Karen Teklinksy

$1,135

Ocracoke School
“Waste Makes Haste – Save Today, Sustain Tomorrow”

Ocracoke students will engage in real-world waste management through a school-wide composting initiative. Students will collect food waste from the cafeteria and other compost bins located throughout the school.

The waste will be processed in a vermicomposting system, where worms break down organic material into nutrient-rich soil. The harvested compost will be used at the island’s new community garden, enhancing soil quality, supporting plant growth, and further promoting a culture of sustainability.

Casey Schulte

$2,496.94

Northside High School
“STEM Spark: Igniting Curiosity”

STEM Spark is a collaborative, multi-part STEM initiative that empowers high school students to lead interactive, hands-on learning experiences for elementary students in the local community.

Through a series of themed STEM Days, younger students will explore science, technology, engineering, and math concepts through engaging learning stations, inquiry-based challenges and collaborative learning opportunities that are student planned, designed and facilitated. This reinforces the high school students’ own learning by having them develop, lead, communicate and teach skills to young learners. Each station will feature a corresponding picture book that elementary students and their families will access beforehand so they can see how STEM jumps off the page and into real life.

Angela Best

$2,300

Pungo Christian Academy
“Crescendo Kids – Growing in skill, confidence and joy”

Crescendo Kids will bring music education back to the classroom for students in grades K-5. The youngest students will be introduced to the concepts steady beat, rhythm and pitch. Older students will explore harmony, rhythm patterns, and melodic instruments such as xylophones and recorders. Among the items the grant funds are rhythm sticks, hand drums, tambourines, egg shakers, triangles, castanets, recorders, and boomwhackers

Abby Anderson

$1,721.67

Pungo Christian Academy
“Tools for Thinking: Hands on Math for Elementary Learners”

Each year second grade students will be provided with an individual hands-on math manipulative kit designed to build strong foundational skills in number sense, place value, operations, measurement and fractions. Kits include base-10 blocks, counters, place value charts, number lines, fraction strips, clocks, dice and rulers.

Tim O’Shea

$2,425

Mattamuskeet Middle School
“Plant the Moon Challenge”

Students will participate in a global science experiment and educational research competition to see who can grow the best crops in lunar or Martian soil. The challenge piggybacks on NASA’s new lunar exploration program, Artemis, and gives students a chance to help get astronauts back to the moon.

Students will use the project guide to choose their crop and help define their own experimental parameters to support plant growth. After an 8-week growing period, the Mattamuskeet team will submit their final project reports and join the global network of researchers helping to expand our nation’s space exploration capabilities.

Barbara Shy

$1,800

Pamlico County Middle School
”Unlocking Literacy Through Assistive Technology”

With the goal of bridging the literacy gap, Ms. Shy will introduce students to assistive software technology that allows young readers to navigate many of their own reading and comprehension obstacles to become more self-sufficient and build confidence in their ability to work through a challenge.

Using reading pens and headphones, students can target individual words or entire sentences that may present a challenge. Recognizing that not everyone struggles with the same material, this project allows those who need reinforcement to focus on the text they need to review while allowing others in the classroom to continue moving forward at their own pace.

Jessica Creider

$2,438.26

Pungo Christian Academy
“It’s Alive! A Robotics Adventure”

A robotics elective will be offered to students in grades 9-12 with lower grade students benefiting from student lead demonstrations of their projects. The course work will begin with students learning to code. Then they will use grant-funded materials to build a robot with the ability to complete designated challenges. Early next year, the robotics team will go on to compete at the National Beta Club’s North Carolina convention.

Maegan Brooks

$1,000

Pamlico County Middle School
“Science Spectacular”

Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned science fair? It’s not only a learning experience for students, it’s an investment in the entire community. By showcasing student projects, Ms. Brooks “Science Spectacular” will provide student’s families and community members a change to see the creativity, hard work and innovation of young learners. Community members will serve as both fair judges and project mentors, allowing the school to tap into local expertise in various subject matter.

Susan Strickler

$343.68

Chocowinity Middle School
”Spirit of Ancient Greece Technology”

While this may be the smallest grant awarded this year, you can rest assured that Ms. Strickler knows how to get the most bang for the buck for her sixth graders. Her Mini-Olympics project will bring Ancient Greece to life by allowing students to experience the excitement, competition, and cultural pride of the world’s first Olympic Games while student the Ancient Greeks. Student teams will represent different Greek city-states, like Athens, Sparta and Corinth, and participate in daily challenges. The culminating event will be a track and field event at the local high school where laurel crowns will be awarded.

Susan Long

$405

Fred Anderson Elementary
”Read. Rotate. Repeat.”

With the goal of promoting reading independence through small group activities, Ms. Long will create a literacy station. Students will rotate through a series of activities designed to build reading comprehension, fluency, vocabulary and written response skills. While classroom worksheets and reading alone have a place in the curriculum, the literacy station will include games, task cards, fluency practice, vocabulary challenges and creative response options that keep the learning environment engaging and appropriately paced for each student’s reading level.

Brandi Kenney

$400

John C. Tayloe Elementary
”Ms. Kenney’s Classroom Library”

As a first year second grade teacher, Ms. Kenney is building her classroom library from scratch. Having a variety of books available, ranging from easy readers to chapter books, is important for student engagement and reading comprehension.

Books purchased will have a corresponding Book Taco test online to provide individualized feedback for Ms. Kenney as she facilitates each student’s reading journey.