Items Needed Include: 

• Toiletries
• Canned goods and packaged food
• Children’s books
• Household cleaning supplies
• School supplies/backpacks

For more information, visit: https://ntps.news/stuffthebus

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE INFORMATION SESSION

Join us for the 19th Annual “Because of You” Fundraising Luncheon on Friday, October 15, at 11:30 a.m. at Indian Summer. The event will also be available as a virtual online event.

The lunch is complimentary, but we request that all guests register. A $100 minimum donation is encouraged. Donations raised at the luncheon will help our district’s neediest kids and their families, fund the Foundation’s scholarship program and support our teachers with Learning Improvement Grants.

There are both sponsorship and volunteer opportunities available. Please get in touch with Mike Jones at (360) 790-6548 or [email protected].

REGISTER HERE

Jerad Koepp, a Native American student program specialist at North Thurston Public Schools in Lacey, has been named the Washington state teacher of the year for 2022, the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced Monday.

Koepp has been a teacher for 16 years, including eight years in his current role.

Koepp provides cultural and academic support for about 230 Native American students from more than 50 tribes, nations, bands, and villages in the 22-school district, according to OSPI.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

*Photo is courtesy of the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

NTEF is pleased to have been selected as the supported charity for the 12th Annual Charity Scramble Golf Tournament at Firecreek Ale House on Saturday, September 18.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH – 1:00 PM SHOTGUN START

CAPITOL CITY GOLF COURSE – REGISTRATION AT 11:30 AM

Entry: $100 per player / $400 per team

Entry fee includes range balls, golf cart, dinner plus fun and prizes.

See more information and the entry form: Firecreek Golf tournament entry form 2021

Sponsorship Opportunities are available. Learn more here 2021 NTEF Golf Sponsorship Opportunities

We hope to see you on the course!

We are so pleased to be able to help students like Danielle and wish her and all our other scholarship recipients success in the future!

Our student assistance grants, learning improvement grants and scholarships all help students in North Thurston overcome barriers to successful learning.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We recently received a note from Jennifer Gould, North Thurston Public School  – McKinney Vento Student Navigator at Timberline High School.

Good Afternoon Mike,

Thank you NTEF for supporting our seniors at Timberline High School. Not only did this student appreciate the cap & gown but also took the opportunity to say thank you for supporting Timberline Senior Social.

Jennifer forwarded a note a student had hand-written expressing thanks!

Thanks to YOU for your continued generosity that allows us to support students in NTPS!

The North Thurston Education Foundation has awarded scholarships with a total value of $181,500 to 46 graduating seniors from North Thurston Public Schools.

“We are delighted to award scholarships to 46 of our graduating NTPS seniors. Our selection process was very competitive this year due to the high quality of our student applications. These students, who spent most of their final two years of high school learning online, are articulate, strong, and resilient. It is an honor to support them as they take their next steps in life. We are thankful to our gracious donors who support the North Thurston Education Foundation Scholarship program. Due to their generosity, several newly named scholarships were offered this year. We appreciate the kindness of this community and their support of our students and schools, “ said Beth Utto-Galarneau, Scholarship Chair.

Scholarships awarded range from $2,000 to $14,000. Applications were evaluated on several factors, including academic achievement, school and community activities, references, quality of the required essay and financial need.

Named Scholarships: The scholarship program includes designated named endowed scholarships and Foundation-funded scholarships.
In 2021, 20 named scholarships were awarded to the following students:

Alex Ward Memorial Scholarship – Joseph Oliver – North Thurston
Bakala State Farm Scholarship – Paige Madrid – River Ridge
Bill Williams Memorial Scholarship – Makayla Hamlin – River Ridge
Charles E. Callahan Education Scholarship – Austin Caswell – North Thurston
Colton Thorstrom Smith Scholarship – Cindy Villa Cervantes – River Ridge
Lisa Corwin Memorial Scholarship – Samir Amin – North Thurston
Davies Vocational-Technical Scholarship – Garrett Whitely – River Ridge
Frank Parker Memorial Scholarship – Julie Vu – Timberline
Friends and Family Scholarship – Danielle Hunter – Timberline
James Koval Memorial Scholarship – Austin Benjamin – River Ridge
Jeannette Hostetter Ford Memorial Scholarship-  Ja’Lynn Howard – River Ridge
John Gott Education Scholarship – Aaron Kelly – Timberline
Roy Pedersen Memorial Scholarship – Taja Brooks – Timberline
Dr. G. Sue Shannon Scholarship – Keikilani Naipo – Timberline
Nicholas T. Walker Scholarship – Baylen Ratliff – River Ridge
United Youth Movement Scholarship – David Guillen – Timberline
Lewis R. Hawthorne & Edna C. Hawthorne Scholarships –
Mateo Abadesco – Timberline
Corbin Reeves – Timberline
Ethan Warner – North Thurston
Haven Barnes – North Thurston

