Dear Northville Families and Community Members,
It is not an overstatement to recognize that the last several months have been difficult, and we at the Northville Educational Foundation hope that all in our Northville community are faring as best as possible under the unique circumstances that we have experienced.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy and our society may be long lasting and far reaching. We will continue to meet any challenges that arise with optimism and determination.
We are heartened that so many rose to the occasion to lend a helping hand. Masks were sewn for front line workers. Food was collected and donated for those in need. Neighbors were helping neighbors. All of these actions are a testament to the goodwill of the people of our community. We have even witnessed a number of our students responsibly engage in the important political discourse of the day, thereby taking a significant step towards their adult roles in our community. Much that is positive has come out of our shared adversity.
At the NEF, however, we are primarily concerned about our schools. Our state’s economy has suffered, and the School Aid Fund, which provides funding for our Northville School District, has been negatively affected. There is a projected loss of $700 per student in our school funding. That is nearly $5.2 million less for Northville Public Schools for the coming school year. We have done great things in partnership with Northville Public Schools over the past twenty years. As we finish our twentieth year of supporting Northville Schools, it is apparent that our efforts are needed as much now as ever, and our contributions are essential to help maintain the excellence in educational results for which Northville Public Schools is known. Our schools have experienced financial pressures in the past. Once again, it is necessary and important that, as much as we are able, we all dig deep and help support our children’s education.
Our Schools have been beset with unique educational challenges in these extraordinary times. We are working closely with the District’s leadership to identify what the Schools’ needs will be in the Fall of 2020. We will continue to work with parents, teachers, staff, organizations and community members to help our kids benefit from amazing educational opportunities . . . whether it is in the classroom or online. Be assured that the NEF will continue its unflagging commitment and financial support of educational excellence in our Northville Public Schools.
This past year, thousands of students, educators and parents benefitted from the initiatives and programs you helped fund. . . . .Innovative Teaching Grants, Project Lead the Way Classes, Social & Emotional Learning Initiatives, Parent Camp, Mystery Online Science and Student Assistance Grants, and more.
Many of you worked as volunteers, bought a ticket to our Cash for College Raffle, attended our Star War Premiere, donated your Night for Northville ticket price, honored a teacher through our Thank A Staff Campaign, sponsored an event, or donated during our Annual Campaign. We at the NEF wish to express our heartfelt thanks for your support.
Because of you, thousands of students, teachers, educators and parents benefitted from programs and initiatives that heightened our students’ learning experience, igniting their curiosity and encouraging them to explore their interests.
Innovative Teaching Grants
Because of you, $30,000 in Innovative Teaching Grants was distributed to 23 projects submitted by 34 teachers impacting thousands of students district-wide.
Innovative Grant Recipients
- Amerman - Jessica Rohrhoff: STEAM Materials & Self Portraits with Gelli Plate Printmaking
- Amerman & Hillside - Jessica Rohrhoff: Adaptive Art and Sensory Tools
- Hillside - Meaghan Monk & Colleen Polydoras: Bal-A-Vis-X
- Hillside & Cooke - Katie Grimm and Carrie Schade: STEM Activities with Peers
- Meads Mill - Shannon Cullen and Tina Macdonald: Lunchtime Maker Program
- Meads Mill - Laura Melvin, Mike Soukup and Patty Dow: Yoga for the Total Body
- Meads Mill - Jenny Pascual: Graphic Novels to Support Learning
- Meads Mill - Jesse Roe: Arduino Circuits and Microprocessor Coding
- Northville High School - Wendy Bolakowski: Scientific Optic Boxes
- Northville High School - Emily Correll: Cognition and Problem Solving in Action
- Northville High School - Gabriel Pak: Robotics & Mechatronics
- Northville High School - Gabriel Pak: Skill Trades
- Northville High School - Jennipher Reader: LabQuest 2 Data Collection Devices
- Northville High School - Cheri Sclater: Ultimate Raspberry Pi's
- Northville High School - Melissa Stendardo: Bone Detectives
- Silver Springs - Sean Kiebler: #Why You Matter Year 2
- Winchester - Kandy Rush: Improving Decoding through Multi Sensory Instruction
- Cooke - Janelle Corace, Carrie Parks, Kellie Michels, and Donna Case: Social and Emotional Learning
- Cooke - Lorie Farrow and Malinda Demray: Interactive Light Technology
- Cooke - Christine Lalinsky, Mallory Carmack, Ashlee Latour, Kristen Balcom, & Connie Wendecker: Science Resource Lending Library
- Cooke - Jessica Onkka: ConnectUs Collaboration
- Cooke - Sue Plummer and Lia Gargaro: Working with Symbols
Project Lead the Way
Because of you, NEF was able to support Project Lead the Way (PLTW) courses. These classes offer wonderful hands-on, project based experiences to students in grades 6 - 12. Most students who take PLTW classes do not even realize it because they know them as Design & Modeling, Human Body Systems, Medical Detectives, Flight & Space or Robotics & Automation.
