Past projects 12
The History of Public Education
Funded Jan 30, 2025Thank you so much for your support! With your generosity, my classroom library about the history of public education tripled in size.
Students eagerly explored these resources, which formed the backbone of their final project. They are so excited for their final product: a museum exhibit about the history of public education.
We especially appreciate the books about the evolution of public education to be more inclusive. Thank you so much for taking the time to donate to this project. Education matters and kids matter! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
Pandemic Pandemonium: Teaching Students About Local Government During A Crisis
Funded Oct 4, 2024Thank you for your generous support in bringing Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them into the hands of the students at our school. Your contribution has had a profound impact on their learning journey, inspiring a deeper understanding of history, science, and resilience in the face of adversity. This book was written before COVID, so it has been really interesting to talk about what a chapter about COVID might have looked like!
Through the pages of this book, students have explored the gripping stories behind some of history's most significant pandemics, from the Bubonic Plague to the Influenza Pandemic of 1918. The engaging and accessible narrative has sparked meaningful conversations about how societies have faced and overcome public health crises. By connecting these past events to the challenges we face today, Get Well Soon has empowered students to think critically about the role of leadership, community, and innovation in solving global problems.
Once again, thank you for making this learning opportunity possible. Your generosity has provided more than just books—it has offered our students a richer, more personal connection to history and a renewed appreciation for the human spirit. We are deeply grateful for your support in shaping the next generation of informed and empathetic leaders.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Foundation and one other donor.Games Make Learning Fun!
Funded Sep 10, 2022My students are having a blast with the pandemic board games! As soon as they arrived, the kids were so excited and couldn't wait to open them up.
Currently, my students are working on their emergency response plans to a pandemic that they are planning to unleash on the city, and these games are giving them all sorts of ideas.
Additionally, the games are giving the kids the opportunity for play and collaboration. In fall of 2022, these opportunities are more important than ever. I am so grateful to you for giving the kids this opportunity. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and 6 other donors.Popcorn Reading Parties: Because Reading is Awesome
Funded Feb 2, 2020Thank you so much for your contribution to my project. Students are feeling especially burnt out right now because of preparations for the state test. They are really looking forward to reading with popcorn! Please know that you have brightened their week.
What reading looks like in my classroom is a time when there is a lot of choice and students can relax and curl up with a book. Through this, I am hoping they will continue to read at home and, ideally , for the rest of their lives.
I have been particularly trying to push my students to read more biographies, and about more diverse people! The books you helped us to purchase will greatly enhance their enjoyment of biographies. Hopefully, they will associate the rigor of nonfiction with the enjoyment of snacks.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
Awesome Kids Deserve Amazing Books
Funded Aug 13, 2019It is so important that kids have books they love. I can't tell you how many kids tell me that they like reading, but only if they have "the right book."
Thanks to your generous donation, I am able to provide my students with the right books! I made my choices according to the most recent recipients of a number of prizes, and looked (as always) to diversify my library. Representation matters!
Perhaps just as importantly, you helped to make my kids feel like someone cares about them. Thank you so much for your generous support of my middle schoolers. I truly appreciate your help. Enjoy the photos! You can see how happy the kids are with the new book selections!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.The Building Blocks of a Great Middle School Yoga Program
Funded Sep 27, 2018Thank you so much for your generosity in contributing to my classroom project, "The Building Blocks of a Better Yoga Practice." The foam blocks arrived in the morning, and the kids were fascinated as I began to take them out of the box and to show them all the ways they can use them as props in their yoga practice.
In fact, the kids like the yoga blocks so much that they are requesting them during independent reading time. One student told me that this was the first time he ever enjoyed reading.
Using the blocks, I've been able to ensure the safety of my budding yogis, and also to offer them restorative postures that the foam blocks allow. These kids desperately need to chill out! I am so grateful for your help.
Namaste!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
Representation Matters! Help Us Diversify Our Classroom Library!
Funded May 20, 2018Last spring, my eighth graders conducted an inquiry into our classroom library. We discovered a problematic lack of diversity in the books on the shelves, and my students set about picking out books that better represent our community. The kids helped me to draft and create this project, and I am so grateful to you, the donors, for helping us to make this project a reality. We now have the beginnings of much richer classroom library, and we will be having book clubs this year based around the theme of social justice. My students are social justice warriors, and you are part of their army! We are so grateful for your contribution. Thank you for helping my students transform our classroom. I am eternally grateful for all the community support we continue to receive from people like you. THANK YOU.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
Help Us Breathe Change Into Our School
Funded Mar 27, 2018Thank you for supporting my attendance at the 2018 summer training for Breathe For Change, a program that supports social justice and social-emotional learning in our schools. The 16 days I spent at this conference recharged my devotion to teaching and my belief that this can truly be a lifelong profession, if teachers are properly supported by meditation and mindfulness practices like the ones Breathe For Change offers. I plan to bring the teacher-wellness component of this program back to my school so that all the staff can go into this year feeling ready to take on the challenges ahead. I will also be teaching a section of yoga to some lucky sixth-graders!
I couldn't have done this without the support of the donors, so I am forever grateful. Namaste!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 15 other donors.Give a Teen a Good Book
Funded Sep 30, 2017It was with much excitement and tremendous gratitude that we received a shipment of brand new books as your generous donation to our seventh graders. We were particularly excited to be able to get a copy of John Green's new novel, TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN, a novel about a young girl with obsessive-compulsive disorder who is solving a mystery in her home town, or the bestselling THE HATE U GIVE about a young African-American girl who loses a friend to a police shooting. Novels like this allow my teens to access topics and characters that are relevant not just to their own personal experiences but to their understanding of the world. These books enrich their lives by giving them new perspectives.
Reading is incredibly important to raising achievement in our schools. It is recommended that kids read for about an hour a day, but this is difficult when our classroom library is small and out of date. Public libraries are great, but there are long wait lists for the popular books like the ones you gave us! Thank you so much for supporting children and encouraging new readers!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau
Give a Tween the Best Book Ever
Funded Oct 14, 2016Thank you so much for these wonderful books! Studies have shown that the impact of books is maximized by having students read books in groups or clubs, so that's what we are doing. So far it has been tremendously successful! The kids particularly enjoy speculative fiction like MATCHED; these books have themes about individual liberties that seventh graders really connect to.
We read every day in my room; the first twenty minutes is devoted to reading every morning, and it's a favorite time in the classroom. New books really contribute to the class' excitement about reading, so thank you from all of us!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Thibodeau