News from the NEF

Congratulations to all of the 2019 – 2020 NEF Grant recipients! We appreciate your time and effort in making learning come alive for Needham Public School students! This year, NEF awarded 26 grants, totaling $106,700, benefiting students at every Needham school.

We wish that we could have held our annual Grants Reception to celebrate with all of this year’s grant recipients, however this year, our celebration will need to be virtual. The NEF truly appreciates the time and effort grant recipients have put into applying for their grants. Needham Public School students benefit so much from their thoughtfulness and creativity.

Superintendent Daniel Gutekanst would like to thank the grant recipients for their dedication to innovation and creativity in education. The NEF Co-Presidents Seema Meloni and Joanna Herrera would also like to share their appreciation. Please click the links below to view their video messages.

2019 – 2020 NEF Grant Recipients

Ann Ahnert

“Language-based Student Stability Chairs” (Pollard)

Robyn Briggs

Co-Grant Writers: Kate Bergeron, Nicole Burnor

“Your Voice Matters. What’s Your Story?” (Needham High)

Claudia Carpenter

Co-Grant Writer: Christine McAllister

“Arts Education Professional Development Opportunity” (All Elementary)

Christopher Dancy

“Cornell’s Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program” (High Rock)

Steve Dornbusch

“Charles Coe, Poet in Residence” (Pollard)

Jane Evans

“History At Play – “A Revolution of Her Own!” (Pollard)

Jennifer Grant

Co-Grant Writers: Maggie Charron, Jessica Downey, Jeannine Schroder

“Mindfulness at High Rock” (High Rock)

Hardeep Jassal

“Cooking For Kids” (Sunita Williams)

Elaine Kohen

“Professional Development at NSTA National Conference” (All Elementary)

Cathy Lunetta

Co-Grant Writers: Luke Darling, Elizabeth Kuzmeski, Matthew Sylvestre

“Accessible Trike for 3rd Grade Rodeo” (All Elementary)

Molly Mullin

Co-Grant Writers: Jennifer Murray, Jennifer Potter

“Vox Books- Books that Talk! Express Grant Multi-school” (Broadmeadow, Eliot, Newman)

Catherine Nanda

Co-Grant Writer: Alejandra Acevedo

“Broadmeadow Lego Mobile Makerspace Grant” (Broadmeadow)

James Odierna

“PBLWorks Project Based Learning Workshop” (High Rock, Pollard, Needham High)

Anjali Petersen

Co-Grant Writer: Jane Shilalie

“Playful Learning: Enhancing Computational Thinking & Spatial Reasoning for All Learners through Mathematical Games” (Mitchell)

Rosemary Rose

Co-Grant Writer: Lynn Gotwals

“Sensory Pathways for Mitchell” (Mitchell)

Paige Rowse

“Author Jen Deaderick @TheNHSLibrary” (Needham High)

Jenn Scheck-Kahn

Co-Grant Writer: Rosemary Rose

“Sensory Pathways for Eliot” (Eliot)

Mackenzie Schnyer

Co-Grant Writers: Lisa Garsh, Angela Mullin, Lissa Williams

“Pedometers for Movement, Math, and More!” (Broadmeadow)

Kara Shea

Co-Grant Writer: Dayna DiCicco

“Google Virtual Reality Expeditions Kit” (All Elementary)

John Shea

Co-Grant Writers: Tammy Ghizzoni, Judith Wojtczak

“Math Recess: An experience in play and learning” (District-wide)

Mark Smith

“Pollard Middle School African Drum Program” (Pollard)

Jen Tuttelman

Co-Grant Writer: Patricia Mullen

“Grow Racks for NHS” (Needham High)

Erin Vacaro

“Imagination Playground Medium Blocks Set” (Sunita Williams)

Alison Weeks

Co-Grant Writers: Mary Beth Arigo, Laurie Blakely, Stephanie Hamel

“Brain Builder Breaks: Achieving Emotional Regulation through Constructive and Creative Projects” (Broadmeadow)

Karen Wilfrid

“Improv and the 4 C’s: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking” (Pollard)

At the Needham School Committee meeting on Tuesday, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of four grants totaling $22,301 in the spring grant cycle. A multi-school grant will fund a 30-unit Virtual Reality Expeditions kit to be shared across all five elementary schools which will allow teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips.

Awarded grants also include:

• 32 African drums will be used for strings students at Pollard to work on rhythm, timing, listening skills, and group dynamics. They will also be utilized in 7th and 8th grade classes for a unit on drumming technique and the history of West African drumming.
• A set of medium blocks at Sunita Williams will be used for indoor recess, STEAM projects, buddy activities, and more by K-5 students.
• With the help from student groups and teachers, a four-tiered indoor Terraponic grow rack will allow everyone at the High School to watch the process of plants growing from seed to plate. The grow rack will reside in the cafeteria where the produce will be served to students.

The Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of its 2012 Spring small grants cycle at a recent meeting of the Needham School Committee. Thirteen grants totaling almost $50,000 were awarded to Needham public schools — supporting academics, the arts, innovative classroom environments, disability awareness and social wellness. At the elementary school level, these include author visits, re-enactments of pivotal historical events, an artist-in-residence and expansion of disabilities awareness programs launched last fall.

Middle schoolers will benefit from a farm-based special education program and two unique events for Community Week, an initiative to promote tolerance of differences within our community. High school students will benefit from the creation of a Fine and Performing Arts presentation space and continue to experience The 5th Quarter, a safe, substance-free place for teens to socialize
with friends after evening sporting events.

The full list of grants include:

1. Grace Lin: Multicultural Author and Illustrator – Broadmeadow
   Geisel Honor and Newbery Honor recipient Grace Lin visits K-5 students to enhance the reading and writing curricula. Known for her authentic voice as a first generation Chinese-American, this multicultural author makes the immigration unit come alive.
   
