Spring 2023 NEHS Project Grants have been awarded to four schools across the USA. The Advisory Council was very happy to be able to provide all four schools with grants to support their on-going academic and community-focused projects. Keep reading to learn a little more about each project:
Order of the Oreinos Leon Chapter, Newnan High School, Newnan, GA
Jamie Rambo, Chapter Advisor for the Order of the Oreinos Leon Chapter at Newnan High School submitted a project grant proposal on behalf of their students, which focuses on the planning and publishing of a literary magazine for the school. The annual multi-disciplinary publication will include not only students’ poetry, short stories, and nonfiction essays, but also examples of fine art and photography.
The NEHS Project Grant will support the project by providing funding to design and print the literary magazine, significantly named The Phoenix. In 2021, Newnan High School was destroyed by a tornado, leaving only three of the campus’s thirteen buildings in a usable state. As Rambo notes, “our literary magazine’s name signifies a rebirth . . . a rebirth of connectivity and creativity for our students and the school community from the trauma of both the tornado and the pandemic.”
The Innisfree Chapter, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, Fort Lauderdale, FL
The Innisfree Chapter has a long history of community service. In the Project Grant application, Chapter Advisor Vanessa Necolettos explains that “tutoring, which has been a mainstay of this school’s NEHS mission” will continue but that NEHS student members want to build upon the success of their first Free Little Library project by developing another at a local middle school.
NEHS Project Grant funding will allow not only the new Free Little Library project to be developed and executed but will also mean that NEHS student members can continue their middle school tutoring program and ship the books they receive through their many book drives. All the projects that the Project Grant will support will help schools in Southern Florida that have been devastated by recent flooding.
BCHS Literati Chapter, Bear Creek High School, Lakewood, CO
Shala Fjetland, Chapter Advisor for the BCHS Literati submitted a grant proposal focused on developing a school-wide poetry slam event to be hosted at a local coffee shop. The slam will allow students from across the Bear Creek High School community to participate in many ways: by sharing their poetry in a three-round slam competition, by judging as unbiased audience members, or by listening as their peers perform their poetry on stage.
Fjetland noted that, “offering this experience to our students promotes creativity, self-expression, and important life skills that will be invaluable as they continue to discover and hone their voices.” The event, which will be hosted by an NEHS student member MC, will offer prizes such as stickers, Tattered Cover Bookstore gift cards, and Front Porch Coffee Shop gift cards to winning students.
King Philip Chapter, King Philip Regional High School, Wrentham, MA
Chapter Advisor Jennifer Walden submitted a strong proposal for a Little Free Library to be created on the school’s campus with the aim of promoting reading outside of class in an accessible way. Students will take a book and leave a book to ensure that the library remains sustainable throughout the school year.
King Philip Chapter student members will promote their project throughout the year via social media as well as through posters that will be displayed in the school’s libraries and elementary, middle, and high school campuses. NEHS members are hopeful that their project will support and encourage wide-ranging reading among students of all ages.
NEHS Project Grants are available for both fall and spring semester projects. The next application period will be in fall 2023 for projects taking place in spring 2024.
More from NEHSXpress: May 16, 2023
Fall 2023 Coming Attractions
Eastern Advisory Council Position Open
Graduating Student Survey
Graduation Merchandise
