2015-16 Development and Enrichment Grants

History Alive! A Chautauqua Experience —Tina Dunn
A speaker portraying Abraham Lincoln will present two programs to MES and MMS students through a Kentucky Humanities Council grant funded by the foundation.

2015-16 Mini-grants

Murray Elementary School

Girl’s STEM Club:  GIRL POWER RELEASED! — Marcy Back and Thenia Gibson
Second grade girls will engage in team-building activities and complete projects to develop their interest and increase their skills in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Appalachian Folkarts Festival — Kim Black , Tina Dunn, Stoya Hastings, and Michael Conley
Students will learn the origins of Appalachian culture by observing and participating in various arts, including weaving and quilting, music, storytelling, and folk dancing. 

Nature in Our Backyard — Sherri Bazzell
Materials will be purchased  to help students observe and record information about nature which is close to their classroom.

Motivating Readers — Sherri Bazzell
Equipment will be purchased to help interest third grade students in reading and to develop their skills.

Story Theatre — Tina Dunn
Reading comprehension skills will be enhanced by drama and creative dramatics, including workshops and live performances.

Kentucky Tales — Tina Dunn
The grant will provide fees and travel for a professional story-teller to perform and teach students about the oral history and culture of their region.

“Phonics Factory” — Stacey Lawson
Materials and equipment will be purchased to provide a multisensory system for the development of language skills.

“Sensational Science and Art” — Stacey Lawson
Learning will be enhanced through exposure to and hands-on experience with the basic vocabulary and materials of art and science. 

Murray Middle School

Character Cash Program — Suzanne Armstrong and sixth grade teachers
Positive behavior is encouraged among sixth grade students through rewards for meeting expectations for grades and actions. 

IXL-ing to a Better Understanding of Language Arts — Amy Coulson
The grant will cover a portion of the cost of a web-based computer program which allows teachers and students to monitor progress in learning language skills.

Using Current Events Sources in the Classroom — Amy Coulson
A continuation grant to purchase magazines and videos which may be shared among classes.

Super-Sized Grammar Instruction — Hope Foster
The grant will cover part of the cost of a web-based computer program by which students receive both results and explanations for missed responses.

Attitude of Gratitude — Hope Foster
Materials will be purchased with which students may write and mail thank-you letters.

Functional Art Forms - Creating in Clay — Gena Maley
Students will learn both the artistic and functional purposes of ceramic objects they create with materials provided by the grant funds. 

Study Island for Science — Amanda Tipton and Mike Epperson
Individualized instruction at their own pace will be provided for science students through a computer program they can access in various ways.

Project Study Island — Sheri Rust
Funds will cover part of the cost of a web-based computer program which allows differentiated instruction, immediate feedback, built-in remediation, and real-time progress reports.

SmartMusic = Smart Musicians — Beth Stribling
The grant will cover the cost of an award-winning software program which allows music students to measure their skills against onscreen rhythms and pitches. 

Technology for Project Based Learning — Kristen Swisher
A document camera and printer cartridge will be purchased for use by students in the fourth and fifth grade Flex program. 

PBIS Rewards — Amanda Tipton
Prizes to implement the program Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports will be purchased.

Kin-Ball is Team Ball — Shauna Traylor
The grant will purchase equipment to use in a physical education program which encourages students to learn sportsmanship and teamwork.

A Better Way to Learn Math — Krissy Zirbel
A part of the cost of a web-based computer program to enhance students’ math skills will be paid by the grant.

Mark Schmidt Technology Award for 2015-16
Stacey Lawson and the kindergarten team received a grant of $900 for the project “Communication Station Using ESGI.”

2014-15 Development and Enrichment Grants

Lessons, Leadership, and Lots of Music — Kim Black
The foundation will provide partial funding for an MES teacher to participate in the Kentucky Music Educators professional development conference.

Art Teacher-ology — Stoya Hastings
The cost of registration at the Fall Conference of the Kentucky Art Education will be covered by the foundation.

Choir Uniforms — Elaine Mitchell
The foundation will contribute toward the cost of purchasing polo shirts to be used as uniforms for the Murray Middle School Choir.

Reading Strategies — Chelsea Allen
An MES teacher will present at a meeting of the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts conference; the grant will cover the cost of registration.

