Testimonials

Dear Gilbert Education Foundation,

Thanks so much for the books awarded through your gracious mini grant. Gilbert Intermediate students will treasure the close to 100 books for a very long time. Thank you so much we will always be grateful for your generosity. To grow intellectually our gifted Gilbert students need challenging books.  These books provided complex plots, carefully developed characters and opportunity to explore topics in depth.  These books spark their imaginations, broaden their horizons and cause them to wonder and question. Thank you again for your thoughtful grant!

Sincerely,

Bonnie May

Kindergarten - Deal's Apple Orchard Field Trip

Kindergarten - Deal's Apple Orchard Field Trip

Kindergarten - Deal's Apple Orchard Field Trip

Kindergarten - Deal's Apple Orchard Field Trip

I feel very thankful to have such a supportive school like Gilbert to help purchase materials  (CVC , word families, and sight word games) to help students to become better readers. My first graders said that they didn’t like the games but loved them!  The best part was that they didn’t even realize that they were learning and were feeling very successful as readers.

Kathy Halleland

1^st Grade Reading Specialist

The Games Club at Gilbert Middle School wanted to thank you for the opportunity to bowl today. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed the experience. Many strikes, spares, and high-fives were had.

Thank you again,

Katy Charlson and Lindsey Good

The Chicago art history trip was an amazing experience, and I am so grateful I got to go on it. The class of art history taught me a lot about different artists, but the trip was the perfect supplement to experience art in real life. Mrs. Maguire took us through the art museum in Chicago and showed us pieces we had learned about in class. She showed us how to critically look at art in ways we couldn't in the classroom. This made me very interested in art. When I went to New York City over the summer I went to several art museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Frick Collection, and MoMA, and I got so much more enjoyment out of them because of what I learned on the art history trip. I have never spent so long in a museum before and actually had fun. The class and the trip to Chicago helped install a life long love of art in me that I might not have developed otherwise.

I loved the Mississippi River Museum.  I enjoyed the octopus and the colorful fish.  I learned a lot from fish in the gulf of Mexico to the steamboats on the Mississippi.  I loved the trip.

Going to the Mississippi Museum was very educational and fun.  I learned about the natural and economical views of the river.  Being at the river was a lot of fun.

I liked the trip to the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque.  It showed me lots of facts about mark Twain and inspired me to write about that topic for our upcoming Language Arts paper.

Going to the Mississippi River and Aquarium was not only fun but also very educational.  I like learning about the history.

I thought going to the Mississippi River was an awesome experience.  My favorite part was seeing the alligator gar in the aquarium.  I really thought the field trip was really cool.

Thanks for sending us to the Mississippi River Museum. My favorite part was the steamboats, the alligator, and the turtles. Thank you, again. 

"We are so appreciative of the Gilbert Education Foundation for funding experiences such as field trips for students. The preschoolers were able to visit Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge. Students have opportunities to get real life exposure to concepts introduced in class. The connection that students are able to make when given opportunities to see those concepts at work outside the school walls is something that cannot be measured by a test or given a quantitative value. Thank you for making the education of even our youngest learners a priority for your foundation." - Heather Currans - Pre-School Teacher

"This is a field trip that teachers, students, and parents enjoy immensely.  I usually have 2 students to every parent.  This gives them a chance to read the signs and talk about the habitat.  Blank Park Zoo is a good size for our 1st graders.  It's not too big, we can easily see it during our time there.  We usually have time to go back and visit our favorites.  Who doesn't enjoy watching the sea lions splashing, the penguins strutting, and this year the new rhino exhibit.  Getting the chance to see animals that are not native to our state or continent, is so important in building background for our students.  Thank you to the Gilbert Education Foundation for making this trip possible for our first graders."

"Every Year the 2nd grade attends a field trip to the Des Moines Science Center.  Some of the highlights include learning about Solids and Liquids through a show called "Fire and Ice". We also discover how much fun science can be in a lab called, "Chemistry Creations".  Throughout the day, students also get to experience Hands-On-Science through the many different exhibits.  It is truly a worthwhile experience for all 2nd graders."  - Randy Sniezek

This is by far the best field trip fourth graders have the opportunity to go on. They get the opportunity to learn so much about Iowa history in an awesome environment!

Living History Farms provides an amazing learning opportunity where the kids can experience different time periods in Iowa's history.  It's something they won't forget!

"I really like the opportunity our kids had to go to the Iowa Cubs Game and extend the classroom.  I feel kids got to see a real life business in action.  These are unique learning opportunities in a fun environment.  Some of the studetns commented that they never thought of the Iowa Cubs as a business and it was interesting to see it from that perspective.

It also afforded the kids an opportunity to learn how to conduct hemselves in a public setting.  It showed me, a chaperone, how great we have it in Gilbert!

Many thanks to the Foundation and the 7th grade team for providing this opportunity for our kids."

The iPads have enhanced our science curriculum by allowing our students the opportunity to share their experiments, activities, pictures, and notes with me as well as with their parents and classmates through email!

4th graders LOVE reading books on the iPads!  We have high interest books at different reading levels, allowing all students to learn and enjoy this experience.  We even have audio books that give my lowest readers the opportunity to hear and follow along with 4th grade level books.

Math apps provide different levels of difficulty during our math stations.  Reading apps provide enrichment as well as practice opportunities for students.  Science apps and videos bring real world things into our classroom.

Thank you so much for the wonderful document camera and projector. I feel very fortunate to be in a district that can support the arts the way the have here.  I have enjoyed getting to know the camera and I am excited to use it with my instruction. I am especially grateful for the projector.  I am able to show quality images to my students within moments. I don't have to 'rent' one from the LMC. Which also means I don't have to set up and take down during my class time.  It is so handy to have whenever I want or need it. Also, I have noticed that the students are impressed by the document camera and its functionality of real time and still photos.

The document camera and projector are the greatest teaching tool I have ever had.  Students love seeing their work on display.  I can demonstrate and zoom in on art work for class discussions.  As a visual aide it has really improved my instruction as students can see it easier from their seats.

These torque wrenches help our students advance in technology by using industry current techniques to provide problem solving skills in real world environments.

"I would like to sincerely thank the Foundation for giving us a chance to go to an I-Cubs game.  The ability to talk to workers at Principal Park greatly enhanced our Youth Marketplace projects and helped us gain valuable insight into the world of buisiness.  The trip was also great because we had a chance to have a great time with our classmates and support the Iowa Cubs at the same time.  Going to the game was a great experience and I hope it stays around as it helped us in many ways and I believe every student at Gilbert should be able to take part in this fun event."

"The I-Cubs field trip was a great opportunity to get out of the classroom and use the skills we learned from Youth MarketPlace and apply them to a real situation.  It was fun to watch the game because it was nice out and we won!  It was a great way to show us how to use those skills and still have fun".

"The Iowa Cubs field trip was a great opportunity for me and my classmates to learn while having fun.  I took my learnings from the Youth Market Place unit and applied them to the real world.  I enjoyed getting out of the classroom, especially since it was nice out and they won!  This was one of my favorite field tirps ever and I had so much fun!"