Past projects 7
Set Building Materials for Our Shrek, Jr. Production
Funded Mar 25, 2025Thanks to you, our project for supplies to build sets for the school production of Shrek, Jr. was funded in just a few hours! We anticipate that the supplies will arrive at school next week, and we will be able to immediately start painting and building with our English Language Learners.
It means so much for our students who are new to the school and new to the English language to feel they have a stake in our school production. You've given these students the supplies they need to take part in this effort of our broader school community. That sense of ownership and belonging goes a long way toward helping students feel secure in their new home.
We appreciate your generosity toward the Shrek, Jr. stage crew!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Growing into New Space: A Second Classroom for English Learners
Funded Nov 28, 2023Thank you so much for jump starting our transition into a new classroom space! This room is filling a much needed gap in being able to serve all the English learners in our school with a stable environment for learning. You’ve helped make this new space functional and a little more beautiful. We will think of you each day in our new room! Stay tuned for some “after” pictures as we settle in!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 11 other donors.School Supplies for English Learners, including Newcomers, Asylum-Seekers and SIFE.
Funded Oct 11, 2023I am blown away that this project was funded in one morning!! I just got to lunch after a morning of enrolling four new students from all around the world - none of whom speak any English - to see that we have materials to give them for class! I am overwhelmed with gratitude. It means so much to be able to give these students high quality supplies as they begin their new journey as English learners.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 9 other donors.Workbooks and Beginner English Curriculum for Newcomers, Asylum Seekers, SIFE
Funded Oct 11, 2023I just got to my desk for lunch after a morning of enrolling new students. This morning alone, our school took in four students from around the world who are currently living in temporary housing and have not had any prior education in English. My eyes filled with tears to see that in just one morning, we have the funds to give them school books to take home! I am so grateful to you for giving to these individual kids - it makes an enormous difference for them and their families. It eases the grief in the world, one step at a time. Thank you from all of us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 10 other donors.Reading Support for Newcomers, Asylum Seekers, and SIFE Students
Funded Oct 2, 2023We are so grateful to have these books on the way! We do not have available paper for copies, and limited toner, so even copying an old workbook to do this phonics work would have been very difficult. Having a high quality book with help students stay engaged, organized, and make as much progress as possible as we work to get them caught up to grade level in reading! We appreciate your generosity and dedication to learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
This classroom project was brought to life by Unilever and one other donor.International Travel Scholarships for High-Needs Students
Funded Nov 17, 2016We have been home from our trip for a month, and we still can't believe all that we were able to see and do thanks to your generosity. Our trip was a trip of incredible "firsts:" first plane trips, first steps on foreign soil, first tastes of real Italian food, first sightings of the Eiffel Tower. Each day was filled to the brim with once in a lifetime experiences - some planned and others surprises - and we came home with new perspectives on our world and our own futures in it!
In Italy, we had stops in Verona, Venice, Florence and Pisa. Hours after we got off the plane, we were strolling next to a Roman amphitheater in Verona, eating gelato on our way to see Juliet's balcony. In Venice, we stumbled into "Carnevale" celebrations; the beautiful streets and canals were made more stunning with costumed parade viewers, festive music and confetti. Florence was a city of steps; we took every chance to get a view of the city, walking up to the Piazzale Michelangelo and taking the over 400 stairs to the top of Giotto's Campanile. In Pisa, we spent nearly an hour getting the perfect picture of each of our travelers "holding up" the tower after having spent the morning learning about the cathedral and baptistery.
Our bus route took us along the Mediterranean sea and we cheered as we crossed the border into the southern part of France. We were ecstatic to spend a few days basking in the sun in Nice and Monaco. The warmth melted off our tough New York-winter exteriors, and we were able to spend an afternoon skipping stones and enjoying the sound of the waves on one of Nice's pebble beaches. A few days later, we took a train to Paris. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night was truly a highlight of the entire trip. We ate crepes and stood underneath the tower as it sparkled. We saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and came upon the square in front of Notre Dame just as the evening bells were ringing. Paris was a rush of witnessing first-hand so many things that we see in books and know of from school.
Now that we are home, we can only think of going back! Some of us hope to apply for colleges in Europe, either to study abroad or to attend full time. We were inspired to learn languages, and several students enrolled in online programs to learn French or Italian. Others have started saving for the "next trip," because once you start traveling, it's impossible to stop!
Thank you once more for supporting us as we went on our adventure. Memories of the trip and of your generosity that allowed us to go will last for a lifetime!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis
Inspire a Love for Reading
Funded Sep 19, 2012Thank you so much for your generous contribution to the project that furnished a beautiful reading area in my classroom with a rug and chairs. I hope you can see in the photos that they make our classroom look and feel more comfortable and that students are anxious to spend time reading in the fabulous rockers!
I apologize that our thanks comes to you over a year after you made your gift; getting the chairs to the classroom proved to be something of a saga! My own theory is that the shipping was confused during hurricane Sandy last year, since the storm occurred around the time the chairs were to arrive. Whatever the issue, the chairs were lost and it took a year of diligent work from the folks at Donors Choose to get the order here! I am happy to report, though, that because of the confusion, we were credited with enough money to purchase almost thirty books to accompany our new furniture. The students gave a lot of input into which books to choose, and we are anxiously awaiting that order. In other words, your gift has provided us with supplies beyond what I originally proposed. We are going to love reading our new books in the reading area!
I wanted to tell you some about what your gift has meant to me and how I have seen it affect my students. I firmly believe that physical space changes the learning that goes on in a classroom, and I work in a very old building for a school that lacks some of the funds to fix paint and get new floors and the like. I work hard to create space that feels comfortable and is conducive to peaceful learning, but I would never have been able to personally provide the rug and chairs. The addition of that furniture is transformative to the space. My students say things like, "I just love being in this room. It feels so nice." and "I wish all my classrooms were like this. I think better in here." I see that because my students have a beautiful space, they feel more invested in the importance of the work we do in this room.
The new environment has had benefits beyond what I had expected. Indeed, my students love to read in the chairs, and I see that they enjoy their reading more when they can "cozy up" with a good book. I didn't expect, though, that the chairs would compel students to come sit with me outside of school hours. We've only had the chairs about a month, and already I've had students come in to do their work in the chairs before school begins, or come sit in the chairs to talk to me about what's going on in their lives and what they need from school. I don't think I can overstate to you how your gift has created a much needed welcoming space in our building; I think that if students feel welcome in school and at peace in their classrooms, we are taking significant steps toward ensuring their academic success.
Thank you for your commitment to providing for all the various educational needs of our students. We are beyond grateful for your support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Curtis