Saturday April 29, 6:30pm (happy half-hour) with the fun running from 7pm to 9pm.
Just $20 per person!
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We'll — ONCE AGAIN!!! — be whooping it up at the Borgatti Bar at Whole Foods with prizes awarded and a masterful hosting by our own school committee member Jon Wensky!

For 2023, the Shrewsbury Education Foundation has awarded $15,954.73 in grants for eleven programs.

The SEF can't function without your help! To support the SEF in all its endeavors, please make a generous donation at SEFgrants.org.  Thanks to the teachers who have devised these innovative programs for our children!

This year's fantastic grants, made possible by your support are:

Sherwood Middle School Unified Social Club
Linda Berard and Erin Kennedy

Unified activities brings together individuals of different abilities to enjoy each other’s company and learn from each other. Members meet monthly and offers complex learners in the Sherwood community and their buddies a chance to share common experiences and create a community of belonging.  Funds will allow for material cost for the monthly crafts and games for 20-30 students.


Expanding Possibilities for Sculpture and Photography
Sarah Williams
Shrewsbury High School

This grant will provide funds to cover the cost for several initiatives for the Sculpture and Installation and Traditional and Digital Photography courses.  The funds will allow for the purchase of one DSLR Canon Rebel T8i camera, one sewing machine for wearable art and other installations, tabletop looms, and lighting equipment for both classes to utilize for a variety of projects.


Making the Cut!
Hilary Clegg
Sherwood Middle School
 
Grant funds will purchase a circuit cutting machine for Sherwood for teachers to create beautiful inviting classroom spaces that can be changed to reflect new units in a less time-consuming manner.


Amazing Animal-BOTS and Marvelous Makey Makey Golf
Sophie Straubel
Sherwood Middle School

Materials will be purchased to implement two-technology centered projects, one for each grade level.  Each project has been aligned to the Massachusetts STE standards and supports the acquisition of skills related to engineering design process. 

• 5th Grade – Amazing Animal-BOTS – Students will investigate the concept of biomimicry and learn about how living things have inspired a variety of inventions. Students will have the opportunity to build DC motor-powered robots that has been inspired by structural adaptations in different animals. 
• 6th Grade – Makey Makey Golf – Funds will be used to purchase a class set of Makey Makey invention kits as well as materials to support an electrical conductivity investigation.

Improving the District Approach to the Assessment and Treatment of Problem Behavior
Robert Parry-Cruwys
District Wide
 
Funds for this grant will provide training for all BCBAs at all school levels in conducting trauma-informed, brief behavior assessments and in the form of PFA and in developing reinforcements and skill-based behavior interventions able to be individualized for any student in the district.  This goal can be reached through on-demand training in the use of Practical Functional Analysis developed by Dr. Greg Hanley.


Making Music Come Alive
Jillian Falvo
Coolidge School
 
Grant funding will purchase instruments for all Coolidge students with the opportunity to play high-quality melodic instruments, where they can transfer their understanding of melodic concepts. The variety of instruments will allow students to learn about different timbres and help inform their decision making when arranging a piece of music or deciding which instrument should play which part.  In addition, the ability to transfer melodic activities that involve risk taking, like improvisation, can give students more freedom and psychological comfort to take risks in the music classroom.
 

Authentic Real-Time Interpersonal Communication with Native Guest Speakers
Heather Leger
Shrewsbury High School
 
The purchase of Guest Speaker Conversations will provide students with opportunities to apply their interpersonal skills with a variety of target language speakers from different walks of life and countries.  It will allow students more opportunities to practice and develop more natural, spontaneous conversational skills in real time. TalkAbroad organization provides a platform for making these authentic connections for students.  The platform will be used by teachers in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese in language courses.  In 2022, Ms. Leger was awarded a grant for this pilot project and due to the success of the program, sought additional funding to continue the work.


Revitalizing and Reinventing the Paton School Garden and Outdoor Living Space
Johanna Evans, Joan Carlson, Ashley Gallagher, and Scott Mulcahy
Paton School

Funds will be utilized to build a sensory garden, one planter garden, and a student interactive sundial.  This project will create learning experiences across the curriculum to support all students while enriching the Paton School Community.  


Dynamic Display – SHS Media Center
Emily Bredberg and Maria Clara Macedo-Wood
Shrewsbury High School

Funds will purchase a mounted LCD screen to communicate news, resources, and book recommendations with media center visitors through a rotation of captivating and colorful slides. Students will be invited to submit slide designs advertising books and other media resources.  The IT Department will be able to provide a license to the Carousal Design Signage system, which would allow the Media Center to us Apple TV to set up a rotation of slides.


Pedal Power! A Health and Physics Cross-Curricular Activity: Building a Bicycle Powered Blender
Erin Burtnyk and Patrick Collins
Shrewsbury High School

This grant will allow for skill development in both physics’ classes and health education classes.  Students in physics classes will obtain new knowledge to understand how a bicycle can power a blender and apply their learning though hands-on building of a smoothie bike.  Students in health education will use ingredients from various cultures to create recipes, test their ideas, and promote increased consumption of nutritious foods.   Funds will provide for the resources need to build this project.


Coding with Cubelets!
Sarah Matthews
Floral Street School
 
Cubelets are tactile, magnetic blocks that can be combined in a variety of ways robots based on Sense, Think, Act design cycle.  The use of Cubelets in the classroom allow students screen-free, open ended exploration and collaborative play. Cubelet blocks introduce coding logic in a developmentally appropriate way, while providing a rigorous learning experience that is accessible to all students.

SEF grants will be accepted November 21 through Friday, January 20th, 2023 (FIRM.)  Please send application and your cover letter ELECTRONICALLY TO: sefgrants2019@gmail.com. Funds will be dispersed in early February 2023. Grants are open to all school employees, including teachers, nurses, aides, curriculum coordinators and administrators. 

Please direct all inquiries to:  Sandra Fryc, SEF Grants Chair at sefgrants2019@gmail.com or (508) 981-8230. 

All applicants must submit a separate application cover page 

Please include the following info on the cover page: (1) The title of the grant, (2) the name(s) and titles of grant authors (3) the school(s) covered under the grant, (4) Mailing Address apart from school, and (5) permission from the principal if applicable.

Required Grant Information
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Introduction - Briefly define the purpose of the project, why it is a creative approach and provides new learning opportunities for all students in order to further their intellectual, social/emotional and health needs.  Please include the number of students who will benefit (include number). 

​Statement of Need - Describe why this project will be beneficial and why outside funding is needed. 

Goals and Objectives- Describe WHAT the program will accomplish and HOW it will be accomplished.

Methods- Discuss the approach that will be used and how the project will be implemented to benefit the most students. 

Evaluation- Describe how you will determine whether your objectives have been reached and whether the project has been successful. 

Budget - Please provide details supporting your total dollar request. All budget items must be directly related to the proposed program. Salaries and food may not be included.

Continuity – Please briefly explain how your grant will benefit students in the long term.

Reporting to SEF - By applying for an SEF Grant, you may be contacted to provide a brief report that documents your grant’s journey. We may also ask you to include photos, video, or any other tangible visuals that SEF can use to tell its story.