MEF Round 12 Awarded Grants – May, 2008

 Round 12 Grants – May, 2008

1. Broadcast Club.
The Broadcast Club will teach students the use of technology to create products that will be used to benefit the student body at John Wood Elementary. These products will be in multimedia format and will be used to encourage students to follow our BEST behavior plan. Students will use still pictures and movie clips to model good behavior and to “catch” students following our BEST practices. These will then be incorporated in a movie and played throughout the day in areas of the school so that students and visitors will see our BEST action.
John Wood Elementary, Grades 3 & 4, entire student body, $500, Jayne Hickman
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2. Words, Words, We All See Words!
The funds from this grant will be used to purchase materials that will help teach students about synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, words with multiple meanings, affixes, and compound words. Students need to develop strategies to break apart words in order to figure out the proper pronunciation and meaning of these unknown words. These materials will help teach these skills, or provide an opportunity for students to practice these skills independently.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Grade 2 Reading, 20 students, $229.14, Michelle Coughlin
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3. Rewarding Positive Student Behavior.
Students receive several Treasure Tickets daily for their positive behavior at Fieler School in their classroom and throughout the building. The students save Treasure Tickets and cash them in for various rewards and activities of their choice, such as pencils, notepads, erasers, pencil grips, ice cream sundae party, pizza party, the chance to attend a Railcats game and a breakfast party. The purpose of this project is to continue to offer students the opportunity to participate in desirable activities for demonstrating positive behavior.
Henry Fieler Elementary, K-4, 410 students, $1000, Lisa Patrick.


4. Physics on the Road.
Third and fourth grade students at Salk Elementary will have the opportunity to learn physics through a “Physics on the Road” presentation from Purdue University’s Outreach program PEARLS: Physics Educational Assistance, Resources, and Learning Strategies. This involves 25 hands-on science experiments that are set up at the school including magnetism, electricity, heat flow, etc. It is a one day workshop involving parents as well.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Third and Fourth Grades, 200 students, $1100, Nancy Starkey
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5. Literacy for Little Learners.
This program supports the corporation wide Balanced Literacy program. This project uses materials that will enhance what is already in use for the Kindergarten students. Working with and building words is a very important part of learning to read, and this project will continue the momentum of Balance Literacy.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Kindergarten, 90 students, $750, Jamie Norris
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6. The Five Components are Key.
This grant is requesting funds to purchase binders to aid in teaching the five components of reading. These key components help to build strong readers and should be addressed multiple times throughout the day. The binders, Poems for Word Study and Making and Writing Words, provide teachers with materials to explicitly teach these five components up to two additional times within a day.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Grade 2,100 students, $248.28, Barbara Law.


7. Kindergarten Baggie Books.
The goal of this project is to give each kindergarten student a baggie containing a leveled book, vocabulary cards and a “pointer” finger. The book will be at the student’s specific individual reading level. The students will take the books home and practice reading the book until he or she can read it fluently. When the book is returned to school, the student will read the book to the teacher and then receive the next book. This independent reading will help the students build stamina for reading as well as provide opportunities to apply the reading strategies taught during the guided reading in the classroom at a cost of $16 per student.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Kindergarten, 90 students, $700, Mickey Prowse
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8. Listening Centers.
In light of implementation of the MCSC Balanced Literacy framework beginning in the fall of2008, Salk’s staff will be using the three blocks of Balanced Literacy: Word/Language Block, Guided Reading Block (small group leveled instruction), and Writing Block. We will be using Rigby’s Literacy by Design. Students will be involved in Managed Independent Learning. With this grant, students will be able to attend a listening center during MIL. Repeated listening of books allows students to also practice their own fluency and prosody. Teachers can also integrate Science and Social Studies into this station. The books and tapes will be added to our Bookroom. An essential component of Balanced Literacy. The Bookroom will contain additional leveled readers, books on tape, big books, and any other literacy materials.
Jonas Salk Elementary, K-4, 539 students, $1000, Kara Bonin
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9. Reading + Math + Science = Success!
State standards require students to show their knowledge of math concepts using words and pictures. To teach students how to express their mathematical thoughts in words, teachers need to model and show examples of how to do this. To accomplish this, teachers use children’s literature books focused on mathematical concepts. The benefit to students will not only be in math, but also in reading and vocabulary.
Jonas Salk Elementary, K-2, 350 students, $492.39, Kara Bonin.


