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Spring 2024 All Elementary	Bringing the Portrait Competencies to Life: PONG Picture Books	14097
This grant will fund five picture books for each of the K-5 classrooms in the Needham Public Schools. In a developmentally appropriate way, each book will introduce and reinforce one of the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies – Creative Thinkers & Problem Solvers, Responsible & Resilient Individuals, Socially & Culturally Responsive Contributors, Communicators & Collaborators, and Empowered Learners. The books will be read aloud in designated weeks of the school year to highlight and focus on each of the competencies. The shared reading of each picture book will provide an opportunity for teachers and students to identify the competencies, discuss them, and consider how they show the competency in their own lives. In addition to introducing the competencies to students, these books will reinforce the competencies for teachers, strengthening their comfort and understanding of these goals at the elementary level.

Spring 2024 Newman	Drama Center Props	4942
This grant will fund the purchase of furniture and materials to create diverse and educational dramatic play centers in all five kindergarten classrooms at Newman Elementary School. Playing at the drama center supports creativity, design, social skills, language, imagination, responsibility, organization, and executive functioning. Students use the drama center throughout the school year, but especially during the 'Our Community' curriculum unit, in which students learn about what it means to be a community member and about different places in our community. To support a variety of pretend play, the items will include kitchens, market stands, cash registers, kitchen equipment, and numerous food items, including many from different cultures.

Spring 2024 High Rock	Polar GoFit with Polar E-Unite Heart Rate Watch	10829
This grant will fund 60 Polar E-Unite wrist-based heart rate monitors, the Polar GoFit app license, and virtual training sessions to introduce this new technology in Wellness classes for all students at High Rock Middle School. By allowing students to visualize their heart rate in real-time, they will receive valuable feedback on the intensity of their exercise, helping them understand the relationship between physical activity and physiological responses. The heart rate monitors will be used in a variety of ways to enhance student learning: monitoring exertion levels, understanding individual fitness, promoting goal setting, enhancing data analysis, promoting personalized learning, building a foundation for lifelong health, and exploring the mind-body connection.

Spring 2024 High Rock	High Rock Community Service Learning Garden	4382
This grant will fund the construction costs and materials to build and maintain a series of five raised garden beds at the High Rock Middle School which will be used to grow herbs and vegetables. These beds will be planted with crops and herbs that will be chosen by students after researching the needs of lower income residents of the town and the best short-season crops that maximize food production within the academic year. Students will plant, maintain, and harvest the crops, which will then be donated to the residents of the Linden Street Needham Housing Authority located across the street from the school. This garden will be an opportunity for students to take part in Community Service Learning as they learn about the day-to-day needs of the residents of the Housing Authority while providing them with much needed fresh herbs and vegetables.

Spring 2024 High School	YA Literature: Diverse Voices	3857
This grant will fund class sets of contemporary young adult (YA) novels, teaching resource volumes, and an author visit by one of the selected YA authors to support a new full-year course offering for 12th graders at Needham High School entitled 'YA Literature: Diverse Voices.' Students will read and analyze contemporary YA novels that are diverse in authorship, protagonists, themes, and genres, with specific attention given to the voices of those who have been marginalized or ignored. Texts will include complex human dilemmas, along with compelling, disconcerting characters, and challenge readers to re-examine their understanding of the world.

Spring 2024 Newman	Powering Up Access: Playaways for the Newman Library Collection	3300
This grant will fund approximately 50 Playaways and two bookcases to store them in the library at the Newman Elementary School. Each Playaway is a standalone audiobook player for one fiction or nonfiction title, and they offer a portable, screen-free option that is easily accessible for all students. Audiobooks help students develop listening comprehension skills, explore texts beyond their reading level, and connect with different cultures or experiences in a meaningful way. In addition to being available to the entire Newman community, they will also be available for inter-library loan to the other Needham school libraries upon request.

Winter 2024 Broadmeadow, Eliot, Mitchell, Newman, Hi	International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference Professional Development Opportunity	11025
This grant will fund the registration and travel costs for five Technology Integration Specialists to attend the 2024 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Live Conference in Denver this summer. Technology specialists from Broadmeadow, Eliot, Mitchell, Newman, and Needham High School will attend this professional development opportunity and will share the knowledge gained with their colleagues throughout the district upon returning. The educators will learn current pedagogical strategies, curricular innovations, and new techniques in using technology to create high-impact, sustainable, and scalable learning experiences for all students. The team would specifically seek out sessions that support the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies.

Winter 2024 Eliot, High Rock, Pollard	Cooks After School Enrichment Program	4250
This grant will fund enrichment programming for the Cook's After School tutoring program at the Needham Housing Authority facility on Captain Robert Cook Drive and will benefit their students who attend the Eliot, High Rock, and Pollard schools. The NEF provided initial funding for this program in the spring of 2010 to help improve the low MCAS scores seen from this cohort. Through their tutoring efforts, the students performed better on the MCAS, earning a Governor's Commendation; however, the program closed during COVID. The program has been reestablished with volunteer tutors from Babson College and Noble and Greenough. To complement the tutoring, this grant will fund educational enrichment activities for a group that is typically not exposed to these types of opportunities. Activities include a painter from Gorse Mill, musician David Polansky, a Jamaican storyteller, a historical reenactor, and field trips to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum and Worcester Science Center.

Winter 2024 High Rock	Rubik's Cube Mosaics @HRS	2561
This grant will fund a set of 225 Rubik's Cubes to create mosaics using specific patterns, as well as materials for building a display case to hold the finished designs. It will also fund both beginner and advanced versions of the Rubik's Cube for exploration. This is an Express grant from a Needham High School grant awarded in 2018. Rubik's Cubes mosaics provide an opportunity for students to participate in creative, engaging, and collaborative problem solving activities. As seen through the HS grant, this unique project encourages students to support each other, overcome challenges, meet new friends, and perhaps spark a new interest. Creating these murals and learning how to cube will help foster community for students after school, during advisory, and during technology and math classes.

Winter 2024 High Rock	3D Printing Exploration at High Rock	4754
This grant will fund two 3D printers for High Rock School to explore how 3D printing can motivate students, connect to the curriculum, create engaging lessons, and empower students to become designers and creators using this innovative technology. In the Social Studies classes, students are doing a digital dig instead of an outdoor dig as was done in the past. Students document artifacts, photograph and analyze them, and scan them into a 3D modeling app. The printers would allow students to print a 3D model of their artifact to continue their analysis. In addition, the Tech Club can use the printers for a design competition to create projects that help solve a real world problem.

Winter 2024 Pollard	Year-Round Book Clubs	4328
This grant will fund the purchase of contemporary, high-interest, grade-appropriate texts to support an innovative, new approach to independent reading in 7th grade. Two years ago, one ELA teacher piloted a new approach to independent reading at Pollard: year-round, informal book clubs that meet every Friday for 15 minutes. By adding a structured time and social component, the program was very successful, with students reading 4-5 books per year in addition to those assigned during class. This year, the rest of the ELA team is rolling out the program to give students motivation to keep up with their reading and encouragement to try different kinds of novels. The new texts support these efforts.

Winter 2024 All Elementary	Carolina Gómez: How to Teach Storytelling in the Target Language	600
This grant will fund a professional development workshop with educator Carolina Gómez for all elementary Spanish teachers to learn how to incorporate storytelling into language learning for grades K-5 across the district. Stories provide an engaging way to access the target language, in addition to supporting student social and emotional learning by allowing them to participate and show what they know in a low stakes manner while using different skill sets. Since storytelling is used in older grades, this grant will help vertically align classroom practices in language acquisition.

Winter 2024 Broadmeadow	Sensory and SEL Support Tools for 1st Grade Learners	1791
This grant will fund the purchase of sensory-friendly classroom seating options and therapeutic tools that limit sensory input and/or promote self-regulation for all first grade classrooms. Many first graders are learning to regulate their own emotions and behaviors so that they can meet both the academic and SEL standards and expectations of first grade. By supporting the increased engagement of neurodiverse learners, this grant will bolster their individual achievement as well as the time-on-task for the class as a whole. And by enabling students to make informed choices about their seating and use of sensory tools, the grant will provide all students the opportunity to build critical self-awareness and self-regulation skills. These resources will be available to both neurodivergent and neurotypical 1st grade learners at the discretion of their teachers. The tools and furniture will be shared across the four first grade classrooms and rotated as needed.

Winter 2024 All Elementary	Civil Rights: Bringing History to Life!	13949
This grant will fund integrative teaching and learning experiences in social studies and literacy for all grade 5 students across the district. Specifically, the grant will fund live performances of 'The Right to Dream' by Living Voices, which is a show about the Civil Rights Movement, in addition to the purchase of high-quality, accessible, and diverse reading materials about the Civil Rights Movement for all grade 5 classrooms districtwide. Live theater and literature will enhance classroom ?instruction on the 'Slavery, Civil War, and Civil Rights' unit of the state’s new elementary social studies curriculum which has been rolled out to all 5th grade classrooms this year. Following a successful pilot of integrating this social studies unit with the literacy unit on research reports, the books in particular will help students complete their research, while the performances will bring the Civil Rights Movement to life.

Fall 2023 Mitchell	Trivia to Enhance Reading Engagement	1726
This grant will fund the purchase of 120 books to create a trivia-style reading competition for students in grades 3-5 at Mitchell Elementary School. Students will read ten books and work as teams to answer a series of questions based on the books. Students will explore various topics and genres, which can foster a love for reading. Students will also develop comprehension skills, enhance memory retention skills, improve information recall, and cultivate social skills through collaboration. This grant will also provide small prizes to recognize teams, which will serve as motivation for academic excellence and participation in future events.

Fall 2023 Eliot	Multi-Grade File Folder Kits for Learning and Practice	1674
This grant will fund a library of File Folder Games to be piloted at Eliot Elementary School for all students in grades K-5. The library will include kits across all content areas, including ELA, math, coding, STEAM, and Spanish, with activities targeted by grade level. Each folder contains a complete game for students to independently work on developing and reinforcing various skills. The games will help a wide variety of learners who need extra challenges or practice, repetition for mastery, or hands-on tasks.

Fall 2023 All Elementary	5th Grade Build a Song Residency with Alistair Moock	12750
This grant will fund a district-wide songwriting residency for all 5th grade students at each of Needham’s five elementary schools. In this residency, singer/songwriter Alistair Moock will work with students to create a unique school song. Students will learn foundational concepts for songwriting, and then collaborate with Alistair and their peers in classroom sessions to build a song based on the unique qualities and characteristics of their school. Each Needham elementary school will have a new school song to share with their school community - one that will live on indefinitely.

Fall 2023 Sunita Williams	Creative Dance Residency Giraffes Can't Dance	2400
This grant will fund a Creative Dance residency for Kindergarten students at Sunita Williams Elementary School to explore social emotional learning concepts through literacy, movement, and music. Students will read the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees and learn about Gerald, a giraffe who struggles with confidence and a community that works to learn acceptance while dancing together in the jungle. Students will have the opportunity to explore social emotional learning themes in the literature, and express themselves through movement, leading to a better understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Fall 2023 Pollard	Gear Up for Communication: Headphones for Language Proficiency	2550
This grant will fund 200 headphones with integrated microphones for the world language classrooms at Pollard Middle School. Students will use the headphones with their existing iPads to develop their communicative capacity by being able to listen to tiered authentic recordings in the target language to cultivate their listening comprehension skills and to practice speaking in the target language by responding to a series of prompts. Students will receive personalized proficiency-based feedback and be able to set goals for continued growth. With the addition of this equipment, the world language teachers will be able to offer personalized and differentiated instruction to students. In addition, the headphones will enable the district to expand the use of the online platform Extempore, currently used at the high school, into the middle school curriculum.

Fall 2023 High School	Cuerd@s x Needham HS Connections	1390
This grant will fund a workshop for students in the Connections program at Needham High School with Cuerd@s, an organization that provides embroidered clothing to support mental health. For the creator, the act of embroidery is soothing and creates a healthy environment for processing emotions and building community. For the wearer, the embroidery serves as a built-in de-escalation technique and reminds them that they are safe, loved, and valued. The workshop will provide students the chance to embroider clothing to donate to a local mental health organization and to embroider a sweatshirt for themselves. Connections is a therapeutic program developed to meet the needs of students with emotional disabilities. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for all Connections students to meet at the same time to build community with others on similar paths in overcoming personal challenges.

Fall 2023 Broadmeadow	More to Recess	4311
This grant will fund alternative activities for recess for students in grades 1-5 at Broadmeadow Elementary School. The activities include large yard games such as Jenga, chess, and Connect 4, Legos, and various card games. The funds will also be used for storage containers and a picnic table to provide a surface where groups can play the games. These games will provide different opportunities for engaging with other students during this unstructured time.

Fall 2023 Pollard	Inclusive Learning Center- Community Outings	2855
This grant will fund monthly community outings for all grade 6-8 students in the Inclusive Learning Center Program at Pollard Middle School. The ILC Program is a specialized classroom that serves students with severe disabilities. Most of the students are non-verbal, use augmentative and alternative communication devices, and have various behaviors that limit their access to the general curriculum and experiences of other middle school students. The community outings will allow the students to practice their community safety skills, self-help skills, activities of daily living, and functional academics in a real-world environment.

Fall 2023 High Rock	2024 Total Solar Eclipse Experience	845
This grant will fund eclipse viewers and equipment for students and science teachers at High Rock Middle School to experience the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. As part of the annual Astronomy Night, held at the Wellesley College Observatory in the fall, students will learn about eclipses from Wellesley astronomy students. In the spring, all students will learn about solar eclipses, create personalized pinhole projectors, and receive solar eclipse viewers to generate excitement and encourage participation in safely viewing the partial (90-95%) eclipse in Needham which will occur after school. While eclipses are already a part of the 6th grade science curriculum, the goal is to excite students about scientific phenomena and connect them with a common experience.

Spring 2023 High School	Waypoint Adventure Program for Independent Learning Center & Post-Grad Program	4900
This grant will fund a four-part custom designed program to challenge students, promote responsible risk-taking, develop transition planning skills, and encourage team building and long-term friendships between students receiving special education services through the Needham High School Independent Learning Center and Post-Graduate programs paired with general education peers enrolled in the NHS Special Education Intern Elective course. Young adults with disabilities are often overprotected, sheltered from, or unable to access opportunities to participate in inclusive and challenging recreational experiences which can be limiting in terms of how others perceive them and how they perceive themselves. Waypoint Adventure will facilitate four fully accessible, goal-focused programs including Team Building, Rock Climbing, Hiking, and Kayaking.

Spring 2023 Newman	Lego Tables and Legos	4045
This grant will fund a Lego table, a variety of Lego sets, and storage bins for each of the five Kindergarten classrooms at Newman Elementary School. In addition to supporting fine motor skills, creativity, design, and social skills, the new Lego sets, which include diverse figurines, community members, animals, plants, and construction machines, were chosen to support the four units of study in Kindergarten: community, construction, our earth, and animals and their needs. Particularly in the construction unit, students plan, build, explore, and change their creations based on feedback to make their structures more sturdy.

Spring 2023 Sunita Williams	Bill Harley Storyteller	1500
This grant will fund two performances by local musician, author, and storyteller Bill Harley for all students at Sunita Williams Elementary School. His assemblies will include both original songs and stories and allow for audience participation. Teachers and specialists will prepare students for the visit through integrative lessons and by familiarizing them with his books and stories ahead of his visit.

Spring 2023 District Wide	School Librarian Conference Professional Development Opportunity	10165
This grant will fund the attendance and associated travel costs for seven of the eight Needham Public School Librarians and the new incoming Director of Media and Information Technology at the 2023 American Association of School Librarians conference. This professional development opportunity will support the team's curriculum and professional growth goals by being able to attend sessions focused on research curriculum, teaching with tolerance, and strategies for inclusivity and representation in the libraries. The knowledge gained from the experience will enhance the library curriculum, practices, and offerings and will be shared during common planning times and staff professional development. Note: the Sunita Williams librarian was unable to attend.

Spring 2023 Pollard	Interdisciplinary Learning: Social Studies and Visual Arts in 7th Grade	13567
This grant will fund the development and materials for interdisciplinary learning experiences between social studies and visual arts for 7th grade students at Pollard Middle School. Building on the success of the interdisciplinary art projects in the 6th grade social studies curriculum, a guest artist will help the 7th grade social studies teachers develop two art projects to integrate into their curriculum. The first project will focus on Hindu and/or Buddhist art as part of the social studies unit on India. The second project will focus on Islamic art as part of the unit on the Middle East. The guest artist will also order and prepare the art materials, co-teach the new units, and prepare instructional materials that can be used in future years.

Winter 2023 Newman	Sensory Pathways for Newman	5000
This grant will fund two sensory pathways, one in the kindergarten hallway and one in a bridge hallway, to serve all students at Newman Elementary School. Sensory pathways provide students with a unique way to engage in a physical movement break when needed. The movements increase blood flow and provide sensory input to their bodies, improving their ability to return to the classroom with greater attention and engagement. This is an Express grant from Mitchell.

Winter 2023 Mitchell	Bringing Author Ty Allan Jackson to Mitchell	4000
This grant will fund bringing author Ty Allan Jackson and his books to all students in the Mitchell Elementary School. Ty is an award-winning children’s book author, youth motivational speaker, and literacy advocate. He inspires children to read and has created the Read or Else movement and the financial literacy program Danny Dollar Academy. This event would provide the opportunity for students to engage in a new way with the racial literacy curriculum and equity, while connecting with and being inspired by an author. This is an Express grant from Newman.

Winter 2023 High School	Fitness Center Grant Project	14073
This grant will fund various equipment, including medicine balls, TRX suspension trainers, weights, squat racks, and adjustable benches, to update the Fitness Center at Needham High School. The space is utilized by all Wellness classes during the school day, in addition to student, staff, and athletic use before and after school. The versatile equipment will allow the Wellness curriculum to evolve with advancements in fitness technology, changes in societal norms, and an increased understanding of exercise science. It also provides diverse options for physical activity and inclusive programming, as well as making fitness accessible to all students through accommodations and modifications, such as with lighter weights, inclined benches, and TRX bands.

Winter 2023 High School	LGBTQIA+ English Elective	3971
This grant will fund curriculum materials and professional development with Teachers as Scholars to offer a new English elective to all students at Needham High School entitled 'LGBTQIA+ Literature.' The course will focus on the examination and analysis of short stories, fiction, drama, memoir, film, and graphic fiction by, for, and about LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) people’s lives and experiences. Focus will broaden to include the cultural and social history of LGBTQIA rights and visibility.

Winter 2023 Pollard	American Sign Language and The Deaf Community	15000
This grant will fund a stipend for the American Sign Language elective teacher at Pollard Middle School, enabling 8th grade students to develop cultural awareness and respect for the deaf community as well as novice-level communication skills in order to engage in basic conversation. Through learning experiences that integrate language and cultural study, social justice, and perspective taking, students learn how to make a new friend, ask and answer basic questions, demonstrate cultural proficiency, and identify and challenge ableism. This is the second year of funding for the 2021-2022 Large Grant introducing the new course to Pollard.

Winter 2023 High School	Art in Science: Resin Project	1905
This grant will fund the purchase of epoxy resin, color additives, silicone molds, and other supplies to engage science students at Needham High School in resin-based projects combining artistic expression with scientific concepts. Biology students will design and create artwork to highlight diversity in plant physiology. Chemistry students will explore the physical properties and interactions between various dyes and pigments within the resin as they design and create their artwork. Physics students will design and implement experiments to explore modifications to the resin reaction and how this impacts the physical properties of their artwork. Across science disciplines, the project underscores an important relationship that is rarely covered at NHS: art and science can and do overlap.

Winter 2023 High School	Farizan Author Visit at The NHS Library	1100
This grant will fund the author fee to bring young adult author Sara Farizan to visit Needham High School and conduct a series of workshops with students. Farizan grew up in Boston as a daughter of Iranian immigrant parents. While her novels and short stories reflect diverse genres, the concept of finding a space to belong is a common theme, a topic that resonates strongly with teen readers. The workshops Farizan will deliver include traditional author talks as well as smaller group writing workshops in order to connect with a number of students and in a variety of ways.

Fall 2022 Sunita Williams	Playground Communication Boards	500
This grant will fund the purchase of two communication boards, one for the kindergarten playground and one for the back playground, at the Sunita Williams Elementary School. A communication board allows students to communicate more easily with each other, identify games to play together, and communicate their wants and needs effectively. Visual aids support a wide range of learners, including English language learners, students who use communication devices, and verbal, neuro-typical peers and promote inclusion of people with differing abilities. Play is a critical part of children's development and the boards will support the social interactions of all students.

Fall 2022 Sunita Williams	Adaptive Music Making Tools	4725
This grant will fund the purchase of instruments and adaptive playing tools to enable all students at Sunita Williams Elementary School, regardless of physical or cognitive abilities, access to the musical curriculum. While all students will benefit, these tools will provide an inclusive way to make music for students in the Intensive Learning Center. The instruments, including various sizes of xylophones and hand drums, are adaptable and accessible to students regardless of physical ability. With the addition of adaptive playing tools, the grant ensures all students can play the instruments in the room and can benefit from the music curriculum.

Fall 2022 Pollard	Teaching and Regulating Student Behaviors	2626
This grant will fund materials and equipment to help teach and regulate behaviors for students at Pollard Middle School. These tools, such as games, legos, and fidgets, will help students on behavior intervention plans learn functional, adaptive behaviors by acting as reinforcers for appropriate behavior. Other sensory items can be used to address behavioral dysregulation so that students can more quickly return to class. The items will also help teachers who are looking for ways to manage classroom behavior and have requested choices other than “iPad-time,” so that those devices remain an educational tool.

Fall 2022 High School	Pip Decks @TheNHSLibrary	663
This grant would fund the purchase of three Pip Decks: Ideas Tactics, Storyteller Tactics, and Workshop Tactics to show Needham High School students how to make presentations more engaging and memorable through storytelling. These digital and physical resources will be valuable for teachers to use in classes in order to help students brainstorm exciting ideas, lead engaging workshops, and deliver powerful presentations. They will also be available for teams and student groups to practice these skills outside of the classroom.

Fall 2022 Broadmeadow	Social Emotional Support Furniture	3934
This grant will fund the purchase of furniture to support the social emotional needs of kindergarteners at Broadmeadow Elementary School. The furniture, including Quiet Space cubbies, egg chairs, bean bag chairs, and study carrels, will give the students a way to be 'alone' in a safe space while still being part of whole-class learning time. Many students are coming into school needing to learn how to be part of a large class and to manage their own behaviors in a large space. This furniture will allow those children to remain in their general education classroom while they gain the skills so supports are no longer necessary. The furniture options will be shared among the four kindergarten classrooms and rotated as needed.

Fall 2022 Pollard, High School	Overcoming Barriers in Jazz: Musician Residency	6000
This grant will fund a two-week musician residency in which Tia Fuller—Grammy-nominated Black female jazz saxophonist, composer, Berklee professor, and featured musician in Pixar's Soul—shares her musical expertise and experiences with overcoming the glass ceiling often faced by Black and female-identifying musicians with Needham student musicians from High Rock, Pollard, and Needham High Schools. This residency coincides with the inception of a newly-established lab jazz program at Pollard that provides beginner jazz instruction to High Rock and Pollard students. Needham jazz students will have the opportunity to prepare and rehearse Fuller's original Grammy-nominated charts alongside her and will culminate in a combined performance encompassing all jazz programs in the district.

Fall 2022 Early Childhood Center	Creative Dance Residency	4922
This grant would fund a creative dance residency with Dance4All for Needham Preschool students to explore social emotional learning concepts through literacy, movement, and music. Students will read the book Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees and learn about Gerald, a giraffe who struggles with confidence and a community that works to learn acceptance while dancing together in the jungle. Students will use the message from the book to express themselves through movement and music, leading to a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. Classrooms will receive copies of the book to keep in their libraries.

Fall 2022 High School	Nintendo Switch Games and Consoles for Game Creation and Evaluation	2670
This grant will fund the purchase of five Nintendo Switch game consoles along with school-appropriate games that will allow Needham High School students in the Digital Games History and Design course to experience more advanced game design with minimal prior coding knowledge. Using multiplayer console-based games with custom modes will give students the chance to evaluate the mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics of the games' design and use what they learn to work in teams to develop their own game levels, a component currently not possible in the course.

Fall 2022 High School	Educational Games @TheNHSLibrary & Curriculum Support	2582
This grant would fund the purchase of individual and class sets of curated games to support curriculum learning in various departments at Needham High School as well as for stress relief during student breaks. As Needham High School turns to Universal Design for Learning as a model for education, embedding games into the curriculum is a natural fit. While also fun, games provide a means to practice collaboration, strategy, and problem solving, and they can also reinforce curriculum concepts. The games will be added to the library circulation for students and teachers to check out.

Fall 2022 High School	Castle Scholars Community Building Event	1520
This grant will fund a community-building event at Level 99 in Natick for this year's Needham High School students in the Castle Scholars program. Level 99 experiences are designed to challenge groups physically and mentally to solve puzzles and challenges. The experience will help build community by deepening the connections between students and staff and impact students' sense of belonging and engagement at NHS. The goal of the Castle Scholars program is to increase the representation of Black, Latinx, and Multi-racial students in rigorous educational programming at NHS. Castle Scholars have shown an interest in challenging themselves and are given opportunities and resources to further strengthen their commitment to achieving at the top academic levels. The program also aims to increase students' sense of belonging in the NHS community.

Spring 2022 All Elementary, High Rock	Digital Wellness Education for NPS Grades 3-6	14623
This grant will fund digital wellness and behavior education for all students in grades 3-6 and their families. Dr. Elizabeth Englander, founder and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center at Bridgewater State University, will present to the students during two assemblies at each elementary school and High Rock Middle School. In conjunction with these assemblies, she will host a virtual evening family presentation. These presentations will offer healthy and safe strategies to help students and families navigate an increasingly digital world, as well as addressing concerns of increasing cyberbullying through texting and social media. In addition, copies of Dr. Englander's newest book “You Got a Phone (Now Read This Book)” targeting students in grades 2-8 will be purchased for each classroom/cluster and school library. The assemblies and books align with the existing digital citizenship curriculum and the content will be reinforced in future lessons.

Spring 2022 High School	Uplifting Marginalized Stories: Japanese American Incarceration at Heart Mountain	1600
This grant will fund a Needham High School Social Studies teacher’s participation in the National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH): Heart Mountain Educator Workshop and the work to revamp the way Japanese American incarceration is addressed within the tenth grade Social Studies curriculum. More than 14,000 Japanese Americans were confined at Heart Mountain during World War II, and many Americans know very little, if anything, about the incarceration. The week-long workshop will occur at the Heart Mountain confinement site in Wyoming, which now houses a nationally recognized interpretive center, as well as the Smithsonian affiliate museum, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, and the Homesteader Museum. The funds will support improved teacher understanding, resources, and lessons to be brought back and shared with the Needham High Social Studies Department and to serve all 10th graders.

Spring 2022 Pollard	Let's Read in Spanish! Creation of Pollard Spanish Classroom Libraries	2211
This grant will fund Spanish language books and supplies to create classroom libraries for the Spanish classrooms at Pollard Middle School, impacting over 500 students currently enrolled in Spanish classes. These libraries will provide access to a variety of tiered, engaging, fiction and non-fiction texts in the target language. By providing students with choice and access to tiered and interesting texts, students will be motivated to read and gain confidence in reading in the target language. In addition, the texts will model grammar structures and vocabulary 'in context,' increasing students' language proficiency.

Winter 2022 High Rock ; Pollard	Broadway Masterclass	2500
This grant will fund an after-school masterclass for middle school students with a professional theater artist. Broadway Plus connects students and educators with cast members on national tours of Broadway shows. The 2 hour masterclass will include group-based acting exercises and games, a Q&A, and a short performance by the actor.

Winter 2022 Sunita Williams	Ukes for Sunita Williams	3957
This grant will fund the purchase of 34 ukuleles and playing tools for the Sunita Williams Elementary School. The ukulele brings an entirely new way for students to experience the music curriculum. All students will use the ukuleles during various units and lessons throughout the year and for many years to come. The instrument will help create a common curriculum across the elementary schools and provide an alternative and inclusive way to make music for students in the Early Learning Center (ELC) program. This grant is an express grant previously implemented at Eliot, Broadmeadow, and Newman Schools.

Winter 2022 Pollard	American Sign Language and the Deaf Community	14938
This grant will fund a part-time teacher and curriculum development to launch a new elective course in American Sign Language for 8th grade students at Pollard Middle School. This course will reinforce the school's mission of inclusive practices for all students and it will provide a much-needed service in the community. Students will gain exposure and a broader understanding of the life experiences of members of the Deaf Community, as well as fostering their ability to make personal connections and provide support to the community.

Winter 2022 High School	Raku Workshop at Potter's Shop and School, Needham	3140
This grant will fund Raku workshops for multiple advanced ceramics students at Needham High School. The workshops will be run by a local Needham ceramic studio, Potter's Shop and School at Gorse Mills Studios, where the students will experience an ancient traditional Japanese form of pottery from a world-renowned local Raku artist, Steven Branfmann. In the all day workshops, students will produce pottery, glaze them with raku glazes, get a tour of the studio, learn about the history of the ancient Japanese art form, and use special Raku kilns. Finished pieces will be displayed in the annual NHS Art Show.

Winter 2022 Pollard ; High School	Technical Theater Workshop Series	4006
This grant will fund workshops to provide the necessary training and education Needham High School and Pollard Middle School students need to participate as technical crew and designers for the district's theater productions. Students will learn about sound, lighting, costumes, sets, and stage management from local industry professionals, allowing them to take leadership roles in future theater productions, and to make up for the learning loss due to the lack of live performances during the pandemic. In addition, students will be introduced to new technologies that are being used in the theater industry to elevate the production level of Needham's school performances.

Winter 2022 Newman	Bringing Author Ty Allan Jackson to Newman	4000
This grant will fund bringing author Ty Allan Jackson and his books to all Newman Elementary School students. Ty is an award-winning children's book author, youth motivational speaker, and literacy advocate. He inspires children to read and has created the Read or Else movement and the financial literacy program, Danny Dollar Academy. In addition to covering his speaking fee, the grant will fund copies of his books for all classrooms and the Media Center. Students will have the opportunity to get to know his books before his visit. This event will provide the opportunity for students to connect in a new way with the racial literacy curriculum, while being inspired by a vibrant and engaging author.

Fall 2021 Broadmeadow	Kinesthetic Learning in the Library	4912
This grant will fund the purchase of 4 pedal desks to be used by students at Broadmeadow Elementary School in their library classes. These pedal desks will allow students to ?incorporate ?movement into their library learning ?environment. Movement has been shown to greatly improve learning in all ?students, but especially in elementary students.

Fall 2021 High Rock	Reading to Build Community	1344
This grant will fund the purchase of 150 books to be used to enhance High Rock Middle School’s independent reading program by adding a group reading component. The books have been recommended by Project Lit - an initiative to add diverse books to schools. This opportunity would provide a chance for students to read books collaboratively, engage in culturally relevant topics, and connect with peers and adults.

