Congratulations Education Grant Recipients
The Education Teacher Grant Breakfast was held on Wednesday, November 4th at Michael’s Cafe. Pictured above are the 2009 Teacher Grant Recipients. This is the 15th year for the grant program, nineteen grants were awarded totaling $9,085.10.
Special thanks to Jackie Gaither, Cumberland Real Estate for his continued sponsorship. Jackie has sponsored the breakfast since 1995.
A Special thanks to the Bradshaw Foundation, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corp., and Shenandoah Mills Inc. for their sponsorship.
Congratulations to all Grant Recipients!
Listed below are the teachers, grant descriptions and the schools represented:
Julie Walker – Byars Dowdy Elementary – $206.00
By purchasing an Incubator kit and chick life cycle exploration kit, these first grade students will learn how live eggs must be cared for by observing and turning eggs. Students will have their own egg to care for, once the egg has hatched the student will take care of it until they are found a home.
Debra Salts – Carroll Oakland Elementary – $489.95
Students will be engaged in the engineering design process while using the Roller Coaster physics kit. This will allow students to learn and use key physical science concepts. Students will be asking questions, finding solutions, making and testing prototypes, enhancing new science concepts for technology, engineering and a hands on format for reevaluating, modifying and rebuilding different equipment and processes.
Patricia (Trish) Churchwell – $425.96 – Watertown Elementary
The goal of this project is to provide kindergarten students with a variety of grade-level and independent level guided reading books. Materials purchased were the Scholastic Little Readers, levels A – D, Scholastic Kindergarten Lexile Pack and the First Grade Lexile Library.
Doretha Wright – Castle Heights Upper Elementary – $500.00
The project title is “A Living History Museum”, the focus is to introduce and engage students with biographical information about famous figures. Students will be assigned a World or a United States historical figure. From their research, each student will create a personal work, put together a costume and deliver a oral presentation highlighting accomplishments of his or her figure. The characters will come to life at the Living History Museum night held at the school.
Rachel Kelley – Walter J. Baird Middle School – $275.00
Junk Box Wars allows students to solve problems with uniqueness, creativity and brain storming while utilizing the scientific method completely hands on. The goal is to challenge students to use their imaginations, scientific knowledge and a box of junk to create a variety of devices that perform an assortment of tasks. The grant was used to purchase items to be used as “junk”, such as dowel rods, straws, spools, modeling clay, mouse traps, spoons, marbles, etc.
Bobbi Greene – W.A. Wright Elementary – $313.00
This project will involve the entire school, students and teachers in a fun competition that crosses all curriculum subjects, it is called “The Amazing Amaryllis Race.” Each classroom will receive an amaryllis bulb kit, over the couse of 8 weeks, students will graph the plant’s growth, identify plant needs and compare root growth. Art classes will sketch the plants and classes will journal the process from bulb to flower. Classes will compete for the tallest plant, most blossoms, first to bloom and more.
Gwyn Jennings, Gayla Combs, Staci Smith – Coles Ferry Elementary – $500.00
A professional lighting package and green screen combo set will be used to engage students in writing activities. Each time a student has shown progress in his/her writing, they will read their story in front of a green screen, this will be recorded and the green screen will be replaced with the setting of the story. For example, the setting could be a rainforest or where the story took place. The stories will be available for students and parents to view. Copies may also be checked out in the library to other classes. The costs of this project exceeded the grant amount, the teachers will be paying remainder of the costs. Total costs were $699.00
Jenni Mason – Sam Houston Elementary – $319.75
Move It and Learn! This project is to incorporate movement in learning activities in order to benefit tactile and kinesthetic learners. This project will allow students (kindergardeners) to learn math, language and phonic skills by moving and playing. The project required Alphabet, Number and Let’s Get Moving activity mats, a beanbag learning center and alphabet activity balls.
