Creekside, Title 1 – Barton Reading System is designed to explicitly and systematically teach dyslexic students to read. Many students, even those who have not yet been diagnosed as dyslexic, will benefit from this Orton-Gillingham based approach to reading.

Mountain View Elementary.  Tammie Wood.  200 Kindergarten students.  This class project promotes a rich opportunity to examine how our lives are transformed, and the beauty and uniqueness of us all, with the overall message that a child is like a butterfly.  Some can fly higher than others, but each does the best it can.  Each butterfly is different.  Each is special.  Each is beautiful.  The children listen to a guest speaker and learn a song about being different.  Students break into small groups and travel to various areas in the school to see what is like to have various abilities and disabilities.

Spearfish Middle School.  6^th-8^th grades. Teri Bauerly. There are more than 500,000 current openings in computing, and this field represents the #1 source of new wages in the US. These jobs grow at twice the rate of all other jobs. In the US we do not have enough graduates in computing, STEM or Computer Science to fill this demand. The goal of this project is to increase the exposure our students have to coding. Next year our Middle School will have a laptop for every student. My hope is that our students will have the opportunity to integrate computer science and coding into their core content classes AND have another way to show their learning through the power of coding. The more exposure a student has to coding the more likely they are to pursue a path through high school and college that leads to the profession of Computer Science. Tynker is an easy to use platform that ANY teacher can integrate into their classes, with or without a background in Computer Science. It is a benefit to our students and community if we have more teachers who are comfortable and familiar with Computer Science and coding. The Tynker platform teaches coding and is used to program our drones and robots. Tynker is currently developing lessons for augmented and virtual reality, they will be one of the first platforms of computer science curriculum to have these lessons developed for students. If we are approved and able to purchase the license immediately we can start exploring Tynker at the end of the school year AND offer staff professional development during our end of year PD. SMS staff will go into the summer having ideas of how to incorporate cross-curricular coding projects with their students next year. Next school year my goal is that we use Tynker lessons during FLEX and study hall for all students to have exposure to another platform and medium of coding. Tynker is fun and students love using it. As students and staff become comfortable and familiar with the platform we can create cross-curricular projects. There are STEM specific lessons that integrate into Science and Math courses. Our middle school ELA teachers do book projects, students could easily use Tynker to code their presentation on their book. The full access of a site license would also be used in our Makerspace with our drones, robots, and iPads.

SMS.  Josh Wangeman.  All middle school students travel to Fort Meade, SD to participate in an event which will be hosted by the South Dakota National Guard.  This event is designed to educate students about our armed forces, and to see what a career in the military would be like.  The South Dakota National Guard provides the event free of charge provided transportation of students is available.  This experience provides students with a real view of a potential career path.  600 students impacted.

Creekside Elementary.  Barb Schuler.  Destination Imagination program is a fun, hands-on system of learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity through open-ended academic challenges in the fields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine arts and service learning.  Participants learn patience, flexibility, persistence, ethics, respect for others and their ideas, and the collaborative problem-solving process.  Teams may showcase their solutions at a tournament.  14 students impacted, grades 3-5.

Spearfish Middle School. Dr. John Larson, Sherri Potter, Jill  Murphy. 6th-8^th grades. EmWave2 information page: https://store.heartmath.com/emwave2
– Two EmWave2 device will be used with students by the counselors in their offices at the Middle School.
– Three EmWave2 devices will be available for independent use by students.
– Students that frequently access school-counseling services will be trained in the EmWave2 Quick Coherence Technique by the counselors (with help from the computerized training protocol).
– Students that frequent the counseling office will be allowed to use the EmWave2 device and the Quick Coherence Technique (guided by the computer) with the counselors or on their own after they are comfortable with the process when they arrive at the counseling office.
– Students that have been trained in the use of the EmWave2 and the Quick Coherence Technique will be allowed to use the devices to facilitate social/emotional breaks in the counseling office (with counselor permission) throughout the day.
– Students that show interest and benefits from the use of the EmWave2 and the Quick Coherence Technique will be allowed to check out an EmWave2 device for use on their own with parent permission.
– Up to 30 students that frequent the school counselors’ services will be impacted by the project. Additional students will be impacted moving forward as this project will be ongoing year-after-year if deemed successful via the outcome measures described below.