Fall 2021 High School	Building Needham Steps Up Mentors Capacity for Quality, Sustainable Mentorship	4900
This grant will fund professional training for Needham Steps Up (NSU) mentors at Needham High School with Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) to formalize their mentoring of 20 income-eligible high school students. The grant will also fund professional training of NSU staff members in a “train-the-trainer” model so that future mentors will receive the same instruction. Since all mentors are NHS teachers, this grant will not only benefit the students in the program, but also the students in the mentors’ classrooms. The training will include: providing mentors with a more cohesive and clear understanding of mentorship, particularly within a high school setting; helping mentors increase their responsiveness to students’ needs; helping mentors understand boundaries; and helping mentors establish clear guidelines about the types of issues they can tackle on their own and when it is important to seek outside help.

Fall 2021 Newman	Ukes for Newman	4276
This grant will fund the purchase of 25 ukuleles and a storage rack for the Newman Elementary School. Currently, the only instruments available in the elementary music class are percussion instruments, such as drums and xylophones. The ukulele would bring an entirely new way for students to experience the music curriculum, and the current rise in the popularity of the ukulele will bring a fresh, new, and exciting dimension to the musical experience of Newman students. The ukuleles will be used by all students during various units and lessons throughout the year and for many years to come. This grant also includes funding for the music teacher to attend a workshop on teaching the ukulele in the general music classroom. This grant is an Express grant that has previously been implemented at Eliot and Broadmeadow.

Fall 2021 High Rock, High School	Recontextualizing Enslavement in Ancient Greece and Rome	2000
This grant will fund professional training and work around revamping the way human enslavement is addressed within the sixth grade Social Studies curriculum and in High School Latin classes. Traditionally, curricular materials and common practice have been marked by a differentiation of ancient enslavement from antebellum US race-based enslavement. Ancient texts are marked by 'happy slave' tropes that have carried down to our modern culture as seen in vaudeville minstrel culture and other relics of systemic racism. This work would help to accurately and sensitively address the institution of human enslavement in the ancient Mediterranean world in a way that is nuanced and grade-appropriate. The grant would bring in a respected scholar, Professor Kelly Dugan of Trinity College, to work with the staff on professional development and curricular upgrades that reflect this commitment to accurate historical treatment of a really tough topic.

Fall 2021 All Elementary	World Language Books- Partnering Libraries and the ELL Department	3621
This grant will fund the purchase of books written in languages other than English for all of the elementary school libraries. This program is a partnership between the libraries and the elementary ELL teachers who are seeing a sharp increase in their caseload of students, many of whom have little to no English when arriving in Needham, and who have noticed a lack of appropriate reading material. The books, written in students' home languages, would support their academic growth and independent reading, as well as offer an opportunity to see themselves reflected in the books around them. These collections would be housed in the five elementary libraries for ELL teachers to access for their students, as well as for general circulation.

Fall 2021 Newman	Outdoor Classroom and Community Learning Space	3264
This grant will fund the purchase of a white board, picnic table, rocking chairs, and some garden supplies to transform Newman Elementary School's garden space into an inclusive community learning and outdoor living classroom. The Outdoor Community Classroom will be available for use at any time during the school day by any Newman classroom(s), including Pre-K through 5th grade, as well as the Special Education Program. Teachers will have the flexibility to use the outdoor classroom creatively, to best meet the needs of their students. Teachers will be able to learn from and share best practices with each other, create a comprehensive catalogue of activity ideas, and consider opportunities for collaboration. Students will benefit from time spent outdoors and by developing a sense of ownership of the garden itself, with activities such as planting, weeding, decorating, and composting.

Fall 2021 Pollard, High School	Renowned Guest Artist Performs with NPS Student Jazz Musicians	6000
This grant will fund the artist fee for master trumpet player, composer, and educator Marquis Hill to serve as a featured guest artist with the Pollard and Needham High School Jazz Ensembles. The grant will also fund an arranger to ?orchestrate two of Mr. Hill's ?original works for the NHS and Pollard Jazz Ensembles. Mr. Hill is an artist on the cutting edge of Black American Music with a singularly impressive performance and academic resume. Along with the performance, Mr. Hill will conduct full rehearsals with both Jazz Ensembles and a master class open to all Needham Public School students, which would also include an open question and answer session for the students.

Spring 2021 Pollard	Pollard Middle School Fitness Center	15000
This grant will fund cardio-fitness equipment including two treadmills, two recumbent bikes, two elliptical machines, and two suspension trainers to transform the existing Pollard weight room into a fully functional fitness center. The fitness center would allow the school to create new, engaging fitness units for 7th and 8th graders that address all five components of fitness; body composition, cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. The fitness center would also free up space in the two gymnasiums providing more flexibility for the entire physical education program at the middle school. The space also has the potential for benefitting before and after-school student clubs, faculty fitness hours, and community education.

Spring 2021 High School	Physical Computing with Finch Robots 2.0	2532
This grant will fund the purchase of 16 Finch 2.0 robots to be used by computer programming and robotics students working in pairs. They can also be used to train new members in the Robotics club. These self-contained robots allow students to program and interact with a physical device giving them the ability to see their coding come to life. The robot can be programmed in Java (Mac/PC), Python (Mac/PC/Chromebook), and block-based languages (Mac/PC/Chromebook). These robots have no consumable parts, so they can be used year after year without any additional cost.

Spring 2021 High Rock, Pollard, High School	Project Based Learning PD - Year 2	13250
This grant will fund a three-day professional development workshop for 35 educators on Project Based Learning (PBL) by PBLWorks, a subsidiary of the Buck Institute of Education. This training actively engages teachers in designing, managing, and assessing a project for use in their own classrooms. PBL is at the forefront of educational methods that harnesses the teaching, development, and practice of the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies. The first year of this grant funded the PBL workshop for 35 teachers. The second year builds on that momentum by funding an additional 35 teachers, with a focus on the middle schools, and also providing the funds for one staff member to attend coaching training, allowing them to coach and support NPS teachers in PBL methods. By working with the PBL coach, all 70 staff members can implement their PBL projects and determine best practices to share with their colleagues, ensuring that these methods propagate throughout the district. The coachi

Winter 2021 Sunita Williams	Navigation Games for Interdisciplinary Learning	14718
This grant will fund the purchase of equipment and training materials, the development of lesson plans, and the support of an on-site trainer from Navigation Games so that orienteering can be added to the K-5 curriculum at the Sunita Williams Elementary School. Orienteering allows students to be outside year round engaged in various learning experiences. Participants use a map and a compass to find a series of checkpoints. There is no marked path, so participants must choose their own routes from one checkpoint to the next. These navigation skills offer students a stimulating outdoor learning experience while empowering learners to discover and integrate content from multiple disciplines, engage in self-directed learning, and use technology to support learning to navigate in a digital world. The aim is to pilot a long-lasting curriculum that can be shared with the other elementary schools with a minimal investment in equipment and training.

Winter 2021 Sunita Williams	Creative Dance and Music at Sunita Williams ELC	4828
This grant will fund weekly Creative Dance and Music sessions for students with autism and related developmental disabilities who attend the Early Learning Center at Sunita Williams School. Students will meet once per week for eight weeks to engage in dance and music with their classmates. Dance4All Teaching Artists will lead students in instructional, theme-based creative movement sessions, utilizing a creative and kinesthetic approach that encourages and increases social and emotional growth. Sessions will be led by dance educator Valerie Maio with musical accompanist David Hero, percussionist.

Winter 2021 Pollard	Sensory Pathways for Pollard	5000
This grant will fund the installation of two sensory pathways at Pollard Middle School for the primary benefit of students in the Therapeutic Classroom, Intensive Learning Center, and/or receiving adaptive PE and occupational therapy sessions. Sensory pathways offer a way for students to independently identify and use a strategy that will help them manage their ability to regulate when they have a sensory build-up, allowing them to better focus in the classroom. For the highest need students, the pathways will help in decreasing sensory behaviors and improving gross motor skills and spatial awareness.

Winter 2021 High School	Don't Ask Me Where I'm From: A Community-Wide Literary Conversation	952
This grant will fund print and digital copies of the book Don't Ask Me Where I'm From, by Jennifer De Leon for Needham High School students so that they can participate in a community-wide, moderated discussion with the author as part of the Needham Diversity and Discussion Book Club. Don't Ask Me Where I'm From is a young adult novel by a Boston writer about a Latinx teenager who entered the METCO program in a Boston suburban community. Availability of the books will be publicized to students participating in the METCO program, the SAFE club, the Courageous Conversations on Race course, as well as the entire NHS school community. The Book Club will be hosted by the Needham Diversity Initiative, Needham Human Rights Committee, and the Trustees of the Needham Public Library.

Winter 2021 All Elementary ; High School	MENTORS for Equity and Wellness: A High School and Elementary Partnership	4800
This grant will fund professional consultation fees for Dr. Beth Pinals, clinical psychologist, to help Needham High School students create two age-appropriate interactive workshop videos on race, equity, and emotional wellness for the students at Sunita Williams Elementary School. The workshops will feature students from the NHS course “Courageous Conversations on Race” (CCOR) which practices respecting each other’s background, learning outside of one’s own cultures, and learning how to participate in sensitive conversations about race, and student leaders from Own Your Peace (OYP), which focuses on caring for oneself and caring for the community through acts of kindness, service, and social justice. The videos will be interactive in nature, creating workshop experiences in which each student can explore their own racial/cultural identities, and step into reflecting on experiences of race and racism in and beyond school. Students would explore strategies and engage in dialogue to prom

Winter 2021 High School	Contemporary Literary Criticism @TheNHSLibrary	8856
This grant would fund the purchase of the Contemporary Literary Criticism digital collection, a crucial resource for the success of literary research, particularly for 11th grade students completing the Junior Research Project and 10th grade students completing the Sophomore Oral Project. The digital access will serve as an incredible addition to the library collection by providing hundreds of additional volumes, allowing a greater selection from which students can choose. With simultaneous user access, more students can engage with the content at the same time, either in school or remotely, without having to wait for print volumes to become available.

Winter 2021 High School	Student Ambassador Program	3620
This grant would fund teacher stipends and materials to support the creation and implementation of a robust Student Ambassador program to build community and support for students who are transitioning into Needham High School. Upperclass students will be trained as Student Ambassadors to facilitate community-building activities while providing support for some of the social emotional needs of students transitioning into NHS, including both 9th graders and new-to-Needham upperclass students. The program will build on the traditional elements of the 8th-9th grade transition while extending the outreach to new students, incorporating more structured relationship-building activities in the transition process, and deepening the connections between current and incoming students through the addition of lunch groups.

Winter 2021 All Elementary	Author Visits: Own Voices Writers of Fantasy for the Middle Grades	2750
This grant will fund virtual author visits for 5th grade students in all elementary schools to support the fifth grade reading unit, Fantasy Book Clubs: Themes and Symbols. Tracey Baptiste is the author of The Jumbies series, an Afro-Caribbean fantasy based on traditional island tales. Anna Meriano is the author of the Love Sugar Magic series, set in Texas and featuring characters of Mexican ancestry. Fifth graders from each school will spend approximately one hour with each author learning about their cultural influences and inspirations, the writing process, and what it takes to publish a novel. Each author will include a question and answer section at the end of their program.

Fall 2020 High School	Beyond the Four Walls of the Studio	3073
This grant will fund the purchase of a field camcorder, accessories, and storage bag for the Television Communications courses at Needham High School. This camcorder will allow students to capture high quality video footage when recording outside of the school building, allowing for more real-world experiences in television production. The Needham Channel will match this grant with the funding of a second field camcorder.

Fall 2020 Pollard	Engagement, Inquiry, and Equity: 7th Grade Book Clubs	4958
This grant will fund the purchase of a wide range of books to establish a new Book Club unit in 7th grade English classes. The goal of the unit is to provide a greater degree of student choice, variety, independence, and collaboration than the whole-class novel can offer. Following a year-long review of materials, a robust list of engaging, contemporary fiction titles was chosen that spans reading preferences and abilities and represents diverse and resilient protagonists.

Fall 2020 Pollard	Learning Ally App for Struggling Readers	2949
This grant will fund a one year school building license for the Learning Ally iPad app for eligible Pollard students and a one-time launch workshop for over 30 educators. The Learning Ally app includes features such as human-read audiobook access, highlighting and note-taking ability, and bookmarking. The subscription also includes a teacher platform for advising and communicating with students about their independent reading. The app will help students who struggle with reading build strong vocabulary, strengthen comprehension skills, increase reading fluency and accuracy rates, strengthen reading stamina, and increase reading motivation. This is an Express grant from a Spring 2018 grant at High Rock.

Fall 2020 High School	Needham High School Band Commission Project	5000
This grant will fund the commission of three compositions for Needham High School Band ensembles by Black musician and composer Spencer Parrish. Due to COVID restrictions on music practice and performances, this project will provide band members in each ensemble - Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Ensemble - the opportunity to learn about other aspects of music study, specifically, how a composition evolves from its inception to its completion. The commission will include two master classes for each ensemble, along with materials and final composition. The project will culminate in a virtual recording of each piece.

Spring 2020 All Elementary	Google Virtual Reality Expeditions Kit	9938
This grant will fund one 30-unit Google Virtual Reality Expeditions kit and storage cart to be shared among the five elementary schools. The kit will allow teachers to take their classes on virtual field trips, immersing students in experiences that bring abstract concepts to life and giving students a deeper understanding of the world beyond the classroom.

Spring 2020 Sunita Williams	Imagination Playground Medium Blocks Set	4406
This grant will fund the purchase of one medium block set and storage container for all K-5 students to use at Sunita Williams. The blocks will be used for indoor recess, STEAM projects, buddy activities, and more. The blocks combine the sensory, motor, and intellectual development benefits of block play in a flexible and adaptable format that encourages greater collaboration and physical activity.

Spring 2020 Pollard	Pollard Middle School African Drum Program	2957
This grant will fund the purchase of 32 African drums initially to be used for strings students to work on rhythm, timing, listening skills, and group dynamics. African drumming circles layer multiple rhythms on top of each other to create a complexity of sound that can be created only with a group of people listening, communicating, and moving together. The drums will also be utilized in 7th and 8th grade classes for a unit on drumming technique and the history of West African drumming.

Spring 2020 High School	Grow Racks for NHS	5000
This grant will fund a four-tiered indoor Terraponic grow rack, which can grow almost any plant, allowing for the growth of produce that may not be in season in Massachusetts. The rack will allow everyone at the High School to watch the process of plants growing from seed to plate with the help from student groups and teachers, including special education students. The grow rack will reside in the cafeteria where the produce will be served to students. The NPS Nutrition department will be responsible for maintaining the system.

Winter 2020 Pollard	Language-based Student Stability Chairs	600
This grant will fund the purchase of 8 GAIAM Classic Balance Ball Chairs and 2 sets of GAIAM Classic Balance Ball Chair Leg Extenders to support grade 7 & 8 students in the Language-based special education program. Stability/therapy balls allow students to make micro-movements which helps promote enhanced concentration through body stimulation, keeping students engaged and focused.

Winter 2020 High Rock ; Pollard ; High School	PBLWorks Project Based Learning Workshop	12500
This grant will fund a three-day Project Based Learning (PBL) workshop for 35 middle and high school teachers with PBLWorks, a subsidiary of the Buck Institute of Education. PBL is at the forefront of educational methods that teaches many of the skills linked to the Portrait of a Needham Graduate competencies. The program will actively engage teachers in designing a project for their own use, experiencing a blend of direct instruction, video analysis, hands-on work, resource sharing, and peer collaboration and feedback. Following the workshop, teachers will not only have their own PBL-based project to implement, but they will also have the skills and strategies to design and implement additional PBL activities in the future.

Winter 2020 Broadmeadow	Broadmeadow Lego Mobile Makerspace Grant	625
This grant will fund four introductory lessons with Master Lego Model Builder, Ian Coffrey, as well as four lego makerspace kits, one for each of the four kindergarten classrooms at Broadmeadow. Mr. Coffrey will introduce students to the basics of design, planning, and project management to create large structural towers which will be tested in an earthquake scenario. Following the lesson, students will have access to a makerspace kit that will consist of Legos donated by the Broadmeadow community and teacher-created challenge task cards to guide students in their learning. Each mobile makerspace will have the ability to travel between classrooms or home in a Lego backpack.

Winter 2020 Pollard	Charles Coe, Poet in Residence	4200
This grant will fund a week-long artist-in-residence program to bring Charles Coe, an African-American professional poet, author, and teacher, to spend a week working with the seventh grade at Pollard. Students will spend the week writing and workshopping a poem and in the process, learning about using poetry as a lens for their own life experiences. They will also explore the importance of creative expression, allowing them to examine their own feelings, emotions, and thoughts through making art—providing a template they can carry into their teen and adult lives.

Winter 2020 High Rock	HR Digital Art Integration: Logitech Crayon Grant	3698
This grant will fund the purchase of two classroom sets of Logitech Crayons to be used in classrooms throughout the school as a tool for art and technology integration in all curriculum areas. These crayons will help provide students another way to represent their learning digitally, create amazing works of art, and provide accessibility to students who experience physical or sensory barriers to traditional art learning. One kit will be solely for art classes and arts integration units, and the other will be available for teachers to check out from the technology center.

Winter 2020 Pollard	Improv and the 4 C's: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking	1830
This grant will fund two interactive performances by ImprovBoston in their program 'Lessons of Improv: The 4 Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking)' for one cluster of 7th grade students. The highly interactive performance allows students to take the stage alongside the ImprovBoston cast in an environment of supported risk-taking. The performances seamlessly blend laughter, learning, music, and off-the-cuff theater to show the many ways we are all improvisers, performing each and every day without a script.

Winter 2020 Mitchell	Playful Learning: Enhancing Computational Thinking & Spatial Reasoning for All Learners through Mathematical Games	4999
This grant will fund the purchase of visually-based math puzzles and games that can be used independently and within small groups across a wide range of learners in grades 1 through 5. Using a game-based visual learning approach that activates the brain’s spatial-temporal reasoning skills leads to a deeper understanding of concepts for all students, including ELL and other high-needs learners. This is an Express Grant from a Fall 2018 grant at Broadmeadow.

Winter 2020 Broadmeadow	Brain Builder Breaks: Achieving Emotional Regulation through Constructive and Creative Projects	2568
This grant will fund puzzles, project kits, games, and challenges to establish 6 creative calming stations at Broadmeadow Elementary School for children needing a break from class due to stress or the need for self-regulation. The stations will be spread throughout the school and will be managed by the guidance counselors. The selected materials are creative, meditative, or cooperative, and will bring about a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy when completed by a student.

Winter 2020 All Elementary	Accessible Trike for 3rd Grade Rodeo	756
This grant will fund the purchase of a three-wheeled bike to be used by students in all elementary schools for whom a two-wheeled bike is either not safe or accessible. With this bike, all Needham third grade students will have the opportunity to participate in their school’s “bike rodeo,” demonstrating safe biking skills and earning their bike license.

Winter 2020 High Rock	Cornell's Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program	2520
This grant will fund the participation for one teacher in Cornell’s four-course online Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program. As a member of the High Rock Equity Steering Committee, the teacher’s goals are to foster the creation of a more intentionally inclusive classroom environment, to help navigate difficult conversations with staff and colleagues, and to promote greater engagement on topics of equity, inclusion, LGBTQIA+, and racial diversity within the school and district communities.

Fall 2019 High Rock	Mindfulness at High Rock	4800
This grant will fund a stipend for a mindfulness educator to conduct three workshops for students and teachers in each cluster classroom, for a total of 60 sessions. By working in a smaller setting, all students and a majority of teachers will develop the tools to practice mindfulness independently. Mindfulness practice can have immediate impacts on the moods, emotions and ability to self-regulate for both children and adults and will serve to improve the quality of life for the school community.

Fall 2019 All Elementary	Professional Development at NSTA National Conference	1620
This grant will fund the registration fees for five STEAM teachers to attend the National Science Teachers of America conference in Boston. This conference will provide an opportunity to receive professional development, connect with peers from around the country, share ideas, and learn from best practices. Ideas from the conference will help in the teacher’s current efforts to write new curriculum for the elementary STEAM programming.

Fall 2019 High School	"Your Voice Matters. What's Your Story?"	14930
This grant will fund an artist in residency program with The Cauldron, a feminist social practice focusing on transformative experience through intentional gathering, vulnerability and fostering community. The artists will conduct: a workshop open to all students on NHS’s One Day, professional development for art teachers, a master class with the Senior Studies students producing a permanent student mural, and a guided tour of their exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Funds will also go to purchase hanging supplies, a TV, and display cases to create a gallery for visual and digital arts in the new wing of the high school. The inaugural exhibition in the new gallery space will focus on the theme of empathy as it relates to equity. The Cauldron will work with students creating work for the exhibition to help them understand their own voices and their conversations around equity.

Fall 2019 Broadmeadow, Eliot, Newman	Vox Books- Books that Talk! Express Grant Multi-school	9000
This grant will fund the purchase of an 81-title collection of Vox Books for the Broadmeadow, Eliot and Newman libraries. Vox Books are hardcover books with an integrated audio recording. To pair the tactile experience of a book along with listening to the book being read aloud will help many emergent readers, engage reluctant readers, and support teachers as they strive to differentiate instruction. This is an Express Grant from a Fall 2018 grant at Hillside.

Fall 2019 All Elementary	Arts Education Professional Development Opportunity	3114
This grant will fund registration fees and travel for four elementary visual arts teachers to attend the National Arts Education Association conference in Minneapolis. Attendees will focus on sessions relating to kindergarten curriculum and strategies for inclusivity and representation in the art room. Learnings from the conference will be shared with the entire elementary team and integrated into their teaching.

Fall 2019 District Wide	Math Recess: An experience in play and learning	3000
This grant will fund professional development for all K-5 math coaches and grade 6-12 math teachers with Sunil Singh, co-author of “Math Recess,” a book which emphasizes learning mathematics through play and as a means to provide equity to all students. He will work with teachers to deepen their understanding of mathematical play, provide ideas for implementation, and identify where the ideas integrate and align with math state frameworks.

Fall 2019 High School	Author Jen Deaderick @TheNHSLibrary	200
This grant will fund a visit with graphic novel author Jen Deaderick to host a series of workshops at the NHS’s One Day program. Addressing the theme of ""community,"" these workshops will focus on the challenges of gender and equality in our local and national communities as well as discuss her graphic novel, She the People.

Fall 2019 Broadmeadow	Pedometers for Movement, Math, and More!	1645
This grant will fund the purchase of a class set of pedometers for each second grade classroom. Beyond the positive physical benefits, the step count data from the pedometers will be used to reinforce math concepts such as graphing and place value and to better understand real-life distances in their geography units.

Fall 2019 Mitchell	Sensory Pathways for Mitchell	5000
This grant will fund the installation of two sensory paths for students to use when they need a movement or therapeutic break. One pathway will be located in the kindergarten modular building and the second pathway will be located in the grades 1-2 wing. Each path is designed to change the child’s body position as they complete the course, focusing on academic visuals while moving the body in a specific order. Students are able to release the energy and sensory build up that impacts their ability to focus and retain information in the classroom. This is an Express Grant from a Winter 2019 grant at Broadmeadow.

Fall 2019 Sunita Williams	Cooking For Kids	668
This grant will fund the purchase of ingredients to use in a weekly cooking activity for students learning life skills in substantially separate early learning classrooms. The cooking activity will provide an opportunity for various service providers to collaborate, and it will serve as a chance for reverse inclusion in which ELC general education peers can help with the activity and provide appropriate peer modeling.

Fall 2019 Pollard	History At Play - "A Revolution of Her Own!"	1800
This grant will fund four performances for the Pollard 8th grade of ""A Revolution of Her Own!"" - the story of Massachusetts native, Deborah Sampson, the first woman to enlist, to fight, and to be honorably discharged from the American Military. Students will travel back in time to experience a story that will enrich and deepen their understanding of and connection to the lives of common people during the Revolutionary War era, particularly women. Each performance will be followed by a question and answer session with the performer.

Fall 2019 Eliot	Sensory Pathways for Eliot	4325
This grant will fund the installation of two sensory paths for students to use when they need a movement or therapeutic break. One pathway will be located in a high traffic area and the second pathway will be located in a quieter wing upstairs. Each path is designed to change the child’s body position as they complete the course, focusing on academic visuals while moving the body in a specific order. Students are able to release the energy and sensory build up that impacts their ability to focus and retain information in the classroom. This is an Express Grant from a Winter 2019 grant at Broadmeadow.

Spring 2019 High School	Smithsonian American Art Museum Summer Institute 2019	450
This grant will fund one teacher to attend the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Summer Institute. This will help the teacher better navigate and leverage the resources offered through the Smithsonian and create lesson plans with the help of museum experts. Knowledge will be shared with social studies colleagues who teach American history.

Spring 2019 High Rock	Hispanic Literary Expansion	892
This grant will fund the expansion of the collection of Spanish-language and Latino-experience literature at the High Rock library. Books to be purchased range from children’s books in Spanish as well as young adult novels in both Spanish and English, and simple non-fiction books in Spanish.

Spring 2019 Hillside	A Twenty-First Century Bookroom	2932
This grant will fund the creation of a school-wide bookroom that supports meeting the reading needs and interests of all students and provides teachers with a user-friendly design for accessing individual, small group, and whole-class texts. School-owned titles will be inventoried and regrouped in ways that support diverse learners and readers and allow for easy checkout and integration into classroom libraries and curriculum teaching. Funds will be used for stipends for teachers and organizational materials.

Spring 2019 Mitchell	Understanding Student Differences through Film and Speaker Series	580
This grant will fund a screening and panel discussion of the documentary, Far From the Tree, in order to build community among parents and educators by providing an opportunity for them to share and discuss the challenges of parenting and educating students with differences in areas including gender identity, physical ability, cognition, race and ethnicity. Funds will pay for film licensing fee and custodial costs.

Spring 2019 Mitchell	Modeling the 21st Century Elementary Media Center	9500
This grant will fund the redesign of the Mitchell School Media Center to create a model 21st century media space. The new media center will house traditional and digital media, a STEAM learning center, and spaces for collaborative student and adult work. Funds will be used to purchase flexible tables, shelving that allows organization by genre, seating areas that promote collaboration, and infrastructure of a more advanced technology lab.

Spring 2019 Newman	Cultural Conversations through Community Book Studies	5000
This grant will fund a speaker and powerful readings for staff, students, and parents that deepen understanding of equity and diversity. A group of administrators, teachers and specialists will attend the 'Teaching Tolerance Workshop: Facilitating Critical Conversations', read the book 'Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain' and attend follow-up meetings, and parents and students will attend a book club series to discuss 'Ghost Boys'. Funds will pay for workshop speaker fees and 'Teaching Tolerance Workshop' books.

Spring 2019 Hillside	How Many Elephants? Engaging Kindergartners and Their Families in Engineering Design Challenges	451
This grant will fund the purchase of backpacks which will include materials, books and instructions for students and parents to complete a critical thinking and building project.

Spring 2019 Hillside	Professional Development in Mindfulness and Resiliency Training	5000
This grant will fund an 8-week mindfulness course for up to 20 teachers as part of the Needham Public School’s focus on health and wellness. Teachers and staff members will learn strategies and life changing techniques to reduce physical symptoms of stress and burnout, will encourage a sense of community and creativity, and increase resiliency. These skills can then be translated into the ways teachers structure their classroom settings and implement future mindfulness strategies with their students. Funds will be used to pay the instructor’s fee and cover the cost of the accompanying manual which will contain significant content associated with the course.

Spring 2019 High Rock	Exploring Robotics	1540
This grant will fund the purchase of various robotic equipment for exploration by High Rock teachers to help inspire ways to bring coding/robotics into their classrooms and to determine which robot/coding would best apply to the larger group. After two months of exploring applications, teachers will provide feedback which will lead to the selection of the purchase of specific robotic kits for High Rock through departmental and NPS technology funds.

Spring 2019 Pollard	Audiobooks and Digital Books to Support Differentiation in the ELA Classroom	5000
This grant will fund the purchase of audiobooks of three core texts in ELA and five of one other book to help differentiate learning to meet the needs of special education, general education and ELL students. Some funds will also be used for unlimited simultaneous-use digital texts that students will be able to access through their iPads or other portable digital devices.

Winter 2019 Broadmeadow	Sensory Pathways	5000
This grant will fund the creation of two sensory paths for students to use throughout the school day when they need a movement break. Paths will be located in the first-grade wing for the kindergarten, first and second graders to use. The second path will be created on the ground floor, near the Occupational Therapy room. Each path is designed to change the child’s body position as he/she completes the course, focusing on academic visuals while moving the body in a specific order. By jumping, bouncing, bending, pushing and breathing, students will be able to release the energy and sensory build up that impacts their ability to best utilize their brain. Funds will pay for the creation and installation of the two paths (made of waterproof commercial grade floor film with an adhesive backing).

Winter 2019 Pollard	Pollard Low-Ropes Challenge Course	14960
This grant will provide funding to build an outdoor low-ropes challenge course at Pollard, to be used as a primary teaching space for the grade 7 experiential education classes. The course will present meaningful physical and mental challenges for middle school students to help them develop important social and emotional skills. It would also be available to other teachers and administrators and used for summer explorations and other team-building activities within the Pollard community. Funds would be used for the purchase and building of 7 outdoor elements and a 3-day training for up to 12 participants. Note: a similar grant was funded at Pollard back in 2016, but the teacher who wrote the grant left the district soon after and the course was never built.

Winter 2019 Hillside	Author Visit: Gloria Respress Churchwell	2000
This grant will fund a visit from Newton author Gloria Respress-Churchwell, who has a new picture book coming out in the Fall of 2019 entitled Follow Chester!, the true story of Dr. Chester Pierce, the first African American to play college football south of the Mason-Dixon line. When Chester faced the indignities of Jim Crow laws in Virginia, his Harvard football teammates experienced them with him and became allies in his experience. The author will also present the Follow Chester! Challenge in which students discuss, listen and come up with solutions and ways they can work together. Also included is a musical performance to accompany the book, entitled Savanah Green, who is a third grader in the podcast and music video who connects with Chester on pushing against biases. Funds would cover the fees for the author and 2 musical performers.

Winter 2019 Pollard	Planet Box	962
This grant will fund the purchase of two small aquaponics systems that each contain a fish tank that pumps water and a constant source of fertilizer (fish waste) into a small garden. It is an in-school ecosystem that students can maintain, study, and use as a learning platform for many of the units of study in 7th grade science, including modeling how energy is passed from one organism to another, human impact on ecosystems, sustainable design, and showing how water, carbon, and nitrogen are cycled through the fish tank and into the plants. Students can also understand how plants need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to survive, as well as performing water quality tests in the tank. Funds will cover the cost of Planetbox as well as fish, plants and a water testing kit.

Winter 2019 Pollard	8th Grade Experiential Education: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Equipment	1256
This grant will fund the purchase of equipment and materials to enhance the 8th Grade Experiential Education course, which will expose students to Mindfulness techniques and strategies to help reduce stress. Materials include yoga mats, extra-heavy yoga blankets, yoga blocks and a storage trunk. The materials, which will also be used during the Yoga and Relaxation Stretch, will help support each student’s overall experience and individual needs by adding to functionality and comfort while participating in yoga and meditation.

