Rebuild Joplin Schools

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One of the greatest positives for having cameras in the classroom is building family connections. Showing families what is happening in our classroom and then attaching these images to our classroom website and daily email have been fantastic ways to build/strengthen relationships. Our classroom photographers have been able to show the learning that's happening in our classroom whether or not students are in the photos, and the parents have loved getting a glimpse of our activities!

Another positive has been the creative side that is brought out in each student as he/she decides what images and moments to capture. The images from both classrooms are uploaded at the end of each week and are featured as well on the hallway television. The students love to see what angles and subjects the photographer were focusing upon!

We are truly grateful for the kindness shown to our students through the purchase of both cameras. Both gifted classrooms have felt pretty special! Thanks again!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Hughes

Thanks again for making such an impact on my students. Many of my students do not have computer access in their household. They cannot access the Internet, therefore, miss out on many learning opportunities that others have. I have made the laptop available for use in my classroom, not only for students to publish their writing, but also for students to create technology projects, collaborating together. Soon, I plan on making the computer available for check out, for students to be able to take it home, and show parents what they are working on in the classroom. Technology is such a rich part of society now; it is important for each and every child to get as familiar with it as possible. Thanks again for making our wishes come true!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Miller

Thank you so much for believing in my students. In Joplin, we are so thankful for all of the support we have been given. My students love the small group table and say things like: it is so small and cute, it fits us, you can reach across to help us better. We use our table on a daily basis for small groups, writing conferencing, and math practice and reteaching.

Through using these supplies, I am more easily able to teach all students on the levels which they are on. I can easily differentiate for all learners with this extra space to work with groups of students”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Runion

Thank you so much for providing the funds necessary for my technology project. My students were very excited to learn that we had received an iPad and Apple TV. A few of my students have an iPad at home, but most have never used one before.

Here are some of the ways we have used the iPad so far. We have used it to make Parent/Teacher conference presentations, research information for reports, take quarterly assessments, and Reading small groups have used it to research topics brought up during their discussion of the historical fiction book they were reading.

The iPad also came in handy when our projector bulb unexpectedly burnt out and I could not display images on the screen. The students just gathered around the iPad and we watched the video we needed and ended up having a great Science lesson over Simple/Compound machines!

We have used the iPad and Apple TV for some fun projects too. On the 100th day of school. we used an app to take pictures of ourselves that added wrinkles to our faces and made us look a 100 years old. We used our pictures as inspiration to write what we hoped to accomplish if we lived to be 100. The Apple TV allows me to display whatever is on the screen of my iPad to my Smartboard in my classroom. I can walk around the room with my iPad, rather than be tethered by cables on my computer cart.

I also enjoy using the iPad to document their learning by taking pictures and videos of their work. I use the pictures and videos to keep the parents informed of our weekly activities.

The iPad is also a great motivator to encourage students to have positive behavior. They are extremely fond of the iPad :)

The technology you have provided for us has opened up many doors and absolutely endless possibilities. I enjoy researching activities and useful apps that I can utilize with the iPad within my classroom. You have given our small classroom the world at our fingertips. Thank you for opening up your wallet to open up our classroom walls. I appreciate your generosity and investment in the future of our children.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Reeve

I wish you could hear some of the comments my students make about the resources you provided for them. "I am getting really "smart," now, Mrs. Frerer!"

"I can read!"

"If I do my work, can I do math on the little iPad, Mrs. Frerer?"

"Can we share the little iPad?"

These are barely the tip of the mountain of positive comments.

This sounds great, doesn't it?

Younger brothers and sisters use them during meetings with parents that allows us to have a peaceful, productive meeting while they learn through playing. Parents are more relaxed and able to focus while the younger ones learn vocabulary that the older brothers and sisters are learning.

Thank you!

We use these for letter recognition, letter sound fluency, phonics, written expression, early numeracy skill building, emotion recognition, expressive communication skills, and vocabulary. Endless Alphabet/Reader allow them to learn how words fit together to form real communication. The Handwriting Without Tears app has been used to bring students from unrecognizable letter forms to at least a year's gain in accuracy in letter and word formation.

You are great!

I am doing the work that 3-4 women did 4 years ago. Without this help, I wouldn't be able to differentiate the way my students need in order to meet their potential.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Frerer

Thank you very much for the donation of materials for our classroom. The students are enjoying the use of the materials daily. They are excited to have good visual resources that help them learn in fun ways. I am excited to get to share these materials with the students for years to come.

The students first reactions were those of thankfulness that someone other than their Teacher and their parents cared about the replacement of materials lost and providing new materials they have never seen. Many were so happy to see the game reviews to help make learning more fun.

The materials have been such a blessing because they are easily worked into my lesson plans. I have received game reviews, live specimens for teaching biology, biology and chemistry tutoring games and hands-on resources for my more visual learners.

This project greatly improved my "bag of tricks" for my classroom and has motivated the students to view learning as fun. Thank you again.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Vaness

Thank you so much for your donations for my classroom's math stations. We are finally getting started on them and are very excited. The students will have 5 different stations that they rotate to each day while I'm working with a math small group for my intervention students.

The students are enjoying using the resources that we have received from your donations. They love all the fun games. The large hundreds chart game is one of their favorites.

This project is going to boost my students math skills because they simply have more resources and now have an extra math time in the afternoon for stations. This project helped tremendously to get my math stations finally up and running. As a 2nd year teacher I'm still building my materials and supplies. Thank you so much for your generosity.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Millard