The sophomore class at Tipton Catholic High School was awarded $2,500 from Tipton Community Foundation for their Lift Grant project, the Outdoor Learning Center. Pictured from left are Caden May, Kaden Phillips, Kelsey Ohnsat, Jaedyn Arnoldy, Scarlet Ellenz, Grady Stewart, and Samuel Towner.
The runner-up Lift Grant project by the senior class was also awarded $2,500, from an anonymous donor. They plan to purchase 15 ergonomic chairs for the English classroom at TCHS. Pictured from left are Logann Arnoldy, Isaac Palen, and Luke Hollerich.
Sophomores and Seniors Awarded $2,500 each for Lift Grant projects
The Tipton Community Foundation launched its first grant initiative with a focus on investing in Tipton Catholic High School through the newly-created Lift Grant program. This spring the foundation awarded $2,500 to the TCHS sophomore class for their project, the Outdoor Learning Center, a space that will be available to all grades at the Tipton Schools.
In their presentation, the sophomores said that “outdoor learning can boost specific science scores by 27% and significantly improves student engagement, focus, and mental well-being compared to traditional, mostly sedentary indoor classrooms.”
The sophomores, with help from their parents, will complete the project over a two-week period this summer, erecting a 15-feet by 20-feet space made from steel, cedar posts, and cedar slats, located west of the sidewalk between the high school and grade school. Four benches can seat up to sixteen people comfortably, and an outdoor whiteboard will be mounted to one of the walls.
Since the project requires more funding than the grant itself, they said a generous donor was giving the bulk of the remaining funds needed, and a spaghetti supper fundraiser would cover any additional costs. They also noted that the community will have access to the learning center, such as during the Tipton Picnic.
Foundation members were pleased to tell the students that an anonymous donor was awarding $2,500 to the runner-up of the Lift Grant, which went to the senior class with its Project Posture, a plan to purchase 15 ergonomic chairs for the English classroom. In a survey they conducted, “86% of students said their learning experience would improve with more ergonomic chairs because the current seats are hard and uncomfortable.”
For its Lift Grant initiative, Tipton Community Foundation invited the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Tipton Catholic High School to compete for funding for projects benefiting the school community. Classes were invited to submit proposals for projects they felt would “lift” the school and its students, and each class presented its project to a panel of judges from the foundation and community. Projects were evaluated on school impact, volunteer involvement, collaboration, and the number of people the project would benefit.
Cheryl Germann, TCHS English teacher, incorporated the Lift Grant project into the students’ curriculum and coached the classes on their written drafts and presentations. Tipton Community Foundation thanks Cheryl for her hard work during a very busy time of year.
The freshmen’s project, Career Exploration, proposed using the grant funds “to help students become more knowledgeable about various types of majors and educational opportunities,” paying for business speakers to come to the high school, and for mileage/meal costs for field trips to universities in Kansas.
The juniors also focused on field trips in their project, Beyond the Classroom, proposing that grant funds be used to visit the Cosmosphere and Strataca Salt Mines in Hutchinson, the capitol building, Brown v. Board of Education, and Combat Air Museum in Topeka, the missile silo and Czech egg in Wilson, and the hiking trails at Lake Wilson. “Exposing students to new environments will broaden our horizons and provide opportunities to apply classroom skills in real-world settings.”