Materials

First thank you so much for the support that you give all of the LPS students. Moreover, a tremendous thank you for supporting our current and future students in the Career tech classes. The air compressor system opens a world of possibilities in specific tool types. Pneumatics is a trade all in its own right. Using pneumatic tools creates a unique experience that these students will remember for a lifetime. Currently we have a couple brad/finish nail guns and several pneumatic sanders. We will be adding tools as the next year progresses.

With the grant, we purchased a 60 gallon air compressor, enough gas line to run a system into both classrooms, two air regulators, and the electrical and plumbing to have it installed. The plan was to purchase, but instead received a donation of the retractable hose reels and two extra air hoses. We were able to stay below the original budget due to decreased costs and donated items.

With the LPS foundation grant, I was able to purchase three new Canon R7 cameras and three new lenses from Canon and Sigma for the MacArthur Yearbook Staff: The Highlander. I now have various high quality cameras that my students can use to capture photos at any given sporting or school event to cover in the yearbook. This opportunity has opened the door for me to expand my yearbook program and offer a “Photography” section for students that may not love to write journalism but love to take and edit photos. These students are proud of the images they have already taken and are anticipating the printed yearbook to see how they look on paper as well as to see if their photos are award-worthy at the OSM media day contest in the fall.

Our grant provided students additional consumable exercise equipment for our highly favored workout room. Students use our equipment to build muscle, coordination, and skill levels, all while strengthening personal and social skills as a class. Workout Wednesday and Fitness Fridays are highly anticipated by all students to work out on various pieces of strength and cardio equipment during P.E. classes. This grant will help to replenish equipment that is wearing out due to repetitive use.

The objective of the project “Learning is Fun” is to utilize the resource materials purchased to help bridge the gap for our students that are low functioning and to challenge those students that are on level and high functioning. The materials that was purchased from the grant is Early Language Folder Games Libraries Complete Set which consists of folder games, hands on-practice with letter sounds and sight-words. Throughout the year our students are assessed on several of these skills. I have assessed my students for the winter using the Educational Software for Guiding Instruction which is a formal assessment used by Lawton Public Schools and 6 out of 11 students have made gains in the areas of upper and lowercase letter recognition and beginning sounds. We are currently utilizing the materials in small group instruction as well as during response to intervention (RTI) time to give repeated exposure and to enhance the early literacy skills of our special education preschool students in a self- contained classroom.

My nursing students and I are extremely grateful for LPS foundation granting $3,000.00. This grant has provided opportunity for CPR manikins, a life size human manikin, a few models, patient cots to help with re-enacting patient scenarios, and so much more. Students are learning and thriving each day in my nursing class, and I hope that as time continues my nursing classes will be expanded so that I can help teach students the nursing skills and knowledge that they will need furthering into the medical field.

My classroom at MMS had an old white board on one wall that wasn’t being used. It could not be written on because it would not erase and also had the dry erase material pulled off in parts. I had a vision of creating an academic word wall in my classroom to help students better understand the geography and history vocabulary that we study, but there wasn’t a space for it. My grant asked for bulletin boards to create the word wall, with the idea of taking down the old white board and using that space. I was very excited to have my grant funded, and now have a word wall for my students to read and see examples of concepts we are studying. In addition, it makes my classroom look nicer and more cheerful which makes learning more fun. I teach 6th grade Western Hemisphere Geography. Thank you to the LPS Foundation and all the donors who made my vision a reality. My students and I appreciate it! (I included before and after photos.)