Chautuaqua Speakers—Tina Dunn
The foundation will provide funding to the Kentucky Humanities Council to pay expenses for two speakers representing historical Kentucky figures.

Dual Purpose Grant—
A donor-designated grant from Dr. Jack and Mrs. Janice Rose will purchase tablet computers for classroom use and cafeteria meals for students.

Learnpads for Kindergarten Classes — Stacy Lawson
A donor-designated grant will purchase tablet computers for kindergarten students.

Honoring a Teacher — Hannah Stark
Funds for travel to the KCTE/LA meeting were provided for the teacher who won a state-wide award for elementary school language arts teaching.

IPad for the library — Doreen Johnson
Funds were provided to purchase an iPad to be used and checked out from the library.

IPads for bands — Beth Stribling and Tim Zeiss
IPads were purchased for use by the MHS and MMS bands.

Mastering the Art of Creativity — Gena Maley
Supplies and equipment will funded so that students may study and create their own works of art inspired by masterpieces.

Literacy in the Gifted and Talented Classroom — Kristen Swisher
Funds were provided to purchase sets of award winning literature for use in the 4th and 5th grade Flex program.

Speech Travel — Michael Robinson
A donor-designated gift was used to support travel to a national contest.

2014-15 Mini-grants

Murray Elementary School

Appalachian Folk Arts Festival — MES Arts & Humanities Team: Teachers Tina Dunn, Kim Black, Stoya Hastings, and Michael Conley
This Proven Excellence Grant provides continued support for a program focusing on an arts festival in LBL. After two weeks studying the history and culture of the region in the 1850’s, students will visit The Home Place. They will experience wool spinning, music, dance, and folk tales and will create a video of highlights of the festival.

Making Reading and Writing Connections — Sherri Bazzell
Mentor texts exemplifying aspects of Common Core Standards will be purchased for a classroom library.

Science Satisfaction — Sherri Bazzell
Supplementary texts will be purchased to expand students’ opportunities to learn about topics in science on different levels.

Lunch Bunch Book Club — Holly Bloodworth
High interest reading material will be purchased for five groups of students of varying interests and capabilities to read and discuss outside the classroom.

Picture That: A Literacy Workshop for Kids — Tina Dunn
The grant will support a visit by an author/illustrator who will help students learn to write and illustrate their own stories.

Math in a Flash — Stacey Lawson
The grant will purchase Math Centers which provide materials by which students work together and focus on Common Core Standards.

Phone in on Phonics — Stacey Lawson
Kits of materials to develop language and reading skills will be purchased for use by early elementary school students.

Exploring Engineering — Hannah Stark
Using a variety of learning and building manipulatives and materials, kindergarten students will explore engineering concepts through play and structured investigation.

Science in Motion: Investigating Force — Hannah Stark
Through investigation and exploration with wooden ramps and balls, kindergarten students will discover the effects of pushes and pulls on motion of objects.

Soaring with Storybird — Elizabeth Wilson
Using computers, students in all levels of MES will create picture books by selecting images and writing their own text to accompany them.

Dreambox Math — Mary (Beth) Wood
The grant provides continued partial funding of subscriptions to an internet program which helps students better integrate understanding of numbers.

Murray High School

Unique Learning Systems — Chuck Williams
The grant will purchase an online, standards based reading system with multiple levels of lesson plans based on state reading standards but modified (and customizable) to the lower grade level reading abilities of students with moderate to severe disabilities.

Murray Middle School

Let’s Get Physical — Nicole Barnette and Laura Miller
The grant will purchase equipment to help provide appropriate health and physical development activities for students with moderate to severe disabilities.

Physical Frenzy — Ted Booth
The grant will purchase a game designed to encourage physical activity and teach teamwork skills among all middle school students.

Using Current Event sources — Amy Coulson
The grant is a continuation of a project in which publications with age-appropriate articles relating to various social studies topics are used to enhance knowledge of current events and argumentative writing skills.

Attitude of Gratitude — Hope Foster
The grant continues a project which focuses on writing skills, helping students learn the value of showing gratitude while gaining valuable real-world writing experience. Students write and then mail thank you notes

Study Island — Mike Epperson and Hope Foster
The grant covers part of the expense of a web-based program which helps students increase skills in multiple-choice testing in a variety of subjects.

