Herb Kohl Foundation Award recipient Paula Norman allocated grant funds to project
For the Tomahawk Leader
TOMAHAWK – Tomahawk educator Paula Norman, who was among the recipients of the 2022 Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellowship Award, recently allocated the grant funds toward a project that will help encourage children and adults alike to read.
StoryWalk® Exhibits, from Pannier Graphics, are pedestal frames that display story pages between two pieces of acrylic. The pedestals are designed to be installed along outdoor paths near schools, libraries or other places throughout communities.
Norman, who is the School District of Tomahawk’s Library Media/Instructional Technology Coordinator, chose to place the StoryWalk® on the playground at Tomahawk Elementary School (TES), where students can enjoy them during recess, and families can use them throughout the year.
“Our school is in a small rural community in northern Wisconsin,” Norman stated. “Here, the school is a cornerstone of the community, and literacy is a big part of a successful community. Families use the school playground year-round, so I wanted to promote literacy while families were using the playground.”
Pannier Graphics noted that the StoryWalk® signs will be able to withstand northern Wisconsin’s harsh winters.
“It was a delight working with Paula on this project,” Pannier said. “As a librarian, she is looking forward to sharing stories with her community with these signs.”
This week, Norman displayed the book, Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden, by George Levenson.
“We took our first classes out to the StoryWalk® today and they were so excited,” Norman said after using the exhibit for the first time. “The best part is we will update the signage monthly with a new book. My dream came true.”
