Past projects 2
Expand Horizons and Bring Spanish to Life!
Funded Feb 18, 2013I cannot begin to describe to you what an amazing experience this trip was for our students. We had an amazing adventure and each of the students grew and developed in their own way. "Fun," "Amazing" "Incredible" "Best experience of my life" were just some of the things Austen and I heard over and over again throughout the nine days we spent in Costa Rica. Some of the highlights of the trip included: Hiking to the crater of an active volcano, lounging on black and white sand beaches, hiking though cloud forests and rain forests, kayaking, zip-lining, visiting a small rural school, attending a folklore evening and watching traditional Costa Rican dances, swimming in waterfalls and so much more. This trip was about more than just fun however, it was about pushing students outside of their comfort zones and using that experience to motivate them to develop a life-long love of learning, traveling and appreciating other culture. The students not only met Costa Ricans with whom they practiced their Spanish language skills, they also made friends with other students from their own country. At Confluence, as in many schools, my students were mostly surrounded by students of similar cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Meeting other students from their own country but with different life experiences will give them confidence to meet new people both here and abroad. I could go on and on with all the positive impacts I have seen in my students from this trip (and I know that more will show themselves throughout time) but no matter how much I tell you it will never be enough to thank you for supporting my students on this amazing adventure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Tamborelli
Photocopies Support Learning!
Funded Nov 25, 2011I cannot express the extent of my gratitude for your generous donations to my classroom. Although photocopies impact almost every aspect of instruction I would specifically like to talk to you about one exciting way your donation has directly impacted my students. Thanks to your donations every student in my classroom has received their own copy of the short chapter book, Spanish chapter book, Casi se muere by Blane Ray. This is a book specifically written for Spanish II students. Without your generous support I would have only been able to make one class set (about 30) of the book which students would have had to share and leave in the classroom. However, with the paper you helped supply each student is now able to receive their own copy. This helps them employ powerful reading comprehension strategies including writing notes in the margins, summarizing paragraphs, circling words they don't know and writing the English translations after they look them up, and so much more. Additionally, students are able to take their books home to continue reading and working.
Ultimately I hope that students will enjoy reading the book and will feel empowered by their ability to read an entire chapter book in a foreign language. Thanks to your donations they will have a much better chance at being successful in this endeavor.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Tamborelli