EARNING Success — Grade 7 Teachers: Tommy Shown, Sherri Muehleman, Hope Foster, Mike Epperson, and Clint Wilson
Rewards are purchased for students who perform well in a series of tests using open-response questions.

Character Cash Reward Program — Amanda Tipton
The grant provides continued support for a program in which students in the Sixth Grade earn fake “money” throughout the year for positive behavior and good grades or are penalized for behavior that needs improvement. At the end of the year they exchange what they have earned for rewards purchased by the grant.

Next Generation Science Standards — Amanda Tipton
Funds will purchase science equipment to teach engineering concepts through hands-on learning experiences.

Super-Sized Math — Clint Wilson
Funds will purchase a web-based computer program which allows students to test their math skills and knowledge at school or at home.

A Better Way to Learn Math — Krissy Zirbel
Partial funding for continuation of a proven excellence grant will be provided. Students use a web-based computer program by which students monitor their progress in learning math skills.

Mark Schmidt Technology Award for 2014-15 — Sarah Hultman
Award funds will purchase computer technology to help students improve performances in Advanced Placement statistics examinations.

2013-14 Development and Enrichment Grants

Learnpads for Classrooms—Matt Gardner, Lauren Hines, Sarah Hines, and Scott Turner
Four tablet computers for use in language and history classrooms were purchased.

Building a Library of Scripts—Michael Robinson
A grant provided additional funds to purchase sources of scripts to be used by the Murray High Speech Team in preparing for competition.

Ornament Economics — Amanda Ashlock and Laura Miller
A $400 grant will provide startup funds for a service-learning project. Fourth grade students will learn about economic principles and sharing with others as they create, advertise, and sell hand-made ornaments. Profits will be donated to the Special Olympics Polar Plunge.

Tablet Computers for MMS—Krissy Zirbel
An anonymous contribution of more than $11,000 purchased 13 iPad Air computers, protective cases, an AppleTV, and a cart for the 8th grade at Murray Middle School.

Chatauqua Speaker—Richard Todd
Abraham Lincoln, portrayed by Jim Sayre, will visit the MMS 8th grade in April as part of a series of dramatic programs sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council.

Bridging the Gap!—Sherry Bazzell
The foundation provided partial funding to support attendance at a professional conference by an officer of the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts.

Tiger Eyes to the Skies—Chuck Williams
Equipment will be purchased to supplement a previous Schmidt Award so that a weather station and amateur radio club can be developed at MHS.

2013-14 Mini-grants

Appalachian Folk Arts Festival — MES Arts & Humanities Team: Teachers Tina Dunn, Kim Black, Stoya Hastings, and Michael Conley
The grant provides continued support for a program focusing on an arts festival in LBL. After two weeks studying the history and culture of the region in the 1850’s, students will visit The Home Place. They will experience wool spinning, music, dance, and folk tales and will create a video of highlights of the festival.

Math is Marvelous, but Better with Manipulatives — Sherri Bazzell, MES Teacher
Children are better motivated and better learn mathematical concepts when they see and handle variously shaped concrete objects. The grant will help purchase items which may be used for several years.

Learning Doesn’t Fall Far From This Magazine — Sherri Bazzell, MES Teacher
The grant will help purchase subscriptions to Scholastic News, a resource for learning in the areas of reading, language arts, science, and social studies.

Magazines with a Purpose — Amy Coulson, MMS Teacher
The grant will again help purchase subscriptions to Junior Scholastic and Scholastic Scope. Both magazines are good resources for study of current events and use of textual evidence in language arts, reading, and social studies. They will help students improve skills in argumentative writing.

Reading Jamboree — Tina Dunn, MES and MMS Library Media Specialist
After hearing a model performance by storyteller Mary Hamilton, MMS students will select a story and learn to become storytellers themselves. They will visit and read to students at MES individually and on special reading theme days. Contests throughout the year will encourage students to enjoy various genres of books.

My Scene — Tina Dunn, MES and MMS Library Media Specialist/Drama
Research shows that the skills involved in drama help enhance other learning. Students will see and learn to practice communication through verbal and non-verbal expression. They will create and perform drama in various places, culminating in school-wide performances.

Attitude of Gratitude — Hope Foster, MMS Teacher
A Special Purpose Grant designated for a project which focuses on writing skills, this grant helps students learn the value of showing gratitude while gaining valuable real-world writing experience. Students write and then mail thank you notes.

