Nineteen county teachers receive chamber mini-grants
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 8, 2006 1:45 PM
The Chamber of Commerce "Prize Patrol" had the winners come to them this year.
More than $14,000 worth of mini-grants were awarded to teachers at 13 schools in the county Thursday afternoon. But instead of fanning out and delivering them to each location, the Education Committee honored recipients with a reception at the chamber office.
The 33 grants of up to $500 each were awarded by the Business and Education Partnership, which is sponsored by the Wayne Charitable Partnership and the Chamber. The funds will assist innovative teachers in implementing special projects in their classrooms.
At Edgewood Community Developmental School, teacher Donna Countryman and school nurse applied for a grant to purchase a Smart Talk Board. The communication tool would benefit students unable to talk to tell a teacher where they are hurting.
Among the other projects chosen this year were students converting kitchen scraps and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost for worms; using real-world applications to explore the benefits of healthy meals and nutrients in building strong bones and teeth; and teaching children about historical events that evolve into a theatrical production.
In previous years, mini-grants have been awarded in the fall and again in the spring. This year, Education Committee Chairman Dr. Ken Benton said the group decided to make the one-time presentation early enough in the year so that all the recipients had ample time to utilize the funds.
A large portion of the money for the grants came from the 2006 Spelling Bee, he said. Other money was contributed by business and organizations across the county.
The following teachers and their projects are this year's recipients:
*Brogden Middle School: Gloria Burney, Sister to Sister; and Sherry Jones, Experimenting with a Vermicomposting Worm Farm
*Brogden Primary School: Robin Casey, Recipe for Success: Whipping up Good Writers; Christie Davis, I Want to be an Author! I Want to be a Writer! ; and Virginia Prather, Young Scientists!
*Carver Elementary School: Melissa O'Neal, Fingers on Formations
*Charles B. Aycock High: Lee Person, A Day in the Life at CBA
*Eastern Wayne High: Rebecca Davis, Innovative Inking of Monthly Masterpieces
*Edgewood Community Developmental School: Donna Countryman, Smart Talk and Real Life Learning; Donna Countryman and Angie Dunn, Where Does it Hurt? ; and Lori Coates Thomas, Using Our Senses in P.E.
*Fremont Elementary: Allison Howell, Making Our Bodies 'Bad to the Bone'
*Northeast Elementary: Sharon Carmon and Karen Mzyk, I Can Hear Me Loud and Clear; and Gerald Kemp, Alphabet Fun!
*Rosewood Elementary: Heather Best, The Living Library
*Saint Mary School: Lisa Bacon and Kerry Wolfe, Write, Read and Record; Jeanie Fornecker and Kristin Spires, The Great Depression; and Anita Martin, A Medieval Castle
*Southern Academy: Marketa Hargrove, Treasure Hunters
*Tommy's Road Elementary: Tyshaun Bryant, Literary Tea - Come and Get on My Level; Bonnie Dail, How Do We Measure Up?; Bonnie Dail and Jean Gardner, "Come to Life" Museum; Wendy Flowers, Producing Young Playwrights; Jean Gardner, Docent Art Project; Kelly Kokiko, "Oh Say, Can You See" the Sights of D.C.?; Jackie Lewis, Planetary Beats; Wendy Robert, Automatically Autoharps; and Sheila Wolfe, Jean Gardner, Tara Murrow and Caroline Brown, Hot Dots Math
*Wayne Country Day School: Marsha Compton, Kid and "Krops" - Science in Action; Susana Garcia, Grammar Grabadora en Espanol; Cathie Hooks, Stitching an Historical Story; and Leigh Tanner, Cracking the Code of Life.