Winter 2019 Pollard	Differentiated Learning Station	579
This grant will fund furniture and materials to create a learning center for students within a Social Studies classroom to allow students to achieve their potential, regardless of their level of readiness. It would be used for multiple purposes: for a teacher or teaching assistant to work individually with a student who needs additional support or for students who have completed work ahead of others to go to complete additional enrichment work. Making it comfortable and separate from the rows of desks, it would also be used for students who just need a mindfulness break. Funds would be used to purchase chairs, a rug, a lamp and plants.

Winter 2019 Eliot	Sensory Toolkit	557
This grant would fund the purchase an assortment of therapy aids, which would be made available to students attending all after-school PTC activities. By providing these support aids, Eliot will ensure that all students and families can participate in, enjoy and thrive during after-hours social/emotional, community building activities. Therapy aids to be purchased include noise-cancelling headphones, fidgets, and other “toys” designed to promote self-regulation.

Winter 2019 Eliot	Literacy Lounge	701
This grant would fund furniture to create a home-like environment for students to receive literacy support and instruction in the literacy specialist’s office. Additionally, this space would be used by student groups meeting for lunch and students using the room with teaching assistants. The “lounge” setting minimizes the traditional hierarchy of the classroom, allowing children to partner with adults in building knowledge and skills. Funds would be used to purchase a sofa and two love seats.

Fall 2018 High School	Differentiated Learning Spaces @TheNHSLibrary	14,994
This grant will fund a library redesign project to respond to the needs of students and staff, particularly for collaborative work spaces and areas for individual study. Teachers can reserve the collaboration area for students to complete group projects and students can take advantage of the space when classes are not meeting in the location. Study spaces and noise-cancelling headphones will be made available for individuals who need a more peaceful workspace. Funds will be used to purchase flexible tables, space dividers, monitors and moveable whiteboards for students and classes in need of collaborative spaces, as well as noise-cancelling headphones.

Fall 2018 High School	World War Women: The Unsung Heroines of WWII	550
This grant will help fund an enriching experience for both 11th grade United State History and 10th World and American History classes. Specifically the grant will fund the 'World War Women: The Unsung Heroines of WWII' performance, which embodies the spirit of international women who risked their lives to defeat Fascism in World War II. World War Women is a suspenseful reliving of the terrors and triumphs of some of our greatest heroines. From organizing the resistance, to rescuing downed RAF pilots, testing new aircraft, and flying dangerous missions.

Fall 2018 Broadmeadow	Full STEAM Ahead: Enhancing Computational Thinking & Spatial Reasoning for All Learners through Mathematical Play	5,000
This grant will establish small 'math play libraries' with STEAM based materials to help provide all students, especially those who statistically may otherwise fall behind in math, access to research-based enriching and engaging mathematical activities as teachers work to emphasize the math practice standards and incorporate more 'unplugged' STEAM learning and play into students' daily routines.

Fall 2018 Hillside	Vox Books- Books that Talk!	3,076
Grant funds will provide a starter collection of 82 Vox Books, which are hardcover books with full audio recording, to be available for borrowing from the school library. Fiction, nonfiction, and Spanish book titles will be available for students and teachers to use in school. Classroom teachers, specialists, and special education staff have expressed interest in using Vox Books with their students.

Fall 2018 High School	Making Space	2,162
This grant will fund a collaborative, school-wide functional art installation that both visibly represents the mission to promote equity within Needham High School as well as function as a semi-private, portable structure with seating inside that is available for students and/or staff to sit and explore important topics and have challenging conversations about race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, language, socio-economic strata, immigration status, etc. All students have the opportunity to participate on some level in creating each stage of this art installation while engaging in a curriculum that focuses on fostering social-emotional learning, self-reflection, perspective taking and cultural competency.

Fall 2018 Broadmeadow	Global Citizens of Broadmeadow: All Are Welcome	2,833
This grant will fund the purchase of 3' x 5' national flags of approximately 70 countries that represent the ancestry of the Broadmeadow population to be hung throughout the school. In addition, a large world map will be procured to allow children to visualize the various countries of origin of their school family. A belief that 'All Are Welcome' will be cultivated and celebrated through the purchase of the picture book All Are Welcome for all classroom teachers so that they will be able to underscore and explicitly teach the message that 'All Are Welcome' in the Broadmeadow School Community.

Fall 2018 High School	The Sky's the Limit: Drones at NHS	3,177
This grant will finance the purchase of three training drones and one professional cinematography drone, along with its necessary accessories, for use by academic and extracurricular groups at Needham High School. These drones will take video footage and be controlled by a remote control held by the student. Students enrolled in technology leaders course will be trained on how to use the drones, and then will train others who are interested in learning. They will bring an entirely unique dimension to education and the arts as they allow students to view the world around them from a new perspective. These drones will impact a number of activities at Needham High School, most notably Needham High School News (NHSN), the TV Communications courses, and the Technology Leaders program.

Fall 2018 Eliot	The Walking Classroom	4,375
This grant will fund the purchase of 34 Walking classroom devices for some 5th grade students who will benefit from alternative opportunities to process curriculum while allowing them to move their bodies. The Walking Classroom is a national award-winning education program that provides students and teachers with an innovative way to get exercise without sacrificing instructional time. Students take brisk 20-minute walks as a class while listening to the same custom-written, kid-friendly podcast that comes pre-loaded on their WalkKit (audio device). Each podcast begins with a brief health literacy message and includes a character value woven throughout the narrative.

Fall 2018 Broadmeadow	Ukes for Broadmeadow	2,776
This grant will provide the funds to purchase 30 ukuleles and a storage rack for the Broadmeadow school. The traditional instruments that are currently available for Needham elementary students to use in music class are percussion instruments, such as drums and xylophones. The ukuleles will be used by all of the Broadmeadow students during various units and lessons throughout this year and for many years to come. This grant also includes funding for the music teacher, Heather Tryon, to attend a workshop on teaching the ukulele in the general music classroom.

Fall 2018 High School	Gregory Katsoulis Author Visit @TheNHSLibrary	350
This grant would allow for author Gregory Katsoulis to host two sessions at the NHS’s One Day program. Addressing the theme of “Finding the Power of Your Voice”, this author would focus on his novels, All Rights Reserved and Access Restricted, that follow the experience of a teenage girl who chooses to be silent for 18 months to protest her government and inadvertently sparks a revolution.

Fall 2018 High School	Rubik's Cube Mosaics @TheNHSLibrary	1,500
Rubik’s Cubes mosaics provide an opportunity for students to participate in a creative, engaging, and collaborative problem solving activity. This unique project encourages students to support each other, overcome challenges, and perhaps spark a new interest.

Fall 2018 Pollard, High School	Sons of Serendip Residency	10,500
This grant will fund a collaboration with Sons of Serendip, bringing them to the Needham Public Schools for a three day Residency. During this residency, Sons of Serendip will engage the general student population at Pollard and Needham High School through a series of school-wide performances connected to the All School Reads, where students will engage with topics raised in these books surrounding race, identity, and equity through the arts. The group will also interact with students in the performing ensembles at each school in a series of masterclasses directly tied to the Eighth Grade Composition Unity and learning goals of the NHS performing enesembles. This Residency also includes a collaboration with the Needham Channel who will document the Residency and produce a mini-documentary to be shared with the greater community.

Fall 2018 Mitchell	Yoga For Every Learner Educator Training	3,645
This grant will seek to engage 5th grade educators and specialists in high quality professional training in yoga and mindfulness practices that support all learning styles (auditory, visual and kinesthetic) making sure to include students with disabilities in ALL disability categories. This grant will help students and teachers of all abilities to expand skills to support student development of mind-body awareness, improvement of self regulation, overall physical fitness, behavior and performance. Reducing anxiety will help our students maximize their performance to reach their full potential.

Fall 2018 Mitchell	Yoga For Every Learner- Direct Instruction	4,900
The goal of this grant is to engage 5th grade students in high quality instruction in Yoga and Mindfulness practices that support all learning styles (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic) making sure to include students with disabilities in ALL disability categories. Over the course of this grant, direct instruction in yoga and mindfulness practices will be provided to all 82 5th grade student population. Students will learn yoga and mindfulness tools and strategies in order to increase self awareness, self regulation, and self confidence. Students will receive direct instruction from the author of the Breathe and Play Inclusive Yoga Program and Curriculum, Heather DiNino.

Fall 2018 High School	Cognition and Instruction in STEM - Professional Development for 4 Science Teachers	3,300
This grant will fund enrollment of four Needham High School teachers in a distance learning course, Advanced Modeling Instruction: Cognition and Instruction in STEM. This course is offered by the American Modeling Teachers Association and builds upon summer professional development workshops that the teachers have previously taken. The Modeling Instruction approach to chemistry and physics has been shown to increase student understanding of fundamental scientific concepts and strengthen students’ ability to critically examine data, understand the application of mathematical concepts to science, and to discuss and represent scientific phenomena. The attending teachers will work closely together in the coming years to fully utilize the novel techniques learned during the course.

Fall 2018 High Rock	Examined Life: Greek Studies in the Schools Fellowship	4,415
This grant will provide a Technology Integration Specialist with a unique professional development opportunity to strengthen her interdisciplinary collaboration and instruction at High Rock. The grant will fund a course about Greek life, culture, and history and a study tour of Greece. It will allow for enhanced digital media resources and new student projects using cutting edge technology and 21st century skills which can be connected to the study of the ancient world.

Spring 2018 Mitchell	21st Century Classroom	5,000
Grant funds will purchase new types of seating and desks for four grade four classrooms to create student-centered, high-flexibility, high-engagement classrooms of the future. These changes complement the new demands of Needham's curricula, providing immediate learning benefits to approximately 90 rising fourth graders, plus similar benefits for successive classes going into the future.

Spring 2018 High Rock	Bringing Greek Archaeology Alive in the Sixth Grade Classroom	4,900
This grant would provide a unique opportunity to strengthen, expand, and update major areas of study within the sixth grade Social Studies curriculum by making it possible for a classroom teacher to participate on an actual Bronze Age archaeological dig and field school just outside of Delphi, Greece. This grant will allow for cutting edge professional development among the Social Studies department, new lesson plans, and curriculum content to keep pace with the field of archaeology, and give students a first-hand perspective of a working dig through in-person presentations and in-the-field videos.

Spring 2018 High Rock	A 'Learning Ally' for Struggling Readers	5,000
This grant will fund a Learning Ally school membership that will support students identified as having reading difficulty. Any student who struggles to independently access texts or books in standard print will benefit from having this Learning Ally membership available to them on their school iPad. The Learning Ally provides access to grade level texts at each student's individual reading level and wiill help students who struggle with reading to build vocabulary, comprehension, reading fluency, reading stamina, and will likely lead to increased reading motivation.This grant will also fund $2000 worth of new, high interest books for sixth grade students to access in their English Language Arts classroom.

Spring 2018 High School	Modeling Chemistry PD	2,400
This grant will fund attendance for three Needham High School chemistry teachers at an American Modeling Teachers Association Modeling Curriculum workshop, Chemistry II. The Modeling Instruction approach to chemistry (and physics) has been shown to increase student understanding of fundamental chemical concepts and strengthen students’ ability to critically examine data, understand the application of mathematical concepts to science, and to discuss and represent chemical phenomena.

Spring 2018 High School	CSTA Summer Conference	4,825
This grant will fund up to three teachers to attend the Computer Science Teachers Association Conference this summer. At the conference, the teachers will attend up to three pre-conference workshops, and attend both days of the conference. This is a unique opportunity for teachers to gain professional development and connect with peers from around the country to share ideas and learn from best practices.

2017-2018 Pollard	Improving Digital Communication: Helping Pollard Students Better Understand How Social Media Communication Can Be Misinterpreted	15,000
Many middle school students are inundated with texts, Instagram, and Snapchats. They may also face challenging social dynamics, such as blocking or muting, on multiplayer video games. All of these messages and experiences are causing extreme stress and anxiety for students, as well as for their teachers and parents, and they have become a distraction to learning. While it is unrealistic to assume that students will become less reliant upon smartphones, games, and social media in the near future, it is incumbent upon families and educators to teach teens how to use digital communication in ways that are most constructive and least stressful. Targeted toward all Pollard students, this project seeks to create empathy surrounding online communication, increase awareness of how digital communication can be misinterpreted, help students develop personal strategies and healthy boundaries for dealing with online communication, and decrease stress surrounding digital communication. This pro

2017-2018 District Wide	Engage, Motivate, and Transform Learning with Video	14,545
This grant would fund a Padcaster Studio filming set up for each school. The Padcaster would be housed by the Media and Digital Learning Department and would be available for every teacher and class to borrow to execute classroom projects that include video. A Padcaster Studio (https://www.padcaster.com/padcaster-studio/) is a quick, easy, and high-quality way to have students create videos to demonstrate their learning. It would also fund stipends of $200 each to 2 members of my department to create the initial HOW TO documents and guides. Further professional development will be supported through already existing meetings and structures in my department and with teachers.

2017-2018 All Elementary	Skills & Thrills World Tour: Extending Summer Reading Opportunities to Intermediate Grades	3,590
This grant will help launch a summer reading program for at-risk readers in fourth and fifth grades. Available to all five elementary schools through Needham Community Education, Skills & Thrills: World Tour will build upon the successful structures already in place in the Skills & Thrills program for grades 1-3. Through engaging, interdisciplinary projects, students will apply critical reading and note-taking skills as they explore countries of the world through informational text, biographies, hybrid fiction, and traditional literature. Upper grade students will have opportunities to mentor younger readers, develop global awareness, and avoid the 'summer slide', a significant regression in reading proficiency that so often occurs during the summer months.

Fall 2017 Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell, Newman	Breakout EDU Kits - Elementary	2,785
This grant will fund the purchase of Breakout EDU Kits for four elementary schools: 6 kits for Hillside, Eliot and Newman, 4 for Mitchell as they already have two. Broadmeadow is not included as they purchased kits last year via a separate PTC grant. These kits offer a fun, creative way to develop team-building skills, critical thinking skills and can span all subjects and topics. Similar to an Escape Room, where participants solve puzzles in order to get out of an area before time runs out, Breakout EDU is the educational version in which students work collaboratively to solve a series of problems to open a locked box (or a series of them).

Fall 2017 Pollard	Pollard Garden Beds: an outdoor learning space for STEM and CSL	5,000
This grant will fund a collaboration with the Needham Community Farm (NCF) to bring a garden-based STEM and social justice curriculum to Pollard utilizing 6 raised beds and 3 picnic tables as an outdoor classroom space. This winter, NCF will lead weekly food justice and gardening workshops during STRETCH blocks. NCF will also lead a weekly STEM-based gardening club which will help design and build an irrigation system, trellising and other projects to support garden maintenance throughout the summer.

Fall 2017 All Elementary	Recorder with Eine Kleine Konsort	2,625
This grant will bring Eine Kleine Konsort, a professional recorder quartet comprised of veteran music educators, to each Needham elementary school for a 45-50 minute interactive assembly. This enrichment program is a hands-on workshop designed specifically for beginning recorder students and will be scheduled at the end of the year to reward 3rd grade students for their hard work and build excitement for the 4th grade program next Fall.

Fall 2017 Eliot	Ukes for Eliot	2,278
This grant will provide the funds to purchase 30 ukuleles and a storage rack for the Eliot school. The traditional instruments that are currently available for Needham elementary students to use in music class are percussion instruments, such as drums and xylophones. There are no string instruments like ukuleles and guitars for the elementary students to use. While the guitar is a difficult instrument for young children to play, the easier ukulele would bring an entirely new way for our students to experience the music curriculum, and the current rise in the popularity of the ukulele will bring a fresh, new and exciting dimension to the musical experience of our Eliot school students.

Fall 2017 High School	Educating Needham Students about Calculator Use	540
This grant will fund the purchase of 3 Texas Instruments TI-84 graphing calculators to be used to teach Needham Public Schools students ranging from grades 9 to 12 about the various capabilities of their calculators. Three classes will be offered: one which will be focused on basic graphing calculator functions, another on calculator functions useful for the SAT 1, and the last on calculator functions useful for Physics courses and exams. Each class will expand students’ mathematical knowledge and allow them to take away essential information on their calculators that will assist them in the future.

Fall 2017 Pollard	Moving Around the Map!	759
This grant will provide funds to purchase a Giant Map Floor Kit to enrich the Grade 8 Social studies curriculum. This 11’x14’ floor map will allow students to learn about the political and physical geography of the United States in a kinesthetic, engaging and interdisciplinary manner.

Fall 2017 Pollard	DBT Skills Group Training	2,150
This grant will fund the training of the Wellness staff, Health teachers, Guidance Counselors and Special Education staff at Pollard on the use of dialectical behavior stress management skills. The training seeks to enrich and deepen their perspective and ability to better support and impact all students in 7th and 8th grades. By utilizing these skills on all students, the students will learn lasting skills on how to deal with the stress that is inevitable in life. There will also be a skills introduction information session for parents and a model training group demonstrating how to best employ the skills with students.

Fall 2017 High School	PlayAways at the NHS Library	1,640
This grant would provide for the purchase of PlayAways for the NHS Library collection. These are mp3 devices that are pre-loaded with specific audiobook titles, and the title list has been created to compliment the English curriculum. These accessible and engaging audiobooks will be made available to all students and staff and will be especially beneficial to English language learners and special education students.

Fall 2017 High Rock	iPad Tabletop Stand for Social Studies and Science	1,234
This grant will fund 11 iPad stands to be used by the Social Studies and Science teachers within all 5 clusters as well as an additional stand to be used by the enrichment teachers. iPad stands allow teachers to magnify text, images, artifacts, 3-dimensional objects, student work and science experiments.

Fall 2017 Eliot	Sol y Canto-A Latin American Musical Journey	1,300
This grant will fund two performances by Sol y Canto, providing an interactive introduction to traditional Latin American songs and instruments, helping to reinforce the Spanish language being taught in schools. Performances will include the Spanish guitar, Caribbean plenaras (hand drums) and bongos, South American quena (bamboo flute), and an assortment of small percussion instruments. Students will be invited to experiment with these instruments as they learn about their origins and individual histories.

Fall 2017 High Rock, Pollard, High School	21st Century Theater Technology and Stagecraft Skills for the Performing Arts Dept. in Needham	9,032
This grant will establish a Stagecraft equipment base and articulate a path toward training students to program and operate lights and sound for all NPS performances at Pollard. This will initially be an extra-curricular program at Pollard/High Rock and will soon be incorporated into the Stretch Elective at Pollard. A partnership will also be established between the high school and Pollard/HR so that high school students and staff with more technical knowledge can help support and train the middle school students.

Fall 2017 High Rock	Breakout EDU Kits - High Rock	770
This grant will fund the purchase of 6 Breakout EDU kits to be used within the advisory program as well as in language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and media and technology classes. They can be used to introduce a new lesson or concept for any subject, to reinforce and strengthen learning, or at the end of a unit to bring closure to a lesson and reinforce skills and concepts learned. Similar to an Escape Room, where participants solve puzzles in order to get out of an area before time runs out, Breakout EDU is the educational version in which students work collaboratively to solve a series of problems to open a locked box (or a series of them).

Fall 2017 High School	Digital Magazines @TheNHSLibrary	1,444
This grant will fund the purchase of digital magazines through the NHS Library to support the high school curriculum and foster greater student curiosity. Responding to teacher’s desire to provide easier access to articles and magazines for entire classes, a number of digital magazines, including Scientific News, Time, National Review and Scientific American will be purchased through EBSCO’s Flipster platform, which offer dynamic files that mirror the layout, content and vibrancy of print publications.

Fall 2017 High School	One Day Author Panel @TheNHSLibrary	1,000
This grant would allow for an author panel session at the NHS’s One Day program. Addressing the theme of ‘identity’, this panel would focus on the challenges faced by authors in creating authentic, diverse characters, especially with identities different from the author’s own.

Fall 2017 High School	Malinda Lo Author Visit @TheNHSLibrary	1,000
This grant will enable the NHS Library to host young adult author Malinda Lo for a series of workshops designed to kindle a passion for writing and establish a stronger sense of self-efficacy for high school students. Ms. Lo is an award-winning author and identity activist, and her titles cross genres including science fiction, fantasy, and dystopian fiction. She will conduct 4 workshops throughout one school day, followed by meeting more casually with the All Genders and Sexualities Alliance (student club).

Fall 2017 Newman	Developing Global Awareness and Good Citizenship through Compelling Stories	2,107
This grant will provide funds to enrich literacy learning and cultural experiences for our students by welcoming guest speakers from the country of Sudan and studying books related to the Sudanese civil war. Funds will provide speaking fees to William Muorel and Moses Ajou, both lost boys of the Sudan and survivors of the civil war, as well as companion books that tell the compelling stories of refugees from around the world.

Spring 2017 Broadmeadow	Excellence and Equity in Education	5,000
This Express Grant replicates grants provided to the Mitchell, Hillside, Eliot, and Newman Elementary Schools to provide funding for building more culturally diverse classroom libraries to help Broadmeadow achieve its cultural proficiency goals set by the district and the Broadmeadow School Improvement Plan. Funds will be used to support homeroom classrooms, special area classrooms, and guidance with books whose topics and characters portray different perspectives based on age, gender, race, ability, family structures, and ethnicity.

Spring 2017 Eliot	Robin Pease--Native American Storytelling	991
This grant will fund a visit to Eliot by Robin Pease, a Native American Storyteller. Ms. Pease draws on her Mohawk heritage to present stories and songs to her audience, and will appear as part of Native American Heritage Month to educate students on Native American mythology and history through song, language, dance, and games. All grade levels address the Native American experience to varying degrees throughout the month of November, so a school-wide program would augment the students' grade level learning while also allowing for a common learning experience.

Spring 2017 Hillside	Increasing Excitement for Non-Fiction Reading & Writing: Author Jerry Pallotta	1,900
This grant would fund non-fiction writer Jerry Pallotta for a day-long visit to Hillside, where he will conduct three separate presentations for students by grade level. Mr. Pallotta is the author of the “Who Would Win” non-fiction series, which is a favorite among many students. The Common Core standards have required a shift to 50% of reading time be focused on non-fiction, but it’s often challenging to find ways to excite students to focus on non-fiction texts. The hope is to drum up more excitement around this genre by having Mr. Pallotta visit directly with students.

Spring 2017 High School	Drawing Tablets for Digital Illustration, Digital Painting and Photography Manipulation	4,595
This grant will fund the purchase of 40 Wacom Intuos Drawing Tablets for students and 4 tablets for instructors, as well as a Mobile Laptop Charging Station. These tablets will enable Digital Art and Animation, Commercial Design (formerly Graphic Design) and Photography classes, as well as all students interested in the digital arts, to explore advanced digital illustration using the same tools that many professional digital artists currently use. These drawing tablets will be used to enhance a variety of projects of Digital Illustration and Painting within a unit in Digital Art and Animation, and will also be shared with the Photography classes for more accurate digital image manipulation and colorization. They will enable the most advanced students, including those preparing for Advanced Portfolio status, to explore purely digital art image creation at a level that is seen throughout the professional digital art world.

Spring 2017 High School	Engineering Design 101	5,000
Grant funds will be used to purchase materials and technology that will enrich the curriculum of Engineering Design 101, a new course being offered at Needham High. A small amount of grant funds will be used for teacher stipends for curriculum design. This course will give students an opportunity to explore the engineering design process and learn about engineering. It will be a project-based course using Design Thinking principles with an emphasis on collaboration. As students advance through the different units, they will learn problem solving, critical thinking, design skills, 3D modeling and other skills that are vital to becoming a successful engineer.

Spring 2017 Mitchell	A Practice of Courage for Mitchell 5th Graders	3,835
This grant will fund books and teacher stipends to develop curriculum which aims to empower fifth graders with the skills needed to practice everyday courage, to be resilient and overcome everyday obstacles, to move forward and grow rather than retreat. The 2016 NEF grant, 'A Study of Courage', taught students about famous people who displayed heroic courage in overcoming obstacles in order to achieve their goals. 'A Practice of Courage' is an extension of this ELA/SS/SE/Wellness unit where students will gain a deeper perspective as they examine six types of everyday courage (physical courage, social courage, intellectual courage, emotional courage, moral courage, and spiritual courage). The fifth-grade teaching staff will write lessons to teach what each type of courage looks like and sounds like, offering students real-world connections. Quality texts will be added to the classroom libraries - both fiction and non-fiction - which portray people displaying each of the six types of co

Spring 2017 All Elementary	Sphero Sprk Technology Integration Grant	10,095
This grant would fund the purchase of 5 Sphero SPRK Power Packs--one for each elementary school and will be used by every K-5 classroom teacher and specialist. There are 12 Spheros in each power pack, and the power pack allows for charging in one neat, safe location (the power pack case itself). These robotic balls utilize a visual block-based program and make learning the basic principles of programming approachable and fun. While in its simplest form, it is a programmable device that students 'drive' using an iPad, its applications to all facets of the curriculum are virtually infinite. This grant would also fund a K'nex Building Set for each school (5 in total) to compliment technology, engineering, math and science curriculum and to be used specifically with altering the state of the of the Sphero allowing it to carry objects, to be built upon, etc. The grant funds would also be used to purchase 60 rubber nubby covers for the Spheros as protective cases that would also be used in

Fall 2016 High School	Mindfulness Equipment	4,889
This grant will create and equip a space for students, faculty and staff to begin and maintain a formal mindfulness meditation practice. Funds would be used to purchase a supply of meditation cushion systems, benches and chairs and would support a committed practice by all who attend classes, club meetings and professional development opportunities.

Fall 2016 High Rock, Pollard	Reader's Theater Props Chest	976
This grant will provide funding for two chests of props to be used in 'reader's theatre' type workshops at both schools. These items will be available to students during various units and lessons in which students are producing and performing skits, presentations, or small plays. Having small props and costume pieces available in class sparks creativity, increases engagement, and lends an added element of analysis during debriefs following the production.

Fall 2016 High Rock, Pollard, High School	Middle and High School String Orchestra Festival	750
This grant will fund an in-school residency by Marilyn Kesler for our Needham Town Orchestra (grades 6-9), 7th and 8th grade strings classes, and the High School Orchestra. This grant would allow Ms. Kesler, a nationally-renowned string educator, to come to Needham and spend a day in rehearsals and performance. Ms. Kesler was Mark Smith's middle and high school orchestra teacher in Okemos, Michigan, and she is the reason he is a teacher today.

Fall 2016 Pollard	Project VOICE	2,500
This grant will fund Project VOICE performers who use spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire. The performance will be for all 8th grade students, who will then have the opportunity to try out some of their writing and performance styles in individual English classes. Teachers will use lessons and prompts inspired by the artists so students can be creative and explore writing in new ways.

Fall 2016 High School	Sullivan Author Workshop	1,250
This grant will fund bringing in a young adult author, Tara Sullivan, for a series of workshops. Ms. Sullivan has traveled all over the world, and incorporates these themes in her books. The hope is that these titles will introduce students to global issues and encourage their participation as global citizens. Funds would pay Ms. Sullivan's speaking fee.

Fall 2016 Broadmeadow	Differentiating Math	4,131
This grant will provide differentiation kits for fourth-grade teachers to use when implementing a math workshop (targeted, small group instruction in which students can engage independently, to develop their mathematical understanding). Funds will provide resources for classroom teachers to implement Math Workshop for math units that focus on place-value.

Fall 2016 Pollard	Pollard Challenge Course	5,000
This grant will fund a stand-alone high-element described as a vertical playpen, along with two stand-alone low-elements that would serve as multi-use platforms for developing team dynamics. These elements would be installed on the Pollard school property in the woods beyond the current 7th grade wing. Through the use of these elements, the current Experiential Education curriculum could be a much more powerful and transformative experience for students.

Fall 2016 Newman, Early Childhood Center	Newman Moves to Learn- Express Grant from Eliot's	4,562
This grant also seeks to replicate the 'Eliot Moves to Learn' grant awarded in Fall, 2015. Funds would be used to purchase 75 stools for students in pre-k through 5th grade. The stools are intended to allow for movement breaks and fulfilling students' sensory needs within the classroom, so that students can remain engaged in classroom activities and lessons. Stools would be available in each classroom in the school.

Fall 2016 District Wide	Narrowing the Achievement Gap Multi-School Grant	6,000
This grant will fund professional development for all K-12 Math teachers in Needham and will involve having Dr. Adrian Mims working directly with small groups of teachers from each of the 8 schools to help all teachers develop a 3-5 year sustainability plan with alignment from Pre-K through 12th grade. Funds would also pay for an IDEAS consultant to provide additional professional development on the topic of how developing cultural proficiency helps to inform their practice, especially in addressing the achievement/opportunity gap.

Fall 2016 Pollard	E-Reader Tools for English Language Literacy	3,797
This grant will fund a pilot project using Kindles for Kids, an e-reader incorporating powerful comprehension tools, in order to build a collection of e-books for English language learners. The Kindle is recommended over the iPad apps due to several unique and helpful features, including Word Wise, a program that automatically shows a short and simple definition above a challenging word, and Vocabulary Builder, which saves words that have been looked up and enables the creation of flashcards. The e-readers will also allow students to tap on a word and, without leaving the text, instantly find a definition in either their home language or in an English dictionary appropriate to their level.

Fall 2016 Broadmeadow	Broadmeadow Stools for Learning	2,100
This grant replicates a grant awarded to Eliot ('Eliot Moves to Learn'), which was awarded in Fall, 2014. Funds would be used to purchase 30 stools, to be shared among 85 second-grade students, which are intended to transform the classroom into a more active space. They will allow students movement while still directly participating in class lessons. The hope is that this furniture will support increased attention and participation, and therefore greater time on task and improved achievement.

Fall 2016 High School	Creating Virtual Reality	4,763
This grant will provide students with the opportunity to experience and create their own virtual reality environments and videos in the classrooms. As a viewer, students can experience an environment or manipulate an object, like visiting Machu Picchu. Funds would be used to purchase equipment and materials, such as virtual reality starter packs and a camera.

Fall 2016 High Rock	Google Virtual Reality Expeditions Kit	9,999
This grant funds the purchase of virtual reality equipment, including 30 student devices, 30 Mattel View-Masters, a teacher device, and other supporting equipment. High Rock plans to use these devices for multiple purposes, including virtual reality tours of historic sites, and virtual trips to foreign countries for language immersion.

Spring 2016 Newman, Early Childhood Center	Excellence and Equity in Education EXPRESS Grant	2,352
This Express Grant replicates grants provided to Mitchell, Hillside and Eliot schools to provide funding for building more culturally diverse classroom libraries to help Newman achieve its cultural proficiency goals set by the district. Funds would also support the Needham Preschool with books ranging in topics that encourage different perspectives based on age, gender, race, ability and ethnicity.

Spring 2016 High Rock	HR Creation Lab	4,233
Funds would purchase technology, furniture and materials to transform the current technology lab into a creation lab. A room divider, rug, stools and whiteboards will allow for the creation of multiple workstations which will encourage more group work and collaboration and can be easily reconfigured. New technology will allow for stop motion and animation creation, green screen videos, audio recording and book creation. All ELA teachers have committed to bringing their students to the lab for an interdisciplinary unit at least once during the year and are excited about the prospect of integrating writing and media into one of their current units.