Seriously Seuss — MES Kindergarten Team: Teachers Stacey Lawson, Kara Brown, Robin Brown, Hannah Stark, Nancy Newsome, and Barbara Kough
Grant funds will purchase multiple copies of books by Dr. Seuss to be used throughout the year in teaching reading, math, social studies, and science.

Handwriting Without Tears; Building Successful Writers — MES Kindergarten Team (see names in item above)
The grant will purchase paper, writing utensils, and supplies for a program which uses a multisensory approach to develop fundamental language skills.

Flipping and Flopping Over Numbers — MES Kindergarten Team (see names in items above)
Funds will purchase research-based materials to teach and reinforce number sense concepts. The material can be used for several years and may prove useful in Headstart and First Grade classes as well as Kindergarten.

Kindergarten Performance — MES Kindergarten Team (see names in items above)
Creative dramatics help achieve reading comprehension, writing, and drama skills. The grant will help purchase costumes and props to be used in a performance by all Kindergarten students for students in Murray Elementary School and their parents..

MHS Choir Formal Wear — Laynie Mitchell, MHS Choral Director
Funds will help purchase additional formal wear for both men and women members of the growing MHS choir.

I See What You Mean — Jacqueline Robinson, MMS Teacher
Funds will purchase a document camera for classroom use.

Magazines with Purpose —Jacqueline Robinson, MMS Teacher
Funds will used for subscriptions to Junior Scholastic and Scholastic Scope. The magazines will be used in language arts/reading classes and other subjects.

Character Cash Rewards Program — Amanda Tipton, MMS Teacher
The grant provides continued support for a program in which students in the Sixth Grade earn fake “money” throughout the year for positive behavior and good grades. They can spend this “character cash” for items at the end of the year, and the grant will purchase items for the store.

Flip Flopping Over Multiplication & Division — Beth Wood, MES Teacher
The grant will purchase materials to be used in games which develop fluency in multiplication and division.

Dreambox Math — Beth Wood, MES Teacher
The grant will purchase subscriptions for five students in each of grades K—3 to an internet program which helps struggling students better understand number concepts, especially the quantitative aspect. .

A Better Way to Learn Math — Krissy Zirbel, MMS Teacher
The grant provides continued support for a web-based-computer program which is aligned to mathematics common core standards. Students may use the program in school or at home. The teacher can monitor students’ progress and generate reports to identify for each student those math skills that are strengths and those that need improvement.

Mark Schmidt Technology Award for 2013-14 — Doreen Johnston
Funds were used to purchase MP3 players for the library so that students could download and listen to books.

2012-13 Development and Enrichment Grants

Choral Camp—Laynie Alba Mitchell
The FFE approved a grant of $650 to support a one-week camp focusing on vocal skills for MHS and MMS students during the summer of 2013.

Murray Elementary School Spanish Program—Kehla Vance
A $500 Donor Designated Grant by Dr. Tara Houston will purchase books and equipment to support early development of Spanish language skills in Murray Elementary School students.

Tiger Tales—Holly Bloodworth
Contributions totaling $1000 funded a Commitment Grant to help support continued publication of Tiger Tales, a compilation of art and writing by students at Murray Elementary School.

Tablet Computers for MMS—Mike Epperson
An anonymous contribution of more than $10,000 purchased 12 iPads, protective cases, an iMac, and a storage/charging station for the 7th grade science lab at Murray Middle School.

Attitude of Gratitude—Hope Foster
The FFE approved a grant of $432 in support of a student enrichment ongoing project which encourages Murray Middle School students to write thank you notes to someone who has helped them.

Tracking the Sun—Courtney Vanover
The FFE approved support for travel to a national conference so that a teacher can present the results of a two year long project during which MES students each week recorded the progress of the sun’s shadow.

Laying the Foundation Training—Amanda Tipton and Scott Turner
Professional Development Grants of $695 each will support participation by teachers from Murray Middle School and Murray High School in training to increase instructional rigor and better prepare more students for Advanced Placement courses.

Building a Library of Scripts—Michael Robinson
Plays, books, and subscriptions to literary journals will be purchased to provide sources of scripts to be used by the Murray High Speech Team in preparing for competition.

