February brings Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate love, friendship and admiration. We hope you took time this year to tell those dear to you how much you love them.
We here at NEF want to take this opportunity to tell all of you -- our supporters, donors, sponsors, and our teachers and staff – how much we love and appreciate you!
This year especially. We love our supporters for stepping up and helping when needed. We love our donors for giving a little extra to NEF for our schools. We love the many organizations who continue to sponsor our events even though they look a little different than before. We love our teachers for all of the little things they do to teach and encourage our students every day. We love our staff for working tirelessly to continue our District’s quest for Northville’s Tradition of Excellence under all of the constraints and issues that COVID-19 brings. Most of all, we love all of you who, like all of us here at NEF, are giving, doing and supporting because you want the best for our kids. Thank you to all of you!
February brings the conclusion of our Annual Campaign, #IgniteCuriosity, #ExplorePassions, #InspireExcellence. Thanks to you, we are only $1,500 short of our target of $40,000 for Northville students and teachers. If you have not given yet, please consider donating before February 28th.
It is so important that we reach our goal because, due to continued COVID-19 constraints, we unfortunately have to postpone our biggest fundraiser of the year, our annual Night for Northville Celebration. Our students, teachers and schools still need our help so, every dollar donated will matter!
February also brings the Northville Parent Camp--a wonderfully productive way to spend a Saturday morning. It will be virtual this year and there is no need to register. Just go to the Parent Camp website and click on the Zoom links. Just come once and we promise you will come every year! More information is below.
Thank you for your support of NEF! We hope that you and your loved ones are in good spirits and health.
Sincerely,
Christa, Kate & all of us here at NEF
Northville Parent Camp
Saturday, February 27, 2021 - 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.
A partnership of the Northville Public Schools & Northville Educational Foundation.
Northville Public Schools and Northville Educational Foundation have again partnered to bring you Northville’s Parent Camp; a morning filled with resources, speakers, and workshops, presented to empower K-12 parents with practical knowledge, resources, and tools to help equip them to support and guide their children.
This year Parent Camp will be virtual! Click here to view the Northville Parent Camp 2021 website! Although we will not "go live!" until Saturday, February 27th, this website is ready for you to explore the agenda, workshop topics and descriptions, resources, and all of the necessary information needed to participate.
Parent Camp is a free event and you do not need to register! The morning of the event, simply go to the Parent Camp website and click on the appropriate zoom link at the appropriate time to connect to the keynote speech and then, the session of your choice.
Click here to download a Parent Camp Program which contains all of the same information as the website, but printable so you can jot down your notes as to which of the many wonderful breakout sessions you would like to attend! We are still adding resources daily, so please check back often!
Northville Parent Camp Agenda:
- 8:30 am - 10:00 am: Welcome and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Jim Harris
- 10:10 am - 11:00 am: Breakout Session 1
- 11:10 am - 12:00 pm: Breakout Session 2
- 12:10 pm - 1:00 pm: Breakout Session 3
"Parent Camp was wonderful! I intended on only coming for the keynote speaker, but then I saw all of the amazing breakout sessions and decided I had to stay! I called my husband and told him he had to handle the kids today—I have to stay and hear these fantastic speakers. I am so glad I did. I learned so much!”
—Northville Middle School Parent
Introducing Parent Camp's Keynote Speaker, Dr. Jim Harris!
It is no secret that raising children in a society today is nothing short of challenging. In this session, Dr. Harris will help you better understand the developmental landscape as it relates to trauma and stress. Dr. Harris will also explore effects that trauma and stress can have on the physiology and psychology of young people. He will also explore how understanding these potential effects can help us provide more responsible and effective supports for our children. Click here to learn more about Dr. Harris and Opportunities Consulting Services.
Breakout session, Childhood 2.0 - Discussion and Download – Grades PreK-12, requires prior viewing of the movie Childhood 2.0. Even if you do not plan on attending that particular session, it is an insightful movie that is worthwhile to watch. Click here to view it for free on YouTube
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Michigan Educational Credit Union
Thank you to our Senior Sponsors DTE MIGreenPower, Community Financial Credit Union and Royal Truck and Trailer
6th Annual Northville STEAM Fair
Wednesday, April 28, 2021!
This year, the Northville STEAM Fair is going virtual! A special website is being created that will contain links to student presentations and videos. We are excited to announce a live presentation from DTE MIGreenPower and more!
Northville STEAM Fair's theme is
“Solving Today’s Problems to Open a World of Possibilities for Tomorrow"
If your student is interested in becoming a presenter, please click STEAM 2021 Sign Up to register. We would LOVE for them to participate. We hope to "see" you on April 28, 2021! More details to follow!
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor Community Financial Credit Union
Thank you to our Senior Sponsors DTE MIGreenPower, Michigan Educational Credit Union, First Merchants Bank, ZF and ITC.
SEL Calming Corners at Meads Mill Middle School
Made possible by you . . . Calming Kits for Middle School students
We know our kids are stressed. Even before the pandemic, many of our students were anxious and overwhelmed.
