Janet Garagliano, Chair of the Student Activities Board of Control (SABC), is pleased to announce on behalf of CAS and Big Y World Class Markets the 2006 Thomas R. Flanagan Memorial Grants Awards. The following outstanding student activities have been selected for awards from the applications received at the elementary, middle and high school levels:

· Branford High School - $750 Project Connect provides help to elementary school students by placing trained high school students as facilitators in elementary school science classrooms once a week for the entire school year. A total of 610 elementary students benefit from the developed sets of learning activities created by Branford High School students.
· Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy, East Hartford - $750 Memorial Walk. The entire student body of the school will participate in a walk on May 20, 2006, in memory of former principal, Michael Abelon, who passed away from cancer. Proceeds will go to PanCan, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Michael Abelon Scholarship Fund.
· Holy Cross High School, Waterbury - $650 We Care Connnection. For the entire school year students from Holy Cross visit the Waterbury Extended Care Facility, a nursing facility for 110 patients. Each month students decorate a six -foot artificial tree with a seasonal theme. A different club or committee attends each month and also creates an activity for residents based on the holidays or special events celebrated during the month.
· Newtown High School - $500 The High School Speech and Debate Team began this school year as a new activity for students. In the first year of operation, 35 students have participated in 15 Lincoln-Douglas style debates that emphasize research, organization, speaking, critical thinking, reading, persuasiveness, and writing skills. Team members have also met weekly at Newton Middle School to assist its debate team.
· Simsbury High School - $650 The Multicultural Club dedicated each month to a diverse population represented by students in Simsbury High School, including Chinese New Year for the Year of the Dog and Black History Month in February. Club members expect to broaden the scope and number of activities for next school year.
· Bernie Dover Jackson Middle School, New London - $300 The Martial Arts Club was begun by a New London Police Officer, Carl Brisson-Lopez, to change the social dimension of students in the school community. Emphasis is on using the martial arts to build interaction skills, self-control, tolerance to frustration, and improve self-image.
· Catherine McGee Middle School, Berlin - $750 The Wellness Club aims to provide a Wellness Center in the school that will use cardiovascular and weight resistance equipment to develop in students self-esteem, self-improvement, and self-motivation. The center will also be open for use by staff members, parents and community members.
· Dodd Middle School, Cheshire - $250 The grant will support The Heritage Scrapbook, which has been an enrichment program that will now be a co-curricular activity. Students create a scrapbook of family and community history. The project teaches research skills to students as well as producing a heritage album containing unique personal memorabilia.
· Suffield Middle School - $400 The Leadership Symposium is an event planned for May to have over 150 middle school students from Suffield and surrounding towns participate in leadership development. Held prior to student government elections, the symposium builds understanding of the commitment required to be a leader and the value of community service.

The purposes of the Flanagan awards program are to stimulate the growth and improvement of student activities and to provide recognition for outstanding student activities. The award recipients will be recognized at a reception at the CAS Conference Center on May 10, 2006.

Thomas Flanagan was the former principal of Waterford High School. A member of the CIAC program, basketball, and football committees, Tom was most closely identified with the Student Activities Board of Control (SABC) during its years of transition and growth. He was also a highly respected member of the NASSP Standing Committee for Student Activities. In 1976, he was awarded CAS’s highest honor, a Citation. The Thomas R. Flanagan Student Activities Memorial Grants are dedicated to his legacy.

Big Y has been a dedicated corporate partner of CAS since 1997. In addition to sponsoring the Flanagan Memorial Grants, it produces a highly acclaimed nutritional newsletter mailed to all CT students and funds the prestigious Governor’s Scholars Program. Big Y was founded in 1936 and currently employs over 8,500 people in fifty-two locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut.