Community Members & Teachers Speak Out - Testimonials Regarding CEEF Grants

 

The CEEF board has been thrilled with the feedback we've received from students, parents, grandparents, teachers, and other community members about the impact CEEF grants have made in their lives.  Please take a moment to read some of the comments shared with us, and if you have a comment of your own, please contact us!

Having an education foundation allows me to connect with the community and work towards the mutual goal of providing an excellent education for Cape Elizabeth's students. From the Brownell and Thompson Awards for excellent teaching to the grants for student participation in off-campus experiences, CEEF is an important part of the educational structure in Cape Elizabeth.  CEEF's grant making allows me to dream big and try new ideas in the classroom.  CEEF's presence is a testament to the commitment of the residents of Cape Elizabeth to their schools and children."  Susan Dana, National Board Certified Spanish Teacher, Cape Elizabeth Middle School

 

"CEEF takes the passions and dreams of visionary educators and makes unique learning opportunities a reality for Cape's students.  Without CEEF's support, these fabulous learning opportunities would not happen.  CEEF grants allow us to think creatively and dream big.  When I have an exciting new teaching idea, I never have to worry that lack of funding will get in my way.  I know CEEF is there for me and my students.  This knowledge frees me to think creatively when planning learning opportunities for my students." Ingrid Stressenger, 4th-grade teacher, nominee for Maine State Teacher of the Year, 2011, Pond Cove Elementary

 

Having CEEF has allowed us to embark upon projects that have enriched the community and improved substantially the music education we provide.  It has enabled the students to meet and work with composers and have music composed especially for them.  It has made creativity come alive and put a face on that crucial element of education/brain development.  These are projects we would never be able to fund through the regular school budget, particularly in these tough economic times."  Tom Lizotte, Cape Elizabeth High School Instrumental Music teacher

CEHS Debate Team:

Dear CEEF Grant Committee Members:

Thank you for funding my recent grant for the CEHS Debate Team.  After some fits and starts over the past two years, with delays in implementing an initial CEEF grant (awarded to Richard Mullen), the Debate Team has made its return. Some of the delay had to do our inability to recruit a coach, despite contacting several professionals in the community who seemed like good prospects.  So, we re-grouped and decided that I would become familiar with debate and lead the nascent team. Over the summer,  I recruited potential students to attend the Champions of Debate camp held at the UNUM training facility in South Portland, where I, too, received training as a coach of Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Once the school year began, I started having practices on Tuesday evenings, having reached out to a few additional students who showed interest in or inclination for the activity.

Prior to our first tournament, our team scrimmaged against the Falmouth High School novice debaters.  Falmouth has a more established team, so our group benefited from the feedback of their coaches and varsity debaters. 

Three debaters then competed at the tournament on October 22 at Falmouth High School.  They were Lily Jordan, '15, Barrett Hess, and Nolan Chase, '13.  In four rounds of competition, each posted two wins and two losses, a creditable effort. 

On Saturday, October 29, Speech and Debate traveled to Bangor High School for another statewide tournament.  Lily finished fifth overall in the novice Lincoln-Douglas division, earning Cape Debate's first team point.  Tim, Barrett, and Nolan rounded out the field with solid efforts.

At our next tournament on November 12, we will add junior Chelsey Whynot to the team. She will compete in Student Congress debate, where students make speeches on behalf of hypothetical legislative bills listed in a docket that is published one week ahead of time. 

Without CEEF's seed money, this renaissance would not have happened.  With CEEF's generous support, and with additional funding from the High School Parents Association, we will be able to have a demonstration year that makes the case for permanent School Board funding. Nothing argues more effectively for funding than a record of participation and successful competition.  

Sincerely,
Lisa Melanson, CEHS 

Pond Cove Elementary Grant Success

Through the generosity of CEEF, my summer has been amazing for my professional growth.  Aside from the iPod grant (yahoooo! yahoooo!  yahooo!!), I was also able to attend two fantastic conferences in the past few months.

I was lucky to be a part of the rather large group of teachers that CEEF funded from Pond Cove that travelled to Massachusetts this summer to attend the Daily 5 Conference.  It was exciting and invigorating, and Daily 5 has changed the entire atmosphere of my classroom and bolstered my first graders' independence.  I dare say that Daily 5 has changed the entire literacy climate of Pond Cove School.  We are thrilled with our results so far.

I was ALSO lucky to be a part of the group of Pond Cove teachers and staff who were able to attend Michelle Garcia-Winner's Social Thinking Conference in Massachusetts in September with the major support of another CEEF grant.  This conference was also energizing and has Pond Cove staff excited to change our social climate as well.  One of the things that really stuck with me as a classroom teacher was teaching the children the concept of being a "Just me" kind of kid versus being a "Think about others" kind of kid.  A fairly concrete way of helping kids to understand that they have classmates to think about besides themselves.

At both conferences, we were able to talk to other professionals from New England about the great opportunities that CEEF makes available to our staff.  Or, should I say, we bragged.  There it is.  LOL

Please pass this message on to other CEEF members so that they will now how appreciative I am (and we are!) for all of your contributions to our professional growth.  We are better teachers because of your hard work.

