Extension on Grant Proposals

Dear teachers,

We announced at the Welcome Back session before school that we heard your requests and are giving the grants earlier this year so the deadline was moved to October 1. We sent emails, letters, blog posts and Facebook posts. We placed it on posters plastered around town and at each school site.

However, we left the old deadline on a very important place on our website. It was brought to our attention yesterday that at least one teacher thought the deadline was the old deadline and had been working very hard on a grant and would now miss the deadline.

Well, we can't have that.

We at TPSF are in this for the teachers and the students. I made a mistake by not ensuring every area had been changed to indicate the accurate date. I discussed with the officers and grant committee chairs and we all agree. We don't want our teachers to miss out on an opportunity that might be the one that makes the difference in a student's life. We are inclusive rather than exclusive.

So, we are extending the deadline by one week: October 8.

Yes, by all means, please try to get your grants in by October 1. Our grant committee has a big job every year. But if you had gone to the application page and been confused by seeing a different deadline, you have one more week: October 8. Also, if you had hoped to write a grant, but run out of time, here's your sign that you should do it now. Go and be awesome.

Good luck! Deadline will be officially cut off at midnight on October 8.

Click here for application.
Click here for rubric.
Click here to donate.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Brandi Barnett
TPSF president, 2017-2018

Every Super Teacher Needs a Sidekick

Evil is afoot! It slinks through our city, our streets, our schools; cloaked with a cape and mask of indifference, hiding in plain sight, leaving a taste of despair and desolation upon the tongues of our community. 

Only one thing can break the bonds and destroy the evil: blasts of compassion and love wielded by our very own super teachers.  

But, alas, they cannot do it alone. 

Every super teacher needs a side kick--a league of civil servants, replenishing energy and power, dispensing money to support the fight, supporting the super teacher and preparing them the battle of educating a society. The super teacher need only ask, and the civil servants will be called to arms! But, sadly, the civil servants only appear at full strength during a season known to the average man and woman as Grant Submissions. It is during this time the civil servants can award the super teachers with full power. 

How does a super teacher take advantage of this optimum time for power? By filling out a grant application between the corn moon and the harvest moon, October 1, 2017. The civil servants, known as the Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation, stand ready for battle and are awaiting the applications, ready to help super teachers pull back the mask of indifference of educating our children and make the community a place free of evil.

Be a super teacher and apply for your side kick today!!! And, super teachers ALWAYS follow rules for the best sidekicks, so be sure follow the application information and the rubric!

Click here for application.

Click here for rubric.

Email application to tpsfgrants@gmail.com by October 1.

Call for TPSF Grant Applications!

Teachers, media specialists, counselors, and administrators, what would you love for your classroom? Please tell us. We are accepting grants through the end of the semester.  They are due December 16, 2016. Please email to tpsfgrants@gmail.com.  For your benefit, we've also added the rubric we use to evaluate the applications.

TPSF 2016-2017 Calendar of Events

TPSF for 2015-2016

We gave away over $45, 000 last year to provide educational opportunities to Tahlequah students. Please help us do it again. 

Here's how you can help.  

1. Share this poster.  It lists events and donation opportunities.

2. Mail a check.

TPSF

1 Plaza South, PMB#276

Tahlequah, OK 74464

3. Donate online. Click here to use credit card or Paypal account.

4. Link your Amazon smile account.

• Sign in to smile.amazon.com using Amazon account
• Select Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation as your charity
• Shop! When you shop through smile.amazon.com .5% goes to TPSF.
• Share with friends. When confirmation pops up, you'll be given opportunity to share with your friends via Twitter, Facebook or email.

No amount is too small. No amount is too large. Please donate today. With your generosity, we are lighting the path towards excellence.

Congratulations to Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation's 2015 Grant Recipients

Congratulations to the Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation 2015 grant recipients!

Some of our amazing grant recipients were not caught on camera, but have a look at those who were.

