The widow and daughter of long time Greene County Educator Clark Justis, Nancy and Sarah Justis, were at the County Board of Education meeting Thursday. Along with Greene LEAF Executive Director Suzanne Slagle Richey they presented Clark Justis Memorial Educator Grants to Julie McCullogh from Mosheim Elementary, Olivia Kuper from North Greene and Holly Goodrich of McDonald Elementary.
Mrs. Julie McCullogh, Mosheim Elementary
My Project
The floor lamps are intended to support students with diverse sensory needs. They will be utilized to establish an illuminated wall for students to appreciate during the entire school day. Sensory lamps are highly valuable tools for students who need regular sensory stimulation. These lamps aid in promoting faster calming and increased focus, which consequently enhances their task-oriented abilities and social interactions.
The lamps will provide visual stimulation and promote a sense of calm for students who may be overwhelmed or distressed.
This will have a direct impact on their learning.
Partnered with Maxwell Hanrahan Foundation to fully fund this project
Mrs. Olivia Kuper – NGHS
Project
The items requested, including various lenses and laser kits, are crucial for providing hands-on learning experiences in optics. Students can directly see the principles of light refraction, reflection, and diffraction by manipulating lenses and observing laser light. This direct engagement with experimental tools enhances understanding, aids in retaining complex concepts, and stimulates curiosity and critical thinking. Access to these tools allows students to perform experiments that they otherwise could only read about, transforming abstract ideas into tangible and interactive learning experiences. My goal for this optics project is to deepen students’ understanding of fundamental physics principles such as the behavior of light, lens manipulation, and laser applications using scientific inquiry. Additionally, this project is designed to enhance students’ problem-solving abilities and inspire a greater interest in science and technology. By the end of the project, students should be able to independently design and conduct experiments that demonstrate their knowledge of optics.
My students are a very special group that live in a rural area in Appalachian Tennessee.
They don’t often have access to science experiences, and any opportunity I can provide for them is an opportunity for them to see future possibilities available to them. My students are curious and enthusiastic about hands-on projects, and this project is particularly well suited to them because it leverages their innate inquisitiveness for discovering how things work.
Partnered with GM Foundation to fully fund.
Mrs. Holly Goodrich, McDonald Elementary
My Project
Our 4th-grade classroom needs new books. Our classroom library is ready to add some new, incredible books to the shelves. We are building a reading foundation in room 19, and adding new books is just the way to do it!
Our classroom is set up to where reading is the essential part.
Free reading time is crucial in promoting a student’s love for reading. Filling our shelves with new books is one way to keep our students engaged and help them fall in love with reading.
We are a small Title I school, and we don’t always have the funds we need to add in “extra” books for student pleasure. Your donations would help us grow readers and create a love for reading.
Doubled by Donors Choose – now fully funded