Amy Kieran, Pond Cove Elementary

Pond Cove Math Lab

The Math Club provided Abby with a smaller learning environment and repeat exposure to specific math concepts she needed to master. Her teacher, Debbie Butterworth was right by her side always instilling a love of math and learning along the way. All of these elements added up to positive results. Abby really does see herself as a strong math student today. She is thriving in math and I truly believe that her success is directly linked to this program.”

 Kate Ekedahl

 Our daughter Abbie was struggling with some math concepts in 1st grade.  We can't express how much Debbie Butterworth's teaching in the Pond Cove Math Lab meant to Abbie.  After becoming a Math Team Member in 1st grade, Abbie's math confidence began to grow to the point that she soon "outgrew" the Pond Cove Math Lab.  We were so proud when Abbie scored in the top 5% of Pond Cove 3rd graders on her standardized tests two years later.  Abbie literally just needed a little help and a different voice at a critical time in her math development.

Without reservation I can say that Debbie Butterworth and CEEF's Pond Cove Math Lab grant were life-changing events for our daughter.

Thank you CEEF!

Tom & Christine Caswell

Lego Robotics

Robotics is fun because you get to explore how gears work, use motors and build things." 

Peter DiNinno, 3rd-grader

 . . . this is not something that would be available in the regular curriculum and any chance a child has to explore the world with their own hands and figure out how things go together and work, the more meaningful and real the experience is for them. The robotics program has also sparked an interest in a potential field of study for my high school student.  I wish there could be more of this type of experiential learning for kids.  Thank you to CEEF for making this available to the curious minds in our town.”

Julia Beckett

Middle School Large-Impact Math Program

 The CEEF grant given to Mr. Price has opened up a whole new chapter of math achievement for our child."  

Denise and Tim Mitchell

Aardvark Jazz Orchestra

Though we were able to see and play in bands with Cape Jazz, a professional touring big band is a different breed: it has the star players, the top-notch rhythm section, and a real fire of a performance. Its possible to see that kind of thing outside of school, but let's face it, most kids are too busy to think about it. To have a big band like the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra brought right to your door by CEEF...now that's a cool experience.

 Luc Cary, CEHS ‘09

World Affairs Council

Participating in the World Affairs Council has led me behind the headlines and opened my mind to a number of viewpoints that I would never have been exposed to in the course of my regular coursework at CEHS. I am so happy to have been a part of this group over the past four years; it is a shining star in our school system that fosters discussion and understanding of international issues, often very dense ones, among a broad spectrum of CEHS students.

Thank you again to CEEF for all of the support that you have given us over the years!”

 Peter Brigham, CEHS ‘10

Chef-of-the-Month

A number of Cape's senior citizens join the crowd at the high school to take part in the Chef-of-the-Month luncheons.  Local chefs prepare fresh local ingredients and treat students and seniors alike to tasty meals at a reasonable price.

Priscilla Schwartz said, "What a great program and she has not missed any of them so far".  As a retied teacher she said she just loves getting together with the high school students in the cafe and thinks it is good for the students to interact with the senior population as well. She has thoroughly enjoyed all the luncheons.” 

Dick Banks said, "The sociability aspect has been fun for him and to be able to mingle with high school students is great". He also enjoys it because on those days he does have to prepare a meal at home just for himself. "Great food at a reasonable cost.”  He attends all of them!

Pond Cove Technology Grant & Fiction-Writing Professional Development

Dear CEEF Board of Directors,
I am writing to tell you how much my class and I are enjoying our recently mounted projector. It has become an invaluable tool for us. For example, I am now able to display pages from the student math journals and the math reference book. Just yesterday we were learning about latitude and longitude and I was able to display through the projector the same map the students were looking at at their desks. As you know, the global grid system is a very difficult concept to understand. Using the projected image, student volunteers and I were able to demonstrate for everyone how to find the coordinates for different world cities. I cannot tell you how much easier my students'' learning was made by this.
In writing workshop, we have been working on the fiction writing project, also generously funded by CEEF. In a recent lesson, I opened a word processing document and displayed it on the screen. Together, the students and I planned and wrote the introductory paragraphs of a model story. We then made notes on our draft of things we think we could improve. My students then went on to work on their individual stories. I cannot tell you how much more engaging and interactive this lesson was made by use of the projector. Every single student was 100% invested in the activity for a full 45 minutes! They then excitedly hurried off to work on their own stories full of ideas and a clear plan for what they would write. Today we went back to our model story to find quality details and places in the story where we felt more detail could be added. We marked those places with a colored symbol so that we will easily be able to find them when we begin revision of this section. After the group lesson, the kids went off to do the same with their own stories and a partner. Projecting the image of this process instead of using chart paper or an overhead was so much more clear to see and manipulate, making access to learning more available to all of the students.
I am so excited about all of the possible ways I will be able to use the projector to enrich and extend my teaching and my students' learning throughout this year and years to come. It is truly like opening a new gift every day! Please pass on my sincere thanks to the Grants Committee and the Board. Every dollar of money and minute of consideration of this grant for Pond Cove, were money and time very well spent.

Best Regards,

Ingrid Stressenger
4th-grade teacher, Pond Cove School