r By Lana Hiskey
The Nebo Education Foundation has recently given grants to various schools within Nebo School District to aid teachers in their efforts to provide students with the best education possible. Nebo Education Foundation board members meet each month to review and award grant requests, consider fundraising avenues and discuss other items that advance the educational opportunities for Nebo School District students.
These grants are funded through the fundraising efforts of the Nebo Education Foundation board. Many of the donations received are for selected projects, yet a substantial amount is available for the greatest need. One fundraising effort is the annual Green Fever Golf Tournament. This tournament will be Thursday, May 18. Also, the foundation accepts donations from individuals and businesses to support projects.
Congratulations to the following teachers:
Spanish Fork High School
Jennifer Heder, Clint Roberts, Stephanie Searcy
SFHS choir teacher Jennifer Heder said, “We have been raising funds for a new Wenger Acoustical Shell for the last year. We plan to have all the funds necessary by December 2017. The current shell is old and takes quite a crew to set up before each performance. The new shell will be better suited to fit the needs of the many musical groups that perform in the Spanish Fork High School Auditorium. Acoustically, the new shell will produce an overall better sound, have ease of set-up and will be more aesthetically pleasing.”
Larsen Elementary School
Kris Robison
Computer teacher Kris Robison at Larsen Elementary in Spanish Fork said, “Thank you so much for the grant that you have given to me for my computer lab at Larsen Elementary. We use a program called Imagine Learning that helps our students with reading and phonics. We needed a way to help the kids record themselves reading and pronouncing the words so that they could hear themselves speak and therefore improve their pronunciation and reading. With this grant, we will be purchasing adapters to microphones that will allow this process to happen. It means that our students will be able to improve on their reading, which is paramount to their success.”
Larsen Elementary School
Fifth-Grade Team
Fifth-grade teacher Dylan Lawter at Larsen Elementary in Spanish Fork said, “We are excited to get new Chromebooks in our classroom. These Chromebooks will provide students many opportunities to explore technology in writing projects, math learning and the science research that we do. This means a lot to us because when students learn to utilize technology for education purposes in the classroom, it will become a habit that they can carry with them both in and out of school.”
Sierra Bonita Elementary School
Dana Beckert
Facilitator Dana Beckert at Sierra Bonita Elementary School in Spanish Fork said, “With the grant money awarded to our school, we will be purchasing multiple sets of books for our school’s leveled library. To better meet the needs of the teachers in providing interesting texts for their students, I asked teachers to provide me with a list of titles that their students would find engaging and interesting. It is good to provide additional titles to our leveled library so teachers and students have a variety of high-interest texts. This grant will provide texts specifically asked for by our students and teachers.”
Mapleton Ridge Elementary School
Denette Steen
Music teacher Denette Steen said, “I have the pleasure of teaching elementary students music once a week. Almost 500 students walk through my classroom. It is my job to help them explore music and love music. We will be using the money granted to our school to purchase ukuleles. Nothing beats watching a child explore with an instrument in their hands.”
Mt. Loafer Elementary School
Jen Lundquist
Fourth-grade teacher Jen Lundquist at Mt. Loafer Elementary in Salem said, “We are ecstatic about our science grant from Nebo Education Foundation. We are building a fourth-grade Interactive Science Experiment Supplies and Demonstration Cart. Our science program is set up with various experiments for hands-on experiences for the students. Supplies have been purchased previously by teachers on our team. Many items are needing to be replaced. We are excited to purchase books and supplies to coordinate with our science units.”
Payson High School
Marilyn Miller
PHS physical education teacher Marilyn Miller said, “The new gloves will be a lot safer to play with than the old ones that were falling apart. The students will love them.”
Payson Junior High School
Anne Purcell
PJHS math teacher Anne Purcell said, “This grant will supply the students at Payson Junior High with scientific calculators they use every day in their math classes. Many students at Payson Junior are unable to buy their own calculators, but this gift will help them have the tools necessary to be proficient in math.”
Spring Lake Elementary School
Ben Atkin
Fourth-grade teacher Ben Atkin at Spring Lake Elementary in Payson said, “I wrote a grant for some non-fiction books to help us with our science and writing teaching this year. We have to teach about animal adaptations, biomes and plants and animals of Utah. It is a really fun subject to teach but almost impossible to do without a text book. These full-color books will work great for getting the kids excited about animals.”
Orchard Hills Elementary School
Robin Wheatley
Literary specialist Robin Wheatly at Orchard Hills Elementary in Santaquin said, “This money will be used to purchase over 50 sets of books for our guided reading library. Many of the books purchased will be specifically for struggling readers. They need books written at their instructional level but that also appeal to their interests. This grant will also fund fiction books for emergent, transitional and fluent readers.”
Rees Elementary School
Rachelle Orton
Special education teacher Rachelle Orton at Rees Elementary in Spanish Fork said, “I will be using the new iPads as student devices in my resource room. I love the capabilities of an iPad with all students K-6. iPads are very easy to use even with younger students K-3 who have not yet developed keyboard skills and are still learning letter and number recognition. I have also used iPads extensively with older students in reading and math. iPads have helped me facilitate quick assessments, differentiate learning and engage students. This is so important in 30 minute pull-out groups. This grant will allow my students to have 1:1 technology, which will facilitate their learning in a way that will benefit each child.”
Other grants awarded include Chad Argyle of Santaquin Elementary School and Jason Shelley of Oakridge School.
