Students at Sunrise Elementary school in Sturgeon Bay were given an opportunity to expand their learning beyond the classroom thanks to a grant from the 3rd annual Rock the Dock for Education fundraising event last month. Supported by The Friends of Sturgeon Bay Schools, the group helps to fund unique programming outside of the school district budget. One grant specifically was used to purchase a TIME for Kids subscription for fourth grade, sparking student interest in news and world events. 

Fourth grade teacher Jenny Rabas introduced the magazine to her students and utilized it in several ways. Not only was it a way to connect students to what was happening in the world around them, but it served as a meaningful stepping stone for facilitating enriching classroom discussions and research. 

“I was looking for a way to, if we ever had downtime in our classroom, to fill that with something meaningful for our kids,” said Rabas, “we learned so many fascinating things and the kids really enjoyed reading and talking about the articles.” 

Through the grant, Rabas was able to get two sets of classroom copies of the magazine that were shared between three classrooms plus a digital version. At the end of the year, she sent students home with articles in hopes that it would inspire their summer reading, trips to the library, and foster parent to child connectivity through discussions at home. Rabas said the subscriptions were a valuable tool in her classroom and that she was very grateful for the grant. 

“I just like knowing that there’s people in our community that want to help our kids in the classroom,” added Rabas, “we get a budget as a fourth grade, but it it only goes so far, so the extra things like getting a subscription, there’s not money for that in our regular budget so it’s nice to know there’s ways to get funding for things that will improve our kids lives in the classroom.”

Photo Credit: Jenny Rabas