Garden City Public Schools Foundation To Award Mini-grants

Garden City, KS(westernkansasnews.com) The Garden City Public Schools Foundation Grant Squad will visit schools Monday, March 26th, to award $200 mini-grants to help teachers enhance instruction in their classrooms. The awards will be presented to teachers in a surprise celebration in their classrooms.

The foundation received 20 grant applications from staff around the school district. The grants are awarded to help support learning initiatives in the classrooms. The grants may be used for the classroom, department, or individual staff development for a district employee. The applications are read and judged by the Garden City Public Schools Foundation committee.

The Grant Squad will travel to the following schools, at these approximate times, to present mini-grant checks to teachers. The teachers will receive the mini-grants include:

Emily Hamlin Garden City High School
Sandra Naeve Garden City High School
Melissa Hensley, Chris Remmich, & Mark Cruz – GCHS
Becky Alexander Georgia Matthews Elementary School
Mallory Arellano Garfield Early Childhood Center

Emily Hamlin, Garden City High School counselor, will use the grant to purchase supplies for Snacks and Apps program to help seniors determine what scholarships they qualify for and complete the application requirements. The goal is to help assist seniors complete scholarships to increase the opportunity to earn financial aid to help them continue their education.

Sandra Naeve, Garden City High School art teacher, will use the grant to purchase Giant Tinker Toy Sets to be created by her ELL and newcomer students. The students will gain knowledge on architecture, STEM and working with others to accomplish a task.

Melissa Hensley, Chris Remmich, and Mark Cruz, Garden City High School Health and Trades Academy teachers, will use the grant to purchase Renewable Energy Kit. The project aims to increase students’ awareness of renewable energy sources and the advantage and disadvantages of each source. It will also show students job opportunities waiting for them that are in line with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM).

Becky Alexander, Georgia Matthews Elementary School kindergarten teacher, will use the grant to purchase Lego bricks. The goals is to help students curiosity and desire to create, explore, and investigate the world in learning experiences focusing on STEAM by providing them opportunities for creative play.

Mallory Arellano, Garfield Early Childhood Center teacher, will use the grant to purchase activities and kits to help provide students opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The activities will help the students explore STEM related concepts. They will problem solve and discover how things work.

The Garden City Public Schools Foundation was founded in 2004 and is a non-profit organization that is committed to effectively generate, manage and distribute funds to stimulate excellence for the preservation and enhancement of exemplary education provided by Garden City Public Schools. The Foundation offers the opportunity to enhance the learning environment, increase the effectiveness of instruction and to help strengthen and broaden ties between the schools and community. The Foundation functions in alliance with the Western Kansas Community Foundation.