April 2007 Grant Awards

In this round of grants, $6,328 was awarded.

Fritz Monroe and Melissa Rozanski at Brookside Elementary School were awarded $778 to purchase math manipulatives and math materials that will be placed in boxes for use at home with parents of struggling math students at all grade levels. Parents will attend a training night to learn how these math curriculum materials can be utilized effectively at home.

Rick Fuller at Slate Hill Elementary School was awarded $750 to purchase an LCD projector that will be connected to a computer in the classroom, enabling the teacher to utilize Math instructional websites during whole group Math instruction. These websites will be used to teach, practice and/or reinforce the math concepts that are presented in the Fifth Grade Everyday Math program.

Chris Luckey, Tina Buckmaster and Tamu Gibbs at Worthington Hills Elementary School were awarded $500 to fund the repair of an Automated Weather Source Airwatch weather station. Airwatch brings participation in the American Weather Service’s exclusive Worldwide School Weather Network in addition to the weather station being used by classes to measure wind speed/direction, temperature/ relative humidity, etc. School district Computer Services personnel will do the repair work.

Evelyn Gandre and Fritz Monroe at Brookside Elementary School were awarded $1,070 to purchase materials for Literacy Boxes that will be utilized by parents of kindergarten and first grade students. A parent training night will demonstrate to parents how to effectively use the materials at home with their children. Literacy materials will include manipulatives, leveled books, literacy flash cards and literacy games.

Fritz Monroe at Brookside Elementary School received $599 to make a one time purchase for “Enterprise: Classification that will enable the school to purchase unlimited Accelerated Reader student quizzes for a cost of $4 per year per student. These quizzes support the Accelerated Reader computer program that is used to promote independent reading which is part of a strategic, balanced literacy program.

Donnell Johnson at Kilbourne Middle School was awarded $719 to purchase twelve heart rate monitors that will be used to provide a quality fitness instrument and measurement resource to all students. These monitors will be used both in a formal structured manner as a direct component of a lesson and also informally as a motivator for students in physical education class.

Brenda Leary at Liberty Elementary School was awarded $500 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to provide the services of a pianist/master teacher as an artist-in-residence to enhance the piano and vocal learning experiences in the music classroom. This professional will provide a top-quality model and inspiration for all students, including expert hands-on assistance for students of all ability levels now, and career awareness in music for the future.

Isla Murden-Shell and Lindsay Chapin from Sutter Park Preschool were awarded $502 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to purchase deep sensory pressure vests that will provide the preschool team at Sutter Park School with the resources needed to assist children with Sensory Processing Disorders. The vests will provide the children with sensory information which helps them organize the central nervous system and assists them in processing a more organized response to sensory stimuli.

Erin Brandol at Liberty Elementary School received $410 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to purchase mosaic art supplies that will be used to construct a mosaic mural of the school name for the foyer of Liberty Elementary School.

Alyson S. Bates at McCord Middle School was awarded $500 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to contribute to the funding of a Yamaha Clavinova Digital Piano and bench for use in the choir and general music classrooms by students. This instrument promotes sensory engagement, provides accompaniment recording, and enables students to compose and record their own compositions.