting our sixth-grade classroom the money to purchase science equipment to accurately measure heat energy. Our sixth-grade team have made plans for great engineering projects to save heat energy.  We will construct small houses using our knowledge of insulators to design the most efficient heat saving design.  We also plan on launching hot-air balloons. Hands-on activities always help students learn more and retain a greater understanding.”
 
Santaquin – Eric Kern 
“We are so excited to receive these funds.  We plan to use these materials during our small group, guided reading instruction time.  Our students need regular opportunities to engage with meaningful and complex texts at each grade level in order to develop mature language skills, conceptual knowledge, and the ability to analyze text for a variety of purposes. Developing these skills will contribute to continued success in their schooling experience.  Thank you for your support in ensuring our students have the necessary materials to assist in their academic development,” said Eric Kern, Title I Coordinator at Santaquin Elementary. 
 
Spring Lake Elementary – Doug Lai
Doug Lai, third-grade teacher at Spring Lake, said, “Thank you Nebo Foundation for funding my project to get a Chromebook cart. It will be such a valuable asset in our classroom. We will have someplace to secure our Chromebooks and iPads so that they are safe for years to come. Not to mention being able to charge them without cables all over the place. Thank you so much.”
 
Rees Elementary – Kinsey Williams & Sasha Tew
“To say that our second graders are excited about the funding we received for a small group set of mini iPads would be an understatement! We cannot wait to utilize the technology and give each of our students the opportunity for independent practice in areas that they may be struggling with as well as using the iPads as a small group listening center. As teachers we are so excited to teach our students how to use technology for educational purposes in a safe way. We are so grateful for the grant from the Nebo Foundation!” exclaimed Kinsey Williams, second-grade teacher at Rees Elementary.
 
Larsen Elementary – Heide Taylor
Heidi Taylor, first-grade teacher at Larsen, said, “Thank you to the Nebo Foundation for fulfilling my grant request for chapter books for my first grade class. My advanced readers will be excited to read the Magic Treehouse and Ready Freddy Books that I am purchasing for my classroom with the help of my Principal and the Nebo Foundation.  The grant application is simple and the process is quick.  I appreciate the people who donate their time to serve on the Nebo Foundation--they really help students and teachers.” 
 
Oakridge – Tasha Lewis
“We work on our students’ individual education plan goals each day during school. As we are working on these goals, we track the students’ performance and progress. In the past, we have done this with paper and pencil and have figured out student progress after the fact. By using Google spreadsheets with formulas, we are able to see the progress as we work with students. This enables us to see exactly how students are performing and extend our work with them. This also allows us to see a student’s progress over time with just a glance at the screen. It really has helped with knowing who qualifies for summer school. We love our Chromebooks. Thank you Nebo Foundation for helping us better serve our students,” stated Tasha Lewis, teacher at Oakridge.
 
Rees Elementary – Sixth Grade Team
“Crucial to science education is hands-on involvement: showing, not just telling; real experiments and field trips and not just 'virtual reality’” stated Martin Rees. 
 
“The sixth grade at Rees Elementary is so excited to go to Salem wetlands for a hands-on, exciting, and engaging field trip. The sixth-grade students will be collecting water samples, observing microorganisms, and answering questions solved by using the scientific method. This was made possible because of a grant funded through the Nebo Education Foundation and several local businesses. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!” expressed Mr. Wright, Mrs. Gasser, and Mr. Mendenhall.
 
Payson Junior – Christi Petrucka
Christi Petrucka, orchestra teacher at Payson Junior, said, “Thank you so much for this generous gift. We are excited to have this new piano enrich our music instruction in the classroom. Our jazz band students will have the ability to develop their improvisational skills with a real time accompaniment band in the piano.  We will be able to make recordings of pieces on a multi-track recorder and sound mixer programmed into the piano to send to the students to help with their study and practice on their current curriculum literature.
 
“Because of the huge range of different instrument sounds, we will not be limited to literature with just the instrumentation we have in the student body of our group. If no student is playing oboe a particular year, we can still have an oboe during the concert.  Also, the choir and drama departments will be able to have accompaniments not just limited to a piano sound, but enrich their performance accompaniments.”
 
Riverview Elementary – June Lopez
“I am SO excited to have some extra funds to purchase the much needed sets of guided reading books for my classroom.  It is so helpful to have good books to read without having to worry about content being "too old" for our students, having to worry about inappropriate language, or not having enough books because some were lost or damaged.  My class has always loved to read as I try to instill in my students a love of literacy.  I can not wait to get our new sets of books to share with this years students and the many to come!  Thank you for helping to make reading possible,” stated June Lopez, fourth-grade teacher at Riverview. 
 
Spring Lake Elementary – Charles Hanosek
Charles Hanosek, instructional coach at Spring Lake Elementary, said, “Thank you so much for the grant money! I can't wait to receive these needed headsets to allow students to integrate technology into literacy and other curriculum areas. I have been borrowing a set of these headsets and started instructing students on how to properly use a headset, Chromebooks, and online resources to record their voice and produce several great projects. I have assisted teachers in helping their students create an online voice recording linked to several core curriculum areas and then we generated a QR code for each student to attach to their project. The projects are set out into the hallways and are now ready for other students and parents to scan. 
 
“At first, I start by training a few students on how to use the technology. Then, those students teach classmates how to create their project. It is amazing to watch students teaching students! The learning is phenomenal. I am there as a resource and trouble shooter for when a problem arises. Students learn how to use online resources to record their voice, learn how to download the audio recording, upload the recording to their Google Drive, share the audio recording with the world, and last share the URL with the teacher through using a Google Form. The teacher uses the URL to create the QR code.
 
“Without these headsets this amazing project could not have happened! I am collaborating with teachers on other ways we can use these precious tools to help students with other areas of learning.”
 
Park View Elementary – Mary Kathryn Hall
“Receiving this grant from the Nebo Foundation is a great honor. With the grant, I will be buying a classroom set of books, The Great Brain by JD Fitzgerald. I want to thank the Nebo Foundation for half of the money and my principal Shanna Stirland for the other half. This is a great book for fourth graders. It is set around the turn of the twentieth century in Utah, so it will be perfect for language arts and integrating history. I love that I will be able to use this book as a classroom novel and be able to really explore the characters, setting, and themes. I am excited to see the text-to-self connections my students will make while we are reading,” explained Mary Kathryn Hall, fourth-grade teacher at Park View Elementary.
Attributions
Lana Hiskey