Port Angeles Education Foundation awards more than $30,000 in grants

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Education Foundation has awarded 24 grants totaling $30,992 to district educators.

The foundation announced its school and teacher grants for the 2015-16 school year this week.

Michelle Turner, chairwoman of the foundation’s allocations committee said she was impressed with the creativity of district teachers and staff.

She added that the Port Angeles School District “is fortunate to have such committed staff who really want to go above and beyond for their students.

“The difficult part of the process is not being able to fund more of the grant requests due to financial limitations. It’s hard . . . and sad to have to say no.”

The foundation has awarded grants for the last 20 years. The money is to help enrich student experiences, promote creativity in the classroom and help students achieve academically.

Foundation grants for the 2015-16 school year are:

District wide grants

■ $1,000 — To allow all district students to attend the Los Pinguos performance at Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts; submitted by Tina Smith O’Hara.

■ $776 — For physical education Skillastics activity kits for elementary students; submitted by Krista Winn.

■   $1,140 — For collaborative drama performance and discussion between all kindergarten students and Port Angeles High School drama students; submitted by Jeanne Wolfley.

■ $3,300 — To transport all fifth grade students to the Dungeness River Audubon Center for instruction and implementation of water sampling tests; submitted by Amity Butler.

Dry Creek Elementary

■ $1,000 — Presentations to all second-through-fourth-grade students by author Suzanne Selfors on writing and publishing a novel; submitted by Carrie Davis and Tami Schmitt.

Franklin Elementary

■ $2,175 — To integrate writing, math and art, culminating in a field trip to Seattle’s EMP Museum (Experience Music Project), for multi-age classroom students in grades first through fifth; submitted by Gunnar Thomason.

■ $700 — Multi-grade level enrichment cluster field trips; submitted by Stephanie Gochnour.

Hamilton Elementary

■ $1,900 — Transportation costs to take all kindergarten students to Seattle Children’s Theater performance of “The Cat in the Hat;” submitted by Jennifer Mills, Danyelle Brannan and Linda Waknitz.

■ $2,500 — Missoula Children’s Theatre weeklong workshops for student in kindergarten-through-sixth grades culminating in full-length production open to the public; submitted by Lisa McCoy.

■ $925 — Transportation costs to take all sixth grade students to the Seattle Museum of Flight; submitted by Rebecca

Gunderson.

Jefferson Elementary

■   $140 — To fund a pen pal program between first, second and third grade students and students in Mutsu, Japan; submitted by Marilyn Mattie.

■   $1,922 — To fund a visit by students in the third-through-fifth grades to the Makah Cultural & Research Museum to study Native American art and create student pieces reflecting that style; submitted by Melissa Lisk, Evan Murphy and Sandi Biasell.

■   $1,500 — Swimming lessons at William Shore Memorial Pool for all fourth-graders; submitted by Raena Young and Jay Averill.

■   $771 — Create a drama club for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students; submitted by Cecilia Warfield.

■ $105 — Projects by fourth- and fifth-grade leadership students such as weeding and cleaning flower beds and creating handmade cards to celebrate student and staff birthdays; submitted by Theresa Rothweiler.

Roosevelt Elementary

■ $2,064 — Transportation costs to Point Defiance Zoo for all kindergarten students; submitted by Molly Hibler.

■ $2,800 — Visual art instruction with cross-curricular workshops for highly capable students in first-through-sixth grades; submitted by Lambert Grimes, Terri Longin, Rachel McLarty and Karen Doran.

■ $800 — Presentations to kindergarten-through-fourth-grade students by Selfors on writing and publishing a novel; submitted by Erika Kuch.

Stevens Middle School

■ $1,500 — Purchase or repair cello bows for Stevens Orchestra; submitted by James Ray.

■   $524 — Language arts/history project for eighth grade students to study Japanese internment; submitted by Angie Gooding.

■   $400 — To fund eighth-grade student study of the 1847 Whitman massacre near what is now Walla Walla and courtroom procedures and then present a trial in the Clallam County Courthouse; submitted by Gooding.

Port Angeles High School

■   $416 — Transportation costs for monthly Science Club field trips; submitted by John Gallagher.

■ $1,960 — Transportation to local and regional science research facilities for marine study, aquaponics and precipitation monitoring; submitted by Cheryl Girardi.

■   $674 — Update library materials; submitted by Susan MacDonald.

The foundation plans a fundraising dinner on Friday, March 11 and will release more details later, a news release said.

For more information about the foundation, see www.portangeleseducationfoundation.org.

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