2. Bringing History to Hillside: Revolutionary War Encampment – Hillside
   The Rehoboth Minute Company: 13th Continental Regiment sets up a Revolutionary War camp on the school field. Grades 3, 4 and 5 tour the encampment, joining costumed revolutionary re-enactors as they live and teach history.
3. Building a Strong Foundation for Literacy – Hillside
   Author Leo Landry serves as author-in-residence for kindergarten students in this pilot program to provide an early foundation for literacy. The interactive relationship between a “real” author and the children enhances the literacy curriculum.
4. One Meeting, Full of Friendship: Japanese Tea Ceremony – Hillside
   Kate Finnegan, a teacher at the Kaji Aso Studios and Tea Ceremony practitioner, demonstrates the tea ceremony for 2nd graders. This cross-cultural experience supports the social studies curriculum and encourages connections with the coming season and friendship values.
5. Read to Succeed Ignite What You Write – Mitchell
   This initiative aims to shape positive reading and writing behaviors, bringing in authors that inspire students to develop a love of reading. Through interactive workshops, authors Suzy Becker, Suzanne Bloom and Mark Peter Hughes share their experiences as writers and give tips for approaching a blank page.
6. Mosaic Mural Mania – Mitchell
   An artist-in-residence works with K-5 students to design and create a mosaic mural to become a public art piece for the school community. The mural will be mounted on moveable boards that can be transferred to a new location when Mitchell is renovated in the next five years.
7. Stand Up For Learning – Newman
   Stand Up for Learning encourages an innovative classroom environment that allows students to work while standing. The grant funds 15 Stand Up Desks, ergonomic workstations where students have more freedom of movement and find it easier to stay focused on learning.
8. Bill Harley Program and Concert – Newman and Broadmeadow
   Grammy-award winning storyteller/songwriter Bill Harley comes to Newman and Broadmeadow for student assemblies and evening family concerts. Mr. Harley tells stories about the experience of childhood and emphasizes the importance of community and traditional values.
9. Disability Awareness: Travis Roy – Newman, Mitchell and Broadmeadow
   Motivational speaker Travis Roy kicks off the 2012-2013 Disability Awareness Programs at Newman, Mitchell and Broadmeadow. Mr. Roy’s message of setting positive goals and believing in oneself regardless of challenges, mirrors Disability Awareness themes. Mr. Roy’s speaking engagements at Hillside and Eliot Disability Awareness programs have been very successful.
10. Needham Community Farm – Pollard Bridges Program – Pollard
    The Needham Community Farm (NCF) collaborates with the Pollard Middle School to create a farm-based special education program for 7th and 8th graders participating in the Bridges Program. The students visit the farm for hands-on, social and emotional learning opportunities. This grant funds curriculum development.
11. Community Week: Inclusion and (dis)Ability Awareness Nights – High Rock and Pollard
    This grant funds the opening and closing events of the first ever Community Week, 5 nights of events to promote tolerance of differences within our community. The opening event is a screening a the Emmy-nominated film Including Samuel. Motivational speaker, Travis Roy, closes Community Week.
12. The 5th Quarter – High School
    5th Quarter provides a safe, substance-free place for Needham High School teens to socialize with friends after evening sporting events. The funding helps provide food and beverages at these social events.
13. Fine and Performing Arts Critique Theater – High School
    This grant provides self-healing tack boards to transform a hallway at the High School into a critique theater and presentation space. This art class resource helps students learn about methods of critique and problem solving using visual language. The public space also aids in educating the student body and faculty about the process of art making.

At the Needham School Committee on Tuesday, the Needham Education Foundation (NEF) announced the recipients of 10 grants totaling $34,296 in the winter grant cycle. A large grant will allow 35 middle and high school teachers to participate in a three-day Project-Based Learning (PBL) workshop, where they will design a project to implement in their own classroom and learn skills and strategies to design and implement additional PBL activities in the future. PBL is at the forefront of educational methods that teaches many of the skills linked to the district’s recently-developed Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies. 

Awarded grants also include:

• Charles Coe, an African-American professional poet, author, and teacher, will spend a week helping 7th grade students use poetry as a lens for their own life experiences, and teaching them the importance of creative expression.
• Mitchell students in grades 1 through 5 will benefit from visually-based math puzzles that support a deeper understanding of concepts for all students, including ELL and other high-needs learners. 
• ImprovBoston will bring their program “Lessons of Improv: The 4 Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking)” to Pollard, allowing 7th grade students to take the stage alongside the cast in an environment of supported risk-taking. 
• To promote enhanced concentration through body stimulation, Balance Ball Chairs will be added to 7th and 8th grade Language-based special education classrooms. 
• Master Lego Model Builder Ian Coffrey will introduce Kindergarten students at Broadmeadow to the basics of design, planning, and project management to create large structural towers using mobile Lego makerspace kits.
• Logitech Crayons will be available to High Rock students as a tool for art and technology integration in all curriculum areas, expanding the ways they can learn and create, and providing accessibility to students who experience physical or sensory barriers to traditional art learning. 
• Six creative calming stations with puzzles, project kits, and games will be installed throughout Broadmeadow for children needing a break from class due to stress or the need for self-regulation. The selected materials are creative, meditative, or cooperative, and will bring about a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy when completed by a student.
• One High Rock teacher, a member of the school’s Equity Steering Committee, will participate in Cornell’s four-course online Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program, which will provide training to support more inclusive practices to benefit both students and staff at the school.
• An accessible three-wheeled bike will be available for students for whom a two-wheeled bike either is not safe or inaccessible in order to participate in the third grade “bike rodeo” at all five elementary schools.