Six teachers have been awarded grants totaling $2,121 from The Bette Marschall Memorial Education Fund of The Columbus Foundation. The fund was established in honor of former Westerville teacher and principal Bette Marschall, who died in 2001.
The recipients include:
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Juls Rathje, a visual art teacher at Genoa and Heritage middle schools, who was awarded $500 to purchase ceramic tiles and other supplies for a Mosaic Mural project with artist-in-residence Vicky Murphy. Rathje, said the murals at both schools will focus on messages of kindness and peace and will be designed and created by students. She and Murphy will begin the project in December and plan to complete it by May 2021.
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Beth Dalin, a teacher at Emerson Magnet School, who was awarded $325 to purchase books (“Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,” “The Big Wave,” and “The Sword and the Samurai”) for a third-grade unit about Japanese Literature, Arts, and Culture.
Students will not only learn about the Japanese aesthetic and culture, they will start building their understanding of history and how actions others take are related to their own unique cultural perspective, Dalin said. Students will use what they have learned to complete projects including origami, sumi art and a samurai (bushido) activity.
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Amy Erath, a teacher at Genoa Middle School, who was awarded $572 to purchase additional books for guided reading groups with her English Language Learners. With the set of books from the Go Engage Tween Emergent Reader Libraries, Erath hopes her students improve their reading skills with fiction and nonfiction books that are engaging, high-interest, and relevant.
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Alexander Chapman and Alisa Franklin, teachers at Pointview Elementary School, who were awarded $491 to purchase materials for a Fitness Drumming Project, which allows students to engage in making music and physical activity safely in their classroom using stability balls and drumming supplies. In the physical education classroom, fitness drumming will be used to practice coordination, motor skills, and help promote a healthy environment. In the music classroom, the drumming will promote essential music skills, such as steady beat and the ability to accurately perform rhythms. Due to the pandemic, many musical instruments and gym supplies are unable to be safely sanitized without damaging the equipment, Chapman said. The stability balls and drumming supplies will be able to be safely sanitized for students.
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Elizabeth Kengeter-Bash, a teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School, who was awarded $234 to purchase biographies of artists of color, to be used with first- through fifth-grade students as part of a seven-week unit, during their home learning weeks.