Spring 2016 Early Childhood Center, Newman	Cultivating Grit: Supporting Resiliency and Learning from Failure	4,995
This grant would fund books to be read by teachers, specialists, teaching assistants and administrators. Staff may choose between Mindset by C. Dweck and The Gift of Failure by J. Lahey. Staff will use professional development time to discuss books and develop strategies and classroom activities to encourage resilience in their students. Additional titles will be purchased for ?read alouds? in the classrooms. There will be two parent discussion groups for parents interested in incorporating these strategies at home.

Spring 2016 Mitchell	A Study of Courage for Mitchell 5th Graders	3,461
This grant provides funding for an ELA/SS unit called 'A Study of Courage'. Eighty fifth-graders will participate by reading about, writing about, presenting about, and meeting inspirational, courageous people who have demonstrated resiliency by overcoming obstacles in order to meet their goals. William Muorel and Moses Ajou, both lost boys of the Sudan and survivors of the Sudanese civil war, will speak to the students about their journeys. Students will also participate in service-learning projects to support the South Sudanese Enrichment Center for Families in Medford and a school for children in South Sudan. Funds will pay for books and speaker fees.

Spring 2016 All Elementary	Promoting Family and Community Engagement in Educational Innovation	3,950
This grant would fund a film series focused on the future of education as a means to facilitate dialogue and encourage increased family engagement in enriching the overall educational experience for the community. Funds would pay rental fees for screening three films: Race to Nowhere, Most Likely to Succeed and Raising of America. Other fees being paid through this grant include honoraria for panelists, marketing materials, police detail, AV support and custodial fees. The committee recommends partial funding as it elected not to fund a fourth film due to its very expensive rental fee.

Spring 2016 All Elementary	Math Backpacks for Needham Kindergarteners	11,999
This grant will fund 3 backpacks per kindergarten classroom for students to take home to participate in math-related activities with their families. The goal is to assist students in achieving Common Core standards in two main areas: 1) representing and comparing whole numbers; and, 2) describing shapes and space. Backpacks will contain a journal for students to record their experience with the backpack, which includes books, interactive games and manipulatives.

Spring 2016 Broadmeadow	You've Got Mail! Preventing Summer Slide for Struggling Readers	2,310
Targeting readers in 3rd and 4th grades who are reading below benchmark in their reading levels, this grant will provide funds to mail self-selected books to students at six different times during the summer. After reading the books, students will write and send postcards about their books and will meet in small groups at three points over the summer to share their thinking about their books. Funds will pay for books and staff stipends for program management.

Spring 2016 All Elementary	Lightbox Multimedia Applications for Elementary Schools	5,000
This grant would fund interactive multimedia learning modules for all students. Each elementary school will have access through their media center?s card catalog to 25 different modules matched to curriculum areas from kindergarten through grade five. Modules include the Four Seasons, Continents, Earth?s Water, Forces of Nature and Rock Science. The interactive learning tool includes audio, videos, activities, slideshows, interactive maps, quizzes, keywords, and web links for extension activities.

Spring 2016 High School	Blues in the Schools	1,150
This grant will fund a visit from Toby Walker, a Master Blues Artist and member of the NY Blues Hall of Fame. He will provide an engaging presentation for the African American Studies classes that follows the history of blues from slavery, emancipation, and beyond. He will also share his personal narrative of how he came to acquire his knowledge journeying through the south. Additionally, Mr. Walker will work with guitar classes to teach them how to play blues style music, including rhythms and picking techniques.

Spring 2016 All Elementary	Enriching Elementary Math with Number Sense Challenges	4,901
This grant would be used to purchase a complete set of Think Tank Number Sense challenge boxes that would provide students a chance to work on flexible thinking and critical math skills in a fun, engaging way that complements the existing math curriculum. Funds would be used to purchase 2 boxes per grade for each school. These would be used in conjunction with the Think Tank Problem Solving box kits to provide individualized enrichment to the current math curriculum.

Fall 2015 All Elementary	Inspiring Learning and Discovery with a Science Center Portable Planetarium	15,000
This grant requests the purchase of a StarLab Portable Planetarium system and 2 cylinders because we believe that StarLab can substantially enhance science and engineering instruction in the Needham Public Schools while also meeting Sagan's challenge to connect our students to the science in their worlds, with a deep understanding and appreciation of it.

Fall 2015 All Elementary	What Every School Leader Needs to Know About Good Literacy Teaching and Effective Literacy Coaching	12,000
This grant would pay for registration fees for a team to attend PD offered by Irene Fountas, a leading expert in the field of literacy teaching and learning, coaching and leadership. Attendees would include all elementary and middle school principals, the district's literacy coordinator and central office administrators . The team will attend four full days of training at Lesley University and will participate in follow-up conversations for reflection and planning, which will be scheduled throughout the year to ensure alignment and continued learning and collaboration among the district's leadership.

Fall 2015 Mitchell	Piven World	5,000
This grant would fund a visit by Hanoch Piven, whose art is about communicating through fun and playfulness by reinventing the meaning of regular objects and by inviting active viewer participation. Mr. Piven will provide workshops during regularly-scheduled Art classes and will encourage creativity, communication and self-reflection through the creation of collages with common everyday objects. Piven World tables will be set up at predetermined times for students to continue to explore this form of art communication.

Fall 2015 Pollard	Investigating Alternate Energy Sources	3,011
This grant will provide funds to purchase materials to be used by all 7th and 8th graders who will investigate wind and solar technologies and perform energy audits. This unit will be taught within the current engineering elective unit. Funds will be used to purchase various kits, materials and sensors to run experiments.

Fall 2015 High School	Authoring Inspiration	1,500
This grant will provide funds to host Nancy Werlin, a young adult author of a wide array of genres including realistic fiction, suspense, fantasy, and comics, at Needham High School. The purpose of her visit is to fuel student excitement for reading, to allow students to better understand the writing and research process, and to provide students with a model of self-efficacy. Ms. Werlin will spend one day at NHS, conducting 3 sessions (including 3 classes each) with approximately 200 students from both the general education and special education populations.

Fall 2015 Pollard	Standing Desks for Students	4,830
Funds would be used to purchase a set of 23 standing desks for social studies, ELA, and mathematics classrooms and special educators (providing each classroom with 2 desks, allowing students to focus more during class time). Pollard has found these desks to be beneficial for students with ADHD and others who have difficulty sitting still and concentrating in class. This grant seeks to replicate a grant received by Newman in 2012.

Fall 2015 Mitchell	Weather Day at Blue Hills Observatory	2,166
This grant will fund day-long, four-activity field trips for Grades 1 and 5 at Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory. Both grades will see the observatory in action and learn about the tools used by Blue Hill meteorologists since the late 1800's. Grade 1 will participate in a kite-making workshop to experience wind direction and speed, and Grade 5 students' kite-making will provide an opportunity to experiment with prototyping skills studied in their simple machines unit. This is an Express Grant, seeking to replicate a grant awarded to Eliot and Hillside approx.10 years ago.

Fall 2015 Mitchell	We Are the World	1,990
This grant will provide funds for Mitchell to purchase and display flags representing the heritage of all students and staff. Additionally, a large world map and flag key will be purchased and displayed in the school lobby to demonstrate Mitchell's diversity. This grant replicates a grant provided to Eliot in Fall 2014.

Fall 2015 High School	Asylum Saxophone Quartet Residency	2,300
This grant would fund an in-school residency by the Asylum Saxophone Quartet (ASQ) for the NHS orchestra, Chorus and band students in grades 9-12. This band (ASQ) will be participating in the Great Hall Concert series, and this grant would enable them to come to Needham a day early to spend the day working with students and presenting workshops and master classes. Additionally, a student ensemble will prepare and open for ASQ and will join them on stage to conclude the concert.

Fall 2015 Newman	Newman Elementary School Garden - Express Grant from Broadmeadow Farm Project	4,926
This grant seeks funds to build 12 raised planting beds on the school property, with each grade level utilizing two 4 x 4 beds as a hands-on outdoor lab to enhance grade level curricula. The Needham Science Center has committed to providing professional development opportunities for teachers, and the Needham Community Farm is committed to collaborating and supporting this project. Additionally, the PTC will provide oversight of maintenance and provide 300 annually for the purchase of seeds and soil and for garden maintenance. This is an Express Grant that replicates the Broadmeadow Farm grant in 2010. Note: Newman received funds from NEF for a garden in 2008, but that garden was demolished during recent school renovations.

Fall 2015 Eliot	Celebrating Cultural Diversity at Eliot	3,445
This grant would fund performances for the entire school that celebrate the Chinese, Brazilian, African, Cape Verdean and African American cultures and that seek to teach students about different races, ethnicities and cultural customs. Performances include: Grooversity (Afro-Brazilian spirituals and sounds of Samba Funk), Li Liu (Chinese culture and Mandarin), and Len Cabral (retells African, Cape Verdean and Caribbean folktales and also shares original stories).

Fall 2015 High Rock, High School, Newman, Pollard	Fine and Performing Arts Rear Projection Technology	5,000
This grant would fund the purchase of two rear projectors and two rear projection screens that would be used to provide background scenery during multiple productions throughout the district each year. This technology would be able to provide realistic and varied backgrounds without having shadow effects and projector placement issues. Each year some of NPS's performances are adjudicated by outside evaluators through the Mass. Ed. Theater Guild, and comments about the lack of technical ability of the shows taint scores and feedback.

Fall 2015 Pollard	Augmented Reality Topographic Maps	2,219
This grant would fund the building of an augmented reality sandbox, which will simulate topographic maps in real time, as the shape of the sand in the box changes. Funds would also be used for a projector, which, as the sand is moved by the people around the box, adjusts contour lines to match the newly-formed sand. The projector also will simulate the effects of water in the landscape. The projector and sandbox will be used during geology units.

Fall 2015 High Rock	Stand Up for Learning	3,154
This grant would fund the purchase of 17 Stand Up desks, ergonomic workstations that combine height adjustability with a foot rest that naturally corrects body posture while providing stress relief for the lower back. The Stand Up desks are designed to allow students to feel less confined and helps them stay focused in the classroom. These funds will provide desks for each classroom (High Rock already has 5), including Chorus and Art classrooms. This grant seeks to replicate a grant received by Newman in 2012

Fall 2015 Broadmeadow	Yoga for Elementary School Students	1,837
This grant would bring yoga to the 2nd grade classrooms at Broadmeadow. Classes will be held once a week for 30 minutes for an 8-week period. Taught by a former first grade Broadmeadow teacher who is a certified yoga instructor, the goal of this program is to introduce yoga breathing and posture principles to young students in order to help them further develop self-awareness, improve their physical and cognitive skills, increase self-esteem and inspire their imagination and creativity. This grant seeks to replicate a grant provided to Hillside in 2005.

Fall 2015 High School	Collaborative Fiber Project w/ Visiting Artist and Own Your Peace	4,157
This grant would fund materials and pay for an artist to consult on a fiber installation (large wire grids, framed, which would enable the attaching of fabric strips) to be created and displayed in NHS. All students will be invited to write messages on the strips about how they 'Own their Peace' that will then be looped onto the frames. With visiting artist/teacher guidance, Senior Art students will conceptualize, design, build and supervise the project.

Fall 2015 Mitchell	Discovering Magnets as Technology to Become Master Engineers	2,994
This grant will fund the purchase of magnets and kits to allow 2nd grade teachers to expand upon the existing science curriculum unit on magnets. Teachers would be able to use these materials year round (currently materials are shared, so that each school has a very limited amount of time with them), allowing them to teach students how to use the engineering design process to improve upon or create new technology.

2015 Spring High School	Challenge Day	3,925
This grant will fund a Challenge Day event designed to help students overcome cultural, social, and economic differences and build a powerful, connected school community. Approximately 100 students, 25 peer leaders and 25 adults from the NHS community will participate, with activities facilitated by 2 Challenge Day facilitators. They will address prejudice, bullying, violence, harassment, isolation and intolerance and build emotional safety and social connections among youth. Participation in the program fosters students' empathy toward peers that they might not ever know, and creates a support network, both formal and informal, for students and staff.

2015 Spring Broadmeadow	Building Capacity: Professional Development to enhance the Inclusion Classroom	4,500
This grant will fund a three-part professional development series to support teachers in differentiating instruction in the general education classroom, including: Special Education in the General Education Classroom, Managing Students with Behaviors Related to Anxiety, and How to Support and Teach Executive Function Skills. The presenters will observe daily life in the school (and conduct surveys) to provide a building-based context for an interactive workshop for the entire Broadmeadow staff, resulting in greater capacity and additional strategies to work with the wide variety of students at the school.

2015 Spring High Rock	Foreign Language Headphones	3,000
This grant will fund the creation of a portable language lab, including the purchase of 30 noise-canceling headsets and a transport case. The Robotel headphones can be plugged into students' iPads, giving them the ability to hear themselves in their newly-acquired language. Students will be able to self-critique their pronunciation and accent, and can also share their recordings with their teacher.

2015 Spring Pollard	Moticam X Wi-Fi Camera	2,250
Funds would purchase 5 wi-fi-enabled cameras that will stream images from any microscope to up to six iPads, laptops or other devices. The images can be viewed and captured on the iPads so that students have the opportunity to label, analyze and reflect on their observations in a report or presentation. The cameras can also project onto the SmartBoard, allowing an entire class to discuss the same image in real time.

2015 Spring Broadmeadow	Visiting Author - Jarrett Krosoczka	4,800
This grant will fund activities that will impact all students at Broadmeadow, including presentations for younger students on illustrations and creation of characters, a separate presentation on 'writing with Pictures' for 3rd-4th graders and a graphic novel workshop for 5th graders. Mr. Krosoczka will also offer a professional development workshop on 'Reaching Reluctant Readers' for all teachers.

2015 Spring Hillside	Excellence and Equity in Education	5,000
This Express Grant replicates grants provided to Mitchell and Eliot to provide funding for building more culturally diverse classroom libraries to help Hillside achieve its cultural proficiency goals set by the district and school. Funds would also support Hillside's 'One Book One School' project to encourage different perspectives based on age, gender, race and ethnicity to be explored.

2015 Spring Hillside	A Book Not Yet Written: Inspiring 5th Grade Writers	4,950
This grant would pay for an 'author-in-residence' activity with Gregory Mone. Hillside fifth-graders and their teachers will participate in five workshop sessions over the course of approximately 5 weeks. Mr. Mone will run a writer's workshop in each classroom for a total of 3 workshops/day. The first day of workshops will be an introduction, the next three sessions will include a lesson, writing session with feedback, and an assignment. The program will culminate in the fifth and final session. Funds will pay for the author's fee and some materials.

2015 Spring All Elementary	Promoting Supportive and Healthy Parenting Practices Through Parenting Education: SY2015 - 2016 Needham Talks Parent Lecture Series	14,402
This grant will support a bimonthly lecture series on parenting education (similar to the grant funded last year). Lecture titles and presenters include: 1) Crazybusy: Overbooked, Overworked and About to Snap! How Parents Can Cope in a World Gone ADD (Edward Halowell, M.D. ), 2) Be You: An Interactive Workshop for Girls and Adults (Rachel Simmons, M.A.), 3) The Importance of Male Role Models in Children's Lives (Michael Thompson, Ph.D.), 4) The Truth About the Hard or Sensitive Topics (Jeanine Fitzgerald, C.H.B.C.S.), and 5) Pre-teen/Teen Years: Understanding Adolescence and How to Build a New Relationship with Your Child (Joani Geltman, M.S.W.).

2015 Spring Pollard	Shakespeare's Language - A Most Fantastical Banquet of Words	2,500
Funds would pay for a stipend for an outside consultant to teach a week-long program in all 8th grade classrooms as students begin their unit of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. A professional development workshop will also be provided to all eighth grade ELA teachers before this unit begins. The goal of this program is to offer activities that will help provide a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's work by putting language in a context of history and culture that students can compare with their own, which makes it relevant and intriguing to them.

2015 Spring Mitchell	Forging A 4th Grade Partnership	3,884.00
This grant will fund activities to foster and strengthen a partnership between 4th grade Mitchell School students and 4th grade Gardner Pilot Academy School students in Boston, helping the students become more culturally proficient global citizens. All students will learn from and with each other as they explore an English Language Arts/social studies unit, a relationship/team building activity, a service learning project and a culminating field trip to Fenway Park. Grant monies will cover stipends for all 4th grade teachers (both schools) for an afternoon of planning, as well as the purchase of 75 copies of the book 'We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball' and the cost of tours of Fenway Park for both students and chaperones

2015 Spring High School	HS Summer Credit Recovery Program	3,175
This grant will fund a program to help struggling and disadvantaged students stay on track for an on-time graduation. This 5-week program will dedicate half its time to classroom-based learning and the other half to community service- based learning. The class will meet Tues-Thurs from 9-2. Counselors and administrators will identify students who would benefit from this program. Participants will have the opportunity to earn up to 4 credits for their participation and work in the class, which is the equivalent of a full-year course (the goal being each student earning full credit). Funds will pay teacher stipends and materials for their community service learning project.

2015 Spring Eliot	Boosting Fact Fluency with Reflex Math	3,395
This grant will fund a year-long, school-wide subscription to Reflex Math, an online program offering individualized, data driven practice with math facts in all four operations. Reflex features engaging and varied online games like 'Ninja to the Stars', which make students forget that they are practicing facts. The program provides detailed records for both parents and teachers to track student progress and address areas of concern. This is considered a pilot and, if successful at this elementary school, that information would be shared with the district for consideration as to how/if there is wider applicability.

2015 Spring Hillside	Enrichment of Classroom Learning Environments	4,999
This grant will fund various furniture pieces and tools that will enable all students to focus or sit still in classroom settings, resulting in improved attention and fewer distracting behaviors within the classroom. Items funded include back jack floor chairs, sit-n-move cushions, hokki stools, bean bag chairs, weighted lap pads and covers, bouncy bands for desks and ear muffs.

2015 Spring Pollard	The Launching Scholars Program	3,450
The grant would pilot a program run by Pollard teachers for approximately 48 rising 7th graders to participate in a week-long summer program to preview the 7th grade math curriculum and to review the all school book that all students are being asked to read. Additionally, during the school year, students will be tutored twice weekly for 20 weeks. This program is designed to narrow the opportunity gap by increasing the number of students of color and low-income students participating in advanced math classes.

2015 Spring Pollard	One Book One School	5,000
This grant will pay for books for all staff and students at Pollard. The book is Schooled by Gordon Korman as well as audio books as required by IEPs. Schooled was selected because many of the themes in the book bullying, respect, and personal responsibility address issues in Pollard's SEL curriculum and anti-bullying program.

2014 Fall Mitchell	Immigration: A look at the past understanding the present creating the future	2,300
This grant provides 5th grade students at Mitchell with a unique opportunity to experience a historic immigration story and a more recent immigration story, which is intended to enhance the 5th grade unit on immigration. Living Voices will present an educational theatre experience combining a dynamic solo actor with archival film that turns history into a moving, personal journey. Next, they will hear from Matali Perkins who gives her own presentation, 'Between Cultures' which is an account of growing up in the United States while introducing some of the richness of her Bengali culture throughout her talk.

2014 Fall Eliot	Eliot Moves to Learn	2,946
Funds would be used to purchase 30 Hokki stools which will allow students movement while still directly participating in class lessons. The hope is that this furniture will support increased attention and participation and, therefore, greater time on task and improved achievement. Classroom teachers will have the opportunity to identify students in their classrooms who would benefit from these stools and request furniture to accommodate them.

2014 Fall Pollard	Make your Move- Anti-Bullying	3,700
This grant would be used to cover costs of t-shirts and markers for all 857 students to create a statement t-shirt which they will wear throughout the year. Pollard will be hosting an Anti-Bullying Day for all students in March, where students will attend 3 workshops. Students will be then be asked to design a t-shirt with a 'caring' statement of their choice which will be worn throughout the remainder of the school year. To further spread the positive messages, students are then asked to take their message and "make a move" by taking "selfies" or photos of themselves, or by using other social media while wearing the t-shirts in their local and global community (on vacation, trips, or completing community service) in order to spread their message.

2014 Fall Pollard	Pollard Newspaper	1,854
This grant would go to support Pollard's first-ever school newspaper, helping students learn about the journalistic process as well as further developing their writing, editing and interviewing skills. Last year a group of 7th graders published a cluster newsletter, and would like to expand it into a whole-school newspaper. Funds would pay for printing costs, 2 digital cameras, software and a membership in the New England Scholastic Press Association.

2014 Fall Mitchell	A Rehearsal for Life, presented by Urban Improv	2,500
Approximately 160 Mitchell 4th- and 5th-grade students will be impacted by the Rehearsal for Life assemblies which feature a song about anti-bullying, followed by a scene. The expected short-term impact will be that students become more thoughtful about cultural differences and learn to make wiser, more empathetic decisions when faced with a situation relating to differences among students. The hope is that students will show improved impulse control, self-motivation and discipline, empathy and respect for others through conflict management and responsible decision making.

2014 Fall High School	Pug Mill - Ceramics 1,2,3	5,000
Funds are requested to purchase a Pug Mill, a machine that mixes up various types of used clay to be reprocessed back into usable clay. The current practice of reprocessing clay is through a slow method done only by the instructors, which students learn about through lecture. This machine would allow the 300 Ceramics students to learn about and actively participate in the Ceramics process from beginning to end. It would also benefit other Art students (Art 1, Art 2, Art 3/AP, Art 4 will all benefit due to more clay/knowledge of the pug mill process).

2014 Fall All Elementary	Manguito: A Musical Journey to the Caribbean	5,711
This grant will provide funding to bring in this musical group via Young Audiences of Massachusetts. This program will bring energy, excitement and context to students beginning to learn Spanish, something just reintroduced in all elementary schools in September. Provides an opportunity for 2,500 NPS students in grades K-5 to learn about Caribbean culture and the Spanish language.

2014 Fall Mitchell	Bringing Opera To Life	1,650
Funds would cover the cost of two workshops provided to all 90 Mitchell 5th graders to enhance their unit on Opera. The workshop will describe Opera including some history, appropriate behavior at a performance, language translations, parts of an Opera, etc. The idea is to make opera more accessible to students. After the workshops there will be a live performance, including 3 singers (including a Mitchell parent) and a pianist to provide a true Opera experience for the students.

2014 Fall Mitchell	Splash Math! Fun and Interactive Ways to Address the Common Core!	352
Funds would be used to purchase a one-year subscription for all 88 students in Grade 2 so they may practice their math skills both at school and at home by playing fun and interactive games on the computer. Students will also be encouraged to use Splash Math over the summer to keep their skills fresh.

2014 Fall Pollard	Choices in Little Rock	3,500
This grant would fund Facing History and Ourselves workshops for the 8th grade Social Studies teachers. The first part of the workshop will be to engage in a deep exploration of the Choices in Little Rock curriculum unit. The second part will focus on how to implement and integrate this unit into Pollard's existing 8th Grade U.S. History and Civics course. Staff will also be provided with lesson plans with student handouts, readings, bibliographies and concrete suggestions for going deeper as well as annotated movie and reading lists and assessment tools.

2014 Fall Eliot	Eliot United	2,200
Grant monies will be used to purchase national flags of 70 countries, which represent the ancestry of the students and staff of the Eliot School. Using ancestry data gathered via a survey of parents and staff, Eliot plans to tie it into the curriculum areas of geography, math, language, and learning about different cultures, traditions and food. A bulletin board of 'The Many Faces of Eliot' has already been created and displayed in the school's lobby and plans are in place to hang a large world map in the lobby and to tag all the countries represented by Eliot.

2014 Fall Broadmeadow	Drumming Together at Broadmeadow	4,247
This grant seeks to replicate the drumming program at Mitchell, funded back in 2008. Funds would be used to purchase 26 Djembe drums and 1 storage cabinet. The music teacher will work with teachers to provide instruction on conducting drumming circles in their classrooms and how to incorporate drumming into other activities in their classrooms. Drum circles create social support, offer proven health benefits, and are a fun way to learn important skills. The school is also interested in creating a chant that is unique to Broadmeadow which can be used during schools gatherings and assemblies.

2014 Fall Eliot	Excellence and Equity in Education	5,000
This grant seeks to replicate the grant received by Mitchell in Fall, 2013, to help increase the exposure to and awareness of people from different heritages by introducing students to quality literary works. This will help Eliot achieve its goal of cultural proficiency, which is included in its School Improvement Plan. Funds would be used primarily to purchase books that would create and/or supplement classroom libraries so that books will be accessible to all students. A portion of the grant would also pay for speakers from IDEA (Initiatives for Developing Equity and Achievement for Students) to present to staff on ways to use these new resources.

2014 Fall All Elementary	Robotics are Elementary	13,854
This grant would finance the purchase of Bee Bots, Curriculum Mats, Lesson Plans and a set of 24-unit LegoWeDo robots. Beebots help integrate technology, robotics, and programming with traditional academic subjects. The Lego WeDo is an open-ended building and programming toolkit that allows students to discover and experiment with basic science principles involved in simple machines while incorporating math and early coding/programming skills. The elementary educational technology specialists for Needham will implement this curriculum at all five elementary schools in grades 1-3.

2014 Fall Middle Schools,High School	Multi-School Cultural Proficiency Training for NPS Athletic Coaches and Student-Athletes	7,000
This grant will fund the creation and implementation of Cultural Proficiency training for the district's 120+ athletic coaches (covering grades 6-12), along with presentations for NHS athletes and Pollard students and parents. Trainings will help develop Cultural Proficiency levels of coaches, while building their skills around diversity awareness, racism, and understanding and valuing differences. This program seeks to develop and build the foundation of knowledge and capacity of understanding for all members of the Needham community.

2014 Fall Pollard	TECCA Online Learning	4,999
This grant would provide funding to pilot an innovative approach to personalized learning for students. Currently 3 students who transferred to Pollard are a full 1-2 academic years ahead of the standard 8th grade Math curriculum. Therefore, Pollard has provided this tool to allow students to take advanced Math courses on-line, through TECCA (The Educational Collaborative Connections Academy), a fully accredited public virtual school that serves students in Grades K-12 in Massachusetts. Funds are being requested to pay a stipend to a teacher to spend time after school to support the students in their learning as well as become an expert in the TECCA community as it applies to the middle school experience. By piloting this model, Pollard is hoping to potentially reach more students in the coming years.

2014 Fall Eliot	LBC iPad Grant	13,530
This grant requests 12 iPads, a cart and thirteen apps for 1:1 student use in the Language-Based Classroom (LBC) at Eliot. The students in the LBC are fourth and fifth graders who have significant learning disabilities in the areas of reading, writing, and spoken language, and often struggle to access the text-based curriculum. The use of iPads in the LBC will provide students with the means to reach their individual and collective goals across the curriculum. The iPads will also help to foster greater independence and creativity.

2014 Fall High Rock	Interdisciplinary Arts Integration Pilot Project Year 2	12,010
This grant would extend the large grant interdisciplinary project currently being implemented at the High Rock School with Social Studies and Visual Arts. This extended pilot is designed to explore the impact of an interdisciplinary partnership between sixth grade Science and Visual Arts teachers. The $12,010 will be used for materials and additional planning and instructional time for the existing Visual Arts teacher to co-teach certain lessons in the Science classes. For example, students will work to create a collagraph plate and print that represents the atomic structure and attributes of an element from the periodic table. The pilot will be implemented in the 2015/16 school year and will impact all clusters.

2014 Spring High School	Needham High School Outdoor Learning Center	1,000
This grant funds materials to create an outdoor classroom, including u-shaped seating on three 15-foot benches, newly-planted trees and shrubs, and a walkway designed to create a garden setting. Summer installation is planned.

2014 Spring High School	Connections Grant 2014	2,500
This grant funds iPads and biofeedback applications to visualize, track, and support students’ physiology as it relates to emotional functioning and also funds a water-related therapy to help reduce distress among students. These will be used in the Connections program, which build supports for vulnerable high schoolers.

2014 Spring All Elementary	LUCA LAZY LEGZ and Ill Mask	15,000
This grant funds Luca "Lazylegz" Patuelli, a differently-abled breakdancer, and his Montreal-based dance crew, to kick-off the elementary schools' Understanding Our Different Abilities (UDA) programs. Ill Mask is comprised of Luca and 2 able-bodied dancers, who demonstrate friendship and respect for each other, while educating about people who are differently abled.

2014 Spring All Elementary	Fostering Resilience and Social-Emotional Wellness in Needham's Elementary School-Age Children: 2014-2015 Parent Lecture Series.	8,704
This grant will pay for speakers participating in the parent lecture series, which will occur bimonthly-basis during the 2014-2015 school year. Topics include: (1) The Social Brain: Why Healthy, Respectful Interpersonal Relationships Matter (Joseph Shrand, M.D.) (2) Internet Safety: Understanding Social Media and How to Protect Our Children from Potential Threats (Jon Mattleman, M.S.) (3) Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys (Michael Thompson, Ph.D.) (4) Strategies for Nurturing Confidence and Resilience in Our Children (Robert Brooks, Ph.D.) and (5) Odd Girl Out: Coping with Best Friends, Worst Enemies, and Everything in Between (Rachel Simmons, M.A.).

2014 Spring Pollard	The Holocaust and Human Behavior	3,000
This grant funds the development of a new Holocaust Unit for 8th graders. All five ELA teachers and two administrators will be trained by “Facing History and Ourselves.” The unit focuses on historical roots of the Holocaust and grappling with ethical and moral questions pertaining to the roots of hatred and oppression.

2014 Spring Newman	Healthy Relationships, Healthy Minds: Building Respectful and Empathic Classroom Environments	4,500
Grant funds a workshop for Newman staff on how to “Bullyproof Your Classroom.” This 6-hour event will include all staff (including food service and transportation staff) and supplements the Responsive Classroom and Second Step curriculum.

2014 Spring Newman	Newman Buddy Benches	1,119.94
This grant is aimed at adding compassion to the playground with Buddy Benches, a place to go when a child feels left out or unsure of finding a playmate. Grant funds will pay for benches and the paint and supplies to decorate them. All teachers and recess staff will be trained so that similar language is used from all adults in the building.

2014 Spring Hillside	Let’s Build: Engaging Elementary STEM	2,474.74
This grant fund materials for engineering design challenges led by community volunteers (parents, retirees, etc.) and will begin at Hillside and then Newman this Spring and expand to Broadmeadow in Fall 2014. Goals include supplementing the engineering curriculum and demystify engineering, while engaging parents and the community.

2014 Spring Mitchell	Creating Bucket Fillers	4,350
This grant funds One Mitchell One Book “Creating Bucket Fillers” program, which aims to build a strong community of happy readers and respectful citizens. The grant funds 150 copies of the book “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” by Carol McCloud which all students will read with their families. Bucket Fillers, Inc. will lead an assembly to teach teachers and students how to become a bucket-filling community and create more rewarding lives by emphasizing kindness, respect and courtesy. A teacher training seminar is included.

2014 Spring Mitchell	Team Training in the Reading Workshop Model	4,000
This grant funds training for Mitchell fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and the school’s literacy specialist at the Teachers' College Readers & Writers Project (TCRWP) Summer Institute at Columbia University this summer. TCRWP is a think tank that produces the cutting-edge curriculum, materials, and instructional approaches. Participants will also apply to become lab classrooms so that the knowledge, skills and materials gained in this institute may be shared with colleagues across the district.

2013 Fall High Rock	Yoga Math	1,150.00
Yoga Math's goal is to improve math understanding by helping students connect to math concepts through yoga movement exercises. Two lessons will be introduced to one cluster at High Rock as part of this pilot program.

