The STAR Foundation awarded $1,000 to the Salvation Army for their Happy Kids Backpack Program. This program is designed to meet the needs of hungry children in our community at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations. Backpacks are filled with food each week and the children take the food filled packs home for weekend use.
Tomahawk High School received a $500 grant to be used for Culinary Enrichment during students' daily "resource hour." Enrichment projects and extension activities allow students to have their own educational experiences. The goals and objectives to these enrichment activities is to give students the opportunity to expand their prior knowledge or learn new skills they have not learned at home or school. Not all students have been able to take a culinary class, so this allows them to get into the kitchens and learn new recipes. Students enjoyed a break at the end of the day and making a snack…
Tomahawk Elementary and Middle Schools were awarded a $1000 grant for a Science Together Every Month program. Each month the 7th grade students and 1st grade students met to do a STEM challenge/activity. The project went well and it was fun to see students in a different light rather than just learning in a classroom. Many students that struggle in the classroom were really able to shine in this setting. One benefit to the community is that when the students see each other outside of school, they can be excited and remember and share their memories with others.
St. Mary's School was awarded a $950 grant for the purchase of ten Kids First Robotics kits and Code and Go games. What I found to be most successful was how well the 5/4 and 1st graders worked together. The older children read the assembly and coding instructions while the littles helped gather the pieces. I was also impressed with my students' takeaways; they did an awesome job explaining the various steps leading up to coding and the coding process itself. What is great about the main kit is that there are many lessons the students can do (and that…
Tomahawk Elementary School was awarded a $550 grant for "Expanding Literacy Comprehension and Re-tell" to purchase 50 flannel board sets. This project aimed to utilize flannel board sets, as a visual aid, in order to focus on the students’ ability to understand the events of a story and re-tell stories accurately. The ability to formulate a narrative is dependent upon the students’ ability to understand the sequential order of events as well as understand the story components (including characters, setting, and emotions). The ability to formulate accurate narratives is imperative for story comprehension, writing tasks and reporting of personal experiences.…
See Article on WXOW.com Tomahawk Elementary School received a 2024 Beyond Crayons & Chromebooks grant for an "Exercise Your Brain" program. Educators from TES attended training for Bal-A-Vis-X (Balance, Auditory, Visual, and Exercise), a system of exercises designed to fine-tune balance and rhythm that also can improve calmness and sustained focus. The grant facilitated the purchase of items needed for the program and it was piloted with 1st and 3rd grade students. Bags and balls are passed from hand-to-hand or person-to-person, crossing the body mid-line. The rhythm and movement pulls the brain and the body into a state where they…
March - $200 was granted to the Samoset Council of Boy Scouts of America towards this April's Scouting for Food project. Each year, Scouts distribute informational door hangers throughout their community, asking residents to leave non-perishable food items out for Scout pick-up the next weekend. That food is then donated to local food pantries. The STAR Foundation grant helped to offset the printing costs of the door hangers needed to complete the service project. From the Scouts: Our Tomahawk Scouts completed a very successful Scouting for Food Program on April 13 and 20. They collected 110 bags of groceries, estimated…
March - The STAR Foundation gave $3,000 to the Knight Owls for maintenance and investment in existing and new equipment for grooming trails. The lack of snow over the 2023-24 season showed just how important snowmobile tourism is for our local businesses and organizations, and the efforts of local snowmobile clubs keep our area an attractive destination for snowmobilers.
March - For 2024, the STAR Foundation awarded $2,500 to Our Sister's House to help restock their pantry with needed food and supplies. Our Sister's House in Tomahawk is a non-profit, temporary homeless shelter for men, women, and children that provides a safe temporary residence as well as help for families and individuals to develop a sound future and transition into self-sufficiency.
Tomahawk High School's FCCLA (Family, Career & Community Leaders of America) organization was awarded a $1,000 grant for the creation of care packages for families of newborns in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). We donated to the Wausau Aspirus Birthing Center, focusing on the NICU Department. We made homemade activity bags for the siblings and parents of the patient. The bags included an inspiring logo, to SPREAD LOVE. Each bag included notebooks, coloring pages, crayons, homemade mason jar desserts (For example: cookies in a jar, brownies in a jar), healthy snacks, hair brush, and hair ties, toothbrush and toothpaste,…