West Elementary.  Luke Connally.  54 students, 3 clubs with 18 students each.  Lego Club would meet in the 1^st grade room twice a week after school.  There would be 3 separate clubs that meet for 6 weeks at a time.  Two students from each class will be selected by their teacher to participate.  Each week would have a theme or challenge for the students to focus upon.  Lego Club would help to foster in 1^st graders their skills of early engineering, math, creative problem solving, communication and social relationships.

Spearfish Middle School. Teri Bauerly. 6^th-8^th grades. Because her classroom will become the Library classroom, this grant would be used to purchase materials to provide students with flexible seating opportunities. Her goal is to create a classroom space that is welcoming and safe to students. In her STEM and computer Science courses students do work that is independent, partnered, or in groups. Students need to be able to move around in a variety of ways. Her classroom next year will have regular height tables with some standard chairs.  Stability ball chairs will help students who need to move more.  They are great for posture and strengthening core muscles.  The bottoms are smooth and curved so students can rock if needed.  The bean bag chairs, cushions and reading pillows will be for student to work on the floor independently or with partners. They can use the foldable tabletop stands to hold laptops or paperwork while sitting on the floor or floor seating.  Giving students a choice provides increased student engagement. This will be utilized in Makerspace and Spartan Tech Squad groups as well.

SMS.  Teri Bauerly.  300 students, grades 6-7-8.  Flying with Drones would provide the first ever drones at SMS!  There are two types of drones, the flying (LEGO compatible) model and the adventurous jumping model.  These drones would make a great FLEX course, Makerspace activity, and interactive tool for different content areas in the school, such as physics and mathematics.  Globally, there are not enough STEM professionals or individuals who are engineers or computer programmers.  Interest in these fields either grows or diminishes in the middle school ages.  This program would provide further opportunities to spark the interest of computer programmers and engineers at our school.  Students currently have experience building and coding robots, but have never had the experience of programming a drone.  The development and use of drones in society can be a polarizing topic, first hand understanding and experience with how and why these devices work and can be used would be beneficial to helping our students create the jobs of the future.

SHS.  Emily Benvenga.  Makerspace in SHS is already in place, but ready to grow.  Makerspaces within libraries are spaces where students have access to supplies and materials that are meant to spark their creativity, allow them to innovate, and help them experience the benefits of trying and learning something new.  At the high school, makerspace activities are available throughout the year- during Spartan time, free blocks, class time if approved by teachers, etc.  Adaptations will be made as needed based on observation and student/teacher feedback.  Makerspaces are flexible and the library implementation of them will reflect that.  Expert visits will be incorporated at the high school this year where members of the community will come in and teach the students a particular skill.  Students will then have access to the materials related to the presented skill and will have the opportunity to continue working with what they learned from the expert.  These visits occur during Spartan time and students will have to pre-register and earn their way to the visit by meeting grade expectations.  Examples of activities:  robots, circuits, building, filming, book talks/reviews, sewing, embroidering, coloring/crafting.  650 students impacted.  Grades 9-12.

Spearfish High School – Ryan Sullivan. Current numbers at 30-40 students, 9-12^th grades. Game Club continues to be a home for those kids who don’t quite fit anywhere else. It is a haven for introverts and oddballs, where kids can be themselves. We have grown to a flexible, rotating membership of about 30-40 students (kids can come and go, participate when they want without mandatory attendance issues). Our Magic: The Gathering Lunch Leagues were a big hit in February, March and April, with 12-15 students geeking out during lunch every day. Local players even donated enough to us to hold a free event for MS/HS students in March. Most recently, we held an open-to-the community tournament that helped announce the opening of a new local game store, Lookout Games. While Game Club is one of our more successful non-athletic groups at the high school, we have been winging it for three years. The SFPE grant last spring was undoubtedly the best thing to happen to us, because our budget consists solely of me selling Pop Tarts to impulsive PreCalc students (our flexible membership has made fundraising ideas difficult). I hope to make that grant a tradition that benefits both the students and our local businesses. A wish list of 30 games/accessories has been submitted to the newly opened Lookout Games and I have a soft quote of $1200 from the owner. I sincerely hope that you approve this grant so we can keep the fun going for each new generation of nerds!

