Plans public celebration for October 12 at SKHS

Building on the inaugural grants it made last year, the South Kingstown Education Foundation (SKEF) has announced five grants totaling $2,574 for the current school year. A special celebratory program, to recognize the awards and their recipients, will be held Wednesday, October 12 at 7 PM in the library at South Kingstown High School. The public is invited to join in the celebration.

SKEF was established at The Rhode Island Foundation two years ago “to support educational projects and activities that inspire student excellence and strengthen the relationship between the public schools and the community,” according to Ken Kermes, SKEF president. The SKEF endowment is valued at more than $62,000, thanks to the generous support of many area residents and a $25,000 matching grant from The Rhode Island Foundation.

SKEF grants for the 2005-06 academic year, which will benefit students in all four elementary schools in the district, as well as at South Kingstown High School, include the following:

• “Community Walking Tour” program for 3rd grade students in all four elementary schools, $630, for transportation and other costs involved in this outreach program in partnership with the Museum of Primitive Art and Culture, Peace Dale, that supplements the social studies and arts curriculums.
• “Building Bridges of Support for Parental Involvement” at Peace Dale Elementary School, $600, to purchase materials that will involve and assist parents of first graders who are most at-risk for reading failure.
• Robotic Park initiative at Peace Dale Elementary School, $599, to purchase computer software to enhance this program for 4th and 5th grade students that involves the science, language arts, and social studies programs.
• Literary journal at South Kingstown High School, $500, for printing costs of this annual publication which provides a forum for students’ poetry, short stories, photography, and artwork.
• “Get Energized with Healthy Choices” project at South Kingstown High School, $245, to purchase materials to allow students in the school’s Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) chapter to provide hands-on activities about nutrition and physical activity to children at Peace Dale Elementary School.

Persons desiring additional information on SKEF should contact Ken Kermes at 782-8914, or Owen Heleen, director of special funds at The Rhode Island Foundation, at 274-4564. Contributions to SKEF can be made by check, payable to The Rhode Island Foundation and mailed to One Union Station, Providence, RI 02903. Questions concerning tax-deductible gifts of stock or mutual funds, as well as planned gifts, should be directed to Heleen.