Somersworth teachers receive $2,000 grant: Seacoast education news
Somersworth Teachers' Innovative Teaching Program gets $2,000 boost
SOMERSWORTH — Voya Financial, Inc., a leading provider of retirement plans for educators, has announced that Emily Wilson and Laura Basdekis, teachers at the Maple Wood School in Somersworth, have received a $2,000 grant as part of the company’s 2022 Unsung Heroes awards competition. Wilson and Basdekis are the only winners in the entire state of New Hampshire.
For 26 years, the Voya Unsung Heroes program has awarded grants to K-12 educators in the United States to honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and their ability to positively influence the children they teach. Since the program’s inception, Voya has awarded more than $5.9 million in support of educators through this nationwide program.
"Educators like Emily and Laura greatly influence and shape our nation's future leaders,” said Angela Harrell, Voya’s chief diversity and corporate responsibility officer and president, Voya Foundation. "Their creative teaching methods and innovative thinking inspire and motivate students to reach new heights. For 26 years, through Voya Unsung Heroes and other education-oriented programs, we have supported educators who go above and beyond to enrich the lives of their students."
Wilson's and Basdekis' innovative teaching idea, “Science Kits for 4th Grade,” focuses on helping students better understand the importance of taking care of the environment by providing hands-on learning experiences. They will add more hands-on experiences to her class’s human body unit to help students understand the basics of how muscles, joints, and bones work together. In the engineering unit, students will be encouraged to practice critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. Wilson and Basdekis believe those skills are all vital to preparing students for the 21st century. With the funds provided by the Unsung Heroes grant, they will be able to purchase classroom kits, picture books, and educator guides through the Boston Museum of Science’s Engineering is Elementary curriculum.
Selected from a group of applicants from schools across the United States, Wilson and Basdekis are among only 50 winners in the nation to receive the $2,000 award to help fund and bring their program to life. In addition, they will now compete with other finalists for one of the top three prizes — an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 from Voya Financial.
To learn more about this year’s winning projects, as well as those from previous years, visit the Unsung Heroes website.
Student Respect Life essay contest
STATEWIDE — The NH Knights of Columbus is once again sponsoring a Student Respect Life Essay Contest. The contest is open to any junior high (grades 6, 7, 8) and senior high (grades 9, 10, 11, 12) student in N.H. The NH Knights of Columbus will make up to six cash awards of $100. You do not have to be a member of the Knights or a Catholic.
The theme for this year’s contest is: “Even though the Supreme Court ruled there is no 'right' to abortion in the Constitution (Dobbs), many mothers still experience fear and uncertainty. What can I do to help make abortion unthinkable?”
Deadline for entries is midnight Dec. 15.
Essays may not be longer than 500 words; must be typed, and submitted as a PDF or Word Document and emailed to matu19@comcast.net. Include student name, age, grade, school, parent name and address, phone, parish and email.
Students may obtain help and information, including from parents, teachers, friends and internet, but the essay itself must be their own work.
Further contest details may be obtained from KofC NH contest chairman John P. Matuszewski 603-434-4098 or KofC NH State Pro-Life Chairman Ron Distasio 603-595-7837.
NH World Language Day seeks to connect high school students with university programs
DURHAM — Students from all around the state will be converging on local university language programs on Wednesday, Nov. 16. Why? So that they can learn about the many opportunities available to them as learners of other languages.
A group of New Hampshire university professors and teachers have been working together to plan an event that centers on the importance and value of learning another language. The event itself will highlight the opportunities here in N.H..
Over 150 students, mostly learners of French, German, and Spanish have signed up so far. While some language programs for the day are already full, professors at UNH Manchester and UNH Durham are hoping to meet students who have experience in American Sign Language, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian. Teachers of these languages are encouraged to enroll their students in the programs offered during the Nov. 16 festivities.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at three participating locations: Plymouth State University, the University of New Hampshire at Durham, and the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, and it will include campus tours focused on world language learning, interactions with current language students at the college level and a mini conference with break-out rooms of language-specific activities and presenters who will share their own experiences in using the language in the workforce. The event is free of charge, as is lunch for all participants.
The New Hampshire Association of World Language Teachers is coordinating the registration for this multi-campus event. To learn more about New Hampshire World Language Day, or to register, please visit www.nhawlt.org.
The organizers of New Hampshire World Language Day hope to make this celebration of language learning an annual one. For questions, or if you would like your college to participate in next year’s event, please email advocacy@nhawlt.org.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Somersworth teachers receive $2,000 grant: Seacoast education news
