A pair of Dowagiac Union High School teachers have recently received a little boost to their efforts to improve the educational experience for their students.

Health instructor Andy Kruger and Math instructor Keith Klann both received $100 checks from Honor Credit Union Monday as part of the financial institution’s sixth annual teacher awards. The two were among the 30 Michigan educators selected to receive funds for classroom projects through the program, according a news release from Honor.

Last year, choir director Jeff Robinson was a recipient of an award, receiving $100 to purchase a subscription to a musical themed magazine for his students.

Both Kruger and Klann wrote grant applications for the program near the beginning of the school year in late August.

In Kruger’s case, he applied for funding to purchase additional equipment for the fishing trip he hosts for his healthy lifestyles class every fall and spring. The teacher, who previously has been buying materials for the trip out of pocket, intends to purchase new hooks, sinkers, bobbers and fishing poles for future excursions, as well to buy food for a healthy lunch.

The money should provide a boost to the biannual class excursion, which Kruger began last year. Traveling out to Mill Pond at James Heddon Park, the class forms up into teams, where they compete to catch the largest fish.

In addition to teaching them the basics of angling, the field trip provides his kids the chance to enjoy a fun outdoors activity with their classmates.

“Today’s young people have a sedentary lifestyle,” Kruger said. “They can sit on their computers and use Facebook for hours at a time. Anything to get them outside and enjoy some fresh air is a good thing.”

For most of the kids who take the course, the morning at the pond is the highlight of the semester, Kruger said.

“I just talked to one of my kids today, who said he is going to pick up fishing as a hobby,” Kruger said. “He had never been fishing before our trip and now he’s asking for a fishing pole for Christmas. It’s pretty neat.”

Klann, on the other hand, will use the contribution to purchase a ceiling mount for his classroom’s 3-year-old computer projector. The math teacher relies on the device for his daily instruction, using it from a cart on the ground — which frequently gets bumped around, he said.

“If the projector gets jostled while hot, it reduces the life of the device,” Klann said. “It also emits a lot of heat, so it gets kind of uncomfortable to sit next to.”

With the mounting equipment will only cost around $40, Klann will spend the rest of the money on paying for the rewiring of electric cables to accommodate the new installation, he said.

This is actually second time Klann has received money from Honor for his instruction, he said. Several years ago, his award was used to purchase new 3D models of geometric shapes, which he used to demonstrate concepts such as prisms or cylinders, he said.

“Without their [Honor’s] help, we couldn’t get a lot of things that we need,” Klann said.