This fall, Kristen Mazzocchi, Needham High School Theater teacher, coordinated workshops to provide the necessary training for Pollard and Needham High School students to participate as technical crew and designers in the school district's theater productions. Given...
Grants in Action
Needham Steps Up Mentorship Training
Last year, the NEF funded professional training with Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) for Needham Steps Up (NSU) mentors at Needham High School. NSU pairs up to 20 income-eligible students with a Needham High School teacher to mentor them throughout their years in the...
Educator Workshop at Heart Mountain in Wyoming
This summer, Needham High School Social Studies teacher, Laura Magno, attended the National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH): Heart Mountain Educator Workshop in Wyoming. More than 14,000 Japanese Americans were confined at Heart Mountain during World War II. The...
Student Ambassador Program
Needham High School Assistant Principal, Mary Kay Alessi, received funding in the Winter 2021 grant cycle to create and implement a student Ambassador program designed to support students who are transitioning into Needham High School. Upperclass students were...
Navigation Games for Interdisciplinary Learning
A winter 2021 grant was awarded to Physical Education and Wellness Teacher Rob Tatro to bring orienteering to the K-5 curriculum at Sunita Williams Elementary School. Orienteering has many benefits in physical education: developing locomotor skills, physical fitness,...
“Playful Learning” in Mitchell’s Math Centers
Mitchell Elementary School Math Coach, Anjali Petersen, received funding for her grant entitled “Playful Learning: Enhancing Computational Thinking & Spatial Reasoning for All Learners through Mathematical Games.” The winter 2020 grant funded the purchase of...
Where You Can Compose Your Own Story
By Kathleen Grady and Christine Mittaz In a year pitted against band, Needham High School’s Band program has been able to create something special nonetheless. In the summer, Margaret McLallen (Ms. McLallen to us), entertained the possibility of having a special band...
“Your Voice Matters. What’s Your Story?”
Funded by a large grant from the NEF, ‘Your Voice Matters. What’s Your Story?’ is a multifaceted project that creates a platform for the Needham High School community to share their stories and connect with one another, while also creating spaces for students to think...
Sensory Pathways at Eliot and Mitchell
This past year, the NEF funded Sensory Pathways to be installed at Eliot and Mitchell over the summer. The Sensory Pathways are for students to use when they need a movement or therapeutic break. The Eliot and Mitchell grants were funded through NEF’s “Express Grants”...
Cornell’s Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program
Seema Meloni, one of the NEF’s co-presidents, recently spoke with Christopher Dancy, 6th grade science teacher at High Rock School, about his experience completing Cornell’s Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program – professional development funded through an NEF...