The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the beach is still calling my name.  It can’t be September!  Alas, my calendar tends toward truthfulness, oftentimes against my wishes.

We begin another school year with sobering economic news and changes to grow accustomed to.  While these times require a community effort of cutting back and prioritizing, they also call for a beacon of hope and optimism for our teachers and their students.  CEEF aims to be a consistent and dependable resource for our creative and dynamic teachers.  The support we receive from our donors throughout the year make this goal achievable, through our grant program and our growing endowment.

Another form of CEEF support comes in the form of events, and this month marks our second Maine Home + Design Cape Elizabeth Kitchen Tour.  On September 11 from 10:00 – 4:00, twelve beautiful Cape Elizabeth homes will be open to tour-goers, allowing us a glimpse into kitchens designed and built by local craftsmen.  The sponsors of the event provide a generous source of revenue for CEEF, and we encourage you to visit their websites, purchase their wares, and keep their names for future opportunities in your own homes. 

The composition of our board has endured change of late, as we have said farewell to directors Jennifer Duddy and to Sara Laprade.  Jennifer’s role in the office of US Senator Susan Collins has grown and takes her to exciting and often far-off places, the demands of which have required paring down her volunteer time.  Sara departs to devote her energy and time to family issues.  Both Jennifer and Sara have served the board with dedication and passion and will be missed greatly. 

The fall will lead us to winter as it always does, and many of the changes in our schools will have become routine to students, teachers and parents.  Another change awaits however, as the retirement of our superintendent on December 31 marks the end of five years with Mr. Hawkins at the helm of our “ship.”  Needless to say, the waters have not always been calm, and he has served as a reliable and resilient captain for us during some very difficult times.  Much has been accomplished during these five years thanks to Mr. Hawkins’ leadership, and we at CEEF have nurtured a relationship with our administration via the superintendent that has arguably strengthened our foundation’s role in the district.  Mr. Hawkins has agreed to stay on through April 15^th to assist with transition; we look forward to these months and value the experience and guidance that he will provide to the district.

So begins another school year and so continues the cycle of change to which we will adapt.  The new-school-year energy is always a lift, and I’m excited by the possibilities that lie ahead and the role which CEEF might play in making a difference in our classrooms.  Till then, I think one more beach day is calling my name . . .



There are precious few hours left in the 2009-10 school year.  The excitement at this time of year is palpable; from the mortar boards taking flight, to the middle school beach day adventures, to the kindergarten screenings for our newest members of the student body, energy and hopes are high and the promise of summer lifts spirits.

The hopes of the CEEF Board of Directors are high too, and fittingly so.  This spring has seen the successful completion of our fifteenth grant cycle, bringing the total of the funds granted to our schools to over $780,000 since 2002.  We embarked on our 2010 annual campaign and were thrilled by the positive response to phone calls made to many in the community.  To top that good energy, the attendance at our third annual Pasta with Purpose dinner on the night before the Pond Cove 5K was higher than ever, gathering more than 300 hungry students and families to enjoy a wonderful meal and listen to some of our schools' most accomplished musicians while dining. We even had a movie debut to offer as dessert - a new "grants-on-display" video capably produced by a CEHS student for CEEF.

These accomplishments will serve to rev up our engines for what's to come in the fall.  During the summer months our board members and gang of tireless volunteers will continue to work on the preparations for our second Cape Elizabeth Kitchen Tour on September 11th.  Sponsored by Maine Home + Design and Sotheby's Legacy Realtors, the tour will once again allow us to get a glimpse inside some of the spectacular homes in our community. We will also continue the work that is the foundation upon which we exist: granting our donors' contributions to our teachers and students. 

Successes never happen in a vacuum, and so there are many people to thank for helping to bring us this far.  There are many volunteers including our board members who give many hours to ensure our donors' contributions are being used wisely.  We have many local business sponsors who donate goods and services and make financial contributions of their own.  Finally there are many students and teachers who give of their time and talents to further the goals that CEEF works toward. 

I thank you all for your part in CEEF's success, and ask you to keep your own energy high as we continue to fulfill the exciting grants our teachers dream up. Now, where's that beach umbrella . . .?