2013 Fall Broadmeadow	We Are Builders of Our Community	4,687.94
In a week-long art and design residency with activist, artist and urban planner James Rojas, students use unique objects to create a model of their favorite place in the community. Student work will be photographed, culminating in a slide show and photo exhibit to be displayed at Needham Town Hall and Needham Public Library.

2013 Fall Mitchell	Excellence and Equity in Education	5,000
This grant will fund the integration of cultural diversity through the literature in classrooms. It will provide for professional development for teachers and will expand the classroom libraries with age-appropriate literature celebrating diverse cultures, authors of color, fiction and nonfiction main characters of color and inclusive themes to increase cultural awareness and proficiency of staff and students.

2013 Fall Eliot	Origami Tales	950.00
This grant will fund Eliot 4th grade students’ participation in the "Origami Tales" program that introduces students to two ancient Japanese art forms: folktales and origami and uses both to express and explain the abstract mathematical concepts of geometry.

2013 Fall High Rock/Pollard	Project Moves Accept Me for Who I Am	4,000.00
Using contemporary and classical dance, this dance company aims to bring attention to the mistreatment of young people who are different and offer healing and solutions through the power of dance.

2013 Fall Hillside	Music for Hillside Kindergarten	3,500.00
This grant will give Hillside kindergarten students a 30-minute music class each week. Funds would pay a music teacher’s stipend to teach the current Hillside kindergarten teachers and to develop lesson plans for future years. Small musical instruments (shakers, tambourines, etc.) will be purchased.

2013 Fall Eliot	Better Together Community Arts	3,119.00
Through the use of three different art forms, Poetry, Dance and Visual Art, Eliot third graders will explore what it means to be part of a community.

2013 Fall High School	Stained Glass Craft in the High School Visual Arts Program	5,000.00
This grant will fund equipment and initial materials for a Stained Glass unit at Needham High. Seniors in the spring and fall class will learn the design and fabrication procedures required to create stained glass pieces.

2013 Fall Broadmeadow	Presenting…CanYou Hear Me Now??...YES!	4,993.00
This grant will purchase a lapel microphone sound system for Broadmeadow Performance Center. The microphones will allow the students to “show what they know” through performance.

2013 Fall Pollard	The Nine Who Dared: Crisis in Little Rock	2,830.00
Actors will engage the 7th graders as they tell the true story of the nine African American students who were enrolled in the all white high school in 1957. At the end of the play, students are invited to vote and ask questions of the performers.

2013 Fall Pollard	A Little Potato and Hard to Peel	1,850.00
This one-man show will be performed for all 8th graders. The performer was born without a right hand, and he tells stories from his life that touch on the themes of perseverance, acceptance of self, and acceptance of others.

2013 Fall Broadmeadow	Dance Around the World: Brazilian Dance Residency at Broadmeadow	2,985.29
This grant funds a dance residency that includes a dance lecture/demonstration, followed by 6 weeks of instruction of 2nd graders, culminating in a dance performed by 2nd graders for the all K-3 students as a means of engaging students in another culture. This is the final year of a series of international dances offered at the school (all funded by NEF).

2013 Fall Mitchell	Writing with Pictures: The Graphic Novel	4,700.00
During a two-day visit by Jarrett Krosoczka, author of the Lunch Lady series, all Mitchell fourth- and fifth -grade students will hear the author speak and participate in workshops in cartooning (4th grade) and writing (4th and 5th). Part of the grant will be used to purchase two sets of “The Lunch Lady” series of books, to be shared by Mitchell’s 4th and 5th grade classrooms.

2013 Fall Pollard	Sigh/Omelas by Steve Kidd	1,200.00
This grant will fund a one-man show which originated following several summers of work at a camp for HIV positive children. All 8th grade students at the Pollard will see the performance.

2013 Fall Newman	Newman Elementary Active Learners Grant	4,926.31
This grant will provide equipment that will enable all educators at Newman to utilize tools that increase learning across a wide range of students. Funds would be used to purchase items such as weighted lap pads, resistance bands, 6-legged ball chairs and noise reduction headphones.

2013 Fall Hillside	Visible Learning: Student Success Through Thoughtful Display of Work	1,633.00
This grant will fund a screen to display student work. This large, portable screen will help Hillside develop the social, emotional and intellectual abilities of the students and provide support to existing programming.

2013 Fall Pollard	iPads	3,480.00
This grant will fund iPads that will be available to all Pollard Art teachers during Art classes in grades 7 and 8. The iPads will serve as a research and exploration device during a student's creative process.

2013 Fall Eliot	Eliot School 2nd Grade Document Cameras (Express Grant: previously funded at Mitchell)	574.00
The document cameras will be used to project curriculum material for whole group instruction. Children will be able to present their work using the camera, which will be projected so all students can see. Images can be saved on the classroom computer for future use.

2013 Fall Hillside	Hillside Mosaic Mural Project (Express Grant previously funded at Mitchell)	5,000.00
Josh Winer will serve as an artist-in-residence to work with all students to create a permanent mural that will be installed on moveable panels.

2013 Fall Eliot	Eliot School 4th Grade Document Cameras (Express Grant: previously funded at Mitchell)	2,296.00
The document cameras will be used to project curriculum material for whole group instruction. Children will be able to present their work using the camera, which will be projected so all students can see. Images can be saved on the classroom computer for future use.

2013 Fall Broadmeadow Newman	Literature to Support Social Thinking Skills in the Classroom (Express Grant: previously funded at Mitchell & Eliot)	2,316.80
This grant will fund a literacy program that helps teachers to align and link social thinking skills lessons to literacy lessons. It includes books that span grades K-5 and are accompanied by lesson plans developed by the school speech and language pathologists.

2013/2014 Newman	iPads for Learning	14,935.95
Newman Elementary School was awarded a $14,935.95 grant to provide 17 iPads (with cases, cart, and teacher’s iMac) to be used to enhance the literacy curriculum with connections to other curriculum when appropriate. The Media Center faculty plan to focus on digital storytelling applications to be piloted in at least one class per grade level in grades 1-5. The iPads will also be available to other classrooms. This grant will be overseen by Jennifer Murray (Media Specialist) and Mary Werlin (Instructional Technology Specialist) and is strongly supported by Newman Principal, Jessica Peterson, and Needham Technology Director, Deb Gammerman.

2013/2014 High Rock	Interdisciplinary Arts Integration Project	11,775
High Rock School was granted $11,775 to fund a pilot program adding an interdisciplinary learning component to the 6th grade. The High Rock visual arts teacher will partner with the social studies faculty to co-teach interdisciplinary lessons designed to support both the Social Studies and Visual Arts curricula goals. The grant funds instruction, materials and planning. The pilot will be implemented in the 2014-15 school year in three clusters, with the remaining two clusters serving as a control group to determine the impact of the pilot on student growth and achievement. It enjoys strong support from David Neves, Director Fine and Performing Arts, and the High Rock faculty.

2013/2014 Hillside	iPad Pilot Program at Hillside	14,995.95
This grant of $14,995.95 provides 17 iPads (with cases, cart, and teacher’s iMac) to further improve engagement, reading, written language, and math skills across all learning environments. The recipients plan to begin a phased approach to the iPads’ introduction to the school by focusing on English Language Learners (ELL) and Special Education students this spring. In September, they plan to expand the iPads’ use to grades K-2, and by the end of 2014/15 school year, they will include grades 3-5 and art and music classes. Chanit List, Early Learning Center (ELC) teacher, and Jamie Singelais, ELL teacher, will be guiding the iPad use with support from Deb Gammerman, Needham Technology Director.

2013 Spring Mitchell	Ugly Vegetables: Integrating Science, Literature and Culture	5,000.00
Newbery Honor recipient Grace Lin, author of The Ugly Vegetables, talks with students in grades K-3 about the process of writing and illustrating a book. The children will plant “ugly vegetables” in the Spring, and their harvest in the Fall will coincide with the visit from the author/illustrator.

2013 Spring Hillside	Sky Connection: Bringing the Nighttime Sky Into the School	700.00
The EduTarium brings its portable planetarium to Hillside fourth graders for four interactive sessions, which will tie into the study of the night sky and of Native Americans.

2013 Spring Mitchell	Artful Adventures in History: A Cross-Curriculum Initiative	2,800.00
The Museum of Fine Art’s Artful Adventures program will bring museum resources to the school to teach fourth- and fifth-grade students about art that is relevant to their social studies curriculum in Westward Movement and Native America Cultures. Students will be encouraged to use what they learn to create their own art piece that tells a story.

2013 Spring Mitchell	Traveling Science Workshop	3,380.00
Students in all grades will participate in Traveling Science Workshops, presented by the Discovery Science Museum and Nature Knowledge for Kids. The programs combine inquiry with hands-on activities that vary for each grade.

2013 Spring Hillside	Believe You Can: Hillside Family Engineering Extravaganza	2,068.00
This grant funds materials for the Hillside Family Engineering Extravaganza, which will offer hands-on engineering activities for students and their families. Olin College students and members of the NHS girls’ robotics team will participate. The materials are reusable and could be used in future years for similar programs at Needham’s other elementary schools.

2013 Spring High School	3-D Printer	4,750.00
This grant funds a 3-D printer to enable robotics students to design a part, “print it” and then use the physical item. The printer will be used initially by the NHS Robotics Club and then integrated into the school’s new Robotics class.

2013 Spring Broadmeadow, Newman	Increasing Student Success Through Early intervention	4,124.00
DESSA Second Step Kits will be purchased to help assess students who might benefit from early intervention for social/emotional/interpersonal skills and work habits. Students will be identified for guidance-led intervention groups, which will meet for up to 12 sessions over 4 weeks. This pilot program at Newman and Broadmeadow could later be introduced at other elementary schools.

2013 Spring All Elementary	Needham Fifth Grade History Comes Alive	500.00
This is a budget adjustment for a previously-approved grant that brings a Revolutionary War encampment to all fifth graders.

2013 Spring Mitchell	Document Camera	1,480.00
This grant funds the purchase of three document cameras that work in conjunction with interactive white boards for the 1st grade.

2013 Spring All Elementary	Disability Awareness School Wide Event: Helen Keller and a One Woman Play	3,750.00
This kick-off event for the Disability Awareness programs in all elementary schools features an actor playing Helen Keller in a one-woman play, followed by a Q& A with students. She appears in two sessions at each elementary school.

2013 Spring All Elementary	Amazing Nano Brothers	5,000.00
In two performances at each elementary school, the “Amazing Nano Brothers” will use use juggling to teach complex science concepts, including visualizing atomic structures. The Creative Arts Council is providing equal funding for the performers.

2013 Spring HIllside	Origamido: Making Math Come Alive	2,349.00
Origami master Michael LaFosse will use a storytelling format while creating folds that the children follow. The program, for all grades, is an innovative use of physical materials to teach mathematical concepts.

2012 Fall Pollard	Document Cameras	2,610.00
Document cameras for the 7th grade Science Department that would allow the integration of activities such as the live viewing of frog dissections and video recording of class activities. The cameras allow teachers to share model student work in class that can also then be shared on the science department website.

2012 Fall High School	Needham Fifth Grade History Comes Alive: Revolutionary War Encampment	1,672.00
This grant would fund a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War encampment with seven tents, each with a different theme. The 5th grade students will tour and join re-enactors from the Rehoboth Minute Company 13th Continental Regiment as they live and teach history. Students will interact directly with the soldiers and doctors of the Revolution, asking questions and living the life of a Revolutionary War soldier.

2012 Fall Hillside	Lyn Littlefield Hoopes: Exploring Poetry at Hillside	3,600.00
This grant funds a series of poetry workshops by Lynn Littlefield Hoopes, a published poet and author of children's books, for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Hillside.

2012 Fall Broadmeadow	Dance Around the World: Afro-Haitian Dance Residency at Broadmeadow	2,385.80
This grant would fund an Afro-Haitian dance residency benefiting grades K-2 at Broadmeadow. Frantz Luisa will lead creative workshops with each 2nd grade class, teaching each one a different Afro-Haitian dance. The 2nd grade classes perform the dances as part of the assembly for grades K-3. This residency is third part of an anticipated four part series beginning with China and India and potentially continuing next year with South America.

2012 Fall Mitchell	Maple Sugaring in the Neighborhood	464,00
This grant would enable students to have a hands-on learning experience in the sugaring process while studying the structure and systems of trees.

2012 Fall All Elementary	Needham Fifth Grade History Comes Alive: Revolutionary War Encampment	1,672.00
This grant would fund a re-enactment of a Revolutionary War encampment with seven tents, each with a different theme. The 5th grade students will tour and join re-enactors from the Rehoboth Minute Company 13th Continental Regiment as they live and teach history. Students will interact directly with the soldiers and doctors of the Revolution, asking questions and living the life of a Revolutionary War soldier.

2012 Fall Pollard	Museum of Science Cryogenics Program for Grade 8	755.00
This grant would bring the Boston Museum of Science "Cryogenics: Heat and Temperature" program to 8th graders at Pollard. The live demonstration includes experiments that cannot easily be conducted in a typical middle school classroom.

2012 Fall High School	Be the Change	537.50
This grant proposal is from Be the Change, a before school leadership class which has requested funding for copies of a book, "Difficult Conversations", to explore the communication aspects of leadership

2012 Fall Mitchell	The Colonials are Coming: Visitors from the Massachusetts Bay Colony	450.00
This grant would provide funding to bring educators from the Concord Museum to engage students in active learning about the daily life in Colonial times. The educators dress in period clothing and answer questions as if they were living in the Colonial era.

2012 Fall High School	Tablets for App Programming	3,301.00
This grant would provide 11 Android tablets to enable students in the Introduction to Computer Programming class at NHS to design and test apps using multi touch and accelerometer sensors.

2012 Fall Eliot	Literature to Support Social Thinking Skills in the Classroom	2,316.80
This grant is for a literacy program to support social/ emotional training. It will allow teachers to align and link social thinking skills lessons to literacy lessons. This project would include books that span grades K-5 and would be accompanied by lesson plans developed by the school speech and language pathologists.

2012 Fall Mitchell	Island Moving Company Movement Workshop	5,000.00
This grant is for a group assembly and individual class workshops for grades K-5 students at Mitchell. Taught by professional dance educators, it will incorporate PE standards while teaching dance from an artistic perspective. The PE teacher will be an active participant and will be able to apply new materials and ideas for teaching dance going forward. This grant expands on a previously funded grant at Eliot.

2012 Fall All Elementary	Jazz: America's Music, a musical historical journey with Made in the Shade	5,000.00
The grant would fund a jazz quartet, Made in the Shade, that will introduce all Needham elementary school students to various styles of jazz and complement the music curriculum.

2012 Fall All Elementary	Bringing History Alive	3,500.00
This grant will bring a live performance of "The New American Immigrant", a one-woman show illustrating the Ellis Island experience to all fifth grade students in Needham.

2012 Fall High School	Great Works Project: Boston Symphony Orchestra	1,870.00
The grant would fund a trip to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a live rehearsal and a session with the director as part of the NHS Humanities class.

2012 Fall Hillside	Artist-in-Residence: Classical Indian Dance at Hillside	1,590.57
An Indian Dance Residency, led by Tara Ahmed, teaches both fine arts and cultural awareness. In four sessions with each 2nd grade class, students in each class learn a different Indian dance and later perform it for a school assembly.

2012 Fall Hillside	Author-in-Residence: Focus on Personal Narrative	3,207.68
This grant would fund an author in residence, Maryann Cocca-Leffler, for 1st and 2nd grade students at Hillside. The author would meet with the students on multiple occasions and would model her work, with regard to developing a personal narrative, for the teachers.

2012 Fall High Rock	Team Hoyt for Middle School Community Month	2,500.00
This grant would provide funding for Team Hoyt to speak as part of Middle School Community Month. The Hoyts are well-regarded speakers and their message of inclusion complements the theme of the Community Month program.

2012 Fall High School	Farm to School	1,500.00
This grant would fund a new club at NHS that was organized in response to student interest in local and organic farming, composting and sustainable food practices. It would focus on a relationship with the Needham Community Farm with the hope of bringing their produce into the school. It would also focus on educating the student body about the importance of practicing healthy eating habits and the nutritional and environmental benefits of locally grown produce.

2012 Fall High Rock	Learning the Art of Writing: It is all about the sentence	2,000.00
Grant would fund four progressive two-hour teacher workshops by Allan Reeder during which teachers would examine writing at a sentence level. Mr. Reeder is a teacher at the Walnut Hill School who has previously led other workshops at Pollard that were positively received.

2012/2013 Needham High School	NHS Robotics Course	13,250
This grant funds the materials required to launch a new robotics class at Needham High School. An elective course proposed by Needham High School math teacher and robotics coach Hans Batra, the semester-long class will be offered twice a year. It enjoys strong support from Needham High School administration and faculty including Principal, Dr. Jonathan Pizzi, Science Department Chair, Bob Lockhart and Director of Technology, Deb Gammerman.

2012/2013 Needham High School	Own Your Peace Sculpture	8,250
The “Own Your Peace” sculpture proposed for display on the Needham High School campus will be a bold and permanent reminder of the community’s commitment to support each other’s well being. The $8,250 NEF grant is one component of the $180,000 project to design, create and install this compelling work by local artist, Ted Clausen. It funds Clausen’s time instructing students as they interview community members for text to be incorporated into the art—which will highlight inspiring thoughts on wellness, resilience and challenge. During the process, Clausen will teach students valuable skills in interviewing and historical research, as well as editing.

2012 Spring High School	Fine and Performing Arts Critique Theater and Presentation Space at the High School	4,992.00
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.

2012 Spring Broadmeadow	Grace Lin: Multicultural Author and Illustrator	4,000.00
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.

2012 Spring High School	The 5th Quarter- Year 2	4,500.56
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.

2012 Spring High Rock Pollard	Community Week: Inclusion Night and (dis)Ability Awareness Night	1,115.00
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.

2012 Spring Broadmeadow Mitchell Newman	2012 - 2013 Disability Awareness School Wide Speaker - Travis Roy	5,000.00
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.

2012 Spring Newman Broadmeadow	Bill Harley Program and Concert, Newman & Broadmeadow Elementary School	5,000.00
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.

2012 Spring Hillside	Bringing History to Hillside: Revolutionary War Encampment	1,156.00
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.

2012 Spring Hillside	One Meeting, Full of Friendship: Japanese Tea Ceremony	450.85
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.

2012 Spring Pollard	NCF - Pollard Bridges Program	2,000.00
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.

2012 Spring Newman	Stand Up for Learning	4,860.00
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.

2012 Spring Hillside	Author-in-Residence: Building a Strong Foundation for Literacy	3,600.00
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.

2012 Spring Mitchell	Mitchell Mosaic Mural Mania	5,000.00
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.

2012 Spring Mitchell	Read and Succeed Ignite What You Write	5,000.00
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.

2011 Fall Pollard	Robotics, Anyone?	3,999.00
The grant would fund the extension of the successful High School Robotics program to the middle school.

2011 Fall Eliot	Reading and Drumming for Haiti	5,000.00
This grant would fund an artist in residence, Tom Foote to conduct a teacher workshop and classroom lessons in rhythms from African nations. This is part of a larger project in which the students have a Read-A Thon to raise money for Room to Read in Africa while learning about the countries that they are donating the funds to. The idea is an expansion of the Room to Read Asia program that the NEF has previously supported at Eliot

2011 Fall All Elementary	SuperPOWER (Overcoming Bullying) Program for Gr. 3-5	3,300.00
This grant is for an overcoming bullying program that would impact 1100 students in grades 3-5 district wide. The motivational/performance aspect engages students more than traditional role playing programs and focuses on each child's superpower that they can use to overcome bullying.

2011 Fall Hillside	Great Blue Hill Weather Day	2,532.00
This grant would fund a trip to the Blue Hill observatory by the 1st and 5th grade classes that will include an observatory presentation, kite building and a hike. They will review weather concepts, observe actual forecasting equipment at work and experiment with the practicalities of designing, building and flying their own kites. The PTC has committed to paying the transportation expenses associated with the trip.

2011 Fall Mitchell	Mitchell School Raised Beds for Vegetable Garden	2,880.00
The grant would pay for 12 raised bed kits that would allow for easier planting and hopefully increase the garden output. It is an extension of the 2008 NEF grant that initially funded the vegetable garden.

2011 Fall All Elementary	Halau o Keikialii: Dancing with the Past	4,992.00
The grant would fund a creative arts performance that all of the district's elementary school students would attend. It will introduce Needham's elementary school students to the ancient and modern forms of Hawaiian dance and the culture from which it originates.

2011 Fall Eliot	Island Moving Co. Dance/Movement Residency	3,050.00
This grant is for a group assembly and individual class workshops for grades K-2 students at Eliot. Taught by professional dance educators, it will incorporate PE standards while teaching dance from an artistic perspective. The PE teacher will be an active participant and will be able to apply new materials and ideas for teaching dance going forward.

2011 Fall Pollard	Game Day!	300.00
;This grant would fund words games for a middle school teacher to use in the classroom.

2011 Fall Mitchell	"I Was Here!"	2,500.00
This grant would fund Caleb Neelon as an artist in residence for one week. He will teach the students about graffiti art and the evolution of the art form. He will meet with each art class and will conduct a workshop to teach the students a simple graffiti style lettering technique. The students' art work will then be displayed as a collage.

2011 Fall Mitchell	An Interactive Geography Learning Experience "The Geography Game Show"	2,500.00
The grant would bring Neal Nicholas Interactive Geography Learning Experience to all Mitchell students. He uses his artistic skills and extensive geography knowledge to create a geography game show. His program is geared toward the curriculum at each grade level and he would spend two days at Mitchell, spending an hour with each grade.

2011 Fall Eliot	The Eliot Mandala: A Community Art Project	1,505.00
Mandala Community Weaving was conceived and developed by artist Sarah Haskell to create an artistic and symbolic expression of a community. Under her direction Eliot students and faculty will be invited to participate in the creation of a piece of community artwork that will reside permanently at the Eliot School. The creation will take place at Diversity Day and the Eliot Art-In. The grant will pay for materials and her time.

2011 Fall Pollard	The Dangers of Intoxication Learning Centers	1,203.00
Grant is for a program that would teach students about the effects of alcohol. The grant would fund intoxication goggles that would give students a chance to experience changes that occur due to alcohol use. The goggles are part of a detailed lesson plan that will make the program more hands on and hopefully engage more students.

2011 Fall High School	Refurbishing discarded computers for education and community building	931.00
This is a student sponsored grant for the NHS Linux Club. The club refurbishes old computers and donates them to families living in Needham Public Housing. The grant would pays for materials needs for the refurbishments.

2011 Fall Mitchell	Mitchell Poetry Slam	4,500.00
Grant is for a poetry residency that includes four poets leading workshops for grades 2-5, an open mike during lunch so children can read their poetry and culminating in a classroom event with parents in which children will read their poetry.

2011 Fall High School	Steps to Success Program Development	5,000.00
This grant would help develop the infrastructure for the expanding mentoring program at the HS. The funds would be used pay for a project developer who will research other programs, develop recommendations for program materials, activities, assessment, mentor training and expansion possibilities. The project developer would also develop a handbook of best practices and help coordinate train the trainer sessions. The program has received significant community support and an annual fundraiser provides for the ongoing financial needs of the program.

2011 Fall Newman	Math in Motion - Using GeoMotion to Move Kids to Learn!	5,000.00
This grant would enable 3rd grade students at Newman to learn math in a physical way. Learnercise integrates movement and math and would be used to re-enforce math facts in third grade. The program would take place in the classroom and in PE and could be used year after year. In addition to the academic benefits it will give students the chance to be physically active in the classroom.

2011 Fall District Wide	Social Skills Curriculum Enhancement	4,450.00
This grant would help fund an expansion of the current social skills programming for students with autism as well as other students with social skills deficits. This expansion includes a district wide in service training on video modeling research and techniques, purchase of Model Me Kids DVD series and purchase of iPods to be used for recording and viewing using the various video modeling techniques.

2011 Fall Broadmeadow	Indian Classical Dance Residency at Broadmeadow	2,040.00
This grant would fund an Indian Dance Residency, led by Tara Ahmed, which will be both a fine arts and cultural awareness program. It will include four meetings with each 2nd grade class, teaching each one a different Indian dance. The 2nd grade classes perform the dances as part of the assembly for grades K-3. This residency is second part of an anticipated four part series beginning with China last year and continuing the next two years with Africa and South America.

2011 Fall High School	Independent Study Student Directed Theater Project	3,150.00
This grant is for the seed money to fund an annual student run production. They will use the money made from ticket sales this year to pay for the subsequent year's production. This is an expansion of a successful student production that the NEF funded last year.

2011 Spring ECC, Newman Pollard	Outdoor Science and Discovery Center	5,000.00
An experiential outdoor science and discovery center for Newman’s KASE and Early Childhood Center students while they are at their temporary space at Pollard. The materials would be brought back to Newman after the renovation. It would impact approximately 225 students.

2011 Spring Mitchell	Mitchell Students: The Power of Art and Self	3,600.00
This grant is for students in grades K-5 to explore a sense of self through art. Art Instructors from the MFA will work in each classroom over the course of a week viewing and discussing famous self portraits and then each student will create a project expressing themselves. The following week Mitchell will hold an open house to display the student’s work.

2011 Spring Eliot	Build and Grow	1,300.00
There are several components to this grant. The first is for funding to allow the 5th graders to build greenhouses using their knowledge of simple machines. These greenhouses would then be used by the 1st graders to plant seedlings allowing them to learn and observe how plants grow. The harvested crops will be donated to the Needham Food Pantry and used in the Eliot cafeteria.

2011 Spring All Elementary	Tommy's Needham Rocket	3,349.50
The key component to this grant is a book written from the perspective of 10 year old guiding readers through the history of Needham. This grant includes a professional development session for the 3rd grade teachers by the author and a kit containing a set of books for one classroom (two sets for Broadmeadow and Newman), flash drives with a Smartboard notebook and Teacher’s Guides. There will also be an event at the Needham Public Library by the author for all 3rd graders.

2011 Spring Hillside	Candid Camera	2,029.99
This grant will fund a digital camera presenter or document camera, which is similar in concept to an overhead projector but allows for much more flexibility. It allows teachers to display student work (such as multiple approaches to the same math problem or different writing techniques) and teach research and reading skills in a real time manner. Teachers would be able to use this device in multiple disciplines.

2011 Spring Eliot, Mitchell, Newman, Broadmeadow	FLAME Performances for Needham Elementary School Students	5,000.00
This grant will fund performances of a musical band that consists of ten people with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities. They will perform at four Needham elementary schools and will tie into the disability awareness programs that exist at Eliot and Broadmeadow and are being explored at Newman and Mitchell.

2011 Spring High School	The "5th Quarter"	3,700.00
The mission of this grant is to fund events after high school football and basketball games that would provide an alcohol free environment with food, music and games. Parents and teachers would chaperone the events. This event was piloted successfully in fall and they would like to extend the pilot to see if there is long term interest in the program.

2011 Spring High School	Voices in Transition	2570.78
This grant will fund a program to help students with significant disabilities in the undergraduate STRIVE program and post graduate Transition program. Through the funding they will be able to create digital presentations or visual resumes, to assist them in their transition path as they leave high school. This program was piloted with 5 students during the current school year and they are hoping to expand it to 15 students for the 2011-2012 school year.

2010/2011 Grades 6 - 12	Farm Education Design Team Program	15,000.00
The objective of this proposal is to develop curriculum-related connections between the Needham Community Farm and the Needham Public Schools. The funding will bring together a team of Needham Public School teachers and staff, farm experts and Needham Community Farm Committee members to develop lesson plans for grades 6-12 which will connect with the current educational framework. Lessons will include specific tie-ins to NPS?s existing Science, Engineering, Math, Social Studies and Language Arts curriculum, as well as the District Active Citizenship Goal (deliveries to the food pantry, study of local and global hunger and food production issues.) High School students will have the opportunity to be involved in the ground level planning, creation and implementation of a local farm.

2010/2011 District Wide	It's All About Relationships: Conversations on Equity and Race	15,000.00
This proposal is about focusing time and resources on enhancing the one-to-one relationships that create the trust, motivation, safety, openness, caring, understanding and equity that will help better reach a significant population of students in the Needham Schools. This will be focused on all children but would most significantly benefit students who do not currently feel connected to school - students of color, students who are socially awkward, students whose economic resources are limited, students who do not feel they have a safe place in our community. A core group of school/community members representing a wide range of constituencies will be assembled as a steering and planning committee to guide the process. The Cultural Proficiency Collaborative (CPC) will lead and facilitate sessions. The CPC includes three principals: Ron Walker, Lori Likis and Curdina Hill.

2010/2011 High School	Winning in Athletics - Winning in Life	14,000.00
A NEF small grant was awarded for school year 2009-2010 for the NHS Athletic Department to pilot Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) workshops and training for NHS coaches, student-athletes and parents. The PCA program, developed at Stanford University, promotes a student-centered philosophy that focuses on creating competitive, successful programs, while at the same time teaching life lessons. This proposal will fund continued PCA workshops for NPS student-athletes, NPS and Needham youth coaches and parents of all age Needham children, including a workshop for 8th grade move-up/early release day athletics introduction. The funding will support a Coordinator stipend whose responsibilities would include coordinating workshops, communicating with coaches and parents about certain tools/skills to bring to teams, and developing a 3-year plan including ideas for long-term sustainability and in-house expertise.

2010/2011 District Wide	Click On It: Using Interactive Personal Response Devices to Transform Responsive Teaching Through Real-time Student Assessment Data	17,394.00
This grant will fund Student Interactive Personal Response Systems aka “clickers” for use in each cluster and the media center at the High Rock School as well as the entire 5th grade at the Newman School, the Pollard Foreign Language Program and the Social Studies Department at Needham High School.   This project would provide an opportunity for Needham Public Schools to test the impact of the "clicker" system in various content areas, with multiple teachers and with large groups of students.  The system has a number of applications to improve teaching and learning such as identifying gaps in student learning, polling student and class interests, analyzing data, and increasing the efficiency of department professional development.  They are also aimed at transforming formative assessments.

2010 Fall Broadmeadow	Broadmeadow Farm	4,845.00
Grant is for a garden at Broadmeadow that will also function as an outdoor lab incorporating a rain barrel, compost bin, drip irrigation and weather instruments. Food grown in the garden will be donated to the Needham Food Pantry and could potentially be served in the cafeteria. This grant reflects collaboration with the Needham Science Center and the Needham Community Farm.

2010 Fall Hillside	The Roots of American Music	654.00
This grant is for a second grade program that would demonstrate how the music of early African Americans evolved from work songs and spirituals eventually leading to blues, jazz and rock. The program culminates in a group song writing experience to create an original piece of music. This grant has been funded in the spring 2010 cycle for Broadmeadow.

2010 Fall Hillside	Mass Movement Inc.	1,950.00
This grant is for a dance program for grades K-2 to enhance the Physical Education curriculum and consist of 27 workshops. The program also ties into elements of the K-2 curriculum. This grant is supported by the P.E. teacher, and includes parts of the curriculum (social studies and math) making a connection between classroom learning and PE which usually does not exist.

