May Newsletter
May Newsletter
Spring Social @ Home!
Thank you to all who attended! There were over 100 participants for our first-ever virtual Zoom Chat and Facebook Live event, Spring Social at Home, which raised $20,000 in donations, meeting a generous board matching challenge. We heard warm tributes to teachers and relived the warmth of our school community. Missed it? Watch it any time on Facebook Live.
Four Honored Faculty on YouTube
We’re honoring 4 remarkable people who have each taught at the Eliot School for more than 20 years. Together, Paul DeVito, Nancy Dick-Atkinson, Michael Gleason and Robert Siegelman have passed along skills in woodworking, upholstery, gilding and drawing to 1,786 students. They’ve shared their Eliot School stories and memories on video. Watch them here.
Canceling 2020 Summer Program for Children
Our Summer Program for Children is one of our favorite parts of the year. But we have finally had to accept that we are not able to maintain adequate public health safeguards at our schoolhouse this summer. We are sad to cancel our 2020 Summer Program for Children. If you have registered your children for this program, please take our quick survey to let us know whether you would like to donate your tuition, or receive a credit or refund. Any questions, please contact our InHouse Program Director. We look forward to our Summer Program in 2021, and we hope you will join us then.
Gift Certificates for Mother's Day
Give a mother in your life an Eliot School gift certificate for Mother's Day. Buy it now, use it later, while supporting lifelong learning in craftsmanship and creativity for all during this challenging time. Purchase a gift certificate here.
Your Projects & Supplies at the Eliot School
Some of you have expressed interest in picking up materials from our schoolhouse. We are following Governor Baker's request for non-essential businesses to remain closed, to support public health. As soon as we are able to open for project and supply pick-up, we will let you know. In the meantime, we truly appreciate your patience and understanding.
Masks & Art Supplies for Teen Bridge Students
Eliot School teacher Kathleen Gaskin created hand-made cloth masks for all of our Teen Bridge students and their families. Masks and art kits were distributed to each teen for their Artist-In-Residency with visiting artist Carolyn Shadid Lewis.
Virtual Teaching Spotlight: Abby Neale
Our School & Community Partnership teacher Abby Neale has been a rock star before and during social distancing. She jumped right into virtual teaching when Boston Public Schools closed their doors. As our lead visual art teacher at Grew Elementary School and Lee Academy, Abby has restructured her living space and uses her cell phone to teach her students. Visit her YouTube channel or Facebook page to see her in action.
Eliot School Teachers Make Masks!
Eliot School teachers are making masks left and right in response to COVID-19. Kathleen Gaskin and Denise Wallace-Spriggs have made hundreds of masks for the Boston Area Mask Initiative, Mihoko Wakabashi is co-leading mask-making with Worcester Mutual Aid, and Melissa Thyden is selling masks and donating masks to her local hospital. Sewing teachers Carol Price and Deborah West are making masks for their Dorchester communities, which have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic. We take our hats off to these industrious, generous women.