Ogden School Foundation -

Another great teacher highlight today! Congratulations to Sara Jakoubek from New Bridge Elementary, winner of the Telitha Lindquist Greiner Excellence in Teaching Award for the 24-25 school year! A few of her nominations include:

-Sara is always willing to try new approaches in order to ensure the best instruction for students. She uses her data constantly to make decisions in planning and instruction. She is magical with students in the classroom and with their families.
-Not only is she a supportive coworker, but each student and their growth is also present in her mind. She finds unique ways to push each child to their best and meet them where they are to bring them to success. She creates a strong positive classroom.
-Sara is a motivated and supportive educator who goes beyond academics to help students grow socially and emotionally. With dedication and care, she creates a positive learning environment where every student feels valued and empowered to succeed!
-Everything Sara does begins with the relationships she forms with her students. From the relationships, she is able to motivate them, build their self-efficacy, and help them make consistent progress academically, emotionally, and behaviorally.

CLASSROOM GRANTS STORY! Mr. Mojica, a science teacher at Highland Junior High, is always looking for creative ways to make science fun, engaging, and easy for his students to understand, helping them see science beyond the pages of a textbook. This can be especially difficult with topics that are hard to visualize. So when it came time to learn about human metabolism, Mr. Mojica used Classroom Grants Program funding to add a human torso model to his classroom. Now, instead of only looking at diagrams, students can explore in a hands-on, 3D way by removing organs, examining their shapes and structures, and seeing how they fit and function together. With stopwatches and notebooks (also funded by the grant), students are tracking heart rate changes and recording their findings, deepening their understanding of how the body creates and uses energy.

"Thank you so much for supporting our project," said Mr. Mojica. "My students were so excited when the models of the human torso arrived. The moment I pulled them out of the boxes, the class buzzed with curiosity and amazement. Many of them immediately wanted to point out the organs they recognized and ask questions about how they all worked together. This has sparked deeper conversations and helped my students grasp concepts that were hard to visualize before. These resources will continue to make science engaging, interactive, and meaningful for my students. You've brought the human body to life in our classroom!"

Oh, what fun! We had so much fun at Christmas Village in December, volunteering at the Breakfast Exchange Club of Ogden’s hot chocolate booth to help raise funds for the Shoes for Tots program, which provides shoes for students in need. We’re grateful for the many organizations that support students and families in our community. We love this time of year!

We’re excited to highlight another new board member, the incredible Kellee Belnap! Here’s what Kellee had to say about joining the Ogden School Foundation Board:

"As the Director of Young Caring for Our Young (ThinkCaring.org), a foundation dedicated to empowering children in our community by addressing urgent needs in areas like education, hunger, clothing, and well-being, I chose to join the Ogden School Foundation board because I strongly believe that education is a powerful lever for breaking the cycle of poverty and creating opportunity. Through my work at Young Caring, I’ve seen firsthand how the right resources, school supplies, emotional support, and access to basic needs such as clothing through our KIND Fund, can help students not only survive, but truly thrive. I want to contribute my experience in nonprofit leadership, community partnerships, and child advocacy to help guide decisions that support all students; especially those who may be facing hardship outside the classroom. I’m excited to collaborate with this board to strengthen our schools and ensure every child has a fair shot at a bright future."