Thankful for You

Thinking of You, With Gratitude

Not that we need the calendar to remind us, as you are on our minds so much of the time, but we want to let you know that this Thanksgiving, more than usual, we are here for you. As representatives of the wider Falmouth community, we continue to be in awe of how you are responding to what may be the most challenging time in your professional careers. Falmouth is so fortunate to have such talented, dedicated, nimble, caring educators. Thank you, thank you.

How can FEF help?

As we hope you have heard, FEF has launched our newest grant pathway, Access Grants. These grants provide an extension to our popular Teacher Opportunity Mini-Grants, which fund up to $300 for unexpected needs that arise during the school year. Unlike TOF grants, however, access grants are paid directly to the vendor, thus no upfront payment is required from the grant recipient. Access grants:

are designed specifically to address needs that have emerged as a result of the COVID-based learning model.

are available for 2020-21 only and must be used in the current school year.

support supplies, equipment, and training that enhance instruction and promote equity.

include requests from $301-$2500.

feature a simple rolling application, quick response, and easy purchasing.

To apply, click on the following link: https://www.falmoutheducationfnd.org/access-grants.html

Did you see the article in the Falmouth Enterprise on the new Access Grants Program?

www.capenews.net/falmouth/news/new-grants-support-teachers-using-covid-based-learning-models/article_1b5048a0-7cc6-5deb-9ae9-7e60d08a9e02.html

What's Next?

In addition to mini-grants and access grants, FEF continuing and new project grants will be available for next year. Although it may be difficult to imagine what the 2021-22 school year will bring, we encourage you to use your creativity and optimism to apply for project grants that will support you and your students in what we hope will be a more conventional academic year. The deadline for these grants is April 1, 2121. A zoom grant-writing workshop will be held on February 4, 2021. This is an excellent

opportunity to share ideas about possible projects, learn about the granting process, and meet members of the FEF Program Committee who read your applications. Professional development points are awarded for attending.

The links to project grants are below.

"On the 28^th of October I was invited to join a Zoom meeting with the pottery artist, Lois Hirschberg and Ms. Adams’ Advanced Ceramics Students. Corine asked for permission to purchase a video camera to be used to substitute for the cancelled ‘live’ workshop, which the FEF Program Committee was happy to do. I had previously watched 2 of Corine’s videos of Ms. Hirschberg demonstrating how to make a sagger-fired, non-functional piece of pottery in the Falmouth Artists Guild workshop. The result was two separate videos, filmed very well, clearly explaining the clay process for the students. Ms Hirschberg gave a wonderful demonstration of her technique and offered tips and advice to novice potters. Ms. Adams did a wonderful job at filming, which is not as easy as one might imagine! Sequences that were repetitive were ‘fast-forwarded’ to save time and the resulting product was easily a very handy guide to making pieces that are to be sagger-fired in the kiln.

The Zoom meeting that I attended was a chance for both classes to ask questions of Ms. Hirschberg, having seen the first video. The students were able to ask questions and get more advice; I particularly liked the questions concerning inspiration and choosing various techniques (or the techniques choosing the artist!). Following the Zoom meeting, the class was going to view the second video, which explains how to prepare the assembled art object for firing."