Tablet Computers for Forensic Events—Michael Robinson
Two iPad mini-computers for speech students to use in conducting research were purchased with help from an anonymous donation of $1000.00.

Tablet Computers for MMS Classroom—Nicole Barnette
A $1700 donation from local business Creative Canvas has allowed the purchase of three iPad computers and related equipment for a Murray Middle School classroom.

2012-13 Mini-grants

Magic Wand — Sherri Bazzell, MES teacher
Hand held scanner to scan and store student work, pictures and any type of teacher documentation will be purchased with this grant money

Sound Performances — Kim Black, MES teacher
Grant money will purchase an IPOD to be use as the source of the accompaniment music for our Music Program Presentations.

Just Buzzing In — Laura Brown, MMS teacher
The grant money will be used to update and repair/replace buzzers and other equipment for the academic team; and help with yearly purchases of resources used to practice for our academic competitions.

Ion Copy Cat /magic wand — Amy Coulson, MMS teacher
This Scanner will be used to save student's hand written work and any other printed material that can then be displayed on the classroom Smart Board.

Using Relevant Sources in the classroom — Amy Coulson, MMS teacher
Reading material (Junior Scholastic magazine) will be purchased. Junior Scholastic will be used in current events,geography,American history and world studies and can be used as a textual evidence for student writings in any subject.

Drama Alive— Tina Dunn, MMS
This project will bring hands on drama workshops and activities, to our Middle school students. These will be presented by Market House Theater staff of Paducah KY. and the Shakespeare Co. of Louisville, KY.

Drama Buddies — Tina Dunn, MES
The program will bring drama workshops and activities presented by Market House theater of Paducah and Murray's Playhouse in the Park, as well as Story Tour Theater for Murray elementary school students.

Using Classroom Performance systems (clickers) for Formative Assessment— Wayne Jackson and Sarah Hultman Math Department MHS
The these systems allow students to actively engage in classroom learning and receive immediate feedback on practice math problems.

Ceramic Creations- Stoya Hastings, MES Art Teacher
This project will allow second and third grade students to be introduces to ceramic art. They will create there own clay sculpture. Local artist Wayne Bates will be teaching the process of Sgraffito on ceramic tiles.

Murray High Energy Conservation team- Sarah Hultman -Math teacher MHS
We will form and Energy Team as part of the National Energy Education Development Project (N.E.E.D.) We will purchase their equipment and materials "Learning and Conserving" kit for grades 9-12.

Kindergarten Tiger Fitness — Kindergarten Team: Kara Brown, Robin Brown,Rebecca Cunningham, Barbara Kough, Stacy Lawson and Nancy Newsome
Provide equipment for the students to use while on the playground.

Numicon to the Rescue — Kindergarten Teachers: Nancy Newsome, Robin Brown,Stacy Larson
The Numicon number Shapes will allow our students to use developmentally appropriate materials to reinforce basic concepts related to number sense, place value, pattering and number relationships.

Literary Magazine — Lisa Polivik, MHS English teacher
This project will allow the students to create, develop a MHS literary magazine of student work using art work and creative writing.

Ion Copycat Document Scanner — 6th grade teachers Sherri Rust, Amanda Tipton, Vicky Dunlap, Martin Son, Stephanie Youngblood
This Scanner can be used to scan and store book-pages, photos, students papers and drawings——endless possibilities in all subjects.

Live performance field trip — Amanda Tipton MMS teacher
This grant money will be used to take our 6th grader students to a live performance at The Carson Center.

Appalachian Arts Festival — MES Arts and Humanities teachers; Kim Black, Tina Dunn, Stoya Hastings, Michael Conley
The interpretive staff of the Land between the Lakes,will let the children actively participate in groups to learn about spinning wool. They will also learn to play Appalachian musical instruments, learn a folk dance and hear folktales of the 1850's

History in Our Backyard — MMS 5th grade teachers
After reading a true story about a 14 year old Calloway County boy, entitled Captured! A Boy Trapped in the Civil War and hearing local Civil War historians speak to our classes, we take a field trip to Fort Donelson. This trip to a Civil War battlefield and park allows the children to make the real connection to what they have read, and heard in the classroom.

Lovin' literacy —Tina Dunn MES Media Specialist
This grant will be used in the school wide literacy project -Accelerated Reader Program. It will allow those who meet their individual reading goals to attend a field trip to the Curris Center for a movie or drama event at the end of the 2nd nine weeks and our Sneech Beach party for students at the end of the 3rd nine week grading period.