Sequoyah

ICan With iPads (Tiffany Cacy)

Heritage

iPads for ELLs (Yazmin Quezada, Melissa Cluck)

Cherokee

Enhancing Literacy (Crystal Young)

Inventing the Future (Lori Robertson)

Science and Social Studies (Jessica Morrison)

Tech for Reading Fluency (Amy Batie, Leslie Booth)

May I Have Your Attention, Please (Gina L. Fisher)

Greenwood

Mini Ways to Reach Many Learners (Deena Jones)

Cooking for a Cause (Nikki Molloy)

iPad Minis for Impact (Leslie Richardson)

Tech in Literacy Lab (Jessica Robinson)

Advancing Robotics (Kymberly Tinsley)

Tahlequah Middle School

Circle of Life (David Fuller)

Beyond the Classroom (Vicki Bangle)

Choir Robes for the Masses (Amy Wright)

Weather Station (Harold Terry)

Buzzing our Way (Kathy Carey)

Tahlequah High School

Artists and Technology (Ellie Peterson)

Calculators for Testing (Sharon Champlin)

Quick Response (Gabriela Veith)

Central Academy

Lifelong Readers (Marketta Johnson)

Way to go, educators!  Thanks for submitting your grants. 

Don't forget to get your PO to your principal as soon as possible so that these grants can be put into action. Also, please email us with updates and pictures to tpsfoundation@gmail.com. We look forward to highlighting your successes.

Click here to donate to Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation.

TPSF: Granting Wishes since 1989

Over $45,000 worth of grants were awarded on January 16, 2015.

Congratulations, teachers!

Take a look at this year's exciting grants.

If you're a grant recipient, please submit your PO to principals in a timely manner so you can get your great ideas into action as soon as possible. Unfortunately, money can't carry over after this semester. We can't wait to hear how your ideas are working in your classroom!

If you're a teacher or principal, grants can be submitted at any time, all year on our website: www.tahlequahpublicschoolsfoundation.org. 

Donations can be made online or mailed to

Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation

1 Plaza South, PMB #276

Tahlequah, OK 74464

Dear teachers...

What would make your classroom the magical paradise you envision? 

 How can you reach kids in a new and exciting way?  

What would create the educational experience of your dreams?

Let Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation help. Submit your grant application. 

Timeline

• Apply online by midnight of December 19, 2014. 
• Grant winners announced in January or February.
• Submit PO to board and collect money by April 1.
• Notify TPSF by November 1 with pictures and information explaining how the grant has positively impacted student lives.

TPSF Helps Greenwood Elementary Rock Robotics

We are thrilled to share these pictures and note from Nikki Molloy, vice principal of Greenwood Elementary. The following post is in her words:

Subject Taught:  Robotics

Grant Received:  $1000.00 

The Tahlequah Foundation Grant that we received is being used to purchase additional robotics kits for Greenwood Elementary.  Last year we had one robotics team and now with the assistance of the grant and Boys & Girls funding we are able to have 4 competitive teams.  The grant also allowed us to purchase a kit to be used by classroom teachers to integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into the classroom.  Teachers will have the opportunity to check the kit out and use it for an extended period in the classroom.  

The robotics program offers an exciting new way to learn math, science and other subjects. It allows students to think about solutions, try them out, and find out what works and what doesn’t. It lets them keep on improving their design and try out different solutions.  

In the robotics program students learn to do cooperative tasks with other kids and share ideas. They learn how to build successful teams. 

Students use their artistic, engineering, and writing talents to bring robots to life and utilize speaking skills to tell others about their robot.  Students will even learn how to program a robot on the computer. 

The robotics program will teach students skills that will serve them well when they graduate from school. Robots will run many things in our society in the future. By learning robotics, students will be prepared for the workforce of the future.  

Our program would like to thank the Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation for supporting our students and the robotics program.  

Congratulations, Greenwood Elementary Robotics, on your success! 

You can positively influence public education. Donate at www.tahlequahpublicschoolsfoundation.org. 

Roundup of grant recipients

Over the last two weeks, we've highlighted some teachers who thanked us for making a difference in their lives and the lives of their students.  We hope you've enjoyed reading what they've created.

We also hope you'll take the opportunity to donate to the Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation.

You can directly influence the quality of education our students receive by helping teachers realize their dreams.  No amount is too small. Together, we can make great things possible.

Together, we are "lighting the path towards excellence."

Mail checks to

Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation

1 Plaza South, PMB #278

Tahlequah, OK 74464

Or click here to donate online at www.tahlequahpublicschoolsfoundation.org.  

Here are the links that feature a handful of our grant recipients in one handy blog post.   Enjoy!

Tiffany Cacy

Lisa Bookout

Marketta Johnson

Amelia Brown

Janea Davis, Stephanie Ford, Emily Freise, and Robyn Rowland

Charlotte Wood

Inspired?  Please donate.

