The Suffield Foundation for Excellent Schools (SFES) has bestowed two mini-grants of $500, one for a sports team and the other for the school's special education department.
Suffield High School senior Dan D’Ostuni and advisor Luis Lee, representing the Suffield Wildcats boys lacrosse team, were awarded a mini-grant of $500. The grant will absorb the cost of . The team will spend time with the Seneca Nation people, immersed in their lifestyle and traditions, with both cultures connecting and learning through their love of lacrosse.
The team will play a variant of lacrosse called box lacrosse to improve the team's offensive short-stick skills and defensive speed, agility and footwork.
When the team isn't playing in scrimmages and tournament games, team members will participate in cultural activities and learn about the past and present of the Seneca Nation. Most of their time will be spent on the Seneca Nation reservations. The trip runs from March 22 to March 25.
The second mini-grant recipient was Barbara Klaus, a special education teacher at Suffield High School. Klaus received a $500 mini-grant for her special education reading intervention program.
Klaus is purchasing five Kindle Touch e-readers to help students diagnosed with reading difficulties. The devices provide many opportunities for assistance with reading skills, with features that make reading more engaging and increase instructional relevancy. They also provide text formatting and reading guidance that reluctant readers need to improving reading skills.
SFES mini-grant proposals are welcome from Suffield Public School personnel, including teachers, administrators and other school staff members, as well as students, individual Suffield citizens or other organizations. The mini-grants are designed to support unique educational experiences that fall outside of the SFES traditional grant process or criteria.
Mini-grants offer an abbreviated application process and less restrictive criteria than the group's traditional grants. The maximum amount for a mini-grant is $500. Grants are awarded monthly until the organization reaches its budget threshold for this allotted program.
For additional information on SFES and Grants In Action eligibility, visit the SFES website.