A new year has begun, and we have not yet left these worrisome economic times behind.  As we struggle to find ways to fund our schools and municipal services, we at CEEF would like to update our supporters about important achievements from the last year:

• In what most of us would agree was a year of bleak economic outlook, CEEF successfully raised approximately $120,000 through our annual campaign and events;
• The response to our “targeted giving” has been positive; we received several hundred dollars earmarked for certain categories of grants, as well as a $10,000 matching grant for outdoor programs that will go toward the 6^th grade week-long Chewonki experience over the next three years;
• Our board believes that our mission remains our guiding force; though pressures exist to fund budgeted programs in jeopardy, we will continue to focus our grant-making on innovative programs, initiatives and professional development that will be an injection of energy in these hard times and an investment in our schools’ future;
• As a board we have concluded that information about the state of education and our role in it is important, but we do not wish to risk alienating community members with perceived political advocacy; our plans for 2010 include a revamped regular e-publication to inform the community on issues relating to Cape schools, education in Maine, and in the nation;
• We have a volunteer actively working on grant-writing for CEEF in partnership with the school district; while in its early stages, we believe that this arm of CEEF’s potential grant making will be an important piece of the whole funding puzzle in years to come;
• We funded over $70,000 in grants to the schools this year, bringing the foundation’s total to over $759,000 awarded since 2002. 

We thank all of our donors for continuing to entrust CEEF with your contribution, and we will work hard in 2010 to keep your trust and put your donation to great use within Cape schools.  The programs that CEEF funds today will help retain our excellent teachers, help motivate our children to achieve more, and fortify our schools, made strong through our community’s commitment to education.

On another note – the Cape Elizabeth High School Alumni Directory was recently published and distributed to those who purchased it.  The publishers of the directory, Harris Connect, erroneously stated that CEEF provided the information found within.  CEEF does not share its donor information with anyone or any entity, and as such did not provide Harris Connect with any information of any kind.  The Cape Elizabeth School District provided Harris Connect with its alumni listings, and Harris used those listings to complete its research for the directory.

Harris Connect will send a letter to each recipient of the CE directory to explain the error in their claim and a disclaimer will accompany any future sales of the directory. 

I am not alone in being startled by the suddenness with which this new school year arrived.  While many parents are likely happy to get back into the daily routines that the school year brings, I admit to relishing the lack of programmed schedule that comes with summer weeks.  I often joke that I am worse than my own children when it comes to accepting the arrival of the new school year.

I found a way to usher in the school year that would excite even the most reluctant summer revelers, however.  On August 25th, teachers and staff reported back to work for the new school year, and CEEF was fortunate enough to be a part of their early-morning assembly with the presentation of the annual CEEF teacher awards.  This year, we proudly honored CEMS music teacher Rebecca Bean and CEMS 6th-grade teacher Joe Doane with the Brownell and Thompson Awards, respectively.

I was lucky to be able to take part in the presentation as CEEF's current president.  The teacher award presentation is one of the most uplifting and gratifying moments of the CEEF calendar, allowing us to recognize the phenomenal contributions of some of our very special staff.  (You can read about the history of these awards as well as about the current recipients within our website pages under "Awards."  You can also read about the recipients in the Cape Courier's Sept. 5, 2009 issue.) 

One of the most thrilling aspects of the award presentation is the exuberant way in which the staff respond to the announcement of their colleagues' names.  It is clear that there is a great deal of respect and admiration among our teachers and staff, and they succeed in part because of their exceptional collaboration and cooperation. 

The beginning of the school year is filled with anxiety, eagerness, shuffling of paperwork and realigning of car-pools and work schedules.  It is a busy and often frantic time that eventually levels out into a predictable seven-day set of duties.  Our teachers and staff help our kids reach that level of relative calm, and in turn help us to do the same.  I am so grateful to have been able to thank them on CEEF's behalf for all they do at the start of this exciting and promising time of year. 

Congratulations to Rebecca and Joe, and may the beginning of the school year be as full of hope and energy as the final week will surely be.

Regards,

Christine

Whew!  May and June are arguably the busiest months in the school calendar, and for parents of school-aged children, it often takes on a frenzy that proves difficult to keep under control.  Many find they must be on multiple sports fields at once, asist or attend end-of-year projects and presentations, and usher older children through the busy college-prep rituals.  There never seem to be enough hours in the day.

These days are busy for our teachers too.  They have more to grade, much to prepare, events to attend, and many must manage the same issues that the rest of us parents have in the spring months.  Again, Father Time ticks by without lending them more hours to get it all done!

Yet in the face of these demanding days and nights, 300 or so community members and teachers made the time to join us at the recent 2nd-annual Pasta with Purpose collaborative dinner and grants event on May 30th.  Over 250 spaghetti dinners were served (with the generous support of Willows Restaurant & Market Fresh Produce), over 20 presentations were on display, and much was learned about the fantastic work of our grant recipients.  The highlights of the evening were many; with faculty having the opportunity to share across departments and grade levels, community members getting a glimpse of programs they'd read about, and kids getting hands-on experience with fantastic cutting-edge learning tools.

I am often awed by how much our small town contributes in terms of energy, participation, and generous giving.  Even when we are at our busiest, events are well-attended, volunteers are available and willing, and good-will is abundant.  Good times or bad, poor economy or not, we are a community with much to be proud of, and I am grateful that CEEF is able to play a part in our collaborative goals.

Happy spring!

Christine