Grants Awarded September 2021 by the Nebo Education Foundation - Answer to Wednesday Challenge

Submitted by lana.hiskey on
Salem Junior: Mike Adams, Lana Hiskey, Ethan Dunn, Earl Davis, Kristina Christensen, Keela Goudy
Mt. Nebo Middle: Kristina Christensen, Keela Goudy, Chris Riley, Jenny Carter, Lana Hiskey, Rhet Rowley
Mt. Nebo Middle: Kristina Christensen, Keela Goudy, Chris Riley, Tim Mendenhall, Lana Hiskey, Rhet Rowley
Wilson: Kristina Christensen, Keela Goudy, Jared Leighton, Chris Riley, Lana Hiskey, Larraine Nelson
Mt. Nebo Middle: Keela Goudy, Kristina Christensen, Gwen Spencer, Denise Ray, Chris Riley, Lana Hiskey, Rhet Rowley
Salem Junior: Mike Adams, Lana Hiskey, Krista Mosbacker, Earl Davis, Keela Goudy, Kristina Christensen
Salem Hills High: Ryan McGuire, Lana Hiskey, Justin Bills, Earl Davis, Kristina Christensen, Keela Goudy 
 Park View: Lana Hiskey, Kristina Christensen, Shanna Walker, Chris Riley, Keela Goudy

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. Many of the donations received are for selected projects, yet a substantial amount is available for the greatest need. Greatest need monies are considered for grants submitted by area schools. 

“The Nebo Education Foundation couldn't fund these grants without the tremendous support we receive from the Green Fever golf tournament, business partners, and  individual donors. Thank you for the generosity of our community. The students in Nebo District have a more enhanced education than they would otherwise receive. We are grateful for all the good we see happening as a result of all those who support the Nebo Education Foundation,” said executive director Lana Hiskey. 

Congratulations to the following teachers that continue to inspire the minds of students.

Salem Junior – Ethan Dunn        
“Thank you so much for this grant! When my students learned that they will get to work with new books picked for them, their faces lit up! The grant has allowed the purchase of three classroom sets of modern Young Adult Literature with a message as well as six sets of five books each for robust literature circles. These are high quality books that will be used by the library, the Novels and Literature Class, and students for years to come! These kids who have sometimes been forced into more dated curriculum have had their love of reading renewed by this set of more modern high interest books to read and appreciate! Thank you again so much!” exclaimed Ethan Dunn, an English teacher at Salem Junior.

Mt. Nebo Middle – Jenny Carter        
Jenny Carter, a science teacher at Mt. Nebo Middle, said, “We will be using these funds for our Rocket Project! Seventh-graders will carry out investigations to explore Newton’s laws of motion to better understand their relationship to each other using straw rocket launchers from Pitsco. The straw rocket launcher is ideal for this. They can be set up anywhere quickly. They do not need electricity or compressed air to launch. They are simple but encourage accurate data collecting. (It’s so easy to measure inches of potential energy, distance traveled, and mass of the rocket). I have two launchers that I have used for years. However, two is not adequate for a classroom full of eager middle schoolers. They don’t ever seem to outgrow the need to ‘do it too!’ I hope this grant will help alleviate this need and make science much more hands-on as our students carry out their own investigations. We fully believe here at Mt. Nebo, that science should be hands on!”

Mt. Nebo Middle – Tim Mendenhall
"We teach the seventh-graders about the structure of life, from cells to the organ systems in the human body. Since using and making models is a huge scientific learning concept, we thought it would be great to get some models for the kids to look at, interact with, and use in their presentation about systems. It's also cool to see the organs life size. The students will handle, manipulate and then create their own models (drawings, labs, demos, etc.). The skeleton and hand model will also be used when we teach ‘comparative anatomy.’ We can't wait to get these 3-D models to go with our posters as the students research the human organ systems. The foundation is great and we thank them for their generosity,” said Tim Mendenhall, a science teacher at Mt. Nebo Middle.

Wilson Elementary – Jared Leighton        
“This grant was to provide a different variety of chapter books for my third-grade students. As a third-grade team, we have a goal for each third-grader to enjoy reading. We are requiring our students by the end of the year to read four chapter books in a month. That is an ambitious goal for all students to accomplish, but I believe that if there is plenty of student choice, that will make that goal a reality. Reading is so important and if I can help my third graders love to read, that will be a great gift to them. I plan to use the funds to purchase non-fiction books and popular chapter books among students. I am so grateful to be able to provide my students books they will love to read,” stated Jared Leighton, a third-grade teacher at Wilson Elementary.

Mt. Nebo Middle – Denise Ray        
“We are excited to receive the reading grant from the Nebo Foundation. We will be purchasing Scholastic Weekly News for sixth grade to incorporate in our Reading Curriculum. With non-fiction being one of the many core concepts, Scholastic has current non-fiction articles that students can relate to that is happening in our world today,” stated Denise Ray, a teacher at Mt. Nebo. “From the articles, students will be learning main ideas, details, text features, stating text evidence, and much more. Our students will have the opportunity to collaborate amongst their peers  about the articles and strengthen their comprehension through discussion. 

“Thank you Nebo Foundation for seeing the need for this magazine in our classrooms. As teachers, we are grateful for the non-fiction articles at our fingertips instead of spending valuable planning time hunting for articles that students would like.” 

Salem Junior – Krista Mosbacker
Krista Mosbacker, a world history teacher at Salem Junior, said, “I am going to be using the grant to buy an iPad for my classroom use.  I'm going to use it everyday to enable me to walk around the room more as I teach. I'm hoping to be able to start using proximity more in my classroom management and the iPad will help me achieve that easier. The second use that I have for it, is to be able to show my students more primary documents that I have and to model how to close read and other skills that they will need to study history.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to expand and better my teaching.”

Salem Hills High – Justin Bills        
Justin Bills, a choir teacher at Salem Hills High, said, “Salem Hills High School Choirs is absolutely thrilled that our request for funding was accepted by the Nebo Foundation. Over the past 14 years, all the Salem Hills High School music ensembles have earned a reputation for fine concerts, beautiful music, and uplifting performances. Unfortunately, some of the support equipment (choir risers, acoustical shells, etc.) have exceeded their service lifetime and are no longer operable. Additionally, we've felt the need to expand our equipment needs to match our ever-growing programs. With the generous support of the Nebo Foundation, as well as community partners, the Nebo Secondary Education Department, and Salem Hills High School Administration, we will be able to purchase four new acoustical shells to replace some of the inoperable ones and augment our current acoustical layout. We are indebted to our friends and partners at the Nebo Foundation for helping us extend our own reach as educators. We are humbled to have such wonderful partners in providing a world-class music education to our students.”

Park View Elementary – Natalie Mellen        
“I am so excited to receive this grant. I am going to use the money to purchase some picture books for my classroom. I have a list of books that I want and this will allow me the opportunity to buy them. I will use them for read alouds, for my students to read as well as using them to work on reading comprehension and other reading strategies with my students,” said Natalie Mellen, a first-grade teacher at Park View Elementary. 

Congratulations to Jessica Jindra for answering this week’s “Where are we Wednesday?” challenge sponsored by Wiggy Wash.

#RiseUp #NeboHero #NeboSchoolDistrict #StudentSuccess #EmpowerStudents #EngageStudents #FocusOnStudents #LoveUTpublicSchools #UtPol #UtEd #ThankATeacher #LoveTeaching

 

Attributions
By Lana Hiskey