Foundation Grants

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North Allegheny Foundation Grants Application Form (Microsoft Word Format)

Congratulations to our grant recipients!

North Allegheny Foundation Grants at Work

2007-2008 School Year

High School Technology Student Association

Shawn Lydon – North Allegheny Intermediate High School

The North Allegheny Intermediate High School (NAI) was awarded a $2,000 grant by the North Allegheny Foundation for their Technology Student Association (TSA) program. The NAI’s TSA competed in a regional competition at California University of PA on February 29th, capturing second place as a team. This qualified them for the state event at Seven Springs which was held April 9th through the 12th. At the state event, the team from NAI received 4th place.

Technology Student Association Problem Solving at the Middle School Level

John Clark, Mat Kohler, Jen Smoller and Bruce Wells - Middle School TSA Advisors

The North Allegheny Foundation gave the Middle School Technology Student Association (TSA) grants totaling over $5,000 providing an opportunity for students at Carson, Ingomar and Marshall Middle Schools to experience problem solving and team building through the application of robotics. Activities include adding sensors to robots so they can use the electricity and light around them to become “smarter” about their surroundings. Other instruction focuses on the gears, wheels and pulleys that enable the robot to do its job. Students program robots to travel precise distances and to perform specific tasks. From these activities emerge cross-curricular academic lessons in physics, measurements, ratios and geometry.

PreSchool at the High School

Kristy Coquet and Jane Young – North Allegheny Senior High School

The North Allegheny Foundation provided a grant of $1,500 to the Preschool at the North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH). NASH Preschool has been designed to benefit both the Preschoolers and the Senior High School students involved in this course. The program explores advanced child development concepts and theories through an actual interactive Preschool experience. Children from 3 ½ to 5 years old participate in Preschool three days a week for the majority of the semester. Each senior enrolled has the opportunity to plan and lead classroom activities that enhance child development skills. The North Allegheny Foundation grant was used to purchase two computers. With the purchase of these computers, technology can be incorporated into the Preschool activities.

Disc Golf

Eric Wanner – North Allegheny Senior High School

A grant of $1,283 was given to Eric Wanner of the Physical Education Department at North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) to
purchase the equipment for Disc Golf. The Disc Golf equipment will be used during the Spring golf unit. In addition, the targets will be used in the cardio/team sport unit. Disc Golf is played much like traditional golf. Instead of balls and clubs, players use a flying disc.

2006-2007 School Year

Nature Trail (continued project)

Gene Modic – North Allegheny Intermediate High School

The Foundation awarded a second grant of $3,800 for a two-year total of $8,800 to Gene Modic, Biology Teacher at NAI, on behalf of the Nature Trail Team for the Nature Trail Project. The Nature Trail is a walking trail that has been constructed on School District property behind McKnight Elementary School, Carson Middle School and the Intermediate High School. The grant will enhance the current trail by providing some needed paving. It is open to the community, so put on your hiking boots and enjoy the Nature Trail!

CMS Tiger Shop

Sumer Panza – Carson Middle School

A grant of $1,000 was given to Sumer Panza to start the NAI Tiger Shop. The speech/language/life skills students at Carson Middle School will run the store which will be open during all lunch periods and open to the entire student body. It will carry supplies and novelty items. The Tiger Shop facilitates social interaction, provides countless language opportunities, and reinforces math and vocabulary skills for these students.

TSA Problem Solving and Team Building

John Clark – Carson Middle School

John Clark, technology teacher at the Intermediate High School and Carson Middle School, was granted $2,982 to purchase robotics kits and software programs for the NA Technology Student Association (TSA). The goal of the TSA Problem Solving & Team Building grant is to motivate and encourage TSA members to better compete in more of the TSA activities at the regional and state levels. It will provide TSA students with the opportunity to engage in model explorations, communications, measurement, and make real-world connections. Technology is the way of the future and this grant paves the way to success.

