Mishawaka Education Foundation Grants 2007

“Photo Club”                        $484.61
Recipients:  Gerri Mahoney           School:  Emmons Elementary

The Emmons Photo Club will be open to 5th and 6th grade students who will learn photography, computer photo editing and publishing skills.  The club will document the school’s activities throughout the year and publish the Emmons yearbook, as well as a photo essay titled “A Day in the Life of Emmons Elementary.”

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“Literacy Connection”       $400.00
Recipient:  Kenneth Horvath                     School:  John Young Middle School

Reading is one of the best methods to learn, just as the study of other cultures is integral to the subject of Social Studies.  This grant will purchase the book “The Story of My Life” by Farah Admeidi.  Students will write daily about the book and their reflections on how the story of their own life compares with that of the book’s central figure. 

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“Hums Publishers”             $432.00
Recipient:  Shelly Sparrow & Karla Daoust        School:  Hums Elementary

Hums Publishers is an innovative after-school literacy program that will integrate reading, writing, art and technology.  Students from 3rd to 6th grade will read literature, meet regularly with adults and fellow students alike, and discuss the books, as well as the art of writing.  Along with these discussions, students will have the opportunity to practice their own craft by publishing their thoughts on a Hums School website and in their own books.

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“Go the Distance!”              $833.86
Recipient:  Debbie Johnson & Carleen Dils       School:  LaSalle Elementary and Emmons Elementary Schools

Several studies, including one reported locally in the South Bend Tribune, have found that “socially disadvantaged students believe neither reading nor education is relevant to their lives.”  This is not just a local issue—it is a national issue.  It is recognized enough that Scholastic Corporation, in conjunction with boxer Muhammad Ali, has developed a collection of books aimed at the issues that interest these disadvantaged students and will inspire and motivate these students to love reading.  This grant will purchase two sets of the series.

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“Book Bonanza”                 $900.00
Recipient:  Jessica Wolfe & Jackie VanderHeyden      School:   Twin Branch Model School

Students in grades two through six will form teams that will compete in a reading contest.  Over the six weeks of the project, students will read four books, then come to an exciting and energetic night where they will answer questions in writing through teamwork and collaboration.  Parents, community members, teachers and the principal will all participate in the competition.   

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“A View from My Window”            $500.00
Recipient:  Peggy Marker               School:  Hannah Lindahl Children’s Museum

An international traveling exhibit will be coming to Mishawaka!  In this exhibit, fifty-seven pieces of art created by disabled children from at least eight countries will show our Mishawaka students “a view from my window.”  Our students and our community will be able to gain an appreciation of the talents of students with disabilities as well as the lives of these children who live in different cultures than ours.

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“Utilizing Informational Magazines to Support Literacy Instruction” $1000.00
Recipients:  Kathy Handschu & Sandra O’Connell      Schools:  Beiger & Hums

Quality up-to-date nonfiction materials are difficult to find at an elementary school level.  Kids Discover Magazine  provides this resource.  This grant will purchase great materials on such diverse subjects as plants, weather, electricity, bones, money, Pioneers, Ancient Greece and Colonial America.

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“Connections Around the World”           $7500.00
Recipients:  Karen Baierl                           School:  John Young Middle School

Nonfiction materials are important for middle school students, too!  This grant will purchase dozens and dozens of quality non-fiction books to enhance English and Social Studies classes in middle school.  Auto-biographies, suspense-filled history, and stories about nature, sportsmen, historical figures and other cultures will be purchased and read.