The Nebo Education Foundation board had a record number of grants in November. 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 make a difference in the lives of students.
Mt. Nebo Junior – Ellen-Anita Olson
“Thank you so much for the grant for Chromebooks for the library at Mt. Nebo Junior High School. These new Chromebooks will help and benefit students at the school for years to come. It will help that the students can now sit in groups and work on Hour of Code and Scratch. They can work on group projects in one of the small rooms off the library and so much more. This will have a great impact on the school, the students, the teachers and the library as I work to make the library the hub of the school. You put a smile on my heart when you walked in to the library. Thank you so much,” said Ellen-Anita Olson, librarian at Mt. Nebo Junior.
Cherry Creek Elementary – Starr David
Starr David, third-grade teacher at Cherry Creek Elementary, exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! I'm so incredibly excited to have received not one, but two grant requests from the NEBO Foundation!! Our third grade team, here at Cherry Creek Elementary, will for sure put our art supply money to good use and the kids are so excited to try out the new chalks we are ordering for them to use on their projects! We will also utilize our fluency and accuracy goals through the Lyrics2Learn program and keep improving our skills through sustained practice. Thank you so much for being a force for good in our community and for creating positive growth through abundant resources!”
Santaquin Elementary – Maddie Inman
“I am extremely excited to start implementing ipads into my classroom! The iPads are something my first graders are already familiar with, because they used them in Kindergarten! That means using this technology will be such an easy transition for them. There are many things my first graders and I would use our iPads for. The first is using them during math centers. During math centers, students have the opportunity to log on to iReady once a day and complete lessons. Students would also use the iPads on Fridays for math games. I would also like to use my iPads during daily 5 literacy time! Students may listen to stories on their iPad for the listen to reading Daily 5 center. Students may use the iPads to easily log on to Imagine Learning- a program that helps students read! The app I am most excited to try on the iPads is called SeeSaw and it's a tool students use to create stories/videos/projects on a specific learning objective. This new technology will help my students grow and learn while keeping them engaged!” exclaimed Maddie Inman, first-grade teacher at Santaquin Elementary.
Salem Hills High – Kyle Minson
Kyle Minson, English Teacher at Salem Hills High, said, “The Nebo Foundation's generosity will allow me to purchase a set of the graphic novel ‘American Born Chinese’ by Gene Luen Yang. This text is a great introduction to a culture that many of my students have never had the chance to interact with in a meaningful way. The text is amazing at dealing with issues that many of my students are dealing with in their lives, issues like bullying, accepting others and ourselves, and helping others to learn and grow. Because of this grant, I will be able to have meaningful discussions with my students about topics that will help them as they go out to make a difference in the world. Thank you, Nebo Foundation, for your generosity and support!”
Cherry Creek Elementary – McKenzie Zambrano
“I was introduced to applying for a grant when a representative came to our school to talk about it with our teachers. I am a new teacher and do not have very many supplies, so I was excited to hear that it is LITERALLY free money for useful, reusable classroom supplies. The process was so simple. I went to the site, answered a few questions about what I wanted and how much it was, and then a short time later, they gave me the money,” said McKenzie Zambrano, fifth-grade teacher at Cherry Creek Elementary. “I applied for a grant to receive money to purchase chair pockets for my sweet students. In the 5th grade, my students have many materials that they need to have quick and easy access to. These materials include an assortment of notebooks, books, their Chromebooks, headphones, and more. Their desks got really crowded, really quick. Often times their stuff is left on their desk or shoved in because there is too much to fit comfortably. I figured that in order for their attention to be focused on learning, a clean learning environment is important. With the chair pockets, the students will be able to have a clean and organized learning space. This will allow them to get out materials much more quickly, the materials will stay nice and organized, and instructions can be followed more quickly, allowing more time for learning and less time for transitions. I look forward to the positive changes that these chair pockets will bring to our classroom! Thank you Nebo Education Foundation!”
Spanish Oaks Elementary – Chrissie Robinson
“Spanish Oaks Elementary is so excited to purchase new headphones for our 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Grade teams! We are very grateful for Nebo Foundation for giving us the opportunity to bring these headphones into our classrooms. These headphones will allow us to incorporate more learning opportunities for each of our students. Students will use the headphones for the new district adopted iReady math program to help them practice their math skills they are learning in class. They will also use them with the iReady Math tools and interactive games to help them with the math skills they are working on in class,” stated Chrissy Robinson, second-grade teacher at Spanish Oaks Elementary. “Other ways we will utilize the headphones is by having students listen to books being read to them on myon.com or Sora or Epic. In the younger grades, students will utilize the headphones while completing their 20 minute sessions each day of Imaging Learning. Students also have the opportunity to create videos on Adobe Spark that requires them to record their voice to narrate their writing assignments. The educational opportunities will be endless with these new headphones.”
Sierra Bonita Elementary – Melissa Evans
Melissa Evans, third-grade teacher at Sierra Bonita, said, “Thank you for your support of our Nebo Foundation Grant. We will be using the grant monies to purchase the books needed for our third graders to participate in America's Battle of the Books. The Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program that provides students with a list of books to read individually throughout the school year. Then, as a culmination of the year, it provides questions and activities that bring students together in teams to compete in a game show style competition. Thanks to this grant award we will be able to provide this enriching reading opportunity to the 3rd graders at Sierra Bonita for many years. As teachers will feel this will give our students a way to push past their limits in reading and remind them of the numerous book adventures yet to be discovered. We are so excited to see these funds in action.”
Orchard Hills Elementary – Kim Andrews
“I am so excited to receive this grant from the Nebo Foundation. I am buying an Osmo with accessories for my class. This will help them with Literacy, Math, Coding, and Drawing. I am excited to help them with these skills. It will be fun while my first graders are learning in the process! Thanks so much! I can’t wait!” stated Kim Andrews, first-grade teacher at Orchard Hills Elementary.
Spring Lake Elementary – Doug Lai
“We are so excited to have a newer 3D printer to print items for parents and students. I don't think there is anything more exciting than designing something on a computer and then being able to hold a physical model of that item. We will be making bookmarks this month and then making Christmas ornaments for parents next month. Our previous one was a bit loud, and could not be used in the classroom which takes the joys out of watching it print. This grant will especially help with our STEM after-school club that we are starting which will feature 3D printing in the fourth term,” said Doug Lai fifth-grade teacher at Spring Lake Elementary.
Payson High – Hunter Holt
Hunter Holt, English Teacher at Payson High, said, "Thank you so much for the grant to order more class sets of The Crucible! These will be used in 11th grade English for years to come. As a team, we are hoping to introduce the students to a different time in American literature. With class sets for each of us, we are able to have stronger collaboration by teaching it at the same time. This will have a greater impact on the students studying the play. Thank you again!"
Another Grant Given:
Brookside Elementary – Mijken Hall
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