Creekside Elementary.  Katie Garcia.  Genius Hour will offer a 60-minute session once per week for students to dive in and explore a topic of their choice.  Class time will take place in Mrs. Garcia’s classroom October-December with projects culminating before Christmas break.  Upon completion there will be a Genius Hour Showcase in the Creekside Elementary Commons area.  Twenty-seven students will be directly impacted through driven research and guided inquiry.  Funding will allow students to gather sufficient materials and supplies needed to make their Genius Hour project successful.  27 students impacted.

Mountain View Elementary.  Kirk Easton, Mt. View staff.  200 kindergarten students.    This funding provides books on water safety and awareness.  Each teacher will read the book, Josh the Baby Otter, with the class, and then send the book home with the student to read with their parents.  This book was created to help young children understand the importance of not approaching water unless accompanied by an adult.  With the opportunities that exist in our area for young people to be in proximity to water, it is important to plant the seed now that they need to understand the dangers that exist with creeks, streams and lakes.

Kirk Easton.  3^rd & 6^th grades.  To Prepare and Inspire Young People to Succeed in a Global Economy. JA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to economic education for young people in the United States and over 122 countries. History ‑ Founded nationally in 1919, operating in South Dakota since 1968. Annually, Junior Achievement of South Dakota is serving over 54,000 South Dakota students. Over 2,000 South Dakota classroom volunteers support JA annually. Volunteers come from all walks of life and include business people, community leaders, and retirees. JA volunteers receive necessary materials and training. Interactive, hands‑on 45‑minute activities for K‑12 curriculum. Visits range from 5‑13 visits. Independent studies prove Junior Achievement’s effectiveness and its tie to content standards. JA programs are provided at no cost to schools and are requested by teachers. In South Dakota, funding is secured through businesses, individuals, foundations, and special events. Junior Achievement of South Dakota does not receive financial support from United Way or government agencies.

SHS.  Kristin A. Meunier.  20 students.  During Spartan Time, students will be learning about and practicing mindfulness and mindful meditation.  The benefits of mindfulness- “awareness that arises through paying attention, purposely, in the present moment, non-judgmentally” include increased physical and mental health.  Mindfulness helps individuals learn to observe the experience as it is, and notice that the judgment is not the same as the event.  This is an understanding that reduces both depression and anxiety and increases compassion.  Funds cover costs for blankets for sitting, lying down and supplies for mindfulness activities.

Spearfish Middle School, Monica Waugh. 6^th-8^th grades. This grant is for KEVA Planks for the middle school library. These would be available to students and staff throughout the school day.  KEVA planks are durable maple planks that help spark interest in building and design.   They also help students learn STEM basics such as balance and proportion.  This project has the ability to impact every student and staff member in the middle school, should they wish to visit the library to explore.  Building challenges would also be available at specific time of the school year for students to participate in.

Spearfish Middle School. John Dagit. 6^th-8^th grades. Automation and Robotics is currently offered as a course taught by Mrs. Bauerly at the Middle School. Due to the increase in interest of students enrolling in the course, combined with increasing enrollment, we would like to offer additional sections of Automation and Robotics. During the 2018-2019 school year, one additional section will be offered by Mr. Dagit. The course will continue to be offered as an elective to eighth-grade students in subsequent school years. VEX Robotics kits for student use in the course have already been purchased through a curriculum buy cycle. Approximate Number of Students Impacted During the first year of implementation, approximately 25 students will take the Automation and Robotics course taught by Mr. Dagit. The course will continue to be offered at the Middle School for as long as it is supported by Project Lead the Way.

