Additional October 2019 Grants Given by the Nebo Education Foundation

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

The Nebo Education Foundation board had a large number of grants in October. Here are a few more that received funds to meet the many needs across the district. This Foundation Board functions through generous donations made by individuals and businesses as well as fundraisers where all the money goes to educate students in Nebo School District. Thank you to all those that so generously supported Nebo students through donations.

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

Spanish Oaks Elementary - Mariska Baldwin
Mariska Baldwin, educator at Spanish Oaks Elementary, said, “Thank you so much for the generous donation to my Accommodated Core Classroom library! My special needs class is brand new, and I currently only have some books that other teachers no longer wanted. My students have disabilities that prevent them from reading at grade level, so they need "high/low" books that are written simply but can hold the interest of older students. Your generous donation makes it possible to purchase these books. I cannot thank you enough!”

Riverview - Abby McLeod
“Thank you so much for granting my class this money to be able to purchase 2 new iPads for our classroom! More and more teachers are finding new ways to use technology in the classroom. I have found that for my students with special needs, technology can be used as another tool and resource to help aide students in their learning. I try my best to allow my students the same learning opportunities that the general education students receive. In our district, we use imagine learning (an online reading program) and iReady (an online math program) to help all students maintain grade level standards. I found that with my students' needs and abilities, they were able to participate in these online programs, but the chrome books were too difficult for them to maneuver and use to be able to fully participate. IPads provide my students the opportunity to use these wonderful programs that the district has provided for reading and math while being able to independently participate without the struggle of working the program. I am very grateful for this opportunity to have more iPads in my classrooms to help my students who will really benefit from it. IPads are also used in my classroom to help and aide students with communication needs as well. This will be a great tool and resource for us,” said Abby McLeod, a special education teacher at Riverview Elementary.

East Meadows Elementary - Sydney Sharp
Sydney Sharp, third-grade teacher at East Meadows Elementary, stated, “Thank you so much for funding our grant! We are so excited to use the money to get quality headphones for each student. They will allow our students to work independently at their Chromebooks while we work with small groups in our classrooms. This allows for meaningful instruction to happen with those small groups without disruption. A pair of reliable headphones for each student will be helpful so students can focus on what they are learning at their Chromebooks as well. Background noise will be diminished and they will be able to hear what the program wants them to learn. Students will be using many programs to improve their reading, math, science, and social studies skills and these headphones will help them focus and accomplish what they need to learn. Headphones will benefit our students in a variety of ways and enhance the quality of teacher instruction by reducing distractions and motivating students.”

Spanish Oaks Elementary - Teresa Winkler
“The biofeedback device helps students track their breathing and begin to regulate their emotions. This is empowering for students because they recognize that they do have control over their emotions at a time when they feel like their emotions are controlling them.  Without the biofeedback, I wouldn’t have immediate information that the student was beginning to stress again. This biofeedback device is a powerful tool to not only empower students, but to help me know how they are really doing during a time of stress. It keeps us on track and therefore, gets the student regulated more quickly and back to class sooner,” said Teresa Winkler, counselor at Spanish Oaks Elementary.

Rees Elementary - Jen Gasser
Jen Gasser, sixth-grade teacher at Rees Elementary, said, “I  am very excited about the Nebo Foundation Grant of $300!  Our wonderful principal will match those funds.  Our grade has been wanting to get some high interest guided reading books at varying levels.  It is our belief that we need to help students fall in love with reading.  We can accomplish this by having well-loved books at our fingertips.  This grant will allow us to purchase over 90 books for students to read.  These books are bound to help students have amazing adventures at their fingertips.  We are especially excited to have high-interest books of all levels so we may reach all readers.  Thank you for supporting our amazing students!”

East Meadows Elementary - Salem Wetlands
“Thank you so much for funding this grant. We are so appreciative! We took our students to Salem Pond to learn about wetlands and study the living and nonliving organisms there. Our students had a great time running around and learning at the different stations we set up for them. We were even able to see some fish, birds, and the shedding of snake skin. Thanks again for all you do!” said Sydney Sharp, Stevie Carr, Madie Treanor, Courtney Sterner, third-grade team at East Meadows Elementary.

Sierra Bonita Elementary - Ellayna LeFevre
“I am beyond thankful to have received this grant to further the use of technology in my classroom. I am excited to continue learning to create  new experiences which will aide  in differentiated learning and create a variety of ways to help all students regardless of their level of learning. They become student-directed learners and gain the skills necessary to succeed as a student in the ever-changing world of education,” said Ellayna LeFevre, fifth-grade teacher at Sierra Bonita Elementary.