GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- The Grand Island Public Schools Foundation was in the district awarding 16 classrooms with mini-grants Tuesday and Wednesday. 

In a press release, it was said that the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation awards mini-grants in two rounds on an annual basis. 

The GIPS Foundation said mini-grants are designed to fund educational opportunities for students that are not available through the school district's general budget. 

This is the 19th annual mini-grant cycle for the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.  

Since the program started, the Foundation has funded 323 mini-grants totaling $296,855.  

Grants have been awarded to every school in the district benefiting about 62,888 students. 

The 2022-2023 mini-grant fund was established through the generous Staff and Board fund drive as well as the Community Campaign held in the past 12 months. 

For the 2022-2023 school year, 16 grants totaling $13,957 were awarded through the mini-grant process.  

Grants range from $250 to $2,000. This year a special fund was granted for an additional $1,500 through the family of Janeth Davis offering this fund to honor her memory and invest in the students of GIPS.  

Davis was a middle school teacher, teaching both English and Spanish.  

This year the Foundation was gifted $1,000 from Cheryl Jensen, a retired GIPS educator.  

About 4,425 students will benefit from the 16 total classroom mini-grants this school year. 

Grant winners, grant amounts, and project titles were: 

*A collaboration of Rod Felton and Nancy Jones, Grand Island Senior High School, $976, “TeamMates Mentoring College Visit Trip.” TeamMates will provide programs to students and their mentors on a college visit to Central Community College in Columbus. This is an opportunity for students to picture themselves in a college environment and realize it's a possibility perhaps for the first time. Many students in the program would be first-generation college students and this trip offers them hope and motivation for their future. 

*A collaboration of Liang O’Brien, Kristin Schultz, and Florina Espinosa, Lincoln Elementary School, $660, “Lincoln Visits the Stuhr Museum.” Following a three-week program, students and their parents will visit the Stuhr Museum. The Lincoln History Club - an after-school program - would use this opportunity to present to their parents a culmination project. 

*A collaboration of Asia Thoene, Renee Sutherland, and Abby Elsbury, Newell Elementary School, $381, “Solar System Field Trip.” The Edgerton Museum would bring to our school their portable planetarium which projects the night sky as it appears from Earth as well as travel throughout the Solar System. Students will get a view of the sky from the moon as well. This opportunity would allow our first grade students to transfer the knowledge gained from the recent science unit Spinning Earth and Astronomy Unit in Knowledge to a real life experience. 

*A collaboration of Jacob Morrow, Matt LaCompte and Shane Fernau, $4,125 “Digital Citizenship-From the Perspective of a Lawyer.” The three middle schools will be bringing in Bobby Truhe from KSB Law. School attorney, Mr. Truhe, will discuss legal issues related to students' use of social media. Using humor, statistics, and summaries of real-life cases, Mr. Truhe will explain to students the significant consequences attached to the inappropriate use of social media such as SnapChat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

*A collaboration of Courtney Salmon and Cindi Friedman, Howard Elementary, $1,000, “Trikes for Preschool Playground.” Providing two new trikes for their preschool outdoor gross motor use. 

*  A collaboration of Katie Keasling, Lacy Biberos, Shannon Shuck, Heather Rotter, Hannah Schmidt, Elyssa Johnson, Jackie Bigley, Irene Faldorf, Sydne Sims, Hector Cerda, Hannah Beck, Barr Middle School, $1,500, “Vertical Non-Permanent Writing Surfaces.” In an engaged math classroom, students are learning together through talking about the math problem in front of them while working it out on a space they can all use and see with a non-permanent writing surface. Students working together can help them make connections, notice patterns and try things in a way they maybe wouldn't have thought of on their own. This grant was funded by the Janeth Davis Grant. 

* A collaboration of Sarah Grigsby and Rebecca Duran Meyer, West Lawn Elementary School, $400, “Spanish SEL Books.” West Lawn houses the Newcomers Program and have other students where Spanish is their first language. When working with the students that mainly speak Spanish, being able to have SEL books that are in Spanish would allow us to more easily teach and communicate important SEL skills and emotional regulation. 

*A collaboration of Andrea Hill and Calvin Hubbard, Grand Island Senior High School, $852, “GISH PASS Program.” The Grand Island Senior High School PASS (Positive Alternative Support to Suspension) Program would create a calming area to be used by students for emotional regulation. This calming area would help students cope with their emotions, stay calm, regain self-control, and focus on the present moment, so they can interact positively with others and be proactive in learning. 

*A collaboration of Benjamin Marten and Dr. DeFrank, Walnut Middle School, $1,998, “Islander ESports.” Rocket League is mostly played using controllers, and some students don't have one they can bring. To play at a competitive level with Rocket League, players need the type of finesse that can only be achieved using a controller. This grant would allow us to purchase a number of controllers that can be used for multiple years and provide uniforms for our players. 

*Sara Robinson, Gates Elementary School, $1,682, “Creating Active Thinking Spaces through Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces.” Will provide third, fourth and fifth grade students with vertical non-permanent surfaces (vertical whiteboards). Vertical spaces are ideal for thinking and engagement. This opportunity will certainly create active thinking spaces for the students at Gates Elementary. 

*A collaboration of Jenifer Fischer, Heidi Hiebner, Lauren Wilcox, Taylar Heinemann, Halli Chramosta, Claudia Demko-Reno, Libby Hauser, Westridge Middle School, $798, “Sensory Break Tools.” These tools are to be used during in-class and out of class sensory breaks. Research shows that supporting de-escalation helps to increase concentration and reduce anxiety and behaviors, which in turn, allows for learning, focus and attention to take place. 

*A collaboration Bailey Aupperlee and Melissa McDonald, Shoemaker Elementary School, $585, “Vertical Surfaces School Wide.” Vertical surfaces are a great way to get students engaged in learning. Students are more willing to write/show their work if they are able to quickly erase it and change their thinking. Vertical surfaces are more engaging compared to the old school paper/pencil approach. 

*Rachel Jakob, Shoemaker Elementary School, $1,000, “Building a Love of Reading!” There is a desire to build a library of high interest books at a challenging level for students who are meeting grade level expectations. These books will be used for literature circles so students can discuss a good book and foster a love of reading! 

*Alex Kemnitz, Grand Island Senior High School, $500, “GRIT Robotics Camp.” GRIT Robotics Camp is a week-long summer camp for middle school students entering 7th, 8th, or 9th grade. This camp will focus on coding skills, engineering skills, and personal skills as students work through various challenges with the mentoring of stand-out high school students. This is the second iteration of the GRIT Robotics Camp after its success last year.