Every year the Newsom Family Endowment for the Arts awards a grant to a deserving art project in RRGSD. The grant was established some years ago by Mac Newsom who graduated from Roanoke Rapids High School. His dream was in his words, “to keep the arts alive in our school”.
This year’s recipients are both teachers at Chaloner Middle School. Chaloner’s Band Instructor Christian Boletchek is being awarded $2400 to purchase additional student model instruments and Art Instructor Shelly Rideout will receive a $1300 grant to further expand art instruction at CMS.
Rideout plans to use her grant to expand the digital portion of her program by purchasing virtual reality goggles. The goggles will allow students to have a unique experience inside some of the world's most famous art museums.
To date the endowment has awarded more than $13,000 to teachers in the Roanoke Rapids Graded School District.