Foundation Scholarships: Foundation Scholarships are awarded annually. In 2021, 26 foundation scholarships were awarded to the following students:

North Thurston High School: Rhea Lynne Herradura, Joel Hugdahl, Kaiana Delos Santos, Zachary Mayer, Shane Avery, Sage Barnes, Nicole Krambs and Dylan Sutton

River Ridge High School: Annabelle Kirkwood, Chloe Buchanan, Chandler Ketelsen, Jeremy Stalcup, Keyona Tartt and Makayli Taylor

Timberline High School: Myia Avent, Natalie Nguyen, Sarah Horlacher, Seiji Naotsuka, Natalie Scott, Kailynn Faltenberger, Noelani Allison, Eli Bell, Benjamin Rim, Chloey Olson, Elise MacDonald and Kodi Smith-Cruz

Sixteen of the scholarships are named after individuals in the community and funded by bequests from or donations on behalf of the persons they are named. The remaining scholarships were funded solely by the Foundation’s annual fund-raising and by an unrestricted grant from the Dawkins Charitable Trust. To view a list of scholarship establishment history and details, visit: https://ntef.org/special-named-endowed-scholarships/.
Congratulations students and best of luck with all your future endeavors! 

Good Morning Michael,

I just wanted to thank you and NTEF for helping to make our Reading Initiative a rousing success. In this incredibly challenging time, encouraging and teaching reading skills has been exceptionally difficult. Without a doubt, this initiative has helped to boost students, families, and staff in their effort, skill, and enthusiasm for reading. In the eight-week run of our program, we utilized Flipgrid to allow students to read some of their favorite books aloud; these videos were available to the whole school to enjoy. We selected some of the best and greatest examples of increased skill to promote and encourage reading through book gift certificate rewards. The three chosen read alouds were shared with the school weekly (both in remote & hybrid class settings), giving the student population a chance to listen for comprehension and answer three questions on a Kahoot online game.

The reading committee spent countless hours listening to student readings and developing appropriate Kahoot questions to create the weekly games. With the addition of our PTA’s support, we were able to extend our program and utilize your funds for primarily book gift certificates. Many of our entrants and winners came from our learning assistance program, which is an amazing gift of confidence and encouragement from staff and peers.

Our Read-Aloud Challenge Initiative was featured weekly in our morning announcements, sharing the three winning readers (and gift certificate winners) and challenging students to listen and answer the Kahoot to win prizes. Our principal then spun the “wheel of names,” which included all the individuals who answered 100% correctly in the previous week to determine the group of that week’s winners. We had 140 read alouds submitted, 2,943 views of those readings, 251 positive comments on the readings, 243 hours of engagement, and 443 Kahoot entries throughout the run of this program.

We cannot thank you enough for your generous grant, as it has enriched both a love of lifelong reading for participants and enhanced our school community as a whole.  I hope you find it to have been a worthwhile investment, as we certainly have.

Jesse Klemonsky, on behalf of the OVE Reading Committee
Kindergarten Room #103
Olympic View Elementary

We recently talked with NTEF Board Member Sans Gilmore. Enjoy our conversation below!

NTEF: How did you first become involved with NTEF?
Sans: I met Mike Jones about three years ago during a local marketing meeting. I came to understand the NTEF mission through Mike and started donating.

NTEF: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Sans: I enjoy gardening, agate hunting, and traveling with my wife. We have our garden planted for this year, including 270 garlic plants. Earlier this month, we took a four-day weekend trip to the Oregon coast to hunt for agates. We found about 20 pounds worth. Last weekend we spent four days with our daughter, who the US Dept of Agriculture recently hired as an entomologist in Blaine, WA.

NTEF: How do you believe the community can best support the work of NTEF, particularly now during COVID-19?
Sans: I am a firm believer in the NTEF mission. And, two of the best ways to help NTEF are to volunteer (e.g., to pack lunches) and donate. The volunteers meet at Columbia Bank in Lacey and organize and pack donated food for ongoing distribution to students. NTEF supports many homeless students and students who depend on NTEF for supplemental food, scholarships, etc. COVID-19 interrupted the usual support programs. However, the NTEF Board and other supporters are geniuses, and they figured out ways to help their students even when their students could not attend school on campus. Volunteers make the system work. Concerning donations, you don’t need to donate a lot. I suggest $10/month but make it a recurring donation. NTEF is a great program, and Mike Jones is a great leader.