2010 Fall Hillside	Imagination in Action	1,646.00
Grant would fund a presentation of mime, dramatic play and movement by Imagination in Action which would be followed up by workshops with all kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. The grant also includes teacher materials to help sustain the program. One of the primary objectives is to present mime and dramatic play as language arts and to use these art forms to improve students’ communication skills.

2010 Fall Eliot	Weather Day at Great Blue Hill	1,694.00
This grant would fund a trip to the Blue Hill observatory by the 1st and 5th grade classes which will include an observatory presentation, kite building and a hike. Students review weather concepts, observe actual forecasting equipment at work and experiment with the practicalities of designing, building and flying their own kites.

2010 Fall Broadmeadow	Chinese Cultural Celebration	1,637.44
This grant would fund a Chinese cultural celebration led by Chiao Bin Huang, a professional dancer and a teacher in the Carlisle Public Schools, for grades K-3. It will include a half hour meeting with each 2nd grade class, teaching each one a different element of the celebration. The 2nd grade classes would learn a song in Mandarin that they would perform as part of the assembly for grades K-3.

2010 Fall High School	Refurbishing Discarded Computers	595.00
This is a student-written grant requesting funds to help them refurbish computers. Last year this group refurbished three computers that were then donated to three families in Needham Public Housing. They hope to expand the program to seven computers this year and would like funds to pay for the purchase of monitors, advertising for flat screen monitors and for USB drives. After learning the system the students would then develop tutorials for the recipients of the refurbished computers

2010 Fall High School	Chamber Music Residency	3,060.00
This grant would enable the creation of a high school chamber music ensemble for string students in the orchestra. The funding for this grant would pay for musical scores and stipends for graduate students from the Boston Conservatory of Music who will serve as string coaches. This would provide the students exposure to ensembles and would allow them to benefit from improved student/teacher ratio. The work of this group would result in a public performance and in a performance workshop for middle school strings.

2010 Fall Broadmeadow	Inspiring Emerging Writers	4,000.00
The grant would fund visits from local authors and illustrators for grades K-2 with David Biedrzycki visiting kindergarten, Brian Lies visiting 1st grade, and Grace Lin visiting 2nd grade.

2010 Fall Hillside	Bill Harley, Storyteller	2,000.00
This grant would fund a visit from Bill Harley, a Grammy award winning storyteller, which would include two student assemblies (K-2 and 3-5), a workshop for teachers on how to facilitate the art of story telling, and 5th grade classroom. The committee decided to recommend funding the most relevant portions of the grant.

2010 Fall High School	Improving Student Research: The Book Scan Station	4,995.00
Grant is for funding a specialized book scanner for NHS. Books could be scanned and the data could be transferred to a flash drive allowing the materials to be viewed electronically. The grant is driven by a concern for preserving materials and a desire to promote research skills using printed material.

2010 Fall High School	Independent Study: Musical Theater Production	1,200.00
This is a student sponsored grant for a small-scale musical production at NHS. It would allow opportunities that do not currently exist for students to direct and produce a musical. The performance would be open to the public with no charge for admission. The costs are for the materials, equipment and custodial fee.

2010 Spring Broadmeadow	Dancing Wheels	1,050.00
This grant is for a dance performance/lecture by “Dancing Wheels”, a professional modern dance company that utilizes dancers with and without disabilities. This ties into the Broadmeadow disabilities program. There are different programs for K-2 and 3-5. The program has been previously sponsored by the NEF at Hillside and Eliot and the feedback was very positive.

2010 Spring Eliot	Reading and Drumming for Haiti	1,095.00
The concept of this grant is a summer read-a-thon to benefit UNICEF (Haitian Earthquake Relief) which culminates in a November dance group performance by Bamidele Dancers & Drummers, a group which is dedicated to the preservation of African and Caribbean culture.

2010 Spring High School	TEC OnLine Opportunities	5,000.00
This is an online program developed with TEC (The Education Cooperative) which has 17 pilot learning opportunities. This funding is for a pilot which would involve 10 students. The perceived benefits of the program are that it would allow students to take advantage of online learning while providing expanded curriculum. If successful, subsequent online courses would be offered to students at $300 per course.

2010 Spring Eliot	19th Century Kitchen Garden	4,692.00
The focus of this grant is a garden project consisting of 7 raised beds, one of which is handicap accessible. The project has been developed with the Needham Community Farm. Harvested items will be donated to the Needham Food Pantry. They have received donations from other sources to help offset the costs and the PTC has pledged funding for ongoing expenses.

2010 Spring Hillside, Mitchell	BubbleMania!	2,413.00
The grant is a replication of previously funded NEF grant for Eliot. It integrates art and science in separate programs for K-2 and 3-5. This ties into science curriculum (weather and water). The grant also includes a family fun night.

2010 Spring Newman	Between the Lines	2,410.00
This grant is for a multicultural parent book group which would consist of 15-20 parents from both Needham and Boston. They would meet 6 times during the 2010-2011 school year. The goal is to build relationships within the group which they hope would have a trickle down effect to the students and the Newman community as a whole. There will be written evaluations at the end of each meeting. The funding includes the cost of stipends for the meeting facilitators and books.

2010 Spring High School	Rockets Against Destructive Decisions	4,550.00
This grant has three components; substance free activities (coffee houses), mentoring of younger students (grades 4-6) and two assemblies with Improbable Players and subsequent follow up discussions. This was written by NHS students from the local chapter of MADD (“RADD”) with assistance from Carol Read of the Needham Health Department.

2010 Spring System Wide	Connecting with the Past Thru Theater	2,550.00
The funding for this grant would be used to commission a play about life in Needham 300 years ago, comparing challenges for youth now and then, in honor of Needham’s Tercentennial. The play would be performed by the NHS Theater Arts society for students in each school. Money would be used for playwright commission and printing costs.

2010 Spring High Rock	Uncovering Archaeology	5,000.00
The grant is based on a project that has been done before at Pollard but has been rethought due to the move to High Rock. It will be a month long project archaeology unit in social studies which will incorporate science concepts. This is a pilot for one cluster which can be expanded to all of the 6th grade clusters. The funding includes the cost of materials so the project will be sustainable going forward.

2010 Spring High School	Striving For Success	4,950.00
This grant is for NHS students of color (both Needham and Boston residents) and was designed with the hope of reducing the achievement gap that exists. There are three components; for students there will be summer classes in Math and English, after school support throughout the year and College support programs; for parents there will be academic and college application support; and for teachers there will be training and follow-up throughout the year.

2010 Spring Mitchell	Flashmasters At Work	1,259.80
This grant is for electronic flash cards for 3rd graders.

2010 Spring Pollard, High Rock	Writing as Play	2,000.00
This grant is for two writing teachers from the Walnut Hill School to train the middle school teachers (6-8) in their writing techniques. There will be two sessions, the first would focus on teaching the concepts and the second would focus on evaluating the strategies taught and applying lessons to the teachers’ own curriculum.

2009 Fall High School	Electronic Art Proposal	2,712.00
There are two components to this grant; the first is eight electronic art tablets and software and the second is an on site visit to Dana Moser at the Mass. College of Art. This grant would enable the HS to significantly expand the digital art component of the art curriculum. These tablets are not currently available at the high school and their purchase will allow the art department to tap into students’ expressed interest in electronic media as an art form. More information is available here: http://sites.google.com/site/lburkeart/20092010

2009 Fall Eliot	BubbleMania!	1395.00
Grant is for “edutainment” with Casey Carle who ties science curriculum elements into an interactive performance with bubbles. Would include three performances; two within the school day and one evening performance which families would be invited to and would be part of the year end picnic. Using bubbles to teach scientific principles and to connect art and science is an innovative way to engage students.

2009 Fall Mitchell	A Stick in the Mud	1210.00
This grant is for the purchase of three units and accompanying kits from the Museum of Science Boston: A Stick in the Mud: Evaluating a Landscape. It will bring hands on experience to the fourth grade science curriculum by enabling the students to test soil and attempt to solve engineering problems. They successfully piloted one kit last year through a PTC grant and would like to roll it out to the entire grade. This unit will allow all Mitchell 4th grade teachers to incorporate technology into their curriculum in a new and engaging manner.

2009 Fall Eliot	EarthView	300.00
This grant brings a 22 ft. inflatable model of the Earth to the school and includes a team of three educators who use both the inside and the outside of the model to deliver lessons which tie into the science and social studies curriculum. It includes a full day visit and students enter the earth in groups of 20 at a time for a 15-20 minute lesson. It includes all students grades 3-5. This allows students to learn about the earth from an innovative and dramatic perspective.

2009 Fall Broadmeadow	Roots of American Music	654.00
This grant would fund a 45 minute interactive musical performance for the 2nd grade. The three musicians would explore the global roots and social forces that have shaped American music. The smaller group allows for greater participation. The children will be involved in a group music writing experience. This performance and the associated materials will allow second graders to explore the global influences and social forces that shaped American music in a new and exciting way.

2009 Fall High School	Enhancing Mandarin Study with Technology	915.00
This grant is replicating an earlier NEF grant using Nintendo DS machines to help struggling Spanish students. This grant is to assist Mandarin students. This method has been successful with Spanish students and the intent is to extend the benefit to the Mandarin students.

2009 Fall All Elementary Schools	Bash The Trash	5000.00
This grant would fund a performance at all the elementary schools of artists/educators who use musical equipment made from reused and recycled materials. They also teach the children how to create their own instruments. The program has ties to the music, science and math curriculums and is partially funded by all of the PTCs. This program provides a unique opportunity to link science-based environmental messages to arts-making as natural partners.

2009 Fall High School	Capoeira	600.00
This grant would impact seven social studies classes at the high school which have incorporated the history of slavery in Brazil into their curriculum. The grant is for a group of 4-5 martial arts practitioners to perform and discuss this martial art and the role it played in the overthrow of slavery in Brazil and its’ current role in Brazil and the US. The grant’s innovation is evident in the way the program will explore the connection between history and current culture.

2009 Fall High School	A Watt Power Monitor	3670.30
The grant would fund 60 units (2 class sets) of electrical power usage monitors and 10 power strip units for curriculum enhancement in math and science classes at the HS. Using these monitors will allow students to use real world power usage data from their homes in their math and science classes.

2009 Fall High School	CPR in Schools	4083.00
Grant is for funding to implement the American Heart Assoc. Heartsave program which would train seniors to use defibrillators (AED) and to perform CPR. The project will fund the training of teachers who would then train the students. Costs also include disposible items (face shields, wipes, disposal airways) needed for training. The approach to the training is innovative, as it is specifically designed for the teen audience. Additionally, the program fosters a sense of community connection and responsibility within the high school and beyond.

2009 Fall Pollard	Pollard Vernier Technology	4083.00
This grant is for the purchase of data collection probes, motion detectors, software and lab books that will be used to enhance the current 7th and 8th grade curricula. It will first be used by current 8th grade science teachers who will then train the 7th grade science teachers on how to use the equipment. This equipment is currently used at the HS. It is new technology to the middle school, and will help students more directly connect theories to real-time data gathering.

2009 Fall High School	Empty Bowls Project	4828.00
Empty Bowls is a grass roots movement to end hunger. Students learn about hunger and how to create bowls which are then sold at a community event to benefit the food pantry. Grant is for glaze, clay and shelving. The project has been successfully piloted. A compelling component of this grant is the fact that it involves students at almost every school, and will help students learn that their actions can make a difference.

2009 Fall Pollard	Jazz Residency at Pollard	4000.00
Two artists will be invited to serve a Jazz Residency at Pollard, shared with the High School. While this is similar to a prior NEF grant, it will impact a new and broader group of students. Additionally, the prior grant only funded one musician, and the goal of having two musicians is for the students to be able to witness and practice the art of collaborative improvisation.

2009 Fall High School	NES Solargraphy Project	2000.00
Grant is from two students to fund the creation of a solargraph (long continuous photographic exposure) over Memorial Field. It would involve building a large scale pinhole camera which will record images for 3 months and then would be available for other students to use. The camera would be built by the engineering club. They have already received approval from the school and the town.

2009 Fall High School	Positive Coaching	4875.00
Grant is for a program from Stanford University which incorporates team work and social and emotional growth. It would fund 5 workshops for parents, students and coaches to jumpstart the approach which is based on character building. It is a completely new and innovative approach in Needham, which will bring together all sports constituents and integrate many components of our social/emotional curriculum.

2009 Fall High School	NHS Fitness Center Community Outreach	5000.00
Grant would fund the training of high school students to act as trainers to the older adults and other community members using the HS fitness center. Our funding would extend and broaden an innovative program which exists in conjunction between the HS and Council on Aging.

2009 Fall Pollard	Engineering Design Chaos	4300.00
Grant is to purchase supplies for engineering design curriculum. The program is new this year, and they would like to enhance the curriculum with the purchase of 35 Chaos Towers, which will contribute to the hands-on learning experience, and be recycled from year to year. This would impact approximately 600 students per year.

2009 Fall High School	Project Adventure Trip for Connections Academic Program	1460.00
The Connections Academic Program is for students with social, emotional and family issues who are considered to be at risk. The funding is for a class trip that will provide intensive and interactive team building activities not otherwise available, with the goal of fostering a greater sense of community among the students as well as providing key individual challenge opportunities. 25 students would be impacted.

2009 Spring Eliot, Hillside	Dancing Wheels	2,300.00
”Dancing Wheels” is an interactive dance and awareness program that integrates professional stand-up and sit-down (wheelchair) dancers. This grant will fund performances for all students at both Hillside and Eliot introducing them to integrated dance and teaching them about accessibility issues and the challenges faced by people with disabilities in the arts and in everyday life.

2009 Spring Mitchell	Food For Thought Collaboration	4,525.00
To connect with NPS District Goal #3, Mitchell School has developed a Service Learning Task Force to look at service learning opportunities for students. Mitchell School will partner with the Trustees of the Reservation to develop and maintain a Community Garden. The produce will be donated to local food banks. Lessons will also be developed to make connections between this garden project and the existing curriculum for Grades 2-4.

2009 Spring Eliot	Room to Read: A School & Community Commitment to Educate the World's Children	2,450.00
This grant will help launch the development of a service learning project using the “Room to Read” foundation as a catalyst to help students explore and understand world issues and offer them an opportunity to take action. In addition to students learning about other countries, they will complete reading challenges to raise money to purchase books for libraries in “Room to Read” nations.

2009 Spring High School	Learning Programming Using Robotics	4,479.00
The “Introduction to Computer Programming” course at NHS will be upgraded to incorporate the Lego Mindstorm NXT robots and software which will provide students the opportunity to learn innovative programming while manipulating a robot. This upgrade will help students connect computer programming to the types of programming that they use in their own lives

2009 Spring High School	STRIVE for Success: Making Connections from the Classroom to the Community	2,500.00
Grant funds will provide for the development of individualized curricula for students who require a broad range of personal, social, cognitive and environmental skills to transition from school to independent living.

2009 Spring NECC (at Newman)	Moving Melodies Educational Theatre: "Feel the Music Inside You. Let it Out."	4,641.60
This grant funds a partnership between Creative Movement of Needham and the Early Childhood Center (the preschool located at Newman) to enhance the learning of our youngest students through movement and music.

2009 Spring Science Center	Getting Science Materials in Children's Hands: Science Center Inventory & Data Project Phase 2	4,995.00
This grant represents Phase II of a Science Center Project to inventory and catalog the vast collection of materials housed at the Science Center. In this Phase, the contents of the Science Center will be bar-coded and logged in an online database to allow teachers to “check out” the Science Center materials. With this new system, teachers will be able to find the specific resources needed to enrich the science curriculum.

2009 Spring High Rock	High Rock Inaugural Class of 2016 Creating A New School Community	3,300.00
Three activities planned by the High Rock Transition Steering Committee will be supported by this grant. They include an art installation; an inaugural class photograph; and the beginnings of an annual banner project, all activities are geared towards the development of a class identity.

2008 Fall Broadmeadow	Assessment, Intervention and Monitorin of Math Concepts in Primary Years	4,503.00
This pilot project is designed to diagnose and remediate learning difficulties in math and assess student progress, identifying students who might benefit from targeted instruction geared toward their specific learning challenges. This grant will fund the pilot for 1st and 2nd grade, and is a follow-up to a prior grant piloting the program in kindergarten.

2008 Fall Pollard	Blogging with Books and Buddies	2,500.00
The purchase of High Interest - Low Reading Level (Hi-Lo) books and audio books is designed to improve the reading and writing skills of struggling readers in Special Education at Pollard. The project will also utilize the Internet as a resource by having students write book reviews online which will be placed onto the Media Center's online Book Review Blog page.

2008 Fall All Elementary	Clap Your Hands - The Musical Story of Gospel in American History and Society	5,000.00
George W. Russell Jr. & Co. will explore and perform gospel, one of America's most popular and history-rich musical genres highlighting the various styles throughout history. This interactive program demonstrates the rise and function of gospel music in the African-American community and describes gospel's role as a mental release from bondage, a vehicle for communication on the Underground Railroad and 'common ground' during the Civil Rights Movement.

2008 Fall All Third Grades	Desks for the Schoolhouse	2,500.00
The funds from this grant will supplement other funds to provide for the fabrication of 14 1850-style bench desks for the Schoolhouse Day program. The addition of these historically accurate benches will enhance the authenticity of the students experience when they visit the schoolhouse as part of their social studies curriculum.

2008 Fall Pollard	Developing 21st Century Skills and Learners Using Collaborative Tools	4,200.00
The grant will fund the purchase of Aspen Learning's 'Open Classroom,' a small server and software comprised of a suite of applications including easy to use wikis, blogs and forums in a managed closed environment to ensure student safety. These tools support and facilitate the development of 21st century skills and learning in a way that encourages students to express themselves through collaborative writing, personal and group journals and classroom discussion boards.

2008 Fall Hillside	Hillside Learning Garden	5,000.00
Four benches will be purchased and installed at the newly created Hillside Learning Garden. This outdoor learning space seeks to encourage access to, and use of the outdoors as an educational setting.

2008 Fall High School, Pollard	Mending Hearts Service Club	1,540.00
Mending Hearts is a community service project where students collectively make quilts for disaster victims who have survived hurricanes or tornadoes. This grant will fund the purchase of sewing machines, irons and other materials necessary to design and create themed quilts for people impacted by Hurricane Ike in the Texas area.

2008 Fall Eliot	MLK Jr. Amazing Grace	1,840.00
This theatrical performance includes stories and songs exploring the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the viewpoint of those who surrounded him and participated in the Civil Rights Movement. The program brings history to life from his birth to assassination enacting some of the famous scenes of the civil rights movement in a way that creates an important connection for the students to the concepts of equality, tolerance and cooperation.

2008 Fall High School	Needham High School Chapter of International Best Buddies Organization	5,000.00
The funding will provide Needham High School with a life-time membership to the international Best Buddies organization which pairs regular education students with students who have severe special needs in order to help both groups become more active participants in the school community. Best Buddies hold annual events, provides training in how to develop relationships and connects students to chapters at other local schools. The membership entitles Needham High School to student training as well as access to national events.

2008 Fall All Elementary	Techsploration	5,000.00
This grant brings an assembly and hands-on workshops on electricity to all third graders across the district. In this interactive program, students will learn about the basic laws of electricity, electronic components, and magnetism, including the building of simple electrical circuits. This grant complements the phase-in of the new electricity curriculum for third grade.

2008 Fall Newman	The Newman Garden Project	3,259.00
This grant will fund the purchase of start-up materials and equipment to design, build and maintain a small fruit and vegetable garden. This collaborative project addresses the need for community building through a common experience and will also be used as a resource for the Science Center. The fruits and vegetables produced will be sold via a farmers market.

2008 Spring Guidance Department	Cognitive Behavioral Training for Guidance Counselors	5,000.00
The Guidance Department is requesting Cognitive Behavioral Training for all of the Guidance Counselors in the system. CBT is a therapy approach that is effective in reducing anxiety and depression in children. Currently, only a couple of counselors are trained in CBT and the department would like this to be a skill shared by all members of the department.

2008 Spring Mitchell	Drumming Together at Mitchell School	4,940.00
This grant will be used for drumming demonstrations, teacher instruction and the purchase of drums to be made available to all students at Mitchell. Drumming circles will be integrated into classroom morning meetings and school assemblies.

2008 Spring Hillside	Early Childhood Multicultural Literature Initiative	685.00
This grant will provide for the purchase of books to create a meaningful multicultural presence in the kindergarten literacy program. A variety of age-appropirate texts by people of color and diverse cultures will be prominently placed in the classroom libraries to more effectively build an awareness and appreciation of different cultures.

2008 Spring High School	Harnessing Technology for Foreign Language Acquisition	4,740.00
In an effort to enrich instruction and engage students who otherwise struggle with language learning, this grant will purchase 25 Nintendo DS Lite game machines as well as 25 copies of 'My Spanish Coach'. These games will be used with students in the standard and basic levels of Spanish classes at the High School.

2008 Spring All Elementary	Meet Abigail Adams	3,672.50
This theatrical production brings Abigail Adams to life for all 5th grade students across the district. The program includes telling the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of Abigail Adams giving the students the opportunity to relive history by actively participating in the performance using Colonial style props. This grant also includes the purchase of two books to be placed in each 5th grade classroom and media center throughout the district.

2008 Spring High School	Needham Community Cooperative Program	3,600.00
Discovering meaningful, relevant service opportunities for high school students who are unable to find them on their own is the focus of this grant. The funds will provide six service-learning seminars and six community days to help students determine an appropriate project. Students must complete sixty hours of community service in order to graduate.

2008 Spring High School	Needham Schools-A Village of Global Citizens	5,000.00
This grant proposes to bring together a group of Needham High School students with K-12 Needham Public Schools staff for a day of inspiration and best practice during a system-wide day of professional development on November 4, 2008. The focus of the day will be District Goal #3, Promoting Active Citizenship. The grant will provide training for the High School students to prepare them to lead workshops and presentations with the teachers.

2008 Spring District-wide	Opera Presto	5,000.00
Musical ensemble Opera Presto will provide a unique opportunity for students to experience opera firsthand, presented in a manner that is suitable and accessible to students ranging from the elementary to the high school level. The program consists of condensed versions of the original operas 'Hansel & Gretel', 'The Magic Flute', and 'La Boheme'.

2008 Spring Pollard, High School	OrigiNation Dance Culture Workshop	4,680.00
OrigiNation was well-received by elementary students this year. This program will provide participatory dance workshops and instruction which will include highlighting the historical journey of the enslaved Africans traveling ultimately to freedom in America today.

2008 Spring Mitchell, Hillside	Playaway Library: Audiobooks for Needham Students and Families	5,000.00
This grant will purchase digitally recorded audio books for Mitchell and Hillside schools in an effort to provide literacy enrichment. This alternative to reading aims to provide many of the fundamental building blocks for students to become stronger readers and writers in a novel way.

2008 Spring Broadmeadow	Poetry in Motion	2,000.00
David Zucker makes poetry come alive using costumes, masks and puppets in a dynamic performance which will be presented to students K-5. Program also includes both pre and post performance activities.

2008 Spring Newman	Seeing is Believing: Using a Document Camera	3,291.00
This grant will purchase a high resolution digital presenter or document camera which magnifies and displays text, images, 3-dimensional objects, slides and transparencies. In addition to being used by the media center to demonstrate the research process, it will also be available to the rest of the faculty and administrators.

2008 Spring Science Center	Teacher Resource & Curriculum Support Center & Data Project	4,983.16
The Science Center received a mandate in 2007 to become an active Teacher Resource and Curriculum Support Center. In order to meet this mandate, the Science Center is asking for funds to organize itself in a similar manner to libraries so that an accurate inventory is maintained and a systematized check-out procedure can be established and maintained.

2008 Spring High School	Wind Measurement Equipment to Determine Feasibility of Wind Power in Needham	5,000.00
This grant will purchase wind-measuring instrumentation for a project which involves Needham High School students in a feasibility study to determine if wind power is a viable alternative energy source in Needham. Additional funding has been secured from Dedham Savings Bank and the Solar Wind Challenge Matching Fund. Needham High Physics students will be involved in measuring the wind as part of their energy and technology curriculum.

2007/2010 Pollard	Advisory Program for Pollard Middle School Students	15,000.00
This is a grant awarded for funding to develop and implement an advisory program at the middle school where teachers would regularly meet with small groups of students, addressing the district objective to 'ensure that all students have a meaningful connection to an adult in the school system'. The hope is to roll the program out in the 2008-2009 school year, coinciding with the 20 minute extension of the school day. An advisory committee has been formed to look at successful models and develop the structure. They are working with Rachel Poliner, who has served as the social/emotional learning consultant to the district over the last six years. The funds would be used to train the middle school teachers with the skills necessary to act as a mentor to the students. The application indicates that they will be requesting a second year of funding to support the initial training, and then is expected to be self-sustainable with a Train the Trainer model to do additional teacher training.

2007/2009 High School	Art for All and All for Art - Public Art for Needham High School	15,000.00
This is a grant awarded for a second year of funding to continue the multi-year initiative to design, create and install a public art display in the new lobby of the high school. The funds requested would be for Phase IV of the project, which includes the actual fabrication and installation of the pieces with artist-in-residence Joy Wulke, as well as curriculum work for the Public Art course. The 'Art for All' project has received funding from the NEF, the NHS PTC, and 2 years funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. There is also a fundraising subcommittee that has and will continue to raise funds through events and community appeals.

2007/2008 Hillside	Lesley @ Hillside Collaborative Internship Program	15,000.00
This is a grant awarded for a second year of funding for a collaborative internship program in partnership with Lesley University which began this past September. The program is designed to bring in graduate students from Lesley University?s Accelerated Teacher Certification program to the Hillside School for a full year classroom experience, while providing professional development opportunities to the Hillside teachers. The program has the potential to bring a diverse group of teachers to the school system, and to possibly expand to other schools in the district. The request for the second year of funding is to increase the number of interns that Hillside is able to get to bring them up to full capacity by year 3, making the program self-sustainable.

2007 Fall Pollard	African Drumming	3,980.70
Drumming circles have been used throughout the Needham Schools both as instruments in music classes as well as community builders throughout the schools. Mark Smith who is a sixth grade chorus teacher hopes to bring the drums to Pollard to use with the students as part of the chorus/music program. Smith plans to use the drums to provide the students with an ensemble experience that does not rely on voice.

2007 Fall Broadmeadow	All School Art Show: Portable Exhibition	1,749.00
Broadmeadow's art teacher seeks an opportunity to create an annual all-school art show to raise the visibility and scope of their existing art show and to provide a community building experience celebrating the arts program. This grant will fund the purchase of three sets of double-paneled portable gallery boards which will allow different types of artwork from all grade levels to be displayed, enabling students to see how the art process develops and evolves as one ascends in grade. Having students learn about not only the creation of art, but also the exhibition and staging of their creations is an important facet of the curriculum.

2007 Fall Newman	American Sign Language	615.00
This is a program of five half-hour ASL classes for each kindergarten class at Newman for a total of 25 classes. Each class has a goal for the students such as learning the signs for the colors. The program will immerse children in ASL while introducing them to the concept of deafness. The goal is to offer students an alternative way to communicate and learn vocabulary.

2007 Fall Eliot	Circus Smirkus: One Week School Residency	3,450.00
This one week residency program will provide a circus artist to teach a broad range of skills designed to foster self-confidence, patience, persistence, balance, rhythm, reflexes and fine motor skills. This non-competitive physical art form would supplement the current physical education program providing an opportunity to students to use creative movement to foster their personal growth.

2007 Fall All Elementary	Comprehensive Reading Benchmark Assessment	4,987.50
Literacy specialists & selected 4th & 5th grade teachers will participate in a pilot to assess the potential usability of a formal reading assessment to be used across the district. This comprehensive assessment is designed to assist teachers in placing students at appropriate text levels for reading instruction. The data will assist teachers in grouping students for differentiated instruction and will help better match literacy goals/objectives to the needs of students.

2007 Fall High School	Cooking Up Culture	300.00
As part of their unit on sacred texts and comparative religions, Needham High School?s 12th grade humanities class will visit Boston University to attend their 'Cooking Up Culture' program. This program teaches students about cultures the world over by introducing them to the history, culture, customs, and geography of a people through their cuisine. Students will learn about the science and politics of foods and spices as well as being involved in hands-on food preparation.

2007 Fall Mitchell	Creating a Safe Sensory Environment	2,682.42
This grant is modeled on a Broadmeadow grant from 2005. The goal is to purchase tools for students who have difficulty with Sensory Integration. The tools will be used by both children on IEPs and those who are not on IEPs. The students can use these tools to sustain interest, improve attention and increase productivity and engagement.

2007 Fall Newman	Deana's Educational Theatre: All Starz	3,015.00
Students in grades 1-4 will attend a one hour interactive program on bullying. The program includes a short drama performance, a discussion period and role plays. This program ties in with the Second Step program already in place at Newman.

2007 Fall Eliot	Eliot School Mural Project	5,000.00
This grant will fund the creation, development and installation of a mural to be mounted above the Performing Arts Center at the entrance of the school. The entire school community including students and parents will work with an artist-in-residence to complete the project which integrates curriculum, school core values and art core values to reflect what is taught at the school.

2007 Fall Mitchell	Embryology in the Classroom	1,400.20
This grant proposes to expand the former first grade 'Chicks' program sponsored by the Science Center. Rather than have the eggs for just a couple of days before hatching, this grant will purchase incubators for four first grade classrooms to observe and care for the eggs during the 21 day incubation project.

2007 Fall Broadmeadow	Enhancing Understanding in Reader?s Workshop	3,000.00
Building on work done refining teaching in reader?s workshop, Broadmeadow teachers completed an alternative evaluation project integrating their thinking about reader?s workshop in 5th grade into a cohesive set of focus lessons. This grant seeks funds to continue the project by purchasing and creating themed sets of picture books to be used during these focus lessons to teach specific comprehension strategies and reading responses.

2007 Fall Hillside	Hillside Reads: Massachusetts Children's Book Award	1,000.00
This grant would allow Hillside students to participate in the Massachusetts State Children?s Book Awards, a program sponsored by Salem State College. Fourth and fifth grade students who read at least five of the 24 pre-selected titles are able to vote for their favorites. The books have a wide range of reading levels and will encourage students to branch out and read new titles. Elizabeth Vaccaro will plan bi-weekly discussion groups during lunch and will support a discussion blog.

2007 Fall All Elementary	Mitali Perkins: Life Between Cultures	4,200.00
Author Mitali Perkins will present an interactive program on immigration to all 5th grade students across the district. The goal of the program is to inspire writing and explore individual history and cultural differences in the context of the study of the immigrant experience. In describing her own experience, Ms. Perkins provides a forum for comparing and contrasting the new immigrant experience with that of the immigrant waves of the 19th and 20th centuries.

2007 Fall Broadmeadow	Needham History: Look to the Maps	3,435.00
This grant seeks to enrich the 3rd grade social studies unit on 'Needham/Boston, 1711 to present'. Broadmeadow would like to purchase, reproduce and laminate 6 key maps showing changes in Needham?s history, thereby providing a tangible and valuable resource to assist in the teaching of this unit. This grant will fund the creation of two sets of maps (25 of each map) to be used in the media center and in the classrooms.

