Kunsberg School: What's New
Promethean Interactive White Board Technology
Promethean Interactive White Board Technology comes to Kunsberg thanks to a generous donation from The Morgridge Family Foundation.
Kunsberg teachers and students are now able to experience the cutting-edge technology of interactive white boards in the classroom. This opportunity was made possible by a large designated contribution from the The Morgridge Family Foundation to help expand technology opportunities at Kunsberg.
Six Promethean Interactive White Boards were installed in April of 2009: one in each grade-level classroom. These classes were selected based on teacher input and a willingness to take additional classes in professional development. Teachers received training on how to use the new boards.
Two more Promethean Interactive White Boards were installed in June of 2010: one in the library and one in our fine arts music room.
The touch-sensitive boards allow teachers and student to interact with an image on the board, whether it be text, pictures or video. Auditory learners benefit from activities that might include listening to music, speech repetition or poetry recitation-all illustrated on the board.
In addition, students can physically interact with the board by writing and manipulating answers directly on it; and by using a unique software program, teachers can assess how well the students understand the material. Promethean Interactive Whiteboards create a motivating classroom, engage students and positively impact their learning.
If funding is made possible, Kunsberg hopes to purchase more of these boards in the future.
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wiis were purchased in December of 2009 for each of our grade-level classrooms thanks to a generous donation from Steven Moss.
The Wiis will be used in each of the classrooms as both an academic tool and a motivation tool. Teachers will be able to access world news and weather from the Nintendo Wii channels in order to teach students about weather patterns, current news and events, and many other lessons. Teachers also use it as a motivation tool for students who get all of their work done on time.
One of our teachers even uses the Nintendo Wii to help her run spelling bees on Friday mornings. Students are put into two teams and if they spell the word correctly, they are then allowed to bowl for their team. If the word is spelled incorrectly, the other team is allowed to bowl a gutter ball for them. This is a great motivation tool to get students to practice their spelling words before the spelling test.
New Computers
New computers, donated by U.S. Engineering, engage students at Kunsberg School.
Kunsberg has been fortunate to receive funding to buy all new computers for the staff, classrooms, and library. All of our computers are connected to the same network, allowing students to start a project downstairs in the computer lab and finish it up in their classroom. This has greatly enhanced the learning opportunity for Kunsberg children.
H. Tyler Nottberg, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Engineering, donated $80,000 in 2011 for new computers, new textbooks, and other materials that will help provide Kunsberg School students with a strong education and a promising future.
“We were thrilled to be able to financially support Kunsberg School, but we were even more excited about getting to know the exceptional students and teachers who make this school so great,” said H. Tyler Nottberg.
Updated Curriculum
Kunsberg adopted a new reading series in the fall of 2008 called Houghton Mifflin and for the first time ever, children are learning from the same series and in a sequential order that transfers from grade to grade.
We have lengthened the school day and added literacy time so teachers can have more instructional time with the students. Kunsberg has one of the longest school days in the state (7:45-3:20) for a five day school, but this allows children to spend more time in an educational setting.