Last year, NEF funded the creation of Calming Corners in Northville elementary schools that did not already have them. Now, all elementary students have access to simple, but effective tools that help them exercise mindfulness in order to calm themselves so they can again focus on learning.
This year, NEF is funding calming devices for the middle schools. Last semester, everything from fidget gadgets and bubble lamps to balance balls and stability discs were purchased for the students at Meads Mills. Recent remodeling and construction at Meads Mill allowed for the creation of a “Take a Break” room, where upset or over-anxious students can go to regain their composure.
“The calming or break room is in our new counseling office area,” said Kristy Bilbie-Bekius, Meads Mill counselor, “We have couches and added some flexible seating from NEF. We also have different fidgets from NEF, as well as some items we had previously for students to use to help ease their anxiety. Due to COVID, student visits to the break room are less frequent than what it is in a ‘normal’ year, however, it has been effective and helpful for those who have used it.”
Mrs. Bilbie-Bekius also said that NEF funding allowed for Calming Kits to be created and made available to the Meads Mill teachers to use in the classroom, with, of course, the proper sanitization requirements. She added,
“I'm so glad we have these resources for our students moving forward--I think they will prove to be helpful for some of our kids.”
This semester it is Hillside’s turn. Now that the students and teachers are comfortably settled in their new building, NEF is working with supervisors and counselors to make these tools available to Hillside students.
mapAccelerator
Made possible by you . . . mapAccelerator helping to keep students on track
MapAccelerator is helping tackle any “academic slide” that may have occurred when COVID struck last spring and we were forced to shut down our schools. MapAccelerator is a personalized learning tool for grades 3-8 that differentiates math instruction by automatically integrating class rosters, NWEA scores and Khan Academy content to generate individual learning pathways. Each pathway has lessons, instructional videos, and practice problems.
Teachers can develop individual learning plans and provide specific support for each of their students. Through their class dashboard, teachers can track student progress and step in when help is needed.
As noted in the District’s Mid-Year Goal Report, support teams from Kindergarten through 12th grade are working to identify the academic and social emotional learning needs of our students. MapAccelerator is one of the tools used to get students back on track as part of the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) process.
MapAccelerator can be accessed through your student’s ClassLink account and therefore is available in school or at home.
Modern Teacher
Made possible by you . . . Modern Teacher providing training to Northville teachers to tackle hybrid and virtual teaching.
Last spring, it was clear that school was going to be very different in the fall. Besides masks, plexiglass shields, and social distancing, teachers were going to need to teach both in-person and virtual students. It was a whole new experience.
As part of the State of Michigan’s “Return to Learn” guidelines, teachers were required to undergo additional training before returning to school. Modern Teacher provided some of that training and helped Northville teachers understand how to create lessons and plans that could adjust from in-person to remote learning.
“With all of the new systems we had to put in place, our teachers had a lot to learn before school started this fall,” said Aaron Baughman, Assistant Superintendent. “We customized Modern Teacher’s templates to work with Schoology and had every teacher go through the training modules. It was very stressful, however, Modern Teacher was critical for the work we had to accomplish in a very short amount of time.”
“Now, we have a common vocabulary and expectations which make it easier for teachers to engage with their students across multiple learning environments and to work with each other,” Mr. Baughman added. “The application is still available to teachers for access to best practices used by others across the Modern Teacher network.”
Night for Northville Fundraising Gala
Postponed until September!
In normal times, your emails and social media would be filled with information regarding our annual Night for Northville Fundraising Gala. Unfortunately, as COVID-19 lingers and continues to prevent us from gathering, we are forced to postpone the event. Unlike last year when we had to make the heartbreaking decision to cancel the event, this year, we are determined to figure out a way to gather in celebration of our students and teachers.
With the optimism brought by the vaccine and the anticipation of warmer weather, we are hoping to have an outdoor gathering in September. Don’t worry, for those of you who were looking forward to last year’s event, we are going to have our “Night for Northville – Casino Night 2.0!” in March 2022. We just want to make sure that everyone who comes is ready to crowd around a craps table and share cards, chips and dice.
Special thanks goes to DTE MIGreenPower. Last year, they made a three year commitment to being our Night for Northville Presenting Sponsor. Like their commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, they have been steadfast in their commitment and support of NEF and of Northville students.
Thank you DTE MIGreenPower!
Keep an eye on our social media for more information.
Thank A Staff Program
We have so many reasons to be grateful for our teachers, our staff and everyone who is supporting our students during this crazy time! They have not only adapted classroom learning, but provided comfort and normalcy. NEF’s Thank a Staff program is the perfect way to show them your appreciation.
Donate to the Northville Educational Foundation in honor of your child’s teachers, counselors, administration, coaches, support staff or any Northville District employee you are thankful for! Each honored teacher will receive a certificate personalized with their name, your student’s or family’s name, your personalized message and more delivered by NEF the week of June 7, 2021.
The Thank A Staff Program will run from April 26, 2021 through May 24, 2021. More details to follow.
Thank you to our Thank A Staff Sponsor, Michigan Educational Credit Union
