Bright Ideas Grants Awarded to Local Educators by Blue Ridge Electric (Caldwell)
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383, Ext. 3213; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
Lenoir, North Carolina (November 12, 2008) – Grants totaling nearly $4,000 were awarded to five educator teams today by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation during a luncheon ceremony at Cedar Rock Country Club to honor local Bright Ideas grant recipients.
Bright Ideas is an academic grants program sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric in conjunction with the North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and its 26 other member electric cooperatives. Bright Ideas grants help further traditional academic learning by funding innovative scholastic projects that go beyond available school funding.
Caldwell County grant winners are:
Sarah Maney and Chrisy Owens, of Baton Elementary School, for “Cool After School Tutoring.” This grant of $500 will benefit 300 students by providing an after-school resource two days a week. Using games and hands-on learning activities and tools, students needing extra help with homework will gain self-esteem and higher performance in math, reading and writing. Parent University Workshops will also be held to include parents in the process.
Tracy Holton and Dana Moore, of Granite Falls Elementary School, for “Stimulating the Mind” to benefit 11 students. This grant of $1,275 will provide an adequate sensory room for two classes serving autistic children. The teachers will use specialized sensory equipment and methods to improve student’s motor skills and attention as well as decrease anxiety, all with the goal of improved scholastic performance.
Charles Bogle, Natalie Waldrop, Tracy Icenhour, Leslie Thacker, LaShaya Adams and Phyllis Atwood, of Whitnel Four Seasons School, for “Science in the Classroom” to benefit 75 students. This grant of $685 will provide three in-school science workshops on weather, physics, and ecology. The shops will give students hands-on activities to assist with math, science and language arts goals to help them meet educational requirements of the NC Department of Public Instruction and U.S. Department of Education.
Ingrid Houck, Meredith Belk and Shelia Sanders, of Hudson Middle School, for “Feeding Minds, Tuning Bodies” to benefit 275 students. This grant of $500 will allow teachers to integrate technology using MP3 players, blogs and Internet research into a semester-long unit investigating world hunger, nutrition, and the effects healthy food choices can have on the body. Students will learn to make healthy eating choices as well as develop community/world involvement by creating an International Food Court.
Sharon F. Everhardt and Beth Fox, of William Lenoir Middle School, for “Sustainable Energy for the 21st Century” to benefit approximately 300 students. The grant of $903 will allow teachers to purchase eLAB, a renewable energy lab by LEGO, designed to introduce students to concepts of sustainable, renewable energy resources through hands-on activities. Real life mechanisms using solar, wind and water power will allow students to work with solar cells, capacitors, and other energy devices.
Blue Ridge Electric is awarding Bright Ideas grants totaling $18,029 to 19 different academic projects that will benefit thousands of area students, teachers, schools and communities. The cooperative is celebrating 15 years of offering Bright Ideas grants as part of its support and commitment to local education. To date, Blue Ridge Electric has awarded more than $268,000 that has improved the educational experience for more than 75,000 students. North Carolina electric cooperatives joining together have awarded more than $4 million in Bright Ideas grants to benefit students all across the state.
To learn more about the Bright Ideas grants program, visit Blue Ridge Electric’s web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.