Every 6th Grader experiences PLTW in their Academic Resource or Enrichment classes to solve problems while gaining skills in communication, collaboration, critical-thinking and creativity.
In Grades 7-12, PLTW classes are popular electives because of their hands-on, project based approach. Hundreds of Northville students participate in the engineering or biomedical thread. Students dissect sheep brains, test antibiotics on E.coli, build 3D printers, build circuits and robots, study glowing DNA, test neurons, and more!
PLTW provides a transformative learning experience by creating an engaging, hands-on classroom environment which empowers students to develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in college and career. In fact, this past year, there were 126 high school students who earned college credit through Rochester Institute of Technology in New York as a result of their work in a PLTW Engineering course.
Social & Emotional Calming Corners
Because of you, calming corners were created in the classrooms of all six elementary schools. Social and Emotional Learning is a priority at NPS. NEF supported that effort through the funding of calming corners. A calming corner is a designated space located within a classroom with tools and resources available to help students self-regulate their physical and emotional state if they become overly frustrated or stimulated. The goal is to help them regain control of their anxiety or emotions and allow them to more quickly rejoin classroom activities.
Through a 2018 NEF Innovative Teaching Grant, Christine Witter, developed, created and distributed "Penguin Chill Zones" to all of the classrooms at Moraine. Meanwhile, the Silver Spring PTA helped develop them there. Their success warranted creation of calming corners throughout the District. With NEF funding, staff from each elementary school worked together to determine what they needed. Research was conducted, resources gathered and training executed. Soon all six elementary schools were able to introduce calming corners in each of their classrooms.
A variation of the calming corner was in the works for the middle schools when the COVID-19 shutdown occurred. It is a priority for district and will be revisited next year.
Mystery Science
Because of you, students in all six elementary schools experienced exciting hands on STEM activities right inside their classrooms!
Mystery Science is online, ready-made lessons used in all of the elementary school classrooms to supplement the regular science curriculum. It provides phenomenon based "mysteries" that pique the interest of students and builds a curiosity around how and why things happen. In the process, students learn the science behind the phenomenon. This video based program gives students clues creating discussion and interaction. Next is a hands-on activity that allows students to experiment with the mystery and check to see if a hypothesis or solution may be valid, and in the end, solve the mystery!
Galileo Teacher Leadership Program
Because of you, six selected teacher leaders are "sharpening their saw" by participating in a two-year program focused on the works of leading educators, best practices and personal action research projects. There are over 30 Galileo teachers currently here in Northville.
Northville Parent Camp
In partnership with Northville Public Schools, the Northville Educational Foundation annually brings Parent Camp to Northville parents, guardians and community members.
Over 350 people gathered on Saturday, February 29th to hear keynote speaker, Katey McPherson, to participate in 20 breakout sessions and to view a screening of the movie Screenagers: Next Chapter. This year, Parent Camp focused on topics such as the impact of devices on our children, social and emotional well-being, practical ways to assist our students with reading, writing and much more. The following Monday, another 150 parents gathered to hear more from Ms. McPherson regarding the impact of the internet and social media on our kids.
