HELENA — This week’s One Class at a Time recipient is Helena Middle School (HMS) Librarian Amy Friez.
Friez is helping students learn programming skills while recycling old technology in a fun way.
Members of First Interstate Bank were joined by KXLH to surprise her at HMS with a $250 check.
The money will be used to buy old rotary phones that maker’s space students will program certain numbers to play a recording.
“The kids will be able to do the coding on it and create the project, which I think is really inspiring for kids in showing them the kinds of things they can do with coding,” said Friez.
The hope is to distribute the phones throughout the school with oral histories, poems and other interesting facts.
Friez is hoping to purchase a few phones but says older rotary phones can be hard, or expensive to come by.
People can also donate their old rotary phone to HMS for the student project.
“I want to say thank you for this grant,” added Friez. “The students are going to love this project. Being able to see something from beginning to end in coding I think is the key to getting kids to want to code.”
For more than a decade, First Interstate Bank and MTN have partnered for the One Class at a Time grant. The mission of the grant is to foster educational opportunities for local teachers and students.
A panel of retired teachers and school officials select the grant recipients from a pool of submitted applications.
For more information about One Class at a Time, including how to apply, visit here.