Eggspert

Kathryn Esposito – North Allegheny Senior High School

A grant of $252 was given to Kathryn Esposito at the Senior High School to purchase the Eggspert Game System. This will provide an enjoyable learning experience to all students. It will be used for vocabulary review, test preparation and recalling facts.

Stepping Up Club

Pam Kohlmann and Jacqueline Hartman – Carson Middle School

Pam Kohlmann and Jacqueline Hartman from Carson Middle School wanted to provide an alternative to team sports and give students the opportunity to keep fit. They created the Stepping Up Club with a $500 grant. It will provide fun cardiovascular exercise to students at Carson Middle School. Participants will track their stepping progress with pedometers.

Butterfly Room

Bob Wienand, Jill Spak, Gil Pielin, Jean Aresto and Louise Baker – North Allegheny Senior High School

This project will allow the applicants to establish a butterfly room in the NASH greenhouse to be used to study and research butterflies. Students will do experiments to learn about such things as how light and temperature affect the time it takes a chrysalis to hatch, how other environmental factors effect them and what plants are needed for survival. Not only will the students at the senior high school enjoy this project, but the preschool students will be able to visit the room and hear stories about butterflies. The room is currently under construction, and is scheduled to open early this spring.

NATV Control Booth Improvements

David West – North Allegheny Senior High School

NATV students had the opportunity this past summer to completely renovate the NATV Control Booth. After 30+ years of use, and the staggering advances in technology in that time, the Control Booth at NATV, while well equipped, was laid out very poorly. Students operating the video and audio components of our broadcasts found it necessary to often jump up from their chair to move from one piece of equipment to another. Beyond being an inconvenience, this arrangement was counter to the set-up in all professional control booths. In professional booths, all equipment is within reach of the person in charge of operating it. With the new renovation, we have achieved that professional standard. The renovation included the gutting of the old booth, the removal of 30+ years of wiring as well as the construction of new racks and desks for the booth..

This renovation project was student directed and driven from the very beginning. The grant application and designs for the new booth were created by a NASH senior, Steve Hood. All deconstruction and renovations were done by students. The NATV students are very proud of the work they have done in creating a professional work space for future generations of TV students.

Real Care Baby II Simulators

Bernadette Clinton – North Allegheny Senior High School

This grant requested funding to purchase real baby simulators for use in the NASH child Development classes. These simulators are helping students to experience the care of a newborn infant, allowing them to understand the unpredictability of babies, and how much time and attention they require. The students are assigned to care for the “babies” over a week end or over night. Data is generating describing how well the student cared for the baby. The students are also required to write a report about their experiences.

2005-2006 School Year:

Foyer Decoration

Joe Truesdell – North Allegheny Senior High School

The foyer of NASH will proudly display cast photographs from many of the NASH play and musical productions, thanks to a grant of $500. Joe Truesdell, English Teacher and Head of Thespian Society, will use this grant to showcase the talents of NA students.

Get Fit Ingomar!

Claudia Hickly – Ingomar Elementary School

Get Fit Ingomar! is an exciting program that began through the efforts of Claudia Hickly, Physical Education teacher at Ingomar Elementary School. A grant of $2,376 was awarded to start this program whose purpose is to encourage families to be more physically active and to choose healthy food in proper portions.

NAI Tiger Shop

Elizabeth Talerico – Ingomar Middle School and Jill Majors – North Allegheny Intermediate High School

A grant of $500 was given to Elizabeth Talerico and Jill Majors to start the NAI Tiger Shop at NAI. The speech/language/life skills students at NAI will run the store, which will be open to the student body during all lunch periods. It will carry supplies and novelty items.

Diversity in Science & Math Mural Project

Richelle Gibson/Aidan Harsch –North Allegheny Intermediate High School

NAI Science teachers, Richelle Gibson and Aidan Harsch, will use their grant of $1,300 towards murals that will demonstrate the diversity among the many founders of math and science concepts in our curricula. The murals will be representative of renowned scientists and mathematicians, as well as their most notable works, and will be located in the Main Hall at NAI.

