The Candler County Chamber of Commerce awarded several educators with educational grants in November of this past year. With nearly 25 applicants, Chamber Executive Director Jaime Riggs explained that it was difficult to make final selections. “We tried to choose the grants that gave us the most bang for our buck,” she explained. “We wanted to serve the largest amount of students we could with this grant money.” The chamber awarded 14 grants, totaling $4,500. Grants were awarded to the following: LTC Terry Hoyt and the Metter High School JROTC received $1,060 for state competition. These funds allowed the Raider team to attend the competition held in Winder, GA on October 22, 2011. The Raider team competed against 59 other schools and over 80 teams, and they placed higher than any other 1A school in the state of Georgia, finishing 7th overall. Carol Smith was awarded $1,035 for the Candler County Program for Exceptional Children at Metter Elementary School. This funding is assisting students with disabilities in the third grade by promoting activities that increase parental involvement such as a “Writers Workshop,” “Math Make and Take” workshop, “Reading Make and Take” workshop and a “Get Ready for the Test” workshop. Doreen Hooper of Metter Intermediate School received $70 to purchase visual teaching tools for students who have difficulty processing auditory information, targeting students with disabilities and English language learners. Principal of MIS Gwenda Rotton was the recipient of $417 to provide monthly newsletters to parents, promoting parent involvement and awareness of school activities as well as recognizing students’ achievement. Newsletters will feature both English and Spanish versions. The science department at MIS received a $203 grant to purchase and implement the use of Bill Nye The Science Guy’s interactive DVDs. Vicki Beckum of Metter Intermediate and Middle Schools was awarded $300 to fund four months of a life skills cooking curriculum called “Cooking to Learn.” Targeting the mentally and physically disabled, this program provides a hands on cooking activity that will then include vocabulary, problem solving, math and science activities. MIS Teacher Crystal Wright was awarded $400 to create an Accelerated Reading Club that encourages and rewards students for their reading efforts. A grant of $230 was given to Kirsten Hodges of MES in her efforts to serve the autistic children of the school. With these funds, three additional weighted vests can be purchased for the purpose of calming these students. The weighted vests provide deep pressure to students who are overstimulated and give their bodies enough delay time in their thought process to calm them. Cheryl Cobb of MES received $205 to purchase CDs by Dr. Jean. These CDs help promote alphabetic knowledge, listening comprehension, oral language, vocabulary, phonemic awareness and memory. Kindergarten teachers Monica West, Nacole Davis, Robin Goodman and Amy Koth each received $120 to purchase Magna-Tiles for their students. Magna-Tiles give students a foundation in geometry and teach symmetry, 3-D shapes, 3-D thinking and magnetic principles. The kindergarten department at MES also received a $100 grant to subscribe to Social Studies Weekly and Science Weekly publications for students.

Courtesy of Metter Advertiser