Past projects 17
A Long Way Down to Go Up!
Funded May 24, 2018"It's the last week of school, and we're reading a book?" Jonathan exclaimed when he walked into the room Tuesday morning.
"Yep," I replied, "and you're gonna love it!"
We passed out the novels, had a worksheet designed to allow the kids to complete an initial exploration, then watched the interview of Jason Reynolds (author) on CBS. Great interview! Then, we began, playing the audio, with the students (all sophomores), following along. And, they did! You could have heard a pin drop! The voice of Jason Reynolds is a really fabulous voice, but with the way the book is set up, just about all of the students followed along, from the most academically gifted students to the students who struggle with reading, they ALL just loved this book that you so generously provided for us!
"Hey Ms O'G, can I take this book home tonight?" OK, any teacher hearing this knows that this question is a rare one! What a great way to end the year. We actually will not be able to complete the reading of this novel before finals, (still 4 more floors), but will encourage them to get themselves to the Chicago Public Library website to order their own copy to finish reading. Then.... maybe read of of his other 8 novels!
All possible because of YOU!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
Shame Erased!
Funded Dec 27, 2017Ok, it sounds so corny, but every time I go to write one of these letters, I am watery eyed. Just one of those things that restores my faith in mankind! Not exactly sure when you'll get this letter, but as I write it, it is just one week after the school shooting in Florida, and we are all filled with sadness.... but, your generosity inspires me. Thanks for that!
To the point of your grant, the items came in 3 boxes. Already one has gone, many pencils, many pens, many spiral notebooks, just given out, no questions asked. No student is ashamed that he does not have his supplies. No student is ashamed that he forgot his pencil again. I feel kinda like Santa Claus! Thanks for that!
We at GWHS send all of you our best, thank you, stay safe, and healthy!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
Civil Rights for You and Me: Now!
Funded Apr 8, 2013Hello everyone and happy summer! Although all of the materials you donated to my students arrived months ago, the end of the year left me exhausted and not able to feel the impact of your generosity enough to formulate this small note to all of you. How can I begin? WOW! Look at all those names? Not just one person, but 9 donors for this small grant. That reinforces my belief that we all can make a difference.
Sometimes, we..... I mean, I forget that. I think...."How can I impact the world to make a difference?" While nay-sayers scoff at our attempts, here we have it! Proof! When the school year begins, and most especially this school year, with over 2000 teachers cut from my school system, every pencil, every marker, every item you purchased for my students will be even more appreciated.
And, our theme of Civil Rights? Not a black issue, not a brown one, not a sexual preference issue, but an issue of, 'hey, stop judging and accept' issue! Civil rights impact our current educational situation, with mayors of large schools who feel no shame in sending their own children to the best and most costly schools in their city, while the public school children do not have toilet paper or soap to wash their hands. I am not exaggerating! The students at my school went without soap to wash their hands the final 4 weeks of school, and a friend's school was asking students to bring in toilet paper!
In June, immediately following the arrival of your materials, students in Ms. C's class were able to take advantage of these materials when they chose a Civil Rights leader, but, moving forward, many classes will utilize these materials. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
This classroom project was brought to life by JP Morgan Chase and 9 other donors.Relevant and Fun
Funded Aug 22, 2012How are you? Well, we hope. As we began to write this letter, (and I say we, because I include my students in this Thank You), our Public School teachers were on strike. Teachers were striking for wages, benefits, more nurses, professional care for diabetic children, more social workers, air conditioners in all classrooms where students attend classes in July and August, technology, healthy lunches, paper, pencils, books on the first day of school and more. As I have always stated in most of the grants I have written on this wonderful site, I am embarrassed that our own mayor pays $26,000 for his own children to attend a quality school, yet our public school children receive less than 25% of that.
But, on with the more positive....YOU!...who have, time and time again, demonstrated your generosity and verbal support of this wonderful website, donorschoose!
Supporters, thank you for the many supplies donated through your support of this grant, including wipe off windows to support growth in Math skills, Scholastic subscriptions to Math and Science mags that connect needed skills to current topics that the kids are interested in. Thank you for making learning more fun, and therefore more important to my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
Catch Up Time!
Funded Mar 13, 2012I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the donors, who, in these tough times, dug deep to fund this grant. How this grant will help, is that it provides the materials for my varying students, assisting them in earning better scores on their many, many tests.
These materials will arrive just in time to address the skills lacking within all 4 of my Math classes. As of today, there are 41 days left until the ACT test. Two of these classes can brush up on those simple skills; the ACT does have easy questions about GCF (Greatest Common Factor) and LCM )Least Common Multiple), thePythagorean Theorem, and simple variable substitution questions. My two frosh classes will be tested at the end of May on Scantron. These materials will help them as well. So, thank you! Just this year, your generosity is helping over 90 HS. students!
Unfortunately, the Chicago Public Schools are putting, "all their eggs in one box," and going for test scores as means for advancement. And, these students struggle in that area. Our average ACT score is 16, four points below the state average of 20. Your generosity will absolutely enable my students in pushing that number up!
Thank you! Thank You!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
This classroom project was brought to life by * and 6 other donors.Needed Math Supplies
Funded Dec 7, 2011Thank you, thank you! The supplies are arriving, "in the nick of time." Just as I was leaving for my 8th period today, (Algebra I), I turned to a colleague and stated, "I can't believe it! I'm already out of board markers!" She suggested I open the new boxes that arrived just this morning; (I had a busy morning). Not only board markers, but another supply the students needed (today), pencils, were just 2 of the supplies within this one box. I am not exaggerating.
Later this week, we will be utilizing the small white boards and thin markers to play group games, one method for preparing for finals next week. The students at my high school love these little boards, and, with the varying colors, they can use another proven strategy, color-coding.