PES Book Club

Noreen O’Neill/James Bernardo/Susie Bjalobok –Peebles Elementary School

Noreen O’Neill, James Bernardo and Susie Bjalobok at Peebles Elementary School will share their love of reading with the students by using their $500 grant to buy books for the new PES Book Club. This club will take place at recess one day a week and will promote the love for reading by creating positive memories about literature.

TSA Structure Tester

Scott Downs – North Allegheny Intermediate High School & North Allegheny Senior High School

Scott Downs, technology teacher at NAI & NASH, was granted $1,295 for a structure tester for the NA Technology Student Association (TSA). This tester will allow the NA TSA Chapters to better compete in local structural engineering events. The tester is utilized to evaluate students’ prototypes and design efforts during weekly after-school meetings.

Nature Trail

Gene Modic- North Allegheny Intermediate High School

All students in the NA school district will benefit from the $5,000 grant given to Gene Modic, Biology Teacher at NAI on behalf on the Nature Trail Team for the Nature Trail Project. The Nature Trail is a walking trail that is currently being constructed on District property behind McKnight Elementary, Carson Middle School, and NAI. It is open to the community so put your walking shoes on and enjoy the Nature Trail!

ROAR

Amy Scott – Ingomar Elementary School

Amy Scott, 4th Grade Teacher at Ingomar Elementary School, has created an after school reading club called ROAR (Reach Out and Read). A grant of $2,084 was given to fund this program, which strengthens listening and reading comprehension strategies by participating in read aloud and guided reading activities. It will also help struggling learners become fluent readers and build essential reading strategies.

Italian Club

Sandra Crapis – North Allegheny Intermediate High School

The NA Italian Club is open to all NAI students under the guidance of Sandra Crapis, English teacher at NAI. The Foundation awarded the Italian Club a grant of $500 to purchase start-up supplies to learn about the Italian language and culture. Bravo!

Star Party

Dennis Morton – McKnight Elementary School

Thanks to the Foundation grant of $1,922, Dennis Morton, Elementary Strings Teacher, is sharing his hobby of astronomy by establishing a new club called Star Party. The grant money was used to purchase a telescope that can auto track stars and find 33,000 objects on its own. Students that are interested in Astronomy will have an opportunity to participate in an NA Star Party.

Tiger Book Collection

Louise Baker – North Allegheny Senior High School

Louise Baker, NASH Librarian, has received a grant of $1,000 to build a collection of K-8 reading level books for NASH’s special education students. The Tiger Book Collection will help ensure that all students at NASH have reading material easily available

2004-2005 School Year:

2005 PA High School Principal of the Year - Dr. Lawrence Butterini

Dr. Lawrence Butterini, Principal at NASH, was named by the National Association of Secondary Principals as 2005 High School Principal of the Year for the State of Pennsylvania for which he received a grant of $1,500. The Foundation was pleased to match this grant that will be used to benefit the students at NASH. Congratulations Dr. “B” for receiving well-deserved recognition for promoting excellence in our School District.

Franklin Puppetry Resource Center

David Forsyth - Franklin Elementary School (FES)
David Forsyth, a second grade teacher at Franklin, was granted $966 to establish a school- wide Puppetry Resource Center. The goal of this Puppetry Center is to assist students with storytelling, role-playing, encouraging creativity and language development through the use of puppets. Money from the grant was used to purchase puppets and stages that represent different cultures and animals around the world. Teachers are able to sign out puppets and stages for utilization in their classrooms.

NATV Studio Upgrade

David West - North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH)
All students in the NA School District will benefit from the $4,500 grant given to David West, TV Media Teacher at NASH, for the upgrade of the NATV Studio. The goal of this Studio Design project is to provide a professional and realistic environment for the creation of a variety of programming for the NATV cable channel. Students from the District will be involved in all stages of the upgrade to include design, implementation, and usage. Smile! You may be on NATV!