Analyzing and responding to world events in the 8th grade classroom.  Kathy Wolff  and Matthew Rohn-8th grade ELA teacher.  Spearfish Middle School. 200 students impacted.  The 8th grade teachers quest: how do we improve reading skills using leveled content that is aligned to standards and connects instruction to real world experiences? We found it—Newsela! Newsela is an online news-as-literacy platform that features current, high-interest articles on current events in everything from literature to science. Content is updated daily, with stories from a wide range of sources. All articles are Common Core-aligned and available in five Lexile levels. Each leveled text features a quiz tailored to that particular article plus a writing prompt that asks students to write and respond to what they’ve read. Each student will have access to Newsela on their school laptop and this will allow teachers to use the reading and writing features of the program in an unlimited capacity. Newsela has the capability to be incorporate into Google Classroom, which is the learning platform used by 8th grade. ELA teachers.

SHS.  Cynthia Scherer.  Create opportunities for students to direct plays at SHS and, thus, increase the number of students who can participate on and off stage in our one act show.  Two student directors and two assistant directors have been interviewed and selected.  By adding two student directed productions, the total number of winter plays goes from one to three.  The project begins November and culminates with community performance in January.  30+ students impacted (all SHS students can experience multiple theatrical performances increasing the total students impacted to 400+).

SMS.  Teri Bauerly.  300 students, 6-7-8 grades.    Piper Computer would begin as a FLEX class.  With 10 Piper Kits students will be able to work in partners to build their computer, learn about hardware, electronics, and programming.  This project would continue as students gained limitless hands-on coding experience.  The kits would then become an integral part of our Makerspace.  Our students currently learn how to code and design apps, there is even a class that lets them program robots.  However, students have not previously been able to build an entire working computer.  This project is an innovative approach to coding.  It is also an innovative approach to providing hands-on experiences for students that allows them a glimpse of future careers to consider.

SMS.  Dan Holben.  Science Day Camp offers students a field opportunity to learn about lessons studied in life science during the school year in a natural setting.  Presenters are science professionals in the life science areas.  Setting is McNenny Fish Hatchery, date is May 2018.  250 seventh grade students.

Spearfish High School. Steve Morford. Grades 9^th-12^th.  The Robotics Club was established by six students in the fall of 2017. They were initially supported by Ms. Emily Benvenga with her Makerspace program in the library. Then in December, Dr. Ben Sayler from BHSU agreed to take over as advisor. Ms. Teri Bauerly from the middle school has also been helpful in getting the club started and taking them to competitions. Due to space constraints at SHS, the club has spent most of this year working off campus in space provided at no charge by All Angels Church. The space is well suited to the club’s needs and within walking distance of the high school. They plan to continue working in that space next year. In their inaugural year, they spent the fall and winter functioning primarily as a robotics “team,” preparing for a regional competition in Rapid City in December and the state robotics tournament in Harrisburg in February. They built and programed VEX robots for the competitions. They were pleased to have qualified for the state tournament in their first year. Since February, they have been functioning more as a club, working on interesting projects on a variety of robotics platforms, including Arduino and LEGO EV3. They typically meet after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a total of four hours per week. During the month leading up to each of the competitions, they worked considerably more hours per week. The club has had consistent members throughout the year (3 freshmen, 1 junior, and 2 seniors; 3 male and 3 female). They also had 4 or 5 others attend a few meetings. They will be loosing their two senior members at the end of this year,but they expect to gain a good number of current 8th graders who are in the Middle School Robotics Club. They are optimistic that they can recruit some additional older students as well.

SMS. Leslie Wangeman/Sarah O’Donnell.  Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics or STEAM teach students how all content areas are related in school and in life.  Students will create scientific mural that will adorn the ceiling of the SMS science room.  Combining the areas of science and art departments, 30 students will be actively involved in the project and will have an opportunity to research, design create, and depict elements and their physical and chemical properties. An important part of our goal is to engage students in STEM who are not normally interested in those topics, but enjoy Art.  It will show students that you need a variety of skills to be successful in today’s world.

SMS – Sarah O’Donnell.  This program offers the world of perspective in art through the work of Dick Termes.  Mr. Termes will join our 6^th and 8^th grade classes both 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters to show students his style as applied to his world famous Termespheres.  Sixth grade students will learn about geometrical shapes with magnets inspired by the work and guidance of Mr. Termes.  He will present his artwork to the 8^th graders and then have students create their own drawing to contribute to a collaborative class tetrahedron.  400 students impacted, grades 6 and 8.