2007 Fall High School	NHS Intensive Figure Workshop	2,250.00
This grant will fund the provision of professional models for a period of three weeks of intensive sessions to work with high school students studying art. The focus will be on building technical skills in figure drawing and anatomy by providing a 'real-world' studio experience.

2007 Fall All Elementary	Origination Dance Culture Workshop from African Dance to Hip Hop	3,640.00
Students across the district will participate in African dance workshops exploring the historical background of contemporary Hip Hop through the teaching of African dance. Students will attend a performance as well as learn two basic choreographed pieces of both traditional African and Hip Hop moves.

2007 Fall High School	Peer Instruction and Rapid Feedback	1,989.98
This classroom interactive response system allows teachers to assess which students understand the material being taught. The system engages all students and assists the teacher by effectively checking for understanding in the moment. The response system allows students to show their understanding or confusion privately without the knowledge of their classmates. By immediately identifying students who might need extra help, instructors can adjust their teaching in the moment for greater group understanding.

2007 Fall High School	Practical Techniques for Improving Learning	500.00
A workshop with Dr. Mahesh Sharma, President of Cambridge College, for 27 math teachers at Pollard and NHS to learn practical techniques on improving student learning, with a focus on students with learning disabilities.

2007 Fall Pollard	Project 'Tween Reads	5,000.00
The sixth grade English/Language Arts Department is adapting its reading program to model a 'book club' setting where the students will read contemporary, high quality literature and discuss them in literature circles and guided reading. This grant allows for an influx of books to match the various reading levels of students to allow wide access to the book discussions. The grant also allows for an Audible.com subscription to reach students whose reading levels are far below the grade average.

2007 Fall Eliot	RESPECT: A Suite of Dances	2,000.00
Guest artists, Nikki Hu (choreographer) and Guy Van Duser (composer), distinguished for designing dance and music programs that transform academic studies into artistic learning experiences, will work with Eliot 4th and 5th graders. They will conduct a 2-day artist-in-residence program using music, dance and storytelling to improve the social and emotional learning of the students by exploring the concept of 'respect'. Students will be taught, and then perform dances they?ve learned for the rest of the school community.

2007 Fall High School	Sewing What?	1,390.00
The visual arts educator would like to expand the crafts classes at the high school to include the use of sewing machines and irons, complementing the curriculum by exploring different mediums. With the purchase of this equipment, crafts can be taken to a new level with students being able to incorporate the world of design and fashion, as well as learning ways to create art and crafts out of recycled items.

2007 Fall Mitchell	Smart Exercise: Calming the Body for Better Thinking	3,400.00
Nationally known Qigong master Lee Holden will teach all Mitchell students the techniques of this ancient form of exercise and relaxation. Over his three day visit, Holden will teach the entire Health and Wellness staff these techniques and he will also teach the Mitchell faculty in an after school workshop.

2007 Fall Mitchell	Step It Up	2,055.33
Mitchell will expand its participation in the Walk Across America project by having the students wear pedometers to track their steps. The grant requests funding for pedometers (to be shared by grade levels) and classroom posters to allow for recording and connections to the math and science curriculum.

2007 Fall High School	Therapeutic Program	2,700.00
This request supports the development of a behavioral structure for a therapeutic program to link the OPTIONS general education program with the PRIDE special education program and design a therapeutic support system for students who need it. These programs are designed to meet the short-term and longer-term needs for students with social/emotional issues. The grant will provide time and training so that the teachers can effectively merge them.

2007 Fall Eliot	Writing and Thinking: An Introduction to the Collins Writing Method	1,500.00
This grant will fund a full-day workshop including materials to train the entire staff and faculty in a methodology which includes five different types of writing. Collins is not a program, but a process designed to enable children to develop thinking and writing with a focus on the content areas of science, math, literature and social studies.

2007 Spring Hillside	Drum Up Character Program	3,175.50
This grant will pay for the purchase of Djembe drums to be used by Hillside school in drumming circles. The Hillside Creative Arts Committee and the PTC will fund 3 teacher trainings by Tom Foote, celebrated drummer and drumming instructor. Drumming circles will be integrated into classroom morning meetings and school assemblies with the goal of supporting the Hillside School?s character education.

2007 Spring Mitchell	Foodplay	1,890.00
Foodplay is a comprehensive nutrition and health program for elementary schools that helps educate and empower children to take charge of growing up healthy and fit. Addressing the major nutrition, fitness and self-esteem concerns of today?s children, Foodplay provides kids with the practical tools they need to improve their eating and exercise habits. The program reaches out to teachers, cafeteria staff and parents through their printed support materials. Two assemblies will be presented so that the entire Mitchell school will be able to partake of the program.

2007 Spring Newman	Foodplay	2,066.60
Foodplay will be presented to the entire Newman student population. Newman staff and parents will be invited to attend as well. Follow up materials will be reproduced for students, teachers, parents, health, and food service staff to support ongoing education and reinforcement.

2007 Spring Pollard	Jazz Residency at Pollard	2,000.00
John Baboian, an accomplished local jazz guitarist, performer, composer and educator, will serve as an artist in residence during one week in Fall 2007. He will attend band, orchestra and choral classes for four days working with students on jazz education, technique and performance. This will culminate in a school assembly and evening performance for students? families and the community.

2007 Spring Broadmeadow	Making Math Fun With Greg Tang	3,175.50
Greg Tang returns to Broadmeadow for three performances and a teacher workshop. Students in grades 1-5 will enjoy a presentation that is grade appropriate. dditionally, grant money will fund the purchase of Mr. Tang?s flash cards and Num skull game for each classroom.

2007 Spring Mitchell	Mark Rothstein's World of Rope Jumping	2,400.00
The World of Rope Jumping is an exhibition that stresses the messages of living a fit lifestyle, trying your best, and making positive choices. This interactive, motivational program will be presented to the entire Mitchell School in two assemblies followed by grade level student workshops. Additionally, the grant will allow for the purchase of jump ropes to be used at recess so that students may translate what they learn into action.

2007 Spring High School	Needham High School Stress Reduction Committee Coordinator	3,500.00
The High School has formally embarked on its examination of academic-based student stress through a representative Stress Reduction Committee (SRC), with the charge to explore, analyze, and make recommendations for action to address academic-based stress at Needham High. This grant will fund a coordinator position to help organize and run the SRC meetings, do research on stress issues, collect data and tend to any other related tasks that will enable the committee?s work to proceed.

2007 Spring Pollard	Recording Musical Performance For Increased Skill Learning	3,280.00
This grant allows for the purchase of high quality wall-mount speakers, an amplifier, and portable CD recorder for the band/orchestra room and will enable all music students at Pollard to listen to music and to record group performances. The students will be able to hear and analyze performances in a high quality format, have the ability to change tempo and pitch of recordings, have rehearsals recorded on a daily basis, and have all performances recorded with high quality.

2007 Spring High School	Student Art Archives	3,500.00
This grant will fund the purchase of the digital photography equipment and other materials required to enable the Fine and Performing Arts Department to begin recording student work digitally. This will enable the department to create an archive of student work to be used as reference material in the future; it will allow students to create a CD portfolio that will travel with them as they move through the art program; and it will enable students to learn and manipulate graphic programs to present their work in a serious and professional format. More info: http://sites.google.com/site/lburkeart/20092010

2007 Spring Broadmeadow	Third Grade Math Enrichment Through Literacy	1,456.90
To support differentiated math instruction in the third grade and to help reinforce math vocabulary, a broad variety of math reading materials will be purchased for each third grade classroom. With these math materials, teachers will have an alternative method to help students explore and think about math subjects. Materials will be used during morning work, in math centers, in small groups and will be available for students to take home.

2006/2007 High School	Art for All and All for Art - Public Art for Needham High School	15,000.00
This is a grant awarded to continue the multi-year initiative to support the newly selected artist-in-residence, Joy Wulke, working on the public art installation in the lobby of the new high school building. The grant outlines plans to introduce a new course at Needham High School called, 'Public Art' beginning in the fall of 2007. 'Art for All' received an Autumn 2005 ($3,500) NEF grant, $8,000 from the NHS PTC as well as two years of funding ($16M total) through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

2006/2007 Hillside	Lesley @ Hillside Collaborative Internship Program	15,000.00
This is a grant awarded to the Hillside School to begin a partnership with Lesley University to create an internship program bringing 5 graduate students who are enrolled in Lesley?s Accelerated Teacher Certification Program into the Hillside School for the 2007-2008 school year. Lesley University currently is partnered with several other school programs, Buckingham Brown & Nichols, The Shady Hill School, and the Brookline Public Schools. Hillside would become Lesley?s first suburban public site for the program. This internship program has the added potential of bringing a diverse group of teachers into the Hillside school. Additionally, Hillside teachers will have a unique opportunity for professional development through teaching and mentoring these interns.

2006 Fall Pollard	Archaeological Dig Site	700.00
The creation of an archaeological dig site at Pollard for two clusters in the sixth grade will allow students to experience hands-on learning. They will be able to make inferences, draw conclusions, and experience what archaeologists do during an excavation. The site connects directly to the state mandated Archaeology unit and will help students to understand the complexity of piecing together history.

2006 Fall Pollard	Bridge Building in the Classroom	3,331.00
This grant seeks to augment the new sixth grade science unit, 'Bridges and Structures' by providing reusable kits which allow student teams to create bridge prototypes and replicas of real world bridges so that the students can investigate the load capacity of different style bridges and analyze the strength and stability of each bridge style.

2006 Fall High School	Exploration in Silk Painting	1,335.00
This grant will bring Katy McEwen, a silk artist, to NHS for a one-day artist in residence for 5 art classes. Ms. McEwen will lecture the students on silk painting and demonstrate her craft. She will also discuss with the classes the possibility of 'craft' as a profession. Students will also work with Ms. McEwen on creating a piece of silk painting of their own. This unit can be used in future years once the technique is learned by the teacher.

2006 Fall Pollard	Interactive Response System for the Classroom	3,020.00
This classroom interactive response system allows teachers to assess which students understand the material being taught. The system engages all students and assists the teacher by effectively checking for understanding in the moment. The primary focus of the system is to close the gap between higher achievers and lower achievers who are often lost among their peers because they do not respond to teacher prompts for fear of being singled out. The response system allows students to show their understanding or confusion privately without the knowledge of their classmates. By immediately identifying students who might need extra help, instructors can adjust their teaching in the moment for greater group understanding.

2006 Fall High School	Making Learning Come Alive for 12th Grade Humanities Students	3,500.00
A series of guest lecturers will be invited to present to the 12th Grade Humanities students. These lecturers will be authorities in their field and will bring life to areas of inquiry that are intrinsic to the multi-faceted and culturally comprehensive Humanities curriculum. This proposal takes advantage of the rich academic environment of greater Boston and accesses experts to deepen the learning and provide another view into the material. Lectures will be videotaped so that they may be referenced in the future.

2006 Fall All Elementary	Mastering Basic Number Sense Concepts in Kindergarten	3,500.00
This pilot math program is designed to diagnose and remediate math learning difficulties in Kindergartners system wide. Teachers will receive the tools necessary for diagnosis, targeted activities for remediation, as well as training in how to properly use the materials so that they can identify children with these learning difficulties. Early identification and attention will address student issues before students move into more complex math content in upper grades.

2006 Fall Broadmeadow	Mathematics Plus	1,500.00
This grant proposes to develop a new curriculum for a before school math program for students who need additional remediation in math. SPED assistants will lead this program for students in grades 1-5 who have been recommended for participation. The purpose of the program is to offer additional practice and remediation to those students having difficulty with the grade level curriculum.

2006 Fall Mitchell	Meet the Masters Curriculum	2,144.00
This program, proposed for all Mitchell Kindergarten classes, introduces students to the lives and works of famous artists. The multidisciplinary curriculum integrates the study of art appreciation into the kindergarten curriculum by studying geography, art history and art concepts such as the function of line, color, shape and balance. The program concludes with a display of the children?s art work in a public space.

2006 Fall High School	Musical Leadership: Training Students to Lead Sectional Rehearsals	2,200.00
Guest coaches/clinicians will work with NHS Jazz Band students on skills related to conducting small group rehearsals, with the goal of students eventually leading sectional rehearsals. The process will inspire students and develop musicianship by modeling and teaching rehearsal/practice tools and techniques, raising expectations for individual and small group preparation, and creating a sense of community within the sections and ensemble as a whole. The grant also provides for a jazz improvisation clinician to work with the full band two times during the school year, with a session also offered for the Middle School Jazz Band.

2006 Fall Newman	Newman Rocks Around the World	3,500.00
The grant proposes to create an evening of multi-cultural dance experiences for the Newman community. Newman has been committed, through its New Diversity Initiative, to increasing understanding and appreciation for differences across cultures and ages. This event will bring dance performers from four distinct cultures and a variety of multicultural foods to Newman for students and their families to explore.

2006 Fall High School	No Place for Hate Month	3,500.00
This student authored grant will unite the various clubs and activities in the High School that focus on humanitarian issues to create a series of coordinated and publicized programs and activities in March. The High School?s No Place for Hate Month will coordinate with the Needham Human Rights Committee?s annual No Place for Hate month. By combining forces students will work towards a concentrated and united campaign to bring awareness of humanitarian issues to the student body and inspire more students to become involved and take action.

2006 Fall Newman	Origami: Where Math Goes 3-D	2,250.00
This engaging and interactive hands-on math enrichment program will be presented by origami master Michael LaFosse, who teaches cross-disciplinary origami workshops combining the art of origami with a variety of curriculum areas. Third, fourth and fifth graders will be presented with grade appropriate workshops which tie into their particular math curriculum and offer them the opportunity to experience math from a new perspective.

2006 Fall Pollard	Pollard Cafeteria Composting Project	3,500.00
This school wide effort to compost food waste from the cafeteria is the next step in recycling for Pollard. All Pollard students will be educated on the benefits of composting and how to actively participate in composting their food scraps. Composting will become a civic responsibility and a learned habit. Students on the Pollard Environmental Action Team (PEAT) will take primary responsibility for the final steps of the composting process as well as for educating peers, faculty and community members as to the benefits of composting.

2006 Fall Mitchell	Respect: A Suite of Dances	2,400.00
Guest artists Nikki Hu (choreographer) and Guy Van Duser (composer), distinguished for designing dance and music programs that transform academic studies into artistic learning experiences, will work with Mitchell fourth and fifth graders. They will conduct an artist-in-residence program using music and dance to improve the social and emotional learning of the students with a focus on respect.

2006 Fall Mitchell	Ride Into the Revolution: 1775 Immersion Curriculum	1,630.00
As an enhancement to their study of the Revolutionary War, Mitchell fifth graders will use the historical resources of Boston to understand the American Revolution firsthand by traveling to key sites in Concord, Lexington and Boston. Teachers will receive additional training on these sites to augment their ability to teach their students about them.

2006 Fall Mitchell	Underwater Discovery Mural Project	1,197.00
The entire Mitchell Community will work together to create a permanent indoor mural to be painted on the wall behind the school?s salt water aquarium. Students will research the Great Barrier Reef, design the mural and draw and paint the final product. The mural project will make many interdisciplinary connections through the research students will do on land forms, environment, species interaction, diversity and community and will afford teachers opportunities to make connections to their own grade level curricula.

2006 Spring Broadmeadow	Art Quest For Broadmeadow	1,700.00
Broadmeadow Creative Arts Committee seeks to bring Art Quest into the 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. This unique educational program integrates art history and art appreciation with current class curriculum. Third graders will participate in 'The Art of Massachusetts,' 4th graders will experience 'Native American Indian Art,' and 5th graders will explore 'Immigration to America.'

2006 Spring Broadmeadow	Experiencing the Silk Road Through the Senses	3,034.00
The purpose of this grant is to bring the experience of the Silk Road to fourth grade students and teachers, as part of their current curriculum on Exploration/Explorers. The authors of the grant will be traveling to China this summer on a Primary Source Study Tour, and will bring back artifacts and resources to create five kits about the Silk Road (one for each elementary school). Kits will include cloth, rugs, silk, spices and leather goods, along with books, CDs, photos and an iMovie for classroom teachers to use to explore the Silk Road. The grant authors will then hold two afternoon workshops for fourth grade teachers to explain the contents of the kits and suggest ways in which the resources might be used.

2006 Spring Broadmeadow	Integrated Games Group	3,500.00
In collaboration with The Academy of Physical and Social Development in Newton, this grant will draw upon an existing pilot program to create a new social inclusion program for both special needs and typically developing children. Offered through EASE (Elementary After School Enrichment), this program will use guided play to encourage growth of social, gross-motor and sportsmanship skills, as well as to actively develop self-esteem and social competence. This grant includes a training model with the purpose of training Needham Public Schools personnel to run the groups, phasing out of The Academy instructors, and expanding the program to other elementary schools.

2006 Spring Eliot	John Eliot School Audio Learning Library	3,407.00
The grant will purchase four listening centers and a wide range of audio titles and print copies of books which will be available to be used by the entire school. The listening centers will enable four children at a time to listen to and read along with the available texts, and will enable the listeners to control the speed of the narrator to accommodate readers of differing proficiency levels. Audio books are a proven means to help increase fluency, increase comprehension, support emergent readers, support English language learners and struggling readers, and provide enrichment opportunities.

2006 Spring Pollard	Literacy Bridge Expansion	3,500.00
The Readers and Writers Workshop model is currently being used with tremendous success in Needham Public Elementary Schools and was expanded this year to the 6th grade. The program relies partially on the use of appropriate literature as touchstone texts or models of quality prose. This grant will support the expansion of this program to the 7th and 8th grades at Pollard by purchasing professional texts for teachers and multiple sets of student texts to be used in the classroom throughout the year as models for the genres of memoir, essay, and nonfiction.

2006 Spring Eliot	Little Theater of the Deaf 'Fingers Around the World'	3,500.00
The grant will fund two performances (one for K-2, one for 3-5) of the Little Theater of the Deaf?s 'Fingers Around the World' series, and will provide for pre- and post-performance study guides and teaching materials to enhance students? experience of deaf theater and sign language. The experience will promote social responsibility as it relates to etiquette among the deaf culture and recognizing the Deaf Community as a separate culture, as well as help the students to refine listening skills, express emotions through movement, and understand through role play. The program supports the Eliot School's goals for social/emotional learning, multi-culturalism and disabilities awareness. Further, the theater performance focuses on the culture of Africa, which compliments the school?s new and very successful African drumming program.

2006 Spring District Wide	Portable Sound Equipment for Choral and Ensemble Performances	2,800.00
This grant will support the purchase of two complete portable sound amplification systems to enable the schools? numerous ensembles to present concerts in a wide variety of community and school settings that do not have sound systems available. The equipment will also be available to students for developing skills in singing/performing with microphones and operating sound systems. The equipment can be used to simultaneously amplify recorded sound and live student performances, which is especially critical for jazz ensembles, summer jazz classes and vocal ensembles.

2006 Spring Broadmeadow	Professional Library of Support Materials	707.00
Grant money will be used to establish a professional library to support teachers and parents as they address the diverse and varied learning styles of individual students. The library will include classroom materials, resources and specific information which will be available for all staff to borrow or lend to parents. The grant writers will conduct an inservice training session to familiarize staff with the new resources.

2006 Spring High School	Provoking Thought: Art as Social Conscience and Propaganda	500.00
Robert Larsen, editorial cartoonist for The Needham Times, will present a three-part seminar to high school art students. Drawing on his expertise as a cartoonist and his knowledge of the use of the editorial cartoon as social statement, Mr. Larsen will lead students as they examine of the role of the editorial cartoon in shaping public opinion, analyze historical examples, and express their own points of view on a social or political topic or cause through this unique art form.

2006 Spring Newman	The Oak Tree: Understanding our World Through Naturalistic Observation and Drawing	1,600.00
Second graders at Newman will be exposed to naturalistic observation and drawing as an alternative way to explore the physical world. Gordon Morrison, artist, naturalist and author, will conduct presentations and classroom workshops for the students in which he will share his book The Oak Tree and his own field sketches of trees and animals. The program aims to help strengthen students? observational and naturalistic drawing skills, enhance their interest in learning about the natural world, give them confidence in their artistic ability, and provide teachers with a repertoire of instructional techniques in the areas of art and science.

2006 Spring Broadmeadow	Urban/Suburban Collaborative	3,175.00
This grant seeks to expand the program that NEF helped to fund last year. The collaborative brings Simmons College interns into eight classrooms -- four at the Broadmeadow School and four at the Winthrop School in Dorchester -- and then promotes cross-cultural understanding by bringing the two schools together in various ways. This year, NEF would fund: a joint 'waterways' project for the fifth graders; a joint field trip to the Museum of Science for the second graders, to participate in the museum?s multi-culture program; and the means for an electronic penpal relationship during the year.

2006 Spring District Wide	Using Digital Recording Technology to Improve Music Instrument Learning and Ensemble Performance	3,500.00
This grant will purchase seven M-Audio (MP3) handheld digital recorders with built?in microphones and 1 GB flash cards. Instrumental music teachers at all levels will use them with their students to help make the learning process more individualized and productive. Teachers will be able to create a music portfolio for each child which will be used throughout the year to assess progress, and which will be augmented and used by each successive teacher as the student moves through the school system. Additional possible uses for the digital recorders include, but are not limited to: communication of assignments for at-home practice; recording instrumental ensembles; recording students? individual performances as part of an ensemble; and recording rehearsals and performances for assessment.

2005/2006 All Elementary	Author Study ~ Literacy Celebration	15,000.00
This grant application is to put together an Author?s week in Needham, October 16-20, 2006. There will be 5 authors of children?s literature invited to work with elementary school grades (1 through 5) with one author per grade, each spending one day at four of the five elementary schools. Additionally, the week will culminate on October 21 with a public 'Read-Aloud-a-thon' at the new library. This celebration will feature students of all ages & local ?celebrities? (possibly including the new school superintendent, town selectmen, teachers) reading from favorite published works or their own writing.

2005/2006 Pollard	Expanding the Dialogue	15,000.00
This proposal for a second year of funding includes expanding the 'World of Difference' program at the middle school, offering parent workshops on the 'World of Difference' program, providing 'Facing History and Ourselves' training for 4 middle school teachers (with the further goal of designing lessons to add to the social studies curriculum), training 40 elementary school parents in leadership positions regarding anti-racism, and continuing to provide community outreach (films, workshops, informational forums).

2005/2006 All Elementary	From a Schoolhouse Window	15,000.00
The Needham Historical Society proposes to build a social science/historical curriculum as part of the newly created Needham Historical Society 'campus' consisting of the Matthias Mills House & Falls School ? now located on the front lawn of the Newman Elementary School. The proposal focuses on creating living history 'kits' that tie into the existing social studies curriculum for grades 3, 4 and 5.

2005/2006 All Elementary	Greg Tang District-Wide Math Project	9,313.14
Last year NEF funded a small grant to bring math educator, Greg Tang, to Newman Elementary School for 3rd & 4th grade workshops. Mr. Tang?s technique focuses on ways to make 'smart groupings' that help students with different learning styles gain greater confidence in mastering basic math operations. The grant co-author (elementary math curriculum leader) considers this to be an appropriate compliment to the Math Investigations curriculum currently in place. Funding of this grant is to support a district-wide expansion of Greg Tang?s methods, including presentations to all 3rd grade students at all schools and the necessary materials for this expansion. In addition, Mr. Tang will lead a professional day workshop to introduce the program to all K-5 teachers across the five elementary schools.

2005 Fall High School	A New Art Resource Center for High School Teachers and Students	3,500.00
The grant will update and expand the current art library in the high school art department with the purchase of 90 titles of books and DVDs. The Resource Center will serve to develop an intellectual and social common where students and teachers can research an interest, prepare class materials, or study techniques and concepts to further inform their own work.

2005 Fall Eliot	Drumming Circles Program at John Eliot School	3,195.00
Grant will fund two village drumming circle assemblies to be led by professional drummer, Tom Foote. The grant also includes a follow-up residency period and further training for Eliot school teachers in facilitating drumming circles, as well as the purchase of various drums and percussion instruments to be used on an ongoing basis by the whole school. The drumming circles are expected to help improve concentration through focused energy and improve hand pattern coordination. Drumming encourages collaborative learning, discipline and teamwork; fosters diversity through exploration of other cultures; and provides the opportunity to communicate ideas and feelings. The drumming circles will also expose the students not only to the music of other cultures, but to the people of the cultures where the music originated, as musicians, educators and special guests from around the world will contribute to helping the children have a diverse, multi-cultural experience.

2005 Fall Newman	Exploring Landforms through Art	625.00
All 4th graders at Newman will participate in an Art Quest presentation called 'Landforms.' This cross-disciplinary program seeks to tie together art appreciation and the 4th grade science curriculum by having students 'detect' and identify landform details embedded in paintings and drawings.

2005 Fall Newman	Multicultural Author/Illustrator Grace Lin:	3,463.00
Grant seeks to have Author Grace Lin work with Newman first graders over a period of two years. The Author will visit the first grade classrooms to present students with an interactive role play about the publication process. She will also show the students how they can use everyday life as inspiration for telling stories. Students will create their own personal stories. In the second year, Lin will revisit these students and focus on how students can advance their writing to the next stage by turning their ideas into longer and more complex pieces of writing.

2005 Fall High School	Needham High School Public Art Project Phase I: Design Competition
This grant will fund the Design Competition phase of a multi-phase project to create a piece of public art to be displayed in the atrium of the new high school. The goal is to hire an artist who will include students in the creative process and work as an artist in residence with students at the high school. Additionally, the funds will be used for preliminary curriculum research and materials to develop a new public art course at NHS.

2005 Fall Newman	Nick Page's Newman ZestFest	2,990.00
The Zest Fest is a 3-day musical event involving all Newman students, teachers and parents designed to build community and encourage respect for other cultures. The event will include sing-along assemblies, work in small groups to learn songs, interactive concerts with families, and creation of a 'school song.' Children will be introduced to music and lyrics from a variety of cultures, languages and musical genres. Additionally, Mr. Page will work with Newman music teachers to offer consultation and resources that will enable them to facilitate sing-along and other community-building vocal experiences for Newman students in the future.

2005 Fall Pollard	River Systems Curriculum Unit	980.00
The purpose of this grant is to purchase reusable stream table kits and initial materials to start an 8th grade hands-on science unit on rivers as part of the Earth Science curriculum. Through the use of these tables, the students can create river models through which they will investigate the concepts of geologic time, what a watershed is, how rivers and landforms are created, and the impact of human manipulation of rivers. The grant will also fund the purchase of topographic maps of major rivers in the world.

2005 Fall Mitchell	Solar Cars	3,026.00
Fifth graders in two Mitchell classes will work with a solar car expert to design, build and race solar cars. Working in groups, students will use math, science, and teamwork skills to accomplish their goal. Lessons focus on learning the parts of a car, designing within race regulations, understanding solar energy, and working as a team. This grant is an expansion of a program which one Mitchell teacher did last year with the solar car expert and her class.

2005 Fall High School	Upgrade of Music Sequencing Software Program for High School Music Technology Lab	3,255.00
The grant will purchase Logic Express 7, the updated version of a music sequencing software program that is currently used in the high school music technology lab. Logic Express 7 interfaces with Garage Band and Reason through the use of re-wire, which allows better import and export of file sharing among programs and offers improved audio editing and production. Logic is one of the main tools students use to compose music, allowing students who may not be in performing ensembles the opportunity to take a music elective that counts toward the Fine and Performing Arts credit. The music technology lab is also used for adult education classes and for professional development courses for music teachers. This software is needed for compatibility with other software programs, and to continue the current instructional program. Installation, maintenance and future upgrades will be provided through the NPS Educational Technology Center.

2005 Fall Eliot, Hillside, Mitchell	Using Technology To Enhance Teaching Spanish in The Elementary Schools	3,363.00
The grant will purchase technology equipment to enhance instruction of Spanish in the elementary classroom. The purchase of two iBook laptops and a data/video projector will enable the Spanish teachers to enhance their curriculum and improve their instructional abilities. The teachers envision the new equipment being used to: bring cultural into the classroom by connecting to the internet and being able to share personal photos; record students? stories on Garage Band and create personal files to be kept for each student so they can assess their own progress; have students create Power Point presentations; and create many more cost effective visuals. This program will serve as a pilot with commitments from Debbie Watters to buy an additional laptop if this proves successful.

2005 Fall Hillside	Writing Memoirs in The Classroom	1,045.00
Grant will purchase books to be used as teaching texts to support the 5th grade memoir writing unit. Three classroom sets of 30 titles will be purchased so that this unit can be taught concurrently in all grade 5 classrooms, according to curriculum sequence, and so that books can be used as touchstone texts throughout the year in relation to other units of study.

2005 Spring District Wide	An Educator's Guide to Adoption	3,300.00
A copy of the booklet 'An Educator's Guide to Adoption' will be distributed to all Needham public school teachers and guidance counselors in an effort to expand and enhance their awareness of issues concerning non-traditional families. The booklet explains the history of adoption and dispels many of the myths surrounding adoption that continue to affect children. It will give educators the tools to address school assignments such as baby pictures, family trees and cultural heritage which can raise questions of uncertainty for children and teachers alike.

2005 Spring Eliot	Building and Maintaining a Professional Library	1,080.00
Grant will fund the purchase of professional texts to expand the Eliot Media Center professional lending library. Targeted texts include up to date resources concerning the theory, research and current thinking in the area of writing instruction.

2005 Spring High School	Career, College and Community Service Resource Center	3,500.00
Grant will assist in the creation of a Career, College and Community Service Resource Center in the Guidance Department Office at the high school. The Center will offer a one-stop resource for students and their parents to peruse a library, view college catalogs, use online resources, access 'Bridges', a web-based career assessment program, and meet with the Career Development Program specialist as well as college representatives.

2005 Spring Eliot	Essential Elements	2,320.00
Grant will fund a pilot program to introduce Wilson Fundations phonics and spelling programs in all Kindergarten and one first grade classrooms at Eliot. This program is designed to provide a consistent, structured, systematic means of teaching the essential elements of language arts, to enable students to become strong readers and writers. Grant will compare this program with the Project Read phonics program currently being used in the elementary schools. Funds will be used to purchase teacher and student kits, which include many reusable items.

2005 Spring Newman	Listen and Love Literature!	3,500.00
Grant to provide funds to purchase books on tape and CD's for the Newman Media Center. Students will be able to take home these audio book kits to aid in gaining comprehension and fluency as they read along with the narrator.

2005 Spring Eliot	Log-ins for Learning	750.00
Grant will fund a subscription to the Fountas and Pinnell website, which will allow time savings for teachers when leveling books for guided reading of elementary school students. Teachers will have up to date an immediate access to over 15,000 titles of children's books, where searches can be made by author, subject or reading level. Grant will fund 1,000 log-in sessions.

2005 Spring High School	Make a Statement Day	2,400.00
The director of the Needham Youth Commission and the high school principal will designate and work with a core group of high school students to promote 'Make A Statement Day' at the high school. All students, teachers and administrators will be provided with materials to create their own T-shirts with messages of their choice. 'Make A Statement Day' will promote the important themes of diversity and open-mindedness and simultaneously give participants the power to decide what issues they want to present. These messages will prompt conversations between students and teachers though out the day at the high school.

