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Monthly E-Newsletter - May 2020
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Dear Friends,
It is with a grateful heart I thank all our teachers and administrators for their sacrifices and commitment to assuring the 7,500+ students in the Diocese of Bridgeport schools achieve a quality and exceptional education, even under the most difficult of circumstances. Amidst the nearly unbearable sadness that surrounds us each day from the COVID-19 pandemic, we look to the thousands of points of light that are our students. It is with a renewed sense of purpose for service and a hope born of the enthusiasm, energy and engagement of our students, we anticipate a new day and a brighter tomorrow.
Thanks to you, our donors and friends, whose continued commitment and support of Foundations in Education helps transform our students. Your gift today assures a student’s education tomorrow. We are currently in the process of awarding over $2.3 million in tuition assistance for the 2020-2021 academic year. Please know that your investment in these students assures them the quality, dedication and commitment of their teachers and administrators to provide them the best Catholic education possible.
Given the postponement of our Spring Gala, your continued contributions will have an oversized impact on this work.
Please give today
if you are able. If you are not able, please keep our students, teachers and us in your prayers.
Stay safe and be well.
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Holly Doherty-Lemoine, CFRE
Executive Director
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Foundations in Education is planning a fun and exciting event to benefit the 7,500+ students attending the 26 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport. Our Event Committee is committed to raising these worthwhile funds in support of our students, teachers and families. We will keep you posted!
Together, we can help realize Bishop Frank's vision of transformational, innovative and "best in class" Catholic schools throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport.
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St. Gregory the Great Kindergarten teacher, Jeanine Sullivan, found an engaging way to keep her "Kinders" motivated and excited for learning during these trying times. After researching shared best practices by teachers around the world, she decided to create and mail out to her students mini versions of herself and the teacher assistant to remind them that they were all still together. The teachers then launched their virtual classroom! Each week, Mrs. Sullivan changes posters on the wall, the video on the smart board, books, and lessons that are launched through the touch of a screen or the click of a mouse. The excitement this has brought to her students has been priceless!
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Third grade students at St. Mary School in Ridgefield have been learning more about Mary, her life, and the gift of the rosary. The children were invited to make their own Mary statues and crowns out of items they had at home and flowers in the yard.
They gathered via Zoom and had their own virtual May Crowning procession, singing Immaculate Mary, crowning their Mary statues with flowers, and praying the Hail Holy Queen.
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Keeping Students Engaged in Learning
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Observations from Superintendent Dr. Steven Cheeseman
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COVID-19 ushered in a period unlike any in my generation. As we navigate the evolving scene and ever-changing best practices, I can’t begin to express the immensity of my gratitude to the dedicated professional teachers who continue to teach the more than 7,500 students across our Diocese.
We have always shared a close partnership with our parents, however in the new educational order brought on by the pandemic, teachers and parents have become even closer in teaching our children. I recognize our parents for their patience as we all adjust to this new reality and the additional burden distance learning placed on parents, especially for our youngest students. This effort was made clear to me as I observed my daughter’s teacher delivering a very effective lesson while balancing an exceedingly active young child on his lap, who was all the while competing for his attention. The students remained engaged and un-phased by the child’s presence. A true testament to an effective teacher!
I heard someone recently say “we are all in the same storm, just different boats.” We are in a storm, but I have great faith and confidence that through our continued communication and working together we will get through this, stronger than before. We shall continue to work to ensure our teachers are supported with the resources they need to assure all our students continue to benefit from the quality Catholic education they deserve.
Thank you for your continued support and contributions on behalf of our students and thank you for helping form, inform and transform the students in our care. May God bless you and keep you safe.
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Innovation Grants Transition to Distance Learning
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Craig Pucci 's Innovation Grant allowed two new Computer Science classes to be offered to 8th graders at Catholic Academy of Stamford this year: 1) Computer Science for Innovators and 2) Makers and App Creators.
Students learned how to build apps for use in portable devices and program physical computing devices similar to those found in our everyday lives with authentic real world activities and problems.
Fortunately, both of these classes continued while we have been engaged in distance learning with little modification. Students were able to continue to work through various programming activities and testing them out using online emulators. Students are gaining a valuable introduction to a skill, in computer programming/app creation, that helps build their communication skills, an ability to collaborate with others and further develop critical thinking and problem solving skills that will help foster future success and may even turn, for some, into a future career.
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The Technology Overhaul Grant at St. Joseph High School enabled recreated Innovation and Engineering courses for the 2019-2020 school year. Milestone C trained faculty members with the skills needed to teach the new classes: Robotics,
Principles of Coding and App Development, and Technology Concepts.
These classes transitioned seamlessly to distance learning as students were still able to interact and create interesting and innovative outcomes.
The success and popularity of these courses created a thirst for more classes in the innovation and engineering fields. In the 2020-2021 school year, St. Joseph High School will debut the following additional courses.
- IDEA (Innovation, Design and Engineering Applications) – all freshman
- Aviation – including two new simulators
- Engineering Design
- Capstone Project – Innovation and Engineering Program
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A Grant with Endless Bounds
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Last year, Foundations In Education, Inc. funded Kathy Almeida's “Community Building with 3D Technology” Innovation project at Notre Dame Catholic High School. The grant allowed the expansion of the Biology and Forensic Science curriculum to include 3D printing lessons, create a 3D prosthetic hand for a child in need and now respond to a request from Yale New Haven Hospital for 3D printed face shields for area health care workers. Over 200 face shield visors were distributed to hospital emergency departments in need of protective equipment. We are so proud to be part of this grant award that knows no bounds!
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Helping Families Afford Catholic Education
Our Children Are Worth It!
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Thanks to the generous support of donors, Bishop's Scholarship Fund continues its mission to help families afford a Catholic elementary school education. Thus far, Foundations in Education has awarded:
1,122 K-8 students nearly $2.2 million in tuition assistance for the 2020-2021 academic year.
"Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity of Catholic education. Every child should experience a loving, caring, kind and respectful learning environment to thrive in."
-Denise, single parent of a 6th and 7th grader
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Foundations in Education is committed to strengthen and transform the mission of Catholic education in the Diocese of Bridgeport by supporting innovation in academic and extra-curriculum programs, fostering opportunities for the professional development of school leaders in innovation and leadership and providing tuition assistance to families in need.
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