September 2007 Grant Awards
In this round of grants, $5,855 was awarded.
Carrie Olney at Granby Elementary School was awarded $479 to purchase instructional materials for special education students that focus on reading fluency, reading comprehension and various math skills. The materials will be used as curriculum support to meet the intense individual needs of students.
Carolyn Stimson at Brookside Elementary School was awarded $490 to purchase materials that will assist struggling readers increase their literacy skills and their fluency which leads to increased reading comprehension. These materials will provide students the opportunity to read from a variety of genres such as biographies, fiction, expository text and informational text.
Janet Lanka at Phoenix Middle School was awarded $500 to purchase high interest, current books at various levels to establish a classroom library. Books selected will be from the International Reading Association’s best books of the year and from the 2007 Young Adults’ Choices, an annual list of new books that encourage students to read.
Jodie Pierpoint and Janet Ellis at Worthington Kilbourne High School were awarded $500 to purchase fiction and nonfiction books for students whose reading level is below the typical high school level. This literature will enable students at all educational levels to have a greater choice of library materials available for their independent reading level.
Larry Griffin at Worthington Kilbourne High School was awarded a Special Project Grant in the amount of $1,900 to fund master classes with a guest artist and provide clinics and workshops for the vocal music students at WKHS. This project will provide the opportunity for student to be exposed to and participate in vocal jazz through attendance at concerts and through active partnerships with Jazz Arts Groups of Columbus (JAG).
Leslie Ritter at Granby Elementary School received $145 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to purchase books, posters, a DVD and a special decibel meter designed to test “safe” volume levels for in-ear headphones. The EAR3 device is a handheld sound monitor and testing device that will provide students with information regarding safe levels of sound.
Leslie Ritter at Granby Elementary School was also awarded $500 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund and $374 from the General Fund to purchase the materials necessary to implement the instrument-building component of the “Roots of Rhythm” (ROR) World Drumming curriculum. Students will build djembe and dondo drums, native to Ghana and Guinea, as their culminating activity concluding their study of these countries and their cultures.
Megan Valentino at Sutter Park Pre-School was awarded $500 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to purchase perennials, shrubs, seeds and books which will be used to establish a butterfly habitat at Sutter Park. Students will learn about the animals’ and plants’ needs for survival as they study the life cycle of the insects in their habitat.
Renee Linn, Jamie Davis and Maggie Seed at Sutter Park Pre-School were awarded $467 from the Nichols/Hopper Fund to purchase StrengthsFinder 2.0 books with online assessments for each certified and classified staff member to help the staff better collaborate and play off each member’s strengths for the benefit of the students. This staff development opportunity will identify staff talents and passions and use those as a catalyst for growth and motivation to learn.