news

We at Ted. would like to take this opportunity to celebrate the life of an inspiring teacher of history,  a dedicated principal of Tantasqua High School for 18 years, and for the last six years a greatly valued member of the Tantasqua Regional School Committee. During his educational career, Mr. Simanski received a National Science Foundation Grant, the Sturbridge Rotary Club Russell A. Burton “Service Above Self” Award, and in 2004 was recognized for Excellence in Teaching with the William Spratt Award.

Superintendent Dan Durgin said, ““Fran put his heart and soul into the overall well being and education of all students at Tantasqua.  He will be fondly remembered for his dedication, honesty and work ethic.”

The many friends, neighbors and colleagues he touched and brought laughter to were grateful to have known him, but his central devotion as an educator was always to students. He embodied in everything he did W.B. Yeats famous line, “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.”

Thanks to all who ventured out in the snow to attend the 2011 Tastefully Ted. event.  It was a great crowd and the desserts provided by local restaurants were delicious!

The Ted. Grant Committee will be offering several workshops to teachers for the purpose of facilitating the grant-writing process. Grant proposals are due on or before April 11th. This is your chance to have an exciting project come to fruition! The project should be aligned to the standards, and it should enhance your curriculum.

Workshops will be offered at the following locations and on the following dates:

• Monday, March 7th, at 2:30; Tantasqua High School Auditorium—for high school and junior high teachers

• Wednesday, March 9th at 3:30; Brimfield Elementary School Library—for elementary teachers at Brimfield, Brookfield, Holland, and Wales

• Monday, March 14th at 3:15; Burgess Elementary School Media Center—for Burgess teachers and any other teachers not able to attend previous workshops

Please attend to find out more about the grant proposal process! For general information, see our Grants page.

The Tantasqua Education Foundation (Ted.) held its 4th annual Champagne Brunch at the Oliver Wight Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village on Sunday, November 21. More than $11,000 was raised through ticket sales along with a raffle for four Red Sox – Yankee seats with complimentary limousine transportation, four Celtics tickets, a couple’s experience at The Simple Indulgence Day Spa, as well as dining out experiences at a number of the region’s finest restaurants, including The Whistling Swan, Rovezzi’s, Fins & Tails, Kaizen and The Publick House. Cormier Jewelers of Southbridge generously donated a diamond tennis bracelet valued at $3500 that each attendee had a chance to win.

The newly raised money will go to fund special student-focused projects for 2011 and to build an endowment that will support projects and programs in future years.

“We were thrilled at the turnout, and very pleased at having so much support from our local communities,” said Chris Tieri, president of  smith&jones in Sturbridge and Ted. Board President. “It is fantastic to see the support growing each year for the great work done by teachers in the Tantasqua district.”

Recipients for this year’s round of funding provided the 180 brunch attendees with an update of their grant-winning projects. Presenters included Vanessa Sullivan for her project at Brugess entitled “A Little Piece of Land,” and Tim Dodd from Holland on his project, “Green Team, An Environmental Application.” Other winners include Ellen Canavan, Kristen Daley, Lisa Lamothe from Tantasqua Junior High, Steve Tieri from Tantasqua High School, and Alesia Peck, Debra Quinn, and Erin Parker from Burgess Elementary.

Raffle winners were John Lane, Vanessa Sullivan, Mark Wilson, Dennis Antonopolous, Beth Tichy, Danyel Darger and Ashley Simonds. Jane Serio was the lucky winner of the tennis bracelet. The Ted. board would like to thank All-Star Premium Products and Brian Galonek for the Red Sox tickets, Ruben’s Limousine for transportation, Peter Connly and Mass Commercial Cleaning for the Celtics tickets, and all of the fine dining restaurants who so generously donated.

Ted. is a non-profit community foundation that was launched in the spring of 2007. Its mission is to fund teacher-sponsored, student-focused projects that encourage students to pursue their interests through activities that would not typically be funded by the district’s operating budget

Teachers seeking funding for particular projects will submit applications in the form of grant proposals, which will compete with other, similar grant proposals for funding during each school year. The next round of grants will be awarded in the spring of 2011.

The Ted. Board of Directors is pleased to announce a full array of exciting changes for the coming year that include a new greatly enlarged board, a new website, new officers, new gift initiatives, new goals, and an expanded outreach into area schools with individual liaisons dedicated to deepening our connection to teachers and to the school communities. We hope to extend the reach and number of our grants in the process, supporting innovative projects that offer students engaging educational opportunities beyond the scope of the normal curriculum.

For 2010-2011 the new officers are President Christine Tieri; Vice-President Kate Alexander; Treasurer Peter Connly; and Secretary Peter Huettman.

Chris Tieri, Peter Huettman, Kate Alexander, Peter Connly

The Board is also happy to announce to announce that on Sunday, November 21, 2010, Ted. will hold its 4th Annual Diamonds & Champagne Brunch to be held at the Tavern at Old Sturbridge Village from
11am to 1pm. Featured will be past and present grant award winners, a full brunch, complimentary champagne, and automatic entry in a chance to win a diamond from Cormier Jewelers of Southbridge. Tickets are $50 per person and may be purchased at tedfound.org. The brunch is open to the public.

Ted. has just launched its new website at www.TedFound.org. The site features weather straight from the Tantasqua Weather Bug (funded by a Ted. grant), along with the other current and past grants. This page also is home to the Teacher’s Corner – a full resource for teachers looking to apply for a grant. Upcoming events such as the annual brunch, the latest news, or donating to Ted. using PayPal are all available. There is also a list of the generous sponsors who have helped support Ted. – and whom the Board wishes especially to recognize and to thank. President Tieri says, “We really want our new website to be a resource and a destination for the entire community. And because it will be frequently updated, people will be able to see what exciting things teachers and students are up to – and what great plans Ted. has for the year ahead.”

New Ted. Board members this year include Patricia Haggerty, Pamela Tully, Jody Fleshman, Lara DeRose, Peg Hall, Susan Stebbins, Lori Main, Lisa Dalberth, Ashley Simonds, Lori Morrill, Marion Reilly, Michelle Breuer and Jennifer Iller. Returning on the Board of Directors are Brian Galonek, John Stebbins, Brian Fitzgerald, Colleen Bonja, Jeff Tasse, Jason Main, John Kittel, Jodie Gerulaitis, and James Glickman.

For more information on this community-sponsored, independent, non-profit education foundation, including grant applications, donation opportunities, and future activities, please visit www.tedfound.org.