Enrichment

Curriculum Enrichment

The Curriculum Enrichment (CE) committee works with classroom teachers and specialists to bring in engaging programs that complement the classroom curriculum. Over the course of the year, Broadmeadow will be visited by authors, illustrators, musicians, artists, dancers, scientists and historians that bring classroom studies to life. In addition, the CE committees from all of Needham's elementary schools work with a town-wide Creative Arts Council to bring performances to all of the schools.

PTC Enrichment Grants

The PTC further supports the education of our children by providing direct grants to teachers and staff for materials that complement or expand their curriculum. These grants have been used for things such as classroom subscriptions to educational magazines, materials for classroom projects or educational tools that support different learners.

4th/5th Grade Spelling Bee

Broadmeadow hosts a Spelling Bee for 4th and 5th grade students. The Bee is modeled after events held at other Needham elementary schools and the winning team will participate in the town-wide Spelling Bee hosted by the Needham Education Foundation (NEF).

Outdoor Enrichment

Broadmeadow is lucky to have a variety of outdoor spaces that engage our children throughout the year. Besides the playground, the students use the gardens in the back of the school during recess and also through many of their science units started in the classroom. A learning garden was added to the school in April 2011 to complement the curriculum in various grades and engage the students in environmental education. The students named the learning garden Seed City and since then the garden has seen many different plants -- from the Kindergarten Rainbow Garden, to a 4th Grade Colonial Garden to Chinese vegetables planted before a visit from author Grace Lin. The PTC hosts Clean-Up Days in the Fall and Spring to improve the garden areas and parent volunteers water and weed Seed City over the summer.

Science Fair 

The PTC sponsors an annual science fair, open to students in all grades to showcase a science project they have worked on.  Judges provide feedback for the students and families are invited to an evening showcase event.

3rd Grade Parent/Child Book Clubs

In the fall, 3rd graders have the opportunity to participate in parent/child book clubs. Clubs are self-running and typically meet once a month with the children taking turns picking the book and hosting. The hope is that these book clubs continue throughout the student's years at Broadmeadow.

Understanding our Different Abilities (UDA)

Each of the 5 elementary schools in Needham have adopted this workshop-based framework to provide multi-sensory activities, speakers and discussions with parent volunteers, to introduce students to a broad range of differing abilities, both visible and invisible, to reinforce that we are all different, and that is what makes us the same. The goal is to teach students that everyone is unique but we all want to be treated with kindness and respect. Each grade focuses on a different disability through workshops and speakers:

Wellness

This committee looks at ways to improve our student's health and wellness. We coordinate with the state Safe Routes to School program to encourage students and families to walk or bike to school. We have also piloted a before-school running club.