Animal-assisted therapies for autistic children, interactive art classes at the National Gallery and an expanded programme of Caymanian heritage classes for students are among the inspiring schemes seeking funding in this year’s Joanna Clarke Awards.
The five projects short-listed for the $12,000 grant also include a new initiative to help children with speech difficulties communicate using picture cards and a project to produce short films to teach youngsters conflict resolution skills.
The applicants for the award were being interviewed Tuesday, 5 March, and the judges are expected to confirm their decision later this week.
The awards are held every year to help support worthy education-based community projects. There is also a scholarship award for Caymanians and permanent residents studying or planning to study in the education field.
A gala dinner will be held on Saturday, 10 March, at Grand Old House in George Town to make a presentation to the winner.
The projects vying for funding this year span a broad spectrum.
The Lighthouse School is looking for money to help improve its autism intervention programme. The school aims to enhance therapies available to target communication, social, cognitive and motor skills for children with autism.
Heather Williams of the Lighthouse School said: “In particular, we aim to make animal-assisted therapies, a highly-developed play program and ongoing parent education constant features in our annual autism program.”
The National Gallery is looking for support to produce “backpacks” of learning materials to help take its’ interactive learning sessions to the Sister Islands. It is also looking to put together a travel fund to help schools in the outer districts in Grand Cayman to get to the gallery for learning sessions.
The programme links the gallery’s collection to the school curriculum.
The Cayman Islands government’s Speech and Language Department wants assistance to provide teaching in Picture Exchange Communication Systems. The system helps children with limited verbal skills learn how to communicate by exchanging pictures representing a request for an object. Over time, children develop a book of picture cards to help them communicate with others.
Another project on the shortlist is the Stop and Think Social Skills training scheme spearheaded by Red Bay Primary School, which aims to produce a series of DVDs on conflict resolution. High school drama and media studies students will be involved in the production of the short films, which will show students how to make good choices and use problem-solving skills when conflicts arise.
Another short-listed scheme is the Heritage and Culture Outreach group’s plan to help improve access for primary school students to local history lessons. The project uses older Caymanians as “cultural experts” to teach children about their heritage – from seafaring to cultural entertainment and games. The group wants to expand its current programme to all the island’s primary schools and add a workshop component for teachers.
Related Videos
