Nebo Education Foundation Awards Grants January 2018

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

Nebo Education Foundation Awards Grants January 2018

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. 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.

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

#nebohero #empowerstudents #engagestudens #studentsuccess #loveUTpublicschools #utpol #uted

Brookside Elementary – Meredith Olsen
Meredith Olsen, first-grade teacher at Brookside Elementary, said, “The first-grade team at Brookside Elementary is so excited for these new headphones! We want to thank Nebo Education for funding our grant to get the materials we need. The money will be buying new headphones for our students. The headphones will be used with our iPads. We do a lot of apps on iPads including Imagine Learning, QR reading codes, letter formation, letter sounds, and reading apps. The headphones will allow the kids to work individually without distractions. The headphones are adjustable making it easy to fit each kid. They also come with a volume limit control that allows kids from turning up the volume too high and hurting their ears. The cord on these headphones will tangle a lot less because of the thicker material that covers the cord. These will be very easy for kids to manage. We look forward to these, and again are very grateful to Nebo Education for allowing it to happen.”

Orchard Hills Elementary – Denise Alexander
“Thank you so very much Nebo Foundation and those who contribute! This grant will provide our library with four IPads. They will be used during library centers for students to watch or listen to a book read, watch book trailers, read an ebook, watch science experiments or other educational videos, watch author interviews, or play an educational game. At the IPad center, activities will support and enhance either a book, STEM, or other learning focus. I am excited because these IPads will allow more self learning, especially for reluctant readers. The students are excited just because IPads are fun! Thank you!” exclaimed, Denise Alexander, librarian at Orchard Hills Elementary.

Payson Junior – Shaun Morgan
Shaun Morgan, history teacher at Payson Junior, said, “At the beginning of this school year, I wanted to do a lot of things for my classroom. What that meant was life got expensive. I couldn't use money I didn't have to obtain the things I needed to create a dynamic and fun classroom. When I realized that I wanted to use the book ‘A Soldier's Heart’ by Gary Paulsen, I knew there had to be a way to get it so that all of my students could read this beautifully written story of one real man's experience in the Civil War. With the Nebo Education Foundation grant, I will be able to purchase those books, bringing a cross-disciplinary element to my classroom that will really engage the students in learning and help them understand what life was really like during the war. I'm so excited for this opportunity!”

Sage Creek Elementary – Julie Wood
“Thank you so much for the $1000.00 grant. It was such a wonderful surprise to have you come to Sage Creek to award this. I was truly surprise and overjoyed with the news. This means so much to me and our whole team. With this money and matching funds coming from a private donation, Adobe, on behalf of their employee who is a parent in our school boundaries, we will be able to purchase 10 replacement Chromebooks,” stated Julie Wood, fifth-grade teacher at Sage Creek Elementary. “The fifth-grade team, including Chinese immersion will share Chromebooks for Chinese content, writer's workshop, math, language arts, social studies, science, and the arts. They will be used five days a week for four to five hours per day. Our current Chromebooks are well over five years old and have missing keys, won't hold a charge, and randomly shut off. We are so grateful for your generosity, and we plan to use these for many years to come.”

Brockbank Elementary – Sabrina Huyett
“Thank you so much for your generous grant to our class! We are beyond thrilled to have new science materials. These funds will enable us to hatch chickens, explore static and current electricity, and experience magnetism. Before receiving this grant, we only had one type of magnet. The Utah science core lists several types of magnets that students need to be familiar with, and now our students will have hands-on experience with all of them! This will make such a difference in our science exploration. Many thanks!” exclaimed Sabrina Huyett, fifth-grade teacher at Brockbank Elementary.

Salem Hills High – Steven Haskell
“Thank you so much. We will use the electronic scales for a number of labs. The most recent lab is an osmosis lab. We dissolve the shell off raw chicken eggs, and then we measure how much mass the eggs would lose or gain when we put them in various fluids.” said, Steven Haskell, biology teacher at Salem Hills High.

Brockbank Elementary – Sherry Plaisted
Sherry Plaisted, facilitator at Brockbank Elementary, said, “Nebo Foundation does such an excellent job of supporting our school with the reading materials we need. These books will give our lower readers, just right materials that look more advanced with age appropriate themes and ideas. Thank you so much for the many ways you help schools all over the district. I have worked in other states and I would have loved having a Nebo Foundation when I was teaching in other places. You do such an amazing job and make grants so easy to apply for. Thanks again!!!”

Spanish Fork Junior – Brooke Cline
“I am so grateful for the Nebo Education Foundation. They were able to help me purchase 35 new calculators for my classroom. I will be using these calculators in the classroom almost daily to help students calculate many different types of mathematical problems. This will greatly help my students who have struggled in math for many years. It will make them feel less pressure when it comes to making calculations in their head or by hand. I know many of my students are very appreciative that we have a classroom set now. Many of them had to race to get the last calculators because I never had enough. Thanks you for you help!!” responded Brooke Cline, math teacher at Spanish Fork Junior.

Sierra Bonita Elementary – Neisha Coutlee
“The grant for a Chromebook cart means more to me and my students than we could express in words. We are fortunate enough to have a class set of Chromebooks; we use them daily to discover, create, collaborate and share knowledge. We use our Chromebooks to explore the world we live in, create based on what we've learned, and share our learning with others. Before the grant, our Chromebooks were being charged at a table that takes up a large amount of classroom space, has a tangled mess of cords, and isn't ideal for making the Chromebooks last. This new cart will ensure the proper care these tools need so they will last for years to come. This year alone, it will service 126 students! A million thank you's for this wonderful gift!” said, Neisha Coutlee, fifth-grade teacher at Sierra Bonita.

East Meadows Elementary – Tracy Warenski
“THANK YOU SO MUCH! We could not be more excited about the money we have been granted from Nebo Education Foundation for the purchase of MotivAiders. The MotivAider will be used a little differently in each of our classes. In some classes, students who struggle during certain subjects of the day will have this pager-type resource at their desk set at a specific time interval. Each time the MotivAider vibrates, the student will check themselves to see if they are on task. There will initially be extrinsic motivators set up for students who are working towards a defined percentage of on task behavior. The goal though, is that teachers and students will work together towards students becoming more intrinsically motivated by seeing their accomplishment in completing specific tasks,” stated Tracy Warenski, second-grade teacher at East Meadows. “Some teachers are planning to wear the pager at set intervals of time so they can be more consistent with on task behavior checks and positive praise. This use can be geared to the whole group or individual students. We looked into buying the MotivAiders and knew the cost was a bit too much as a whole. With the Foundation’s funding, we can make our purchase in bulk and save a substantial amount. We know these will be helpful to so many students and teachers for years to come. It is amazing to have the support of the Foundation that is dedicated to students and teachers in Nebo School District. Thank you again!”

Salem Junior – Chris Busath & Greg Jorgensen
“We will be using the grant from the Nebo Foundation to purchase four ‘breakout boxes’ from breakoutedu.com. These boxes are a great way to get the students engaged with the material in a new and entertaining way.The students will use the boxes to solve puzzles and open locks on the box that will allow them to open it up and claim a prize. They work not only on a small scale, but with large classes as well. With the purchase of each box, we have also gotten access to a library of pre-made ‘break outs’ for all subjects which make the boxes reusable and applicable for all subjects,” said Greg Jorgensen, history teacher at Salem Junior.

#nebohero #empowerstudents #engagestudents #studentsuccess #loveUTpublicschools #utpol #uted