Social Skills Video

Elizabeth Talerico- Ingomar Middle School (IMS) and Kristen Huskey - Ingomar Elementary School (IES)
Elizabeth Talerico and Kristen Huskey, both Speech/Language Pathologists for the District, developed several years ago a social skills video which has been used for students needing additional instruction in the area of social communication. A grant of $800 was given to enhance this video by adding additional video footage, educational text and music. The use of modern technology will make this video a more effective teaching tool that may be used by all the Speech-Language Pathologists in the District.

North Allegheny High School Chess Club

Bill McClelland - North Allegheny Intermediate School (NAI)
The NA Chess Club is open to all North Allegheny High School students and under the guidance of Bill McClelland at NAI, has decided to compete in a chess league. The Foundation awarded the Chess Club a grant of $694 to purchase the equipment and instructional tools needed in this new competitive endeavor. Members of the Chess Club will continue to provide instruction and mentoring at the middle and elementary school levels.

North Allegheny Tying Tigers

Christian Shane - Bradford Woods Elementary School (BWE)
Thanks to the Foundation grant of $660, Christian Shane, a third grade teacher at Bradford Woods Elementary School, is sharing his passion of fly fishing and fly tying by establishing a new club called the North Allegheny Tying Tigers. Students will develop an appreciation of fly tying, angling and conservation, build self-confidence through achievement by tying flies, and obtain a firmer understanding of the district/state Science standards. Students will also pass their expertise on to others as they become "experienced" fly tyers.

Spring 2004:

Greenhouse Project – Robert Wienand – North Allegheny Senior High School
A $1,000 grant was awarded to Robert Weinand for development of a beautiful greenhouse with student work stations, a fountain and many temperate and tropical plants. The plants will be labeled and the facility will be available to students and staff at NASH for various projects, as well as their personal enjoyment. The Biology classes will be able to use the facility when they study botany and other related subjects throughout the school year.

Fall 2003:

Solar Cell/Motor Investigation – John Schaefers- Ingomar Middle School
The Foundation awarded John Schaefers a $730 grant to purchase Pasco equipment which will enable 8th grade science students to explore solar energy activities. Relating this interdisciplinary activity with science and math classes will give students the opportunity to test solar cells, measure voltage, graph the experiments and obtain hard copies for class discussion.

Recess Book Club – Christine Kralic - Hosack Elementary School
The NA Foundation supplied a grant of $230.89 to purchase the reading material for the “Recess Book Club.” Christina Kralic, a Gifted Support Teacher, introduced the “Recess Book Club” to 3rd, 4th & 5th grade students at Hosack Elementary School. This program will provide a small, enriching, environment for students to discuss books and give them opportunities to analyze and express their ideas about literature.

School Supply Store – Elizabeth Talerico – Ingomar Middle School
Elizabeth Talerico, a speech and language pathologist from Ingomar Middle School received a $500 Foundation Grant to purchase supplies for a School Spirit Store to be operated by special needs students. While interacting with customers, the students will incorporate learned skills, increase relationships with fellow students, and be a part of a contributing school organization.

Math Games – Susan Bentz – Carson Middle School
Susan Bentz was awarded a $100 Foundation Grant to purchase supplies for her innovative approach to teaching and reviewing math concepts by creating large classroom sized game boards. These games will enable students to review and reinforce concepts necessary for a successful year in math.

NASH Art Exhibit – Frances Hawbaker - North Allegheny Senior High School
A $1,948 Grant was awarded to Frances Hawbaker for the purchase of twelve large display panels to showcase students work in the NASH Art Exhibit. This Exhibit requires months of preparation with a large opening night celebration and will occupy the NASH foyer for a two week exhibit.