2005 Spring High School	Mentor Homeroom Initiative	3,450.00
The Mentor Homeroom Initiative Team has been working over the past year to re-design the Mentor Homerooms program to better suit the needs of today's Needham High School students. This grant will be used to assemble curriculum binders for the Mentor Homeroom teachers. The binders will include activities, lesson plans, and resources that will support the successful implementation of a strong advisory program.

2005 Spring Mitchell	Mitchell Marine Science	2,423.00
Grant is to fund the purchase of a 180-gallon salt-water aquarium, supplies and plant and animal life to create an aquatic living-learning center at Mitchell School. The aquarium would be used to enhance the current curriculum, and would be available as a resource for all teachers as well as providing a tranquil spot for students and staff at Mitchell. Students will be involved in the creation and maintenance of the aquarium, as well as planning and painting a mural in the aquatic living-learning center area.

2005 Spring High School	Needham Townscapes - A Permanent Installation at the Needham Public Library	3,100.00
Ceramics students at the High School will create tiles depicting familiar Needham architectural sights, in anticipation of a permanent installation at the Needham Public Library. This grant will provide funding for high quality clay and glazes for permanent tiles, as well as the cost of permanently installing 10 to 12 tiles at the library.

2005 Spring Broadmeadow	Urban/Suburban Collaborative	3,500.00
Broadmeadow Elementary School, in a partnership with the John Winthrop School in Dorchester, Mass., will work in an urban/suburban collaborative to train graduate teaching interns from Simmons College, and enhance classroom practice. This program will train up to eight graduate interns, four in each school, who will each work at a home site, and do observations at the partner school. In addition, interns will help facilitate cross-school exchanges between the interns' classes, such as combined field trips and electronic pen-pal relationships, and share a graduate seminar at Simmons. Activities are planned that will begin to establish a school-wide partnership and normalize the experience of meeting students from different socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds.

2005 Spring Hillside	YogaME- Moving Elementary School Students	2,929.00
Grant will fund a pilot program to introduce yoga breathing and posture principles to Hillside first grade students in order to help them further develop self-awareness, improve physical and cognitive skills, increase self-esteem and inspire imagination and creativity. One-half hour workshops will take place twice a week for four weeks during regularly scheduled physical education classes.

2004/2005 Pollard	Expanding the Dialogue	15,000.00
This is a collaborative project between the Pollard Middle School, the Needham Human Rights Committee, and the Needham Clergy Association. The project vision is to implement a systematic and comprehensive way to educate students system wide to identify, talk about and devise action plans around issues of bias, stereotypes, racism and other oppressions. It encompasses all aspects of the Needham community that affect a child's development, including sports organizations, religious institutions, parent education as well as the school community. This NEF Large Grant would put into motion, beginning at the middle school level, the training, dialog and climate that facilitate discussion, leadership and confidence among students, teachers, parents, and community leaders in facing and challenging intolerance when it happens. Using proven programs and methods, such as the Anti-Defamation League's World of Difference Program and Facing History, this project will build upon, complement, and sup

2004/2005 Mitchell	Mitchell School Outdoor Learning Center	11,115.00
The Mitchell School Outdoor Learning Center Committee will transform the school's existing unused, courtyard into a vibrant, multipurpose outdoor learning center. The proposal seeks funding from the NEF for the purchase of materials to build a handicapped accessible lecture/performance space and bench seating for about fifty students, in an amphitheater style. The goal is to enrich and expand the Mitchell School curriculum for all students for years to come. The amphitheater is an integral and critical feature of the learning center because it will enable the courtyard to truly function as the creative outdoor classroom it is intended to be.

2004 Fall Eliot	Beyond Sticks and Stones: Creating a Comprehensive Safety Zone for Kids	3,500.00
Implementation of a comprehensive program that includes surveys, materials, books, and presentations to provide resources and strategies to deal with peer harassment issues including teasing and bullying, and safety issues on the Internet, with students, teachers and parents.

2004 Fall Broadmeadow	Creating a Safe Sensory Environment	3,416.00
Purchase of educational items and materials to be used in the regular education setting to enhance safe sensory environments in Broadmeadow classrooms.The sensory needs of individual students will be addressed by providing sensory tools, software and materials and will support students with sensory modulation techniques. These tools and techniques will help students achieve social/emotional competency goals such as self-management skills and identifying strategies for coping with strong emotions.

2004 Fall Eliot	Display Panels	900.00
Unique and creative display panels will be built by an Eliot teacher to display artwork and other forms of work created by Eliot students for enjoyment by the entire Eliot community. Work will be completed in time for the spring art show.

2004 Fall Broadmeadow	Learning Through Drama in the 2nd Grade Classroom	2,500.00
Second grade Science and Social Studies curriculum will be enhanced through educational creative drama, taught by certified drama teacher Shelia Ponte. More than 60 hours of time will be budgeted for creating lesson plans with teachers and conducting student drama workshops. Students will have the opportunity to assume the 'role' of the subject matter, offering a more direct and personal learning experience.

2004 Fall Pollard	Literacy Bridge Start-Up: Grade 6 English/Language Arts	3,300.00
Sixth grade language arts teachers will be trained and provided materials on Readers and Writers Workshop in an effort to facilitate the transition of incoming readers and writers to middle school. Project includes purchase of a professional library, introductory workshop, visits to fifth grade classrooms, and a day of evaluation and planning.

2004 Fall High School	Mediators Refresher Course	950.00
Twenty student mediators at the High School who were trained at the Pollard Middle School in peer mediation techniques will attend a refresher course to improve their listening skills and develop skills necessary to help their high school aged peers resolve conflicts in a peaceful and productive manner.

2004 Fall Newman	Newman Goes Global	2,000.00
School-wide project that aims to heighten children's awareness and understanding regarding the variety of nations and customs of people around the world. Curriculum connections will include morning meeting, art, music and language. Grant will fund the purchase of map kits and books for all 31 classrooms, and Eyewitness travel guidebooks for each grade level. Each month will have a different 'focus' nation, culminating in a World's Fair in the spring.

2004 Fall Pollard	Table Tennis	3,500.00
Purchase of 4 tables, 25 racquets and balls to introduce table tennis as an after-school activity to middle school students. Top ranked New England table tennis player Qiumars Hedaytian will introduce table tennis in a demonstration to students, as well as coach students after school.

2004 Fall Pollard	Technology in the Classroom	2,490.00
Purchase of an LCD projector and desktop computer for the Social Studies department. The projector will provide advanced technology that will be used to present student created projects, teacher generated projects, and other Internet research materials by the entire Social Studies department.

2004 Fall Mitchell	The Joy of Creating: A Poet in Residence Program	3,500.00
Children's author and poet Lyn Littlefield Hoopes will conduct a series of 38 90-minute long workshops on exploring and enhancing the creative process and poetry writing for students in grades 2 - 5

2004 Fall Newman	The Warhol Self-Portrait Project	3,171.00
Fifth grade students will create unique self-portraits in the style of pop culture icon Andy Warhol, utilizing digital photography technology, while studying color theory, art appreciation and art history. Grant will fund the purchase of a digital camera, ink-jet printer, software and art supplies.

2004 Fall High School	To See, To Record, To Document and To Reflect - NHS Renovation Digital Photography Project	3,500.00
A four-year project will take place to introduce digital photography to the art curriculum and utilize digital photography resources to document the upcoming renovation construction project and its effects on students, staff and the community. Funding is for the start-up equipment including digital cameras, scanner, computer, ink-jet printer and supplies.

2004 Fall Eliot	Writing Workshop with Author Brian Lies	750.00
Children's author and illustrator Brian Lies will share his knowledge and experiences about the writing process, and conduct workshops over a two-week period with fourth and fifth grade students in creative writing.

2004 Spring Mitchell	Art Quest	2,800.00
A unique educational program designed to develop thinking skills through observation of visual works of art. Art Quest integrates art history and art appreciation into class curriculum, and will provide all Mitchell students with the opportunity to acquire knowledge visually. Grant includes cost of art reproductions for Mitchell instructors to continue aspects of this program in future art curriculum.

2004 Spring Mitchell	Book It - Mitchell School Publishing Center	3,425.00
Complementing the Writer's Workshop program, 'Book It' will establish a publishing center at Mitchell, in order to enable students to bind a book of their work. At the end of the school year, there will be an Author's Tea, where students will share their publications.

2004 Spring Pollard	Bringing the Internet and CD/DVD Software into the Science Classroom	2,649.00
Grant funds a LCD projector/laptop and software for science classrooms at the Pollard Middle School, to give teachers the ability to effectively use technology to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Some applications will include the JASON Project, Web Quests, virtual field trips and making Power Point presentations.

2004 Spring Mitchell	Dan Gutman Author Visit	3,500.00
Children's author Dan Gutman will work with students in grades 3 - 5 in writing their own historical fiction/sports fantasy novel. Mr. Gutman is the author of 48 children's novels including Honus and Me, The Million Dollar Shot, and The Kid Who Ran for President.

2004 Spring Broadmeadow	Diversity Book Bags	3,500.00
Diversity Book Bags containing books and other materials including games, activities, music and recipes, that highlight themes of diversity, will go home with students to help them to become familiar with the many aspects of the rich and diverse world they live in by exploring the materials at home with their families.

2004 Spring System-wide	Foreign Language Fluency for All Students	3,100.00
One-week specialized professional development offering for Needham foreign language teachers, with an emphasis on shifting from the traditional grammar-based instruction to 'functionality' - what you can say and do in the target language.

2004 Spring Newman	Newman Children's Community Theatre Project	3,500.00
Drama program for students in classrooms in grades 1, 2 and 4 in which they will explore improvisation, character development, physical movement and public speaking. Teachers will receive a drama tool set to enable them to duplicate a similar program with future classes.

2004 Spring Newman	Problem Solved - Greg Tang's Math Techniques	2,400.00
Newman school third and fourth graders will be enlightened and entertained by math educator and author Greg Tang, who puts on a dynamic presentation incorporating visuals, language and art to teach his own method of grouping numbers in order to quickly and confidently solve math problems. The content of Mr. Tang's presentations will be coordinated with the curriculum in each grade level.

2004 Spring High School	Promoting Intellectual Integrity at NHS	1,120.00
Purchase of a site license for NHS at a web-based anti-plagiarism service, to provide instructional and technical support for the school's plagiarism and cheating policies. With this license, every teacher will have unlimited submissions capability for one year beginning in September 2005.

2004 Spring Elementary	Reducing Conflict at Lunch and Recess	2,625.00
Conflict between and among elementary school children occurs frequently during unstructured parts of the day such as recess and lunch. This grant will fund training for recess and office aide staff at all five elementary schools in the Responsive Classroom behavioral techniques that are currently being used in classrooms, to help build consistency of expectations and practices throughout the school day and reduce conflicts.

2004 Spring Pollard	Safe Surf: Internet Safety for Middle School Youth and Their Parents	2,550.00
Sponsored by the Needham Youth Commission, this grant will provide middle school students and parents with information on appropriate ways to use the Internet. The Safe Surf program will include presentations to middle school students addressing good ways to use the Internet, what is inappropriate on the Internet, and what to do if they experience something dangerous on line. A Parent Night will address the benefits and dangers of the Internet, and inform parents on ways to safeguard their children from the dangers of the Internet.

2004 Spring Pollard	Weight Room Machinery	1,500.00
Purchase of Smith Machine with linear bearing and counter balance plus weight storage for the weight room at Pollard. Weight machine has flexibility and safe design for use by middle school age students. The equipment will be incorporated into the fitness curriculum, the Presidential Fitness assessments, and after school fitness program.

2004 Spring Pre-school	Yoga Enrichment	2,825.00
Brings yoga exercise instruction to the integrated pre-school classrooms to help children with body/mind strength and balance through gentle exercises, movements and breathing. Teachers will also receive in-service training in yoga techniques.

2004 Spring Pollard	Yoga: It's For Everyone!	3,260.00
One of the primary goals of Experiential Education curriculum at Pollard is to expose and instruct students in social, emotional and physical wellness skills and activities that they may participate in throughout their lifetime. This grant will fund the purchase of yoga equipment that will enable students to be instructed in and participate in yoga classes as a 6-week Experiential Education teaching unit.

2003/2004 Eliot	A New Achievement Culture at Eliot	1,600.00
Summer workshop for teachers in Social and Emotional learning and literature infusion training. This grant also includes the purchase of literature books related to social and emotional learning for use with children in all grades.

2003/2004 Elementary	Charlotte Blake Alston; Master Storyteller	3,500.00
Performances for children in all grades in each elementary school by a nationally known storyteller, as well as a workshop to build teachers' skills in storytelling. The stories focus on African culture and history.

2003/2004 Early Childhood Center	Healthy Habits to Last a Lifetime	3,500.00
Development of curriculum to teach children the benefits and enjoyment of physical activity and good nutrition at an early age to help them form healthy habits. Curriculum will include the use of books, hands-on cooking and learning activities, imaginative play, and gross motor activities.

2003/2004 Hillside	Hillside Book Club	1,500.00
Purchase of sets of books for the faculty to read and then discuss in small groups to enable staff to have a shared dialogue about racism and the achievement gap between white students and students of color.

2003/2004 High School	Homeroom Mentoring and More	2,750.00
Summer Workshop for faculty in Social and Emotional Learning to further develop the homeroom mentoring program, along with preparation of materials and resources to train all faculty in implementation of the mentoring program.

2003/2004 Eliot	Increasing Educational Awareness	1,200.00
Purchase of videos to be used as part of professional development to educate teachers and staff about different learning styles and needs of children.

2003/2004 Eliot	Linking Language Development to Literature	2,456.00
One day workshop for teachers in grades kindergarten through 3rd, as well as special education and other support staff, to introduce the use of a hands-on manipulative that helps children to develop and organize their retelling of stories and to develop their own oral and written stories.

2003/2004 Elementary	More Math Manipulatives - Building on the Success of the Math Enrichment Volunteer Program	1,500.00
Purchase of manipulatives and other hands-on math materials to be used by trained parent volunteers during small group math enrichment activities.

2003/2004 Hillside	Morning Meeting, Second Step and Literature Infusion using Social/Emotional Competencies	3,250.00
Summer workshop for teachers in Social and Emotional learning and training in Morning Meeting by Newman teachers who are certified trainers. This grant includes the purchase of classroom literature books related to social and emotional learning for Grades 3 - 5 and Second-Step skill building curriculum kits for Grades kindergarten - 2.

2003/2004 Pollard	Narrowing the Achievement Gap: A Professional Collection	700.00
Purchase of educational resource materials for faculty on the topic of closing the achievement gap between white students and students of color.

2003/2004 High School	Portable Student Art Gallery	3,500.00
Purchase of a set of portable exhibit panels that can be used by teachers in the art department as well as other subject areas to display students' work.

2003/2004 Early Childhood Center	Pre-School Science Kits	3,200.00
Development of three preschool science units/kits to encourage preschoolers' natural curiosity and interest in themselves and their natural environment. Kits will include subject information, materials, resources, activities, and teaching reproducibles.

2003/2004 Mitchell	Problem-Solving - Social and Emotional Skills for Recess, Transitions, Classrooms and Faculty	2,000.00
Summer workshop for teachers in Social and Emotional learning, training of recess aides, and purchase of support materials, including Second-Step skill building curriculum kits.

2003/2004 Pollard	Reaching and Teaching All Kids - Personalizing the Secondary School Experience	3,500.00
Summer Workshop for faculty in Social and Emotional Learning to enable staff to work towards the development of positive classroom and school climates to maximize learning and achievement for all students. Some of the workshops will be held jointly with High School staff to allow for collaboration and coordination between the two buildings. This grant also includes the purchase of professional development books.

2003/2004 High School	Recorded Books	3,500.00
Purchase of books on tape or CD to use with students who need support in reading core literature assignments and other books.

2003/2004 Elementary, Pollard	The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls	3,500.00
Presentations to middle school and 5th grade girls about how to recognize and address the problem of 'relational aggression' - the term used to describe the type of aggression often seen in girls. A third presentation will be scheduled for parents, educators, counselors and other community members.

2003/2004 Broadmeadow	The New Broadmeadow School Gardens	3,500.00
School-wide project to build a garden that will help teachers to expand their units in all curriculum areas and promote a sense of community in their new school.

2003/2004 Newman	The Responsive Classroom: Systemwide Training and Implementation	3,500.00
Final phase of implementation of Responsive Classroom training at Newman and beginning of training at other elementary schools by Newman teachers.

2003/2004 Eliot	The Roar of the Bulldozer-Success of the Crowd	3,500.00
School-wide child-centered project that integrates the arts into all areas of the curriculum and helps the children and staff build a sense of community in their new school

2003/2004 Broadmeadow	Towards Redistricting - School and Classroom Culture at Broadmeadow	2,450.00
Summer workshop for teachers in Social and Emotional Learning workshop; training for some teachers in the use of Morning Meeting which is part of the Responsive Classroom curriculum; purchase of Second-Step skill building curriculum kits for grades 1 through 5

2003/2004 Mitchell	ZEST FEST - Using Music to Support Learning and Classroom/School Climate	3,250.00
Residency with singer/song writer Nick Page, who will work with children, teachers and staff in all grades to incorporate the use of songs and many types of music to promote improved listening, learning and school climate.

2003 Fall Broadmeadow	Broadmeadow Music Technology Mini-Lab	2,150.00
Provides Broadmeadow Music Room with music-related hardware and software that will transform their four computers into a mini music technology lab. Students will be able to compose, record, notate, and publish original music compositions on the Internet.

2003 Fall Mitchell	Dramatic Arts for Grade 5	2,400.00
Laurie Katz, Theatre and Dance instructor, will introduce 5th grade students to the elements of drama, including developing characters and story lines, and practicing improvisation. Students will create their own play from a bare-bones story outline, culminating in a play performance.

2003 Fall Broadmeadow	Enhancing Readers and Writers Workshops	1,468.00
Purchases books for teachers to support the expansion of Readers and Writers Workshops at Broadmeadow. Teachers will meet in study groups to discuss techniques learned in summer workshops on teaching reading and writing. The materials will be maintained as part of a professional development library.

2003 Fall Pollard	Hands on Geography	3,444.00
Social Studies classes will be provided with laminated desktop maps that students can mark, erase, and reuse as tools to enhance the study of geography. For example, in a unit on China, students will be able to draw the Silk Road on their maps, rather than simply looking at a classroom map in the front of the room.

2003 Fall Pollard	Innovation in Social Studies	2,311.00
Purchase of equipment that connects all social studies classroom computers to TVs enabling teachers to bring a wide range of educational experiences to all students at the click of a mouse.

2003 Fall Newman	Newman Loves Lucy: Dog Therapy	1,650.00
Pat Howes, a first grade teacher at Newman and Superintendent?s Award Recipient, uses her licensed therapy dog, Lucy, to work with special needs children at Newman before school, during lunch periods, and after school. This grant will fund the purchase of materials used by Ms. Howes in her work with the special needs students, including a printer used to print digital photographs of the students interacting with Lucy, as well as tuition for a workshop on educating children with PDD and autism.

2003 Fall Hillside	Our Town, 1900	3,470.00
Children?s author Jacqueline Davies will bring Needham, circa 1900, to life for fifth grade students. Working with primary and secondary historical documents, students will work in small groups recreating drawings of actual historic houses, and then write historical fiction stories, each set in a particular Needham house at the turn of the century.

2003 Fall High School	Sexual Assault Awareness Day with Katie Koestner	2,400.00
Half-day sexual assault awareness presentation for all high school students by Katie Koestner, a former College of William and Mary student who has received national recognition for 'speaking out against a crime of silence'. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session, and by all-female and all-male breakout groups for discussion. The program is being organized by a group of Needham High students (the Women?s Coalition) under the guidance of counselor Jennifer Roberts. The group has been working for over a year addressing problems related to sexual harassment. The group has already overseen the adoption of a new high school policy on sexual harassment, and instituted peer-to-peer presentations for freshmen on sexual harassment and assault.

2003 Fall Pollard	Video Plus: Enhancements to Video Production	3,498.00
Purchase of three iMac computers and state-of-the-art video editing software for use by the 'On The Air' elective classes, after-school clubs, and Tech Camp program.

2002/2003 Newman	American Art Quest at Newman	2,400.00
Lecture series for 5th graders with slide shows and discussions to help students integrate art history and appreciation into their American History social studies curriculum.

2002/2003 Newman	Art Quest	3,150.00
Presentations to students of slides of art work to stimulate discussion and critical thinking. Artwork is chosen to coordinate with each grade?s social studies curriculum.

2002/2003 Eliot	Asian Occasion: Folk Tales, Myths and Bamboo Music	3,500.00
Performances at each elementary school by master storyteller, involving music, audience participation. Stories will be from several Asian cultures and enhance the social studies themes from several grade levels.

2002/2003 Pollard	Balanced Instrumentation in Musical Ensembles	3,500.00
Purchase 4 Instrument Timbre Preference test kits and a Baritone Saxophone to better balance the high school orchestra, concert band and jazz band.

2002/2003 High School	Cardio Equipment Infusion	3,500.00
Purchase portable cardio-equipment for use in High School physical education classes.

2002/2003 Mitchell	Community Connections: Understanding Racism	2,620.00
Create a book club to educate both white parents and those of color about race and racism, especially as it plays out in a white, suburban community.

2002/2003 Pollard	Connections in Art	3,500.00
Purchase of kits for art teachers to use with children at each grade level to coordinate with curriculum frameworks in many areas, including language arts, social studies, mathematics, and science.

2002/2003 All Elementary	Educational Initiative	3,500.00
Residency from the Mind Body Institute to train teachers how to use yoga with their students, as a strategy to manage stress, improve focus and improve health, academic and athletic performance.

2002/2003 Broadmeadow	Elementary East Asian Resources	1,100.00
Prepare a brochure describing resources, suggest grade levels and connections to Needham elementary curriculum units in an easy-to-use format.

2002/2003 Elementary	Exploraciones en Coro (Explorations in Chorus)	3,500.00
Project to teach 4th and 5th graders in all elementary schools to perform two works by Hispanic composer, Francisco Nunez, composer-in residence.

2002/2003 District-wide	FLEXCAM for the Pollard Science Dept.	945.00
Purchase a multi-purpose video camera to be used by science teachers to project a variety of objects onto a TV or computer monitor.

2002/2003 Mitchell	From Here to There with Cinderella	3,500.00
Develop a book bag project for Eliot 1st graders that will allow them to read various Cinderella stories from different cultures with their parents.

2002/2003 Elementary	Implementing the Responsive Classroom	3,500.00
Expansion of previously awarded large grant project that trains classroom teachers to use new strategies for teaching cooperation, assertion, responsibility, self-control and empathy.

2002/2003 Eliot	Keys to Writing Literacy	3,500.00
Purchase 14 AlphaSmarts to improve keyboarding skill of 4th grade students.

2002/2003 Elementary	Kids Involved in Divorce and Separation	3,450.00
Needham Youth Commission Project to develop workshops and resources for students and parents on dealing with separation and divorce.

2002/2003 Hillside	Lit Circles	3,500.00
Purchase groups of novels for grade 7 for students to read outside of English class and form lit circles to discuss novels

2002/2003 Mitchell	Mitchell School Multicultural Mural Project	3,500.00
Bring an artist-in-residence to work with all Mitchell students to paint a permanent multicultural mural at Mitchell.

2002/2003 Hillside	Multimedia on the Move	3,498.00
Purchase of multimedia equipment to be used in classrooms by teachers and children to complete technology-based projects in all areas of the curriculum.

2002/2003 Broadmeadow	Newman Multicultural Center	3,500.00
Development and organization of teaching materials and resources to enhance the teaching of the social studies curriculum in all grades by adding materials that provide a multicultural perspective.

2002/2003 Elementary	Other Voices of the American Revolution	3,000.00
Review and revise 5th grade social studies unit on the American Revolution from a multicultural perspective.

2002/2003 Pollard	Pollard Science Fair	2,650.00
Program to initiate a science fair for Pollard Middle School students.

2002/2003 Newman	Success for All	3,350.00
Purchase of learning software to be used in classrooms to improve reading comprehension, critical thinking and math skills of all children, but especially targeted at children who need remedial support.

2002/2003 Newman	The Roar of the Bulldozer	3,500.00
Project involving an artist-in-residence to work with all grade levels on music, movement, dance and drama activities integrated with curriculum, and related to the school?s move to a temporary setting during school construction.

2002/2003 Eliot, Hillside	Writer-in-Residence	3,500.00
In-service training by Barry Lane to further develop teachers? skills to teach writing to their students. Workshops for each grade level are targeted at the appropriate developmental stage of writing.

2002/2003 Elementary	Wyckoff Sculpture Science Kits	3,500.00
Development of science activity kits to teach children different aspects of physical science (i.e. simple machines, energy, balance, gravity, and light). All of these science elements are integrated into the Wyckoff Sculpture at the new Broadmeadow School.

2001/2002 Eliot	A Day at the Schoolhouse	3,500.00
Develop 3rd grade program to take place in town's one- room schoolhouse for all 3rd graders to experience a day in the life of a mid 1800s 3rd grader.

2001/2002 Broadmeadow	Book Making Workshop	3,338.00
Workshop for students in grades K,1,4 and 5 to make books.

2001/2002 Pollard	Community-Wide CPR Initiative	3,439.00
Purchase CPR mannequins to teach CPR to 7th, 9th and 11th graders

2001/2002 Pollard, High School	Expanding Career Awareness Resources	3,150.00
Funding to create a career website

2001/2002 Mitchell	Gallery on the Go	1,775.00
DeCordova gallery residency for 8 weeks focusing on the theme of A Sense of Place

2001/2002 Pollard	Grow Lights for the Teaching of Botany	1,258.00
Purchase grow lights for science classrooms for teaching of 7th grade botany

2001/2002 Mitchell	Kakilub?e Celebrating Culture thru Dance	3,500.00
Multicultural dancer/choreographer residency for 14 weeks

2001/2002 Pollard	Lit Circles	3,500.00
Purchase groups of novels for grade 7 for students to read outside of English class and form lit circles to discuss novels

2001/2002 Mitchell	Making the Reading Writing Connection	3,250.00
Purchase teacher resources and student materials and training program to support existing literacy program funded by NEF.

2001/2002 High School	Needham Townscapes	3,500.00
Purchase kiln capable of firing at high temperature and supplies to be used for ceramics students to create Needham townscape tiles to be displayed in the town library and other town buildings

2001/2002 Hillside	Portable Multimedia Projector	3,216.00
Purchase of a multimedia projector to be used in existing programs

2001/2002 Pollard	Sound System and Microphone	3,000.00
Purchase of a sound system and microphone to add dance and rhythms unit to phys ed program and enhance existing programs

2001/2002 Pollard	Survivor: Middle School Parents and Children Pollard	2,250.00
Program to bring groups of parents and children together to focus on issues and develop communication skills

2001/2002 Elementary	The Many Faces of Respect	2,200.00
Expansion of existing character education program to a speakers program focusing on respect

2001/2002 Pollard, High School	Youth Creating Solutions	3,500.00
Train 25 students to become peer mediators

2001 Large Newman	The Responsive Classroom	13,100.00
This grant will support teacher and staff training to promote 'responsive' techniques, which integrate social and academic skills. Initially affecting Newman s 650 students with possible expansion throughout the town school system, the program teaches cooperation, responsibility, empathy, assertion and self-control.

2001 High School	Fine Arts for All	15,000.00
This grant will allow for the acquisition of new computer equipment and other materials to accommodate the growing, unmet demand for arts offerings such as graphic design, desktop publishing, photography, painting, and music.

2000/2001 Broadmeadow	Art in Architecture	3,250.00
An art installation to be designed by students and an artist-in-residence for the renovated Broadmeadow school.

2000/2001 System-wide	Asian Studies Planning	2,850.00
Seed money to fund the planning stage of an Asian-studies curriculum

2000/2001 Broadmeadow	Behavior Management Training	2,180.00
Teacher-training to improve strategies for managing classroom behavior and resolving students' behavioral issues.

2000/2001 High School	Chemistry in the Community	3,500.00
A collaborative project that will allow chemistry students to complete soil-testing fieldwork and analysis at the Needham RTS and along the Charles River.

2000/2001 Hillside	Civil War Museum	1,500.00
Fifth-graders will research, design and develop exhibits for a Civil War museum.

2000/2001 High School	Contemporary American Legal Studies	3,500.00
To update social-studies materials, including the purchase of on-line and multi-media resources, used in teaching contemporary legal and social issues.

2000/2001 Elementary	Curriculum Enhancement?Nonfiction	3,500.00
A grant to replenish and update the Curriculum Center's stock of non-fiction tradebooks in the social studies and sciences.

2000/2001 System-wide	Healthy Needham	3,500.00
A grant to fund the first stage of a town-wide, multi-agency wellness initiative for Needham students and their families.

2000/2001 High School	Homework Counts	3,500.00
An alternative to tutorial assistance for students who are academically struggling and would benefit from a structured after-school program of homework support.

2000/2001 Pollard	House of Blues Partnership	3,500.00
Seventh-graders will learn about the history and traditions of African-American music, culminating with a live performance by House of Blues musicians.

2000/2001 Newman	ISI Professional Library	2,500.00
A grant to fund the acquisition of professional resources and literature for a teachers' library at Newman.

2000/2001 Pollard	It's Character that Counts	3,500.00
To implement a character-education curriculum in the middle school.

2000/2001 Pollard, High School	Performance Enhancement	1,500.00
The grant will underwrite the purchase of a keyboard and CD-recording device so that composition students can record their own music.

2000/2001 High School	Post-Secondary Alternatives	2,500.00
To launch an initiative that will offer resources and referrals for the one-in-ten high school seniors who defer or delay college enrollment.

2000/2001 Mitchell	Power of Painting	1,000.00
Art-enrichment for first-graders at Mitchell school will introduce concepts, vocabulary and techniques in drawing and painting.

2000/2001 Hillside	Research & Study Skills Support Center	3,450.00
Weekly tutorials to assist students in grades 4 and 5 who could benefit from improved research, study and time-management skills.

2000/2001 High School	Robotics	3,500.00
This project will fund an enrichment program and hands-on experience in the design and building of robotics circuitry.

2000/2001 Pollard	Snow-Shoeing: Winter P.E.	3,500.00
Funding for the purchase of equipment that would expand out-door winter physical education opportunities for middle-schoolers.

2000/2001 System-wide	Targeting Behavior Referrals	1,254.00
New diagnostic software will streamline the assessing of students who may have attentional problems.

2000/2001 All Elementary	Teachers as Leaders in Writing	3,500.00
Professional development in the teaching of writing for teacher-leaders throughout the school system.

2000/2001 System-wide	Teachers as Scholars	2,500.00
An expansion of a program that allows teachers to attend seminars at Harvard University and brings visiting scholars and lecturers to Needham.

2000/2001 Pollard, High School	Transitions	3,500.00
An initiative for eighth- and ninth-graders to ease their transition to high school.

2000/2001 Hillside	Writer-in-Residence	3,500.00
All grades at Hillside will participate in fiction and poetry-writing seminars to be conducted by a writer-in-residence at the school.

2000/2001 Broadmeadow	Writers' Workshop: Young Authors	3,400.00
Teacher-training in writing instruction for Broadmeadow educators.

2000/2001 Newman	Writing on the Go -Tech Packs	3,290.00
Fourteen Alpha-smart word-processors will be purchased for home use (on reports, homework assignments, etc.) by Newman fourth-graders.