Please know this, our schools expect parents to supply things like pencils and pens. Parents say that they buy their children supplies. But, all I know is that almost half of the students arrive with incomplete supplies; about 25% with absolutely nothing in their hands. With these supplies, provided by you, they literally have no excuse....and, are forced to learn!
I could go on and on, but, please know this. Every material that is in this grant will be used and appreciated by my frosh and Jr HS. students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
What is the Answer?
Funded Sep 7, 2011Thank you, thank you, thank you. The shuffles and novels have been arriving these past few weeks and already I have three recipients. Let me tell you about them; (I have changed their names). First there's Chad. Chad is a Hurricane Katrina survivor. When I first met him, he told me that he was, "in the system," yes, the Illinois social services system since that disaster. He has not mentioned parents yet, but wishes to go back to New Orleans desperately to live with an aunt; so far, no word from her. Chad has already completed, "Thirteen Reasons," and "Night," and is currently reading/listening to, "The Alchemist." He really wants to finish 20 novels this year. Chad is quite capable cognitively, but visually reads at a Grade 6 level, he is currently a junior. Really nice kid, ultimately, he feels that he need to pursue a career where he can, "give back," because, "so many people have helped me..." He currently lives in a group home about 2 miles from our school.
Next, there's Samantha. Samantha is a sophomore who, although she has an IEP, is in the honors program here at our school. Samantha is a "workhorse." She will achieve! But, she reads quite slow and comprehension lags. Her goal is 4 novels minimally a quarter. I have no doubt she will meet this challenge. She currently has all A's and B's for grades.
Next, there's Joshua. This young man is so ill that he currently cannot go to school. He receives what cps calls, "homebound" services. A teacher goes to his house each day. Well, just this past Friday, his teacher came to me, hearing about the shuffles, and asked if Joshua could participate. He is so ill that hearing the novels will lessen the fatigue he gets from visually reading. Of course he can! Joshua will be choosing historical fiction novels so that his social science class will take on a deeper meaning. (I love historical fiction!) So, he will be reading those Holocaust novels in this grant first.
This grant came with 12 shuffles....those are just the first three. Thank you all! Really!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
Send Our Math Scores Soaring with RTI
Funded Aug 18, 2011Happy October! Well, thanks to you, my students are off to a great start in their Math class. As you can see from the photos, students of varying levels of high school are benefiting from the materials that were purchased with the funds you provided for the students at my high school.
First, when looking at the photos, notice the spiral notebooks. The ones the students first used were taken by me from SCARCE, a teacher recycling facility near my town. This wonderful organization scoops up materials unused by students and teachers from more affluent schools, like pens, pencils, and spiral notebooks that still have a lot of pages available and stores them at their warehouse. And, teachers like me come along and take what we need. It was fabulous saying to students who showed up without their materials the first week of school...."Here, take this notebook, it is recycled!" The kids smiled and replied, "Cool, thanks!" Well, those ran out the 3rd week of school (that means 120 spiral notebooks). That is when your materials arrived. Boxes and boxes of spirals, colored pencils, pencils, pens, index cards, highlighters, etc.
I shared my ideas with another math teacher just last week. I hope you do not mind, but she gladly took 10 of the spirals for her Math class RTI program. I have also shared them with my Economics/Government group (see the photo of the PowerPoint and our student teacher). They are taking the Constitution test next week and will be studying the notes they took in those spirals this weekend for sure!
When the boxes arrived, it was like Christmas! Isn't that sad? While the mayor of our great city sends his own children to a school with a class size of 18 and 21st century educational materials, his public school teachers have to write grants for paper and pencils. Thank goodness for the generosity of strangers, huh?
Your generosity has impacted the lives of well over 100 students and more than one teacher. You have truly made a difference. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 9 other donors.Audio High School Library
Funded Oct 19, 2010Well, the dozen shuffles arrived this week! So fast! And, Best Buy sent the newest version; they come in a cool little box and they are silver. You should have seen Evangelina's eyes light up when I gave her the first shuffle in honor of Patricia from Maine. Upon her request, I loaded the novel, "Speak," by Laurie Halse Anderson, a story about a girl who is raped and keeps it a secret for quite some time. They eventually made it into a movie, but, like they say, "The book is always better!" Tomorrow, Jose will receive the second shuffle with, "The Alchemist," loaded. The seniors are reading this novel about Santiago who goes in search of his, "personal legend." By the end of the week, Veronica and Sandra will receive their shuffles. While Veronica is not certain which novel she wants, Sandra has requested the classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Sandra is in the honors program, but struggles to comprehend what she reads. She told me that when she just reads visually, her mind is always thinking of other things and therefore she cannot focus. However, when she hears the novel, she can follow along and stay totally focused. Sandra is one of the most determined young people I have ever worked with.
So, there you have it, already 1/3 of the shuffles will be gone by weeks end. Looks like I'll be writing another grant before 2010 comes to an end! Note that these students have promised to read 2 books a month in order to utilize the device.... I don't know if I read 10 books a year when I was in high school.... did you?
In conclusion.....Thank you, thank you, thank you! Look for photos of the kids with their shuffles in a few weeks, ok?”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman
It Works!
Funded Mar 11, 2010To my wonderful family, what can I say? You are the best. You know all of their names: Alfonso, Melchor, Sammy, Alexis, Jose, Yezenia, Manuel, Danny, Fernando, Kimberly, Stephanie, and Israel. All of them have read, since June, 2009, between 22 and 30 novels via the audio devices that these grants provide. Your shuffles will send them on their way for the next 25 novels.
One of the students called me a "modern day Robin Hood" today. What do you think about that? Pretty cool, huh?
I love you all, thank you!
Mom/Sheila”
With gratitude,
Ms. O'Gorman