Grants given by the Nebo Education Foundation

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

Grants given by the Nebo Education Foundation

November & December 2010

Congratulations to all our wonderful teachers that inspire the minds of children!

Springville High

Springville High received a grant for mathematics for special needs students.

Anne Ballard, math teacher, said, "I just want to thank all the foundation for the funds for calculators. We use these for the resource Algebra Classes, Core-Academy classes and the Algebra Classes at Springville High School.  This is just what my students need as an extra resource to complete their assignments. One of the areas that these specific students struggle with is memorization of basic facts.  With the aid of the calculator, the playing field is leveled and they are able to perform the same math skills as their peers."

Cherry Creek

Jocelyn Cooley, first-grade teacher at Cherry Creek, was awarded a grant for CD players and books on CD.

Jocelyn said, "I'm so grateful to the Nebo Education Foundation for providing us the means to acquire CD players and books on CD to use in our first-grade classrooms! We have been using tape players and books on tape for many years but, with technology advances, we are unable to acquire new players and books. With the foundation's help, we can make a change to CD listening centers and also obtain new stories for our students to enjoy and learn from. Thank you Nebo Education Foundation!"

Maple Mountain High

Jethro Gillespie, art teacher at Maple Mountain High School, received a grant for a mobile art gallery.

Jethro said, "The funding for this project will be very beneficial for the visual arts students of MMHS. By having ownership over a small exhibition space, I really believe that this gallery will change the way my students conceive, create, and exhibit their artworks. I have already seen the difference that it makes in a student's effort when an art project begins with the final exhibition process in mind. The portability and diversity of this gallery will offer students so many new and exciting possibilities with their art projects and shows. I would like to personally thank everyone involved with supporting this idea and believing in the students' ability to expand their experience with visual arts."

Spanish Fork Junior High

Spanish Fork Junior High received two grants. The first was for the US History Department. They received a grant to fund American Revolution books. The other grant was for music to fund Smart Music.

Elaine Peterson said, "The Spanish Fork Junior High US History department is excited to have our students read Gary Paulson's latest book, Woods Runner. It will help deepen our students understanding of life on the frontier during the American Revolution. We are also working with the English Department in using this book as a cross curricular activity. We have planned to have book groups during pack time to discuss the book. It will be a wonderful addition to our curriculum."

Spanish Oaks Elementary

Spanish Oaks Elementary’s second grade received a technology grant.

DeAnn Sanders, second-grade teacher at Spanish Oaks Elementary said, "Thank you again for awarding us with this wonderful grant. It will be such an asset in the classroom. The money will be used to purchase a projector for the classroom. It will be mounted and a doc. camera will also be installed so that power points, mini-lessons, skills lessons, social studies and science lessons can be projected for all to see.

We feel with technology the way it is and how students are used to the advances in technology, this will help them stay engaged and make our lessons more fun and imaginative for them. Thank you so much again!"

Taylor Elementary

Taylor Elementary received a grant for the special education students to fund leveled books. They also received a grant for music and a grant for guided reading books.

Selene Pierson, reading specialist, stated, "We would like to thank the Nebo Foundation for their generous donation to Taylor Elementary.  We are excited to use one donation to buy a the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention program to use with those students who are struggling in reading. We are planning to provide intensive reading intervention to small groups of students to help them get on grade level with their reading. We really appreciate how the Nebo Foundation supports educators in our district by helping us fund educational endeavors.  Thank you so much Nebo Foundation!

Taylor Elementary’s music teacher, Ms. Patti Quezada, will use the music funds to purchase ukuleles for the upper grades. This will be an unique experience for students to learn how to play these instruments and the school is excited to listen to what the students can learn. Many thanks go to the Nebo Foundation for funding this grant for the music department at our school! We're excited to get playing!

Wilson Elementary

Wilson Elementary received a technology grant for their library.