Why Try Journals — Leisa Faughn Guidance counselor MMS
The grant will provide the Why Try Journals for all six grade students to practice and learning about reflecting skills based on Decision Making and problems solving models.

Me, Myself and I — MMS fifth grade teachers: Laura Brown, Lindsay Weaks, Lauren Martin, Carolyn Shown
This grant will help provide the books, guess speakers for our Learning about Self programs,with topics of Hygiene and puberty addressed ,as well as learning about self esteem , etiquette and social interactions skills.The grant will also allow us to take the students out to lunch a Sirloin Stockade as the culminating event to practice etiquette and social skills.

Kindle a love for reading—Doreen Johnson MHS library media specialist
This grant will be used to buy more Kindles for the Library. We have found the electronic readers to be increasingly used by our students.

Character Cash Store — MMS 6th grade teachers -Suzanne Hinton,Sheri Rust, Stephanie Youngblood, Martin Son, Amanda Tipton
This grant money will be used to purchase items for our store. The students can buy these items, using only their earned character cash , that they have collected throughout the year for exhibiting good character.

A better way to learn Math — MMS Krissy Zirbel 8th grade Mathematics teacher
IXL is a web-based-computer program, aligned to the new mathematics common core standards. It allows the teacher to monitor students progress and generate reports to identify math skills that are both strengths and areas of improvement for each student.

Tech Savvy — MMS Lauren Martin, 5th grade teacher
Purchase of a document camera and a mobile interactive whiteboard to use in our classrooms would help me to be able to circulate in the classroom and to write on the board from any where in the room. The document camera will allow me to be able to display resources found in books and other printed resources and project the material or article on to the classroom smartboard.

Ladibug Document Camera — MMS 4th grade teachers- Stacy Wortham, Joan Hayman, Chelsee Thompson
This document camera will be used by every teacher in every subject in our 4th grade. It will provide up close look at insects and fossils, help with learning to make measurements, building 3D shapes, studying maps, charts, and graphs. In language arts it will help look at and improve open response by looking at organization and, structure of the writing as an entire class.

Kindling the reading spirit- MHS -Language Arts and Literature teacher John Karanza
This grant will be used to provide my Junior year Special Needs students with Kindles. Kindles allow change of font size and instant dictionary while reading. Each student will be trained to use the Kindle for reading and vocabulary development. They provide smaller page size with larger print, which is less daunting to my students.

2012-13 Mark Schmidt Technology Award
The Mark Schmidt Technology Award went to Charles Williams for the project Tiger Eyes to the Skies.

2011-12 Development and Enrichment Grants

Murray Elementary School Spanish Program—Lauren Hines
A $500 donation by Dr. Tara Houston will purchase books and equipment to
support early development of Spanish language skills in Murray Elementary School
students.

Television Production Equipment—Sherry Purdom
An anonymous $500 donation purchased a new teleprompter for use in every
show produced by the WMHS TV 13 television production class at Murray High School.

Tiger Tales—Holly Bloodworth
Contributions in the amount of $800 from donors to the Triennial Fund Raiser
were used to supplement a mini-grant for publication of Tiger Tales, a compilation of art
and writing by students at Murray Elementary School.

Neo-Typers—Kandi Dawson, substituting for Beth Wood
Contributions to the Triennial Fund Raiser purchased a NEO 2 SmartOption
Mobile Lab for use in developing keyboard skills among students at Murray Elementary
School.

2011 Mini-grants
 
French Reading Textbooks Erin Plunkett
Reading skills texts will be purchased for French classes, to offer a wider variety of materials for class activities and improve student achievement in French  

Understanding Biology Through Gardening Kat Drennon
This grant will be used to create a garden space at Murray High School for use in Biology class. Students will apply the concepts of Biology (photosynthesis, biogeochemical cycling, symbiosis, etc.) to growing plants from seeds to maturity  

Kindles in the Classroom: Motivating Readers Adrienne Custer
This project will make new electronic reader technology available to our students by placing Amazon's Kindles in the English classroom  

A Better Way to Learn Math Krissy Zirbel
IXL is a web-based computer program, which is aligned to the new mathematics common core standards, that allows the students to answer both multiple choice and short answer questions. Students have the ability to access these questions both at home and/or at school. The program easily allows the teacher to monitor student's progress and generate various reports to identify mathematical skills that are both strengths and areas of improvement for each student.
 
