Ada — Ada City Schools Foundation recently presented grants to several teacher  in the Ada system. To qualify for the grants, teachers submitted written proposals detailing how the money would be used in the classroom.

The following teachers received grants. 

Glenda Benefield and  Amy Allen, Hayes Grade Center and Ada Junior High, received $669 for The Whole Reading Kit & Kaboodle. This grant will make available to reading teachers of all grade levels a research-validated assessment that will give them a detailed picture of every crucial reading skill.

Maria Ruiz-Blanco, Washington, received $193.93 for Rocks Rock! Students will use hands-on activities to explore and learn about different types of rocks and minerals.

Lee Ann Hoover, Willard, received $2,478.64 for Mastering Math in a Flash. This grant will allow students to master the basic operations of mathematics in a fun and engaging way, using FlashMaster, a hand-held set of flashcards.

Jill Brown, Washington, eceived $896 for That’s a Capital Idea! Students will learn Oklahoma History through games and Smart board interaction. A field trip to the Oklahoma State Capitol building is the perfect ending to a month long study of all things Oklahoma!

Jill Brown, Washington, received $503.40 for  Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar? Following and analyzing clues one by one in this cross-curricular  mystery, students will have to figure out which recent classroom visitor swiped the classroom cookie jar of cookies!

Dusti McCartney, Willard  fifth and sixth grade center, received $674.75 for Freaks, Geeks, and Fair Guinevere: Searching for the Hero In Everyone. Students will look into the world of a physically handicapped boy and his bullied friend and discover the importance of individuality.

Abby Phillips, Ada Junior High, received $478.31 for “We Salute You!” Through this grant project, our class of individuals with moderate to severe intellectual and physical disabilities will adopt 10 (or more) veterans from the Sulphur Veterans Center. Students will create letters, greeting cards, and postcards for everyday and special occasions. Students will also send greeting cards to Oklahoma servicemen and women currently serving overseas.

Laura Dorman, Hayes Grade Center, received $1,215 for “S.H.I.N.E.” Together We Stand Strong, Speak Out, and Act As Good Citizens!!! Activities in this project will help educate and provide opportunities for students, teachers, and school staff by building positive self-concepts, and foster development of acceptable, appropriate behavior in a fun and age appropriate way.

Jill Brown, Washington Grade Center, received $502.53  for  CROCODILE QUEST. Students will use math skills and scientific observation as they watch their three-inch expanding polymer crocodiles as they submerge them into cold water then document and record their croc’s growth over a ten-day period. The final stage of this project requires students to take the information they’ve learned and observed and complete their own personal Crocodile Chronicles.

Abby Phillips, Ada Junior High, received $639.38 for “SEW” WARM! Students with moderate to severe intellectual and physical disabilities will be taught the skills of creating colorful, warm, fringed fleece throws by hand. The students will move closer in acquiring valuable  life skills to assist them in transition from home and school to independent living, as well as possibly gain hobbies. The completed warm fleece throws will be donated to CASA.

Nancy Logan and Robin Nelson, Hayes Grade Center, received $680.66 for  Footprints and Fossils: Paleontology Comes to School. This project will provide materials for a realistic T-rex dig complete with tools, digging grind, and a museum-quality snap together T-rex fossil replica.

Jill Brown, Washington Grade Center, received $296.04 for I’ll Take Another Scoop of Thermodynamics, Please!    ICE CREAM! Students will create their own computer researched ice cream recipe and learn how salt is used to speed up the freezing process. By using a Play and Freeze ball, students will make their own handmade ice cream and be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Kay Gamble, Shawn Freeman, Eddie Jacobs and Matt Webber, Ada High School, $2,402.13 for Something’s Fishy Here: Exploration of the Nitrogen Cycle using Zebrafish and Aquatic Plants. This project brings to life the nitrogen cycle as biology students set up inquiry experiments using zebrafish and acquatic plants.

Loretta Feiler, Lynda Roberts and Luke Penrod, Ada Junior High, $2,056.71 for Empowering Students with Solar Power. This grant will allow students to actually generate solar power.

Robin Nelson and Nancy Logan, Hayes Elementary, $1,058.11 for “Where In The World Are We?” Students will enjoy finding out what continents the rain forests are on, how people live their every day lives in Africa or Austrailia, or if they are any animals that could live in Antarctica.

Lynda Roberts, Loretta Feiler and  Luke Penrod, Ada Junior High, $2,380 for OUR NATURAL RESOURCES - DON’T TAKE THEM FOR “GRANITE”! The culmination of the project will be a tour of Ada Custom Memorials so students will become familiar with ways that these natural resources are used.

Kay Gamble, Ada High School, $1,893.48 for I’m Looking Under a Field of Clover. This project takes a really close look at the relationship between clover, a legume, and the miscroscopic Rhizobium which takes up residence in nodules in clover roots.

Loretta Feiler, Lynda Roberts and Luke Penrod, Ada Junior High, $1,622.30 for From Creation to Consumption. Learning the physical trails and multiple processes that result in abundant drinking water being available to the public.

Charlie Golightly, Amy Lawson and Shari Ross, Ada High School, $4,194 for Time - It Can Be On Our Side! In response to the high stakes testing and the importance of increasing our ACT score, it has become vital that the English classroom have access to the internet and the programs and software that are available.

 Kevin Mann, Donna Large and Celena Galbrealth, Willard, $5,000 for iNiate, iNstigate, iNvestigate, and iNvigorate our iNdividuals with iPad. We want to provide our “digital natives” with authentic technological tools that will motivate students to practice basic educational skills.