Librarian Annette Draper exclaimed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the most awesome Christmas gift our Wilson Elementary Library could receive. There is so much technology to show the students on the computer, one being how to find the books in our library. Another, being able to access safe search engines that will provide them with quality education. It will be so much easier to instruct the students and show them how the books are classified if they can actually see it.  We will be using it on a daily basis for instructing students on how to use the library, which will benefit them now and forever as they further their educations.  Plus, we will be able to reinforce library media curriculum as they view visual media more easily, which will be a great help to our English Language Learners (ELL) students."

Goshen Elementary

Goshen Elementary received grant for technology. This grant will fund two Student Response systems. One will be for the younger grades and the other for the older grades. This system gives immediate feedback. Using the response system gives the opportunity for students to answer questions without feeling pressure from other students. Our teachers are excited about the possibilities.

Art City Elementary

Art City Elementary received a grant to fund reading books for the first grade.

First-grade teacher, Robin Wheatley said, "Reading is truly a fundamental skill that will help students throughout their life. I believe that reading opens the doors to many opportunities.  I am thrilled to have the additional funds to supplement our guided reading library at Art City. The books that will be purchased are well written, developmentally appropriate texts that will allow all teachers at our school to guide students reading development. All teachers and therefore all students will have access to these new books. I can't wait to get these books into the teachers and students hands! The assistance of the Nebo Foundation and its supporters is greatly appreciated. Thanks a million for your extra help in getting this money."

Westside Elementary

Westside Elementary received a grant for Yoga Donut balls.

David Fox said, "We are very excited to have received this grant from the Nebo Education Foundation! Our class is going to purchase yoga donut balls for the students to sit on instead of their chairs. These balls provide cross-lateral movement that will help the students engage both sides of their brains. This will be especially helpful for the many students who find it almost impossible to sit still on a chair and are distracted easily. Thanks so much for giving us this opportunity!

Brookside

Brookside received a grant for STAR kits for the special education students.

Ms. Karla Peterson said, "The special education cluster classes at Brookside Elementary are very excited to have received a grant from the Nebo Foundation to purchase STAR kits.  These kits were developed for teaching children with autism and they break the teaching down so that every child can be successful.  We are thrilled to have this curriculum which will help us teach these very special students and help them to become more independent and better learners. Thanks to the foundation for helping us to have more tools to teach our students."

Mapleton Junior & Spanish Fork Junior

Mapleton Junior and Spanish Fork Junior received a music grants for Smart Music.

Julie Christopherson said, "I would lend my support to add Smart Music to the program. It provides immediate feedback and incentive for students to practice and improve. I think the best part is the assessment components. This truly is amazing technology."

Diamond Fork Junior

Diamond Fork Junior received a grant for technology to be used in the history classes.

Ms. Cole said, "I would like to thank the Foundation for their generosity and recognition in supporting our remedial reading class. The MP3 players will make our audio books much simpler to use, allowing students to make the most of their class time. We also appreciate money to be able to purchase new, desperately needed headphones. Our hope is that students will have leveled books more accessible to them, to supplement their learning. Thank you!"

Salem Hills High

Salem Hills High received a grant for technology in the classroom. This will help the AP art class create successful electronic portfolios for the exam.

Sarah Shuler said, "This is the first year we have had an AP art class. Surprisingly, we have 23 students signed up. A great amount of time, energy, and resources have been given to help establish a successful AP Art program here."

Payson High

Payson High received a grant for technology for the English department that will include special education students. This technology will help with the labs for all students in English and debate.

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.

The Nebo Education Foundation is always looking for ways to fund these worthwhile learning grants. Anyone interested in donating to Nebo District schools, classes or programs can do so through the Nebo Education Foundation which is a 501 (c) (3) organization created to bring businesses and donors together for the benefit of Nebo District school children.  Your contribution is a tax deductible charitable gift as provided by law. Contact Lana Hiskey at 801-354-7400, e-mail lana [dot] hiskey [at] nebo [dot] edu (lana[dot]hiskey[at]nebo[dot]edu) or mail to 350 South Main, Spanish Fork, UT 84660.

Attributions
Lana Hiskey