MESTRACT GRANT WINNERS

In 2004, twenty-six Eastern Suffolk BOCES teachers and one parent won grants totaling over $31,000 from the Mid East Suffolk Teacher Center. Winners competed for grants ranging from $500 to $1000 under the Terri Peters Mini-Grant, Technology Grant or Parent Grant programs. RCSD’s innovative and hardworking teachers and parent groups have outdone themselves this year as they pulled in 15 of those 26 mini-grant awards from the Mid-East Suffolk Teacher’s Center (MESTRACT).

Recipients will display their projects at the Mini-Grant Showcase on May 20, 2004 from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm at the Inn at East Wind in Wading River. Further information is available at http://mestract.ieaccess.net.

These mini-grants, named for Terri Peters a former teacher and principal in the Riverhead schools, give Suffolk County teachers the extra resources they need to make learning fun and stimulating for their students. One exciting example of the power of the mini-grants was the recent celebration of the Chinese New Year by the students in Marion Dorman’s and Rita Maloney’s second grade classes entitled “Passport to China.” It will be a learning event long remembered by these young students and their guests.

Teacher Grant Winners
Elizabeth Roberts - S.E.E.K. - Science English Explore Knowledge - $1000
Cyndi Leden - It's A W.R.A.P. - Writing and Reading Activated with Picture Books - $1000
Cynthia Acritell & Barbara Kobus - Celebracion del Mundo Latino/Celebration of the Spanish World - $1000
Kimberly Benkert & Lauren Farber - M.O.S.A.I.C. (Mastering Our Strategies And Integrating Communities) - $1000
Donna Verbeck & Kathleen Pettit - It's True: Success Through Non-Fiction Self-Selection - $1000
Rita Maloney, Marion Dorman, and Lisa Falco - Chris VanAllsburg: "Alive In the Classroom" - $1000
Marion Dorman & Rita Maloney - Passport to China - $1000
Xiomara White Exploring - Our World, A Year In the Life of A Kindergarten Scientist - $1000
Xiomara White & Kelli Thompson - Oh! The Places I Can Go... - $1000
Susan Chorzempa, Teresa Messia, & Susan Trafford - Around the World In 180 Days - $800
Kathleen Horn & Beatriz Marcucci - The Fabric of Our Lives - $1000
Jacqueline Buono & Wendy Finter - A.M.E.R.I.C.A. - Appreciating Many Ethnicities Represented In Culturally Rich America - $1000

Parent School Project Winners
Sarah Lessard & Deborah Hermann - C.S.I. - Comprehension Strategies In-Service - $800
Cara Giannillo, Susan Chorzempa, & Linda Gordon - F.L.A.G. (Families Learning About Gardening) - $800

Technology Grant Winners
Marge Lawrence - MEMORY (Marking Every Moment of Roanoke’s Year) 2003-2004 - $500