Jubilee Medal
FFCA proudly announces that three stellar educators have received one of Alberta's highest honours this year, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal. The medal recognizes outstanding Albertans who have made significant contributions to their communities and the Province in honour of Her Majesty's 70th anniversary and service to Canada.
"We are so pleased to have three of our educators recognized with this honour. The medal recipients, Elia Gindin, Rebecca Carruthers-Green and Sonia Sheehan, represent excellence in teaching and community building both within FFCA and with the broader Calgary community. FFCA is proud to be a part of Alberta's strong public education system, and educators are a cornerstone of that system," said Jeff Wilson, chair of the FFCA Board of Directors.
CBC Article
It's an unusual task for the budding artists in this Grade 4 class in a southeast Calgary school: paint a picture of real dogs needing adoption and let the pooches' personalities shine through.
But their teacher says the students' thoughtful questions and desire to learn more about the dogs when the assignment's done — not to mention the cheers and high fives when a dog is adopted — show the Empathy Pawject works...
Cochrane Eagle Article
An innovative art project designed to flex children's creative muscles while evoking their sense of empathy raised nearly $1,000 for the Cochrane and Area Humane Society (CAHS). Becky Carruthers, an art teacher at Southeast Elementary School in Calgary who is in the process of completing a master's in art education at the University of Victoria, developed the program affectionately coined the Empathy Pawject...
Calgary Herald Article
Calgary art teacher teaches 'em-paw-thy' by having students paint portraits of shelter dogs
After running the project for three successful years, Carruthers is hoping other educators will use her free resources to create their own Empathy Pawjects...
After running the project for three successful years, Carruthers is hoping other educators will use her free resources to create their own Empathy Pawjects...
Student artwork has 'pawsitive' impact on helping adoptable pets find homes
The Empathy Pawject this year saw 81 students each given individual profiles of an adoptable cat or dog, which the students then drew and posted on an Instagram account to promote animal adoption.
“Each animal has information that the students learn about, present to each other, draw, paint (and) then raise awareness for, by posting the completed portraits and profiles on Instagram under @empathy.pawject,” said Rebecca Carruthers-Green, art teacher at the Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, southeast elementary campus...