The North Royalton Educational Foundation (NREF) presented grants to several teachers this year at their annual reception on April 25.
The total amount of money granted to staff members this year was more than $10,300. The NREF raises the money for these grants during the year through the support of their donors and several fundraisers.
Grant recipients include:
Nicole Babik - North Royalton Middle School
Building Literacy & Social Emotional Awareness - The addition of a document camera will be used to support novel studies and literature circles so students can listen to the text and follow along visually. The document camera will also help students share their work, annotations and writing thus fostering engagement and collaboration in the classroom.
Don Filips - North Royalton Middle School
Esports A New Frontier - An additional Nintendo Switch expands the opportunity for eighth-grade Gaming, Animation and Design (GAD) students to engage in competitive video gaming with peers across the state. Through GAD students are able to delve into the intricacies of video gaming and have the opportunity to design their own game.
Melissa Kildoo - North Royalton Middle School
Percussions for Choir - The addition of African drums and percussion instruments will allow Middle School students to be involved in different ways on stage and increase the spirit and pulse of the sounds to be more powerful and culturally appropriate. The instruments will also be used to support adaptive/multi-handicapped students in their music exploration.
Michelle Kovach - North Royalton High School
Read & Write Stationary Bicycles - Two bicycles have been added to the classroom to combine large motor activity to improve brain functionality, reading retention and increase sustained reading time. The read and write stationary bicycles support students who may have difficulty sitting for a fifty-minute class or a student wishing to engage differently with classroom materials
Sarah Michael and Abbey Studor - North Royalton Elementary School
Jammin’ on Steel Drums Continued - Steel drums are a pitched percussion instrument for the elementary students to play in an ensemble with a variety of instruments. These ensembles are shared on the internal school TV system.
Brenna Nichol - North Royalton Elementary School
Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Kits: Science Stations & Fairy Tale Problem Solving - First-grade students will explore magnets, buoyancy and motion using scientific inquiry skills and tools for observation and investigation. STEM activities are supported for the fairy tale unit taught in class.
Marilyn Orseno - North Royalton High School
The Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) Traveling Exhibits - Eighth and tenth-grade American History social students will be able to view a display Freedom: A History of US. The display will include a variety of historical artifacts and be available to the community along with refreshments for their viewing pleasure.
Cindy Richards - North Royalton Elementary School
Writing Centers - Fourth-grade students will be able to use fun, creative writing centers to get excited about writing and create meaningful connections to classroom learning and their lives. Students will have an opportunity to use prompts to write in class about the literature they are reading and publish their work.
Laura Whitehead - North Royalton Elementary School
Headphones Computer/Media - Headphones are provided for those students that do not have the resources for listening to audio books and videos during their computer/media class.
My Dragon 2 - Additional My Dragon books were purchased for elementary students which support our Bear Way program in Computer/Media class.
Who Is/Was - Third-grade students selected Who Is/Was biography books to be purchased for next year’s wax museum project. The addition of these books will reduce the volume of titles borrowed from the public library.
Kathy Zamborsky - North Royalton Middle School
Destinations Unknown - Students can place themselves wherever they need to be with the addition of a green screen. Fifth graders can choose their setting for the About the Author program and seventh graders can decide the backdrop for their new business commercials.
Dr. Kasey Spirakus Memorial Fund for Special Education
Sharon Merritt - North Royalton High School
Vocational Life Skills - Students will use a Kitchenaid mixer which is more user friendly for students with physical needs. The mixer will be used to help support the Baking Bears Dog Treat business where dog treats are made and sold to staff members.
Ellie Rechkemmer Memorial Literacy Fund
Katie Bober - North Royalton Elementary School
Whole School Book Club - The North Royalton Elementary Literacy Committee will select a book that will be read by students and families. Our community of readers are able to participate in events such as the scavenger hunt with local businesses and share their love of reading.