Great Ideas and Spark Grants empower educators to go beyond what’s expected to create novel and foundational experiences for Helena students. All grants are named for major donors to the Helena Education Foundation; please contact HEF if you are interested in sponsoring a Great Ideas or Spark Grant.
The Helena Education Foundation awarded 15 grants for a total of more than $5,690 in the fourth quarter of this school year. To date the Helena Education Foundation has awarded 601 grants totaling more than $960,943, including 224 high school grants, 17 PAL grants, 83 middle school grants, and 289 elementary school grants.
Chris and Carol Hunter, Opportunity Bank, Dairy Queen, Helena Home Team, Helena Xpress Singers, Stockman Bank, Ed and Mary Barrettm, Mike Sampson, Tim Speyer, Jack Stults & Daphne Crosbie, Donna Davis, In Memory of Helen Christensen, In Memory of Betsy Pennington, Allegiance Benefit Plan Management
Ashlie Buresh, Helena Public Schools
This grant will fund the printing and binding of 30 vocabulary card books designed by district teachers to support learners in the Into Reading curriculum. These books, featuring vocabulary routines and visuals, will enhance language acquisition, providing structured, engaging support to improve comprehension and academic success and can be used for all students in the classroom to enhance vocabulary instruction.
Sponsor: Allegiance Benefit Plan Management
Rochelle Brower, Rossiter Elementary School
Rossiter students can design and “publish” their own stories using a new book binder machine, cardstock, presentation covers, and binding strips for a professional finish. Art supplies will further enhance their creations, allowing each student to produce a beautifully crafted book that showcases their creativity and storytelling skills.
Sponsor: Donna Davis
Heidi Foreman, Capital High School
CHS UnifiedArt students spent a day exploring public art in Downtown Helena.This field trip allowed the students to build community and supported student discovery of the public art that is accessible to anyone living in our community. Students developed curiosity about public art, and learned to recognize and appreciate public art in the future.
Sponsor: Tim Speyer
Megan Skolrud, Jim Darcy Elementary School
This grant will fund the purchase of puzzle boards, puzzles of various sizes including some escape room puzzles, as well as puzzles depicting a map of the world, maps of Europe and U.S. National Parks. Puzzles are an enriching, engaging and quiet activity for students to work on when they are finished with other tasks. Puzzle boards will allow students to work on puzzles over time and create a storage solution that takes up minimal classroom space.
Sponsor: Jack Stults and Daphne Crosbie
Mike Burk, Capital High School
UnifiedPE students spent two days bowling at Sleeping Giant Lanes. Bowling is a positive unit of instruction since these young people may choose to continue to bowl for a lifetime, and some students will hopefully pursue bowling in Special Olympics, both as SO unified athletes and unified partners. This field trip is a great chance to promote bowling as a lifetime activity that is adaptive, accessible, enjoyable and inclusive to all.
Sponsor: Mike Sampson
Heidi Herbolich, Rossiter Elementary School
A class set of Joe Henry’s Journey, a novel about a young boy who journeys to Montana with his father during the Gold Rush, provides an engaging, firsthand perspective on a pivotal moment in our state’s history, allowing students to explore the impact of the Gold Rush on settlers and Native American tribes. Reading this compelling narrative helps students develop critical thinking skills and historical empathy, leading to richer classroom discussions and research projects as well as a deeper connection to Montana’s past.
Sponsor: Ed and Mary Barrett
Nicole Lachapelle, Jim Darcy Elementary School
Two Tonie Boxes and a variety of Tonie characters will create an independent and collaborative reading center that gives students a screen-free listening experience. Students can listen to stories, songs, and facts with different Tonie characters. These audiobooks improve students’ experiences by allowing all kids to have access to stories, whether they are able to read independently or not. It also helps improve students’ listening comprehension and their ability to collaborate with each other when learning or reading about both fiction and nonfiction topics.
Sponsor: In Memory of Helen Christensen
Katie Merritt, Warren Elementary School
Games like Clumsy Thief and Check the Oven develop skills that second graders focus on such as money, making ten, facts up to 12, facts to 25, and skip counting. Games are a wonderful resource for kids because they teach kids how to cooperate, strategize and ultimately learn foundational math skills while having fun. The games can be incorporated into daily lessons and into small group instruction to allow for practice through playing in a meaningful way.
Sponsor: Stockman Bank
Alinon Arpin, Warren Elementary School
A year of local wildlife and topography research and discussion for Warren 2nd and 3rd graders will culminate in a field trip to the Lewis and Clark Caverns. As they explore the caverns, students will learn about cave formations and the local bat population.
Sponsor: In Memory of Betsy Pennington
Jennifer Skogley, Central & Kessler Elementary Schools
The Paperback Players project provides new children’s literature for two Helena elementary schools, affording over 500 students the opportunity to experience new stories from different cultures while learning to perform accompaniments on classroom instruments. These books and the lessons that go along with them are designed to actively engage an entire class on instruments. While the students are playing they also get to experience new literature that is not only high quality, but from a variety of cultures.
Sponsor: Helena Xpress Singers
Melody Wall, Four Georgians Elementary School
A class set of magnetic word-building boards gives students practice manipulating different let sound combinations, which is a primary focus of kindergarten. These durable letters help engage students through hands-on learning during whole-group and small group reading lessons. Working with words becomes fun and meaningful and builds confident, motivated future readers.
Sponsors: In Memory of Helen Christensen
Tom Caffrey, Capital High School
The Capital High School Farm to Table program purchased seeds, soil, and greenhouse supplies to start vegetable plants indoors in early spring. They transferred the plants to the outdoor greenhouse, and ultimately they will go to a community garden. Students will harvest in fall, promoting hands-on learning and sustainable agriculture practices year-round.This project allows AP Environmental Science and Earth Science students to engage in a full cycle of food production, from seed to harvest, developing skills in plant care, soil management, and seasonal growing practices.
Sponsor: Dairy Queen
Marla Unruh, Broadwater Elementary School
Broadwater lower elementary teachers have been asking for animal books for their students’ research, and librarian Marla Unruh’s Spark Grant delivered! A series called Blastoff Readers Level 2: The Ultimate Animal Library consists of newer nonfiction animals books that have the features teachers want.The average reading level makes these books accessible to our lower elementary students meaning no more frustration of looking for resources and finding only those that are too difficult. These animal books greatly facilitate student research and will be very popular.
Sponsor: Chris and Carol Hunter
Joice Franzen, Bryant Elementary School
Ozobot Color Code Magnets offer a unique, interactive approach to teaching coding that significantly enhances student engagement and learning experiences. Using these magnetic tiles, primary students learn essential coding skills such as sequencing, pattern recognition, and logical thinking. Students arrange the tiles to explore concepts like commands, loops, and conditional statements, helping them develop problem-solving abilities and a foundational understanding of programming. The hands-on manipulation bridges the gap between conceptual understanding and practical application, allowing students to see their code come to life as they guide a robot’s movements.
Sponsor: Opportunity Bank
Lauren E Gustafson, Helena High School
Mrs. Gustafson’s freshman World Studies students, as well as HHS and CHS native students, visited the ‘First People’s Buffalo Jump’ near Ulm, Montana. The culminating field trip to Ulm got students outside to experience what they’d been learning in the classroom all year from guest speakers, films, and other activities that focused on the complexities of MT’s native people. The opportunity to meet with park rangers, visit a historical relic, hike the surrounding area, and listen to our Native American tutor share the origin story of ‘How the Buffalo Got Its Hump,’ connected them ever more to content.
Sponsor: Helena Home Team