Click here to view more information on Ms. McPherson, the topics covered by the breakout sessions and the movie Screenagers: Next Chapter.
2020 Northville STEAM Fair
Our Planet: Solving Today's Problems to Open a World of Possibilities for Tomorrow.
While students were not able to gather physically, they were able to participate virtually in our annual STEAM Fair!
This year's Virtual STEAM Fair featured 19 creative and innovative projects from students and teachers across the district. The student's hard work was showcased throughout the community via social media. If you have not had the opportunity to view these amazing projects, you can check them out on the STEAM Fair website!
- Dragonville Reese Zhou, Annabelle Frazier, Brianna Keros, Gabrielle Parezes and Ana Menkulasi - Winchester Elementary
- Adventure: Sheks Julia Huan - Northville High School
- Ocean Pollution Briana Caushi, Chloe Holbrook, Sophia Katsman and Max Shamas - Amerman Elementary
- How Can We Prevent Red Tide So That Ocean Life Won’t Die? Krish Rajurs, Connor Quade, Carter Yee and Alex Georgiadis - Amerman Elementary
- What do I do with this Plastic Bag? Rohan Khetan - Amerman Elementary
- Obesity Elijah Pallekonda - Amerman Elementary
- Coral Reefs Andrew Keros - Amerman Elementary
- Save Coral Reefs Andrew Liu - Amerman Elementary
- Renewable Resources Liam Francis - Amerman Elementary
- How Can We Save The Turtles So That Their Ecosystem Can Regenerate? Leo Kowalyk - Amerman Elementary
- Lunchrooms to Landfills & Oceans: Plastic Poisons Our Planet Grace Robinson, Katie Anderson, Anna Frauenheim, Penni Harris, Michelle Walker, Maggie Wang and Jazmine Zaas - Moraine Elementary
- Blizzards Kate Lis and Michelle Wang - Amerman Elementary
- Coral Bleaching Tim Luan - Amerman Elementary
- Oil Spills! Sienna Mcclain - Amerman Elementary
- Blizzards Willa Bonsall - Amerman Elementary
- Solar Energy Nico Galea - Amerman Elementary
- PlanIt App Ashna Khetan - Northville High School
- Types of Energies Using A Ball Launcher Jaydeep Dalvi - Silver Springs Elementary
- Wind Farms in the Great Lakes Emily Eberhardt and Sarah Gubing - Amerman Elementary School
Thank you to the middle school student artists for these wonderful and original STEAM creations!
Because of you, thousands of dollars were raised through fundraising events.
Cash for College 50/50 Raffle
Because of you, over 780 tickets were sold in NEF’s Cash for College 50/50 Raffle which culminated in a drawing on Friday, November 22, 2019 in the town square just after Northville's Holiday Lighted Parade at the tree lighting ceremony. Mrs. Claus did the honors of drawing the winning ticket which belonged to Vandan Juvekar who won $13,700. Even better is that it raised $13,700 for the Foundation!
Congratulations Vandan!
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Movie Premiere
Because of you, we filled three theaters for the long awaited, final episode of the recent Star Wars trilogy and raised over $12,000!
Over 550 NEF supporters gathered at the Emagine Theater in Novi to see the premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on December 19, 2019. While waiting for the movie to start, everyone enjoyed trivia contests, 50/50 raffles, costume contests and pictures with Kylo Ren and Rey.
It would not have been such an amazing evening without our wonderful sponsors and all of the NHS National Honors Society volunteers! Thank you!
Night for Northville: Betting on our Students Casino Night
On Tuesday March 10th, as the first COVID-19 patient in Michigan was confirmed, NEF was busy preparing for our fundraising gala Night for Northville: Betting on our Students Casino Night which was supposed to take place that Saturday, March 14th.
On Thursday morning, the event was cancelled.
