FALL 2017 GRANTS AWARDED

The Butte Education Foundation has awarded over $140,000 in grants to Butte Silver Bow Public Schools since the Fall of 2008 through the Great Ideas Grant Program.  Grants are awarded twice during the school year to teachers and schools to provide funding for innovative projects and programs that are not funded by the Butte School District.  This fall, four grants were awarded to the following recipients:

WHITTIER

Technology is paving the road for student success in education so the BEF has awarded $1650.00 for “Excelling Beyond the Benchmark”, a grant submitted by Mr. Casey Dennehy and the reading and math teachers at Whittier Elementary.  The grant will fund the purchase of iPads that will be shared throughout the school.  The iPads will help students have better access to district curriculum programs such as FASTT Math, Accelerated Reader, Success Maker, SBAC test prep and ISIP.

EAST MIDDLE SCHOOL

Is Math your thing?  How about spending some time with family and friends?  East Middle School will sponsor “Pi Family Math Night” on 3.14, (March 14th, 2018) thanks to a $745.00 grant awarded to Ms. Sarah Leiphiemer.  Pi Family Math Night will allow students and their families to engage in mathematics outside the normal classroom which will help students see that everyone is a math person.  Students will perform activities and competition centered around the irrational number pi.

BUTTE HIGH SCHOOL

Butte High School will host the Montana Art Interscholastic (MAI) in April 2018.  MAI is an annual gathering of art students and teachers from around the state that get together for a weekend of art workshops put on by professional artists.  Students will have the opportunity to experience new mediums, explore innovative applications of materials, and develop acquaintances with professionals working in the field of art.  Students who attend must provide a piece of their original art work to be juried and critiqued by a professional artist.  Mr. Mike Kujawa has been awarded $1400.00 to help BHS students attend.

SPEECH

“Chitter Chatter” is a fun, thematic small group session focusing on pre-literacy skills according to each child’s specific goals.  To facilitate Chitter Chatter more effectively, Kaila Sullivan and Marni Prigge have requested $620.00 to purchase a new circle rug (and associated bins) that will provide a comfortable gathering area for students to learn.  Preschoolers adjust well to having a designated area in which they are introduced new themes and ideas and the rug will provide this special place.