Ladibug Document Camera Stacy Wortham
Ladibug Document cameras will be purchased and used to enhance student learning in every subject area. For example, in Science, the cameras will be used to provide an up-close look at insects, plants, fossils, and will be used in experiments involving energy and forces.

Character Cash Reward Program Amanda Tipton, Martin Son, Sheri Muehleman, Sheri Rust
Sixth grade has a program which uses "character cash" as a reward system. Students save their "character cash" throughout the year and are able to make purchases with it such as gift cards, books, games, cameras, bicycles, MP3 players, etc. This grant money will help with the purchase of these items.  

History in Our Backyard Sherri Bazzell, Carolyn Shown, Laura Brown, Stacy Wortham, and Amanda Ashlock
The study of the Civil War is a major study in the fifth grade and we are living among the history. There are living historians to come and share, a book to read that is written from the viewpoint of a boy from Calloway County who was captured during the war and yes, there is a trip to Fort Donelson. Let's bring the learning to life and explore what happened right in our backyard!  

Me, Myself, and I — Sherri Bazzell, Carolyn Shown, Laura Brown, Stacy Wortham, and Amanda Ashlock
Fifth grade has traditionally been the year of self-learning. Topics of hygiene and puberty are addressed and in turn, we would like to take this concept of self-learning and continue to encourage the path of our maturing young men and women in the world of etiquette. A self-anthology book will be created by each child and will be hard-bound for them to keep forever. Let's make a year of memories for me, myself, and I!  
Why Try? Leisa Faughn
Why Try is an evidence-based motivational program which is implemented through the 6th grade at MMS with Pre and Post Assessments given by use of surveys to measure growth of learned concepts. Why Try is linked to core content for positive behavior supports, interaction for Safe & Drug Free Schools and is research based while being used in 36 states, Canada and Australia. This hands-on approach to learning styles is connected to Solution Focused Brief Therapy with social skills for group, attitudes and emotional intelligence.  

Just Flip IT!!! Sherri Bazzell
A picture is worth a thousand words!!! How exciting! Several flip cameras will be purchased and kids will be creating their own video and pictures to create real-life stories and support for real world writing all by using a Flip camera! I say "Flip It!" Appalachian Arts Festival Tina Dunn, Kim Black, Stoya Hastings, Michael Conley In collaboration with the interpretive staff of LBL, the entire 3rd grade class will visit LBL to experience the dance and drama of the 1850's, music and the environment during this time period, and spinning wool.
  
Down Storybook Lane Tina Dunn
An improved literacy project at Murray Elementary School will feature a Book Character Club to promote reading for kindergarten through 3rd grade students. The focus will be high quality , high interest reading utilizing the Renaissance Learning Enterprise/Accelerated Reader/literacy quizzes to read for comprehension. This project will implement enticing incentives throughout the year and semester to celebrate reading success utilizing storybook characters and themes. In addition, Murray Middle School (4th-6th grade students) will be included for movie pass and limo literacy luncheon for more age appropriate rewards.  

Movie Magic Kandi Dawson
Flip cameras will be purchased and shared by all P4 teachers at Murray Elementary School. These cameras will spark instant enthusiasm and increase student motivation. The cameras will be used for a wide range of projects and purposes in all curricular areas.
  
Science through Literature Kandi Dawson
Teachers will use sets of books in reading groups to teach or to connect to science concepts. These book sets will be shared by all P4 teachers to address all students' learning needs, remediation or enrichment.
  
Tiger Tales Holly Bloodworth
Grant funds will be utilized to partially pay for the printing of Tiger Tales. Tiger Tales is an anthology of children's work designed to celebrate our students as authors. The publication has been a part of our rich tradition for many years. Each contributing author receives a free copy of the book and is recognized at a special assembly. This book becomes a keepsake that students treasure throughout a lifetime and provides them the opportunity to reflect on their growth as a writer.

Mark Schmidt Technology Grant 2011 Doreen Johnston
The 2011 Mark Schmidt Technology Grant went to Doreen Johnston, the librarian at Murray High School to purchase Kindle e-readers

2010 Mini-grants