Speech Language Pathology

"Thank you, TPS Foundation, for your support of us and for the provision of therapy materials." 

---Janea Davis, Stephanie Ford, Emily Freise and Robyn Rowland

Name:  Janea Davis, Stephanie Ford, Emily Freise, Robyn Rowland

Subject taught:  Speech Language Pathology

Grant received:  4 iPad Airs and $400 in iTunes gift cards to purchase apps ($3,675.80)

     “During ESY, I had the opportunity to put my new iPad to great use. I was working with one of my own kiddos so I was very familiar with this student. This third grade student is categorized as Intellectually Disabled and is in speech with articulation and both receptive and expressive language goals. In my last year working with this student, I had never been able to help him produce a /k/ or a /g/ sound in words. The first day of summer school speech, I decided to try out our new app, Articulation Station. This app allows the student to hear a prompt, repeat it into a microphone that is recording them, and then listen to a playback of their production.  He immediately began recognizing his error, AND making the correct production!  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was making 70+% each session. I am so thankful for this new tool that I know the children will enjoy using, AND that is actually helping them meet goals.” –Janea Davis, MS, CCC-SLP

     “I love how the iPad has all I need in ‘one’ place.  I travel to the high school to see students for therapy.  I have always had to carry a bag full of the different materials I might need.  This year all I have to take is my iPad.  It has everything I need and/or might possibly need during a therapy session.  It can be used as a data collecting tool, reinforcement, a resource, or as the therapy tool itself.  The students can use it to record their sound productions and also as a mirror so they can hear and see themselves.” –Robyn Rowland, MS, SLP

     “The iPads awarded to the speech and language program at Tahlequah Schools by the TPS Foundation have greatly enhanced our sessions with students.  Students are able to view 3-dimensional diagrams to help them find correct articulator placement.  They are able to record themselves and get immediate feedback, which has aided in the carryover of learned skills.  We have also been able to address individual goals more thoroughly and effectively with apps more specific to individual student needs.  Thank you, Tahlequah Foundation, for your generosity and help in getting materials for our classrooms.” –Emily Freise, MS, CCC-SLP

Will you help teachers make a difference?  Every dollar matters.

Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation does not replace state funds for education.  Its goal is to nourish excellence and provide a wider range of educational opportunities for our students.  With your help, we can help fund more grants.

Donate at www.tahlequahpublicschoolsfoundation.org

TPSF Equips Amelia Brown for AP Biology

Amelia Brown,THS AP Bio Teacher

Name:  Amelia Brown

Subject taught:  Biology/AP Biology
School: Tahlequah High School

Grants received:  Lab Equipment and Textbooks

In 2012, Amelia Brown was eager to revive the Biology II program she enjoyed during her years as a student at Tahlequah High School.  She received the grant and took her dream one step further.  "Thanks to the TPS Foundation Grant, Tahlequah High School now offers AP Biology," Brown said in her 2013 grant application.

What's the big deal about AP classes?  Brown explains.

 "AP courses help our schools achieve higher letter grades on the school based report card system now used to appraise schools in Oklahoma. Advanced biology courses also help prepare our students for college since most college students will at least take biology as their science credit.   Students who take AP classes have the opportunity to take the AP exam.  Depending on how they score on this exam, they can receive college credit for the course.  This is a huge benefit for the students.  Even if a student opts not to take the exam, they will benefit when they are in college because the expectations of college level science are clear to the student."

With the addition of Lab Quest equipment, students are able to get real time feedback on biological systems.  Students love to design and implement their experiments!

students use the Vernier Oxygen and CO2 sensors to measure cellular respiration

"With brand new college level text books, students are seeing the big picture while also being challenged.  I use these books across grade level because they contain so many beautiful images.   

The addition of AP Science classes at THS has encouraged many students to enroll.  I am seeing students who were not previously engaged in honors classes thrive in the AP setting.  These students do not just need to be challenged, but they readily welcome the rigor and are exceeding my expectations. "

Tahlequah Public Schools Foundation does not replace state funds for education. Its goal is to nourish excellence and provide a wider range of educational opportunities for our students.  With your help, we can help fund more grants that help teachers and students pursue their dreams.

Donate at www.tahlequahpublicschoolsfoundation.org