There is nothing we would have liked more than to gather in celebration and support of our school children and the district. While canceling the event was the right thing to do, it was heartbreaking. The Night for Northville Committee put in hours of work to make it an evening never to forget. More importantly, it is NEF’s biggest fundraiser of the year and losing the event would have made it difficult for NEF to support programs and initiatives that are important for our students.
Fortunately, the generosity of our supporters prevented that from happening. Sponsorships were transferred or donated, auction items were posted and purchased on-line and ticket costs were donated. We are incredibly thankful for our sponsors—especially our Presenting Sponsor, DTE MIGreenPower-- auction donors and ticket holders. Because of you, NEF can continue our mission of providing amazing learning opportunities for Northville students. Thank you!
We do hope to continue the Night for Northville tradition next year and hope you will all join us then! Thanks again to all of our wonderful and generous supporters!
Thank you again to our incredible Night for Northville Committee!
Special thanks also goes to Rob Miller, who had graciously volunteered to be our Master of Ceremonies that night.
Thank A Staff Campaign!
Because of you, almost 700 certificates were sent to Northville teachers and staff telling them, “You are super!” Since school ended so abruptly and students did not have an opportunity to say “Goodbye,” this year families had the opportunity to include individual, personalized messages of thanks.
Due to construction and other COVID related issues, certificates were delivered both physically and electronically. (Electronic certificates will be physically delivered in the fall.) Regardless of how they were received, the teachers loved hearing from their students and are looking forward to seeing everyone in the fall.
6th Annual Play Fore Education Golf Classic
This year's Play Fore Education Golf Classic has been rescheduled for Monday, September 14, 2020 and will be held at Meadowbrook Country Club
For more information and to pre register please visit supportNEF.org!
Thank you to our current Play Fore Education Golf Classic Sponsors! We have several opportunities still available. To learn how you can become a sponsor please email NEF
Because of you, thousands of dollars were generously donated to support our students, teachers and schools.
Thank you to all who contributed during the Staff Giving Campaign, the Annual Campaign, the Thank A Staff and the End of Year Campaigns. While school fund taxes are collected and redistributed by the state, all of your donations stayed here in Northville.
Staff Giving Campaign
We all know that Northville Teachers are second to none. They do so much for our students . . . and the Foundation!
This year, our Staff Giving Campaign raised over $10,000 for the Innovative Teaching Grant Program!
Congratulations to all of our individual winners as well as to Ridge Wood Elementary for having the highest percentage of staff members enrolled in payroll deductions and to Meads Mill Middle School for having the greatest number of new payroll deductions donors! Ridge Wood used their winnings for support time to allow them some extra planning time as well as a nice staff lunch. Meads Mill used their winnings to support PBIS. Even their winnings went to make their schools better for our students!
Thanks to all of our amazing Teachers & Staff who donated!
NEF Annual Fundraising Campaigns
The best way to support NEF is by simply donating . . . and so many of you did just that! Thank you to all who generously contributed during the “Full Steam Ahead” Annual Campaign, and the Thank A Staff and End of Year Campaigns.
When COVID-19 resulted in the cancelation NEF’s biggest fundraising event, Night for Northville, many of you generously donated your ticket costs. It meant so much to all of us! Thank you!
Thanks to all who donated!
A special THANK YOU to all of our 2019-2020 sponsors! We couldn't do what we do without you
"Many of you worked as volunteers or who bought a ticket to our Cash for College Raffle, attended our Star War Premiere, donated your Night for Northville ticket price, honored a teacher through our Thank A Staff Campaign, sponsored an event, or donated during our Annual Campaign. We at the NEF wish to express our heartfelt thanks for your support." - George Fekaris, President of the NEF
NEF is committed to be the premier non-profit educational resource for district-wide, ground breaking educational programming that inspires Northville PUblic School students to ignite their curiosities and explore their passions with pride and purpose.
Northville Educational Foundation's Vision Statement
NEF fosters and enhances educational opportunities and academic excellence for ALL student by providing aspirational funding beyond the Northville Public School District's resources.
Northville Educational Foundation's Mission Statement