10. Readers’ Theatre Club.
This project focuses on research supporting that “Repeated Guided Oral Reading” improves reading fluency and comprehension. The purpose of Readers’ Theatre is to promote reading fluency in a fun, non-threatening environment. By improving reading fluency, reading comprehension will also improve.
Jonas Salk Elementary, K-4, 539 students, $1000, Kara Bonin
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11. FAME 2009.
This grant is used to foster and perpetuate creativity through multicultural
arts and education. Approximately 17 art classes choose a different project based on their grade level and abilities. Each class is given an hour long introduction pertaining to the Unit’s theme, with specific info in relation to the project their class is doing. The projects are detailed and quite lengthy, with stress on craftsmanship. All work is then mounted and displayed with each students name and grade. The artwork is then taken to the High School for the FAME exhibit.
Henry Fieler Elementary, Grades 1-4 Art Classes, 450 students, $550, Debra Hedges.


12. Listening and Learning.
The purpose of this project is to provide supplemental material for students to utilize throughout the school day. The materials purchased will provide students with extra support that is needed to build a better understanding of literacy and mathematical concepts. This will provide students with the opportunity to master Indiana Academic Standards prior to moving into the next grade. This will be done by creating a listening center with headphones for seven students to work with the appropriate materials.
Edgar Miller Elementary, Grades 1 and 2, 180 students, $902.75, Eileen Velasquez.


13. Pirate Treasure.
Our new positive behavior program, Pirate Treasure, will involve a kickoff in the fall to celebrate positive behavior. During the kickoff. students will be taught expected behaviors. Once the program is underway, students will be able to participate daily in the earning of Treasure Tickets. They will do this by following the Salk Code: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. At the end of the year, the staff will meet to interpret collected data from the new program.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Grades K-4, 550 students, $1000, Ladd Downham.


14. Math Practice Journals.
This grant will purchase math practice journals for all of the second and fourth grade students at Salk. These journals will be used by students daily to practice and review problems that cover the six Indiana Academic Standards. By reviewing these concepts throughout the year, students will master the necessary skills to help them pass the ISTEP+ test that will be administered both in the fall and spring next year.
Jonas Salk Elementary, Grades 2 through 4, 230 students, $790.63. Ann Marie Jaros.


15. Service Learning Project-“Memory Garden.”
The summer Enrichment Program Service Learning Project for 24 severe special needs students will develop and reinforce community awareness and involvement. By creating a “Memory Garden” for the Alzheimer’s Unit at Golden Living, students are able to interact with clients and provide to those clients who are limited in mobility the opportunity to have nature come to them. This project provides the students the opportunity to practice social skills and learn about nature in a fun and giving manner.
Merrillville High School, 24 students, $491.67, Rosellen Kozel.


16. Miller Millions Treasure Chest Refills.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) uses various strategies to promote positive behavior and to support the Miller School Code: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe. We were awarded a grant in the fall and the treasures were handed out in March 2008. Students earn Miller Millions tickets for following the Cool Tool (Specific Behaviors) focused on every two weeks. Positive behaviors may include respecting personal space, following hallway procedures, and following adult directions. After accumulating so many tickets, students
may redeem them for prizes.
Edgar Miller Elementary, Grades K-4, 445 Students, $1000, Terry Harris
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17. Leveling the Reading Field.
Next year our school corporation will take on the challenge of a Balanced Literacy approach to reading and writing instruction. The approach is in the best interest of our students and will allow each student time to read and practice literacy skills at his/her specific reading level. The will allow our below level students to gain reading practice at their comfort zone while at the same time allowing our above level students the opportunity for enrichment. The purpose of this grant is to fund a leveled reading library for independent reading and a variety of literacy response materials that will enable children to respond to literature.
Edgar Miller Elementary, Grade 3, 105, $1220.90, Lori Govert
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18. Read, Review, Retain: Required Reading Leads to Listening Comprehension.
The goal of this project is to improve first grade students’ listening comprehension through use of quality Required Reading titles. Students will use these books for approximately four weeks. The first week, students will follow along in their own books as the librarian reads the story aloud. A variety of activities will be used including making predictions and creating a list of vocabulary words. During the second week, the librarian will read the story again to the students and they will discuss the story. The students will describe plot, setting, characters, and retell the story as a class. The students will respond to questions asked by the librarian. Students will then work on an arts and crafts project that goes with the story. The third week, students will complete a short quiz on the book and review their quizzes during the fourth week.
Fieler, Iddings, Miller, Salk, Wood, Grade 1,510 students, $832.67, Janelle Bowen
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TOTAL ROUND 12 GRANTS:  $13,808.43

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