Spearfish High School. School-wide. Emily Benvenga, Librarian. We want students to have the expanded experience of reading as a collective group with both their peers and their community.   Students will engage in a higher level of reading with classroom work, book club discussions, and an author visit.   They will think about writing differently after engaging with a professional.   The goal is for students to learn how to read for pleasure rather as an assignment.   The project will provide an enriching experience that is school-wide. .At our English department meetings, we have discussed how some of our students do not own a book that is their very own.  We also continually talk about the love of reading and how we want our students to develop that as it will serve them their entire lives.   We will purchase books that can be given as gifts to our students.   Students will have the opportunities to engage in an expanded experience beyond independent reading through classroom work, book clubs, library involvement and a possibility of an author visit.   The title of the book is coordinated with the Spearfish Big Read, so not only will this experience be school-wide it will be community-wide as well.

Spearfish Middle School. Leslie Wangeman, Kelly Singer and John Dagit. 6^th-8^th grades. Thermal imagining will allow us to take an abstract concept for our students and make it concrete. The thermal camera will be used in all 6th grade science classes and Flight and Space. The camera will allow students to capture images on convection currents, radiation, and conduction. These types of transfer of thermal energy are hard for the students to comprehend. By allowing the students to use the thermal camera to capture the world around them we will be helping them connect the concepts in the classroom to their everyday lives. Right now our data shows us that our students struggle with connecting thermal energy, kinetic energy and density. This is an essential learning outcome in 6th grade. The camera will be utilized throughout the school year in order to let our students create connections between these concepts easier. Approximate Number of Students Impacted There will be over 200 hundred 6th grade students impacted along with 120-150 8th grade students. The students will be able to use the thermal camera to investigate the effects of thermal energy around them. The classes will utilize the camera continuously throughout the school year in order to increase their depth of understanding. Students will use the thermal camera to take pictures of different experiments and projects to see how the changes in thermal energy occur. Flight and Space students will be utilizing the camera to see how the temperature of air affects the flight of fixed wing aircraft along with hot air balloons.

Creekside – Lauren Jones.  Creekside Elementary.  550 students.  Grades 3-5.  This is the current title of the program previously referred to as “Timez Attack” which SFPE has supported for several years.  This is a powerful multiplication game that presents multiplication challenges to children in an environment that features rich computer graphics, quality sound effects and a fascinating adventure in mathematics that keeps kids enthralled with the game, while learning math along the way.  Both pre- and post- tests are provided, as well as student progress reports to show a more detailed view of the mastery of multiplication facts.  Additionally, Imagine Learning Math Facts contains a powerful retention component to ensure students retain their learned facts. In addition, subtraction and division components are included in this program.

SHS.  Steve Gabriel.  This project takes place at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (Surface, 2000, 4100 and 4850-foot levels).  Funds have been previously provided by SFPE.  The first flow meter was installed at the 4850 level in the fall of 2012.  With the help of three SFPE grants, a South Dakota Earth and Space Science Grant and two rounds of science curriculum purchases the flow meter network now has six networked flow meters with data being consolidated and graphed on a laptop located on the surface of the lab.  The flow meter network is being utilized by scientists and engineers at the lab to help design the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) for the Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE).  The flow meter network data has been analyzed by freshman in physical science and seniors in physics for the past five years.  This year’s students will do the analysis with a few highly involved students to monitor, maintain, configure, upgrade and travel underground with me to perform maintenance on the underground flow meter network.  130 students impacted, grades 9 and 12.

SMS – Paula Farley. This project incorporates creating a clay pot and writing a story using the voice of the pot.  This is a FLEX class at the middle school and has received previous SFPE funding.  25-30 students impacted.

SMS.  Teri Aberle.  Funding would cover the purchase of 3-4 wobble chairs for our classroom.  Flexible seating was implemented in our classroom in Fall 2016. There has been amazing feedback from both parents and students.  Students have requested more alternative seating.  It is believed that these wobble chairs will provide an outlet for the students who need to “wiggle and wobble” during class time.  Chairs would be accessible and used by the 79 students.