Mini-Grant Awards

Foundation Awards $10,000 in Mini-Grants

Books and dads, birds and science, games and math, Shakespeare and eighth-graders. All are included in projects funded in the most recent round of mini-grants awarded Monday by the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation.

"With these 12 awards totaling $10,000, the foundation has funded more than $107,000 in 168 different projects since the program began in 1989," said Bob Biedron, who chairs the foundation’s mini-grant selection committee. The awards were presented at Monday’s board of education meeting.

This is the second round of grants awarded this school year. Applications for the fall round of grants will be available after school begins in August.

May 2000 Awards

	Just Me and My Dad Prairie Children Preschool Mary Howicz Children and their dads will come together to engage in reading and writing activities, with the chilren creating books about their day with Dad. The event will be recorded on newly purchased digital cameras in order to enhance the experience as well as preserve it.
	Birding Welch Elementary Emmy White Through an after-school club activity, fourth graders will participate in a hands-on scientific project that is part of a national program through the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. This project includes observation, data analysis and submission, and drafting and publishing of student investigations.
	Enhancing Critical Thinking through Math Games White Eagle Elementary Julie Christerson, Paula Roginski, Roxy Kuhlmann, and Amanda Owen With the purchase of math games, critical-thinking skills of all second-grade students will be enhanced. These math games will be utilized for enrichment, remedial and structured-time purposes.
	Kindergarten Reading Partners McCarty Elementary Sandi Flanders With the purchase of read-aloud books, eligible students will be able to improve listening and reading skills by interacting with trained parent volunteers. These particular books are designed to promote phonemic awareness.
	Summer Book Buddies McCarty Elementary Sandi Flanders Reading-improvement students from all grade levels will be encouraged to keep a reading log this summer. Through interaction with a teacher by correspondence, as well as the use of completion incentives, students will keep their reading skills sharpened and return to begin the new school year with confidence.
	Take Home a Teacher Steck Elementary Linda Niessner Teachers and other staff volunteers will be videotaped reading a favorite piece of children’s literature. These videos will be made available for check-out by students from all grade levels, along with a book bag containing a copy of the book being read and a response log.
	GrowLab Welch Elementary Janice Hums Fifth-grade students will develop indoor classroom gardens for hands-on learning of the science curriculum. Plants started in GrowLab will be transferred to other locations in the building for all to enjoy.
	Shakespeare’s Warring and Wooing All Middle Schools KiKi LaBianca, Gregory Middle School A traveling thespian troupe will be brought to a central location in the district for all eighth-grade literature students to experience a culminating activity relating to the unit on Shakespeare’s "Hamlet".
	World Music Instruments Neuqua Valley High School J. Ryan Rimington A collection of various world music instruments will be purchased to enhance the performance of multi-cultural music by our curricular and ensemble groups, both choral and instrumental.
	Adventure Studies and Pursuits Equipment Acquisition Waubonsie Valley High School Donald Pankuch Tents and cooking stoves will be purchased for use in this new class, which combines physical geography with physical education. These items will allow for a meaningful outdoor experience for students.
	Telescopes for Both Astronomy and Earth Science Classes Neuqua Valley High School Matt Van Wyk Both a wide-field telescope and a rich-field refractor and accessories will be purchased to help bring a hands-on experience to these classes. Also, this purchase will help form an astronomy club at the school.
	U.S. Geography Global Positioning Systems Neuqua Valley High School Tom McManaman Twelve global positioning units will be purchased for both classroom and field trip use. This advanced technology will help students develop modern-day orienteering and mapping skills.


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