Rhiannon Brazzell – Friendship Christian School – $320.00
Grant funds will be used to create an interactive website for students allowing them to log in daily and live chat with their teacher for homework assistance. The website will keep students from staying after school but still meeting their educational needs.
Cathey L. Roberts – Tuckers Crossroads Elementary School – $500.00
The grant will be used for an outdoor classroom, this will give different grade levels certain tasks. Responsibilities will include researching, determining procedures to follow and carrying it out. As a student progresses through school, the outdoor classroom will involve students in different levels of math, science, agriculture, the outdoors and being Earth friendly. The costs are much more that the grant amount but additional funding is expected from the school PTO.
Cheryljo Young – Lebanon High School – $300.00
Students will create professional flyers, brochures and projects related to the curriculum being discussed in class. The goal is to increase the students capabilities to use new technology and innovative machines to increase their productivity throughout classroom projects and to understand professionalism and competition in today’s world.
Shannan Tittle, Karla Thompson, Christy Frewin – McClain Christian Academy $464.98
Creating a mobile science laboratory for the use of all classrooms, grades Pre-k to 10th. The mobile science lab will allow students to learn through hands-on experiments that will promote the sciences in the future. Teachers will check out the lab, equipped with materials to conduct experiments and activities. The materials will be available to encourage students to analyze, stimulate and evaluate in predictable and unpredictable real-world scenarios.
Pat Wilson – Mt. Juliet Christian Academy – $359.90
Center Stage Math – The goal is to provide a center for students that will enhance the student’s lessons. Students will be using hands on materials to solve addition, subtraction and other math concepts. The grant will purchase two Center Stage programs: Number Sense & Place Value Center and the Addition & Subtraction Center.
Debbie McChurch – Rutland Elementary – $223.75
Students will use the Mark My Time digital bookmarks as a reading incentive and to keep track of reading minutes, both in the classroom and during family reading time at home. Purchased twenty-five bookmarks for the classroom.
Bob King – Friendship Christian School – $395.00
Students will be using a force table to represent the different angles and forces being applied. This will involve teamwork to be able to determine the resulting force. The goal is to enable students to understand the concept of various vectors resulting in a net force. The force table graduated in degrees includes four pulleys, slotted weights and leveling screws.
Margaret Pfeffer, Joyce Mathis, Amanda Stephenson – Gladeville Elementary $500.00
An Outdoor Classroom will be constructed giving students a learning environment that will enhance the comprehension of basic skills taught in the classroom. Students will help design, paint, label word and number rocks, grow crops and plants, and create designs on their own cement circles (pie pan shapes), these will stay in the garden until the student moves or graduates the fifth grade. The outdoor classroom will house 13 sections, including a Tennessee Garden, Fraction Garden, Miles & Kilometer Pole, Measuring Garden & Wall and outdoor blackboard. Total costs $1553.67
Tricia Roberson & Jenni Mason – Sam Houston Elementary – $417.05
The project is to construct a school-wide outdoor learning garden which combines geometry in nature. Students will create the blueprint, design and measure geometrical shapes for the outdoor garden. Students will be able to connect math, science and language to the outside world.
Vicki Shelton & Penny Gregory – Southside Elementary – $134.52
Students will be recording data, observing and comparing the data collected from an outdoor thermometer, rain gauge, wind speed and direction. Students will make weather predictions and record what actually occurs with the weather. Students will make their own simple weather instruments. The materials purchased will be permanently placed outside on the school building. Purchased: rain gauge, solar thermometer, 5-in-1 weather station, and a school bus weather vane.
Aeron Wedding & Amanda Ray – Stoner Creek Elementary – $498.85
Everywhere on Earth, Global Changes and Stream Table Erosion kits to aid in teaching both Social Studies and Science. Students will be conducting experiments and observing the cause and effects of nature on the Earth’s properties. Materials included will help students understand landslides, volcanoes, earthquakes, fossils, weather, erosion and deposition. There are enough resources in the kits for all 105 fourth graders to have their own experiments.