Mini grant-winning teachers in Lenoir County were surprised with award checks in December, and now classroom projects are coming to life.
Kim Hipkiss, CPR teacher at North Lenoir High School, submitted a grant application in hopes of getting her students new infant mannequins for CPR practice.
She called her project, “Baby, come back.”
“I needed more baby mannequins so that I could certify more students,” Hipkiss said.
Fourteen Lenoir County teachers were given mini grants up from $200 to $500 for various education projects — the amounts ranged from the $200 Karen Hall from Banks Elementary School was awarded, to Hipkiss and seven LCS nurses winning the maximum $500. The Lenoir County Education Foundation raised more than $6,500 through an adult spelling bee and the STAGES performing art program.
Hipkiss was one of the $500 award winners.
The certification classes are a part of the health sciences curriculum for students who hope to have a career in health care.
North Lenoir senior Justin Shimer plans to become a dentist and said the new dolls will be helpful for health courses.
“It’s going to help us train better,” he said. “Having new equipment and technology makes it easier to learn. New things happen all the time, so you need to be prepared for all of it.”
Although he has a dental dream, he said it’s always good to be prepared by knowing standard CPR.
“It’s definitely about time for some (new mannequins),” Shimer said.
The class has nine infant dummies, but some of them are missing limbs. They are washed with antibacterial solution after each use, but a need for disposable lungs was included in the grant application.
Hipkiss will order five new mannequins and one-time use lung bags, “any day now,” she said.
There are 40 students in the two health science classes and 16 are trained at a time. Students in the curriculum have to be CPR-certified before they can observe at the county’s clinical agency.
She said the health science program will host lunch modules so the course students can show their classmates across North Lenoir CPR skills.
“We’re trying to get more kids exposed to it in the school,” Hipkiss said.
With so many students around, she said it was tough to actually complete the application in October.
“Teaching is very demanding of your time,” she said. “Finding the time is really the biggest challenge.”
Hipkiss, who’s won the annual mini grant twice before, said she will continue to submit for the award asking for updated equipment.
“The dummies we had weren’t up to standard, and health care ethical codes change yearly and you need to be up-to-date,” said North Lenoir senior Jorie Edwards, who plans to be a physician’s assistant. “I feel like with these upgraded materials that we’d be able to do a just job.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
BREAKOUT BOX:
2012 Lenoir County Education Foundation Mini Grant Winners
Banks Elementary School
Karen Hall, $200
Contentnea-Savannah School
Jeannie Holmes, $485
Coleman Becton, $488
Kinston High School
Michael Moon, Kimberly Collette, Savannah Sharp, $448
Moss Hill Elementary School
Wesley Letchworth, $483
Catherine Lynch, $498
North Lenoir High School
Kim Hipkiss, $500
Northwest Elementary School
Rachel Singer, $485
Teresa Singer, $499
South Lenoir High School
Lesli Casey, $500
Southeast Elementary School
Jennifer Bell and Brenda Griffin, $480
Woodington Middle School
Jean Whaley, $498
Yvonne Hardy, $494
Lenoir County Public School Nurses
Elizabeth Hartford, Wanda Hoffman, Lynn Davis, Nicole Sugg, Bailey Sasser, Christy Elmore, Angie Stroud, $500