Spring 2003:

Classroom Jeopardy Program – Tim Piper from Hosack Elementary School received a $600 grant for a Classroom Jeopardy Program. Mr. Piper is using the quiz show format to motivate 70 2nd grade students with a concentration in his science units. The questions which are written by Mr. Piper will be expanded to include communication arts, vocabulary and story comprehension. The Jeopardy Pack purchased will include scoreboards, remotes and everything necessary for an authentic Jeopardy competition.

Thespian Society Grant – John Woffington from NASH was awarded a $1,5000 grant providing seed money to found the Thespian Society, which is an international honor society founded to promote the advancement of high school theatre. The student-run organization produced Romeo and Juliet in the spring and their own wods of thanks express the goals of the Foundation in providing such grants. “Thank you for the grant that allowed us to do our show! Because of that grant, we raised enough money to continue the Thespian Society next year that will help NA actors and actresses excel in the arts.”

Fall 2002:

Safe Sitter Baby Sitting Program – Karen Storm and Jane Young of Marshall Middle and NASH will receive $1,750 to deliver a highly renowned Safe Sitter Program to sixth grade Family and Consumer Science students. Participants will gain information in first aid, rescue skills, behavior management techniques and will have the ability to handle medical or household emergencies. Implementation of this well recognized program will be a first in the North Allegheny School District.

“Fiddling Workshop” – Dennis Morton of McKnight Elementary Music Department has been awarded an $800 grant to introduce students to 1800’s American Folk songs using an “aural” fiddling approach. Interested students ranging from sixth to twelfth grades will be introduced to this traditional folk style.

TV Productions – Fran Bogus, North Allegheny Intermediate (NAI) Communications Teacher, will receive a $200 grant to acquire the necessary materials for NAI’s television production start-up. Students who take the course will learn the “basics” of television production which can be further enhanced during their NASH experience. The student body will view this “class project” during broadcast announcements each morning.

Where’s the Heat? – John Schaefers, an Earth and Space Sciences teacher at Ingomar Middle School, has been awarded $950 for his “Where’s the Heat?” grant proposal. Students will utilize hand held infrared heat detectors to investigate color, heat, surface temperatures, various common liquids, and solar cell surface collectors. Once in use, this technique and parameters, which have not been measured before in science class, would be able to be shared throughout the science department.

S.T.O.P. the Violence – Emily Bopp, a Consumer Sciences teacher at Carson Middle School (CMS), has received a grant of $300 to help initiate a new chapter of “S.T.O.P. the Violence” program at Marshall Middle School. Carson Middle School Family Career and Community Leaders of America facilitators, will assist Marshall in the implementation of their own S.T.O.P. (Students Taking On Prevention) the Violence Chapter. Skills garnered in this program are thought to empower students to take action should school violence occur.

Storytelling and Oral Tradition – Rita Martin, a Librarian at Carson Middle School, has been awarded a grant of $300 to pursue the Storytelling and Oral Tradition proposal. Interested students in the sixth and seventh grades will meet monthly after school with the goal of participating in the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival in August, 2003. Through student participation, it is expected they will gain confidence, strengthen verbal skills, and ultimately enrich the students.

Spring 2002:

NA School Store – Cindy Paules, Kathy Gally, Carol Andrews and Karen Morrison of the Learning Support Department at NASH received a $2,000 grant to purchase items to stock and operate a new store. This unique store is operated by students in the Life Skills Program. The students in the program gain functional academic skills, vocational skills, and social skills.
Storytelling Club – Hosack Elementary Librarian Jody Williams received a $511 Foundation grant to purchase handbooks required for an after-school Storytelling Club. Ms. Williams’ goal for the club was to create an opportunity for young children to speak publicly with success and to create an understanding for cultural diversity using stories. The involved students participated at the Northland Library Storytelling Festival this past summer.

“Children of the World” – Merry Ann Houser from Ingomar Middle School received a $500 grant to fund the “Children of the World” project for her sixth grade social studies class. This distinctive program uses puppets to teach the students about world cultures. After researching a wide variety of customs and cultures, their work culminates in the performance of their puppet show for others in their school.