Past projects 10
'Stand' Up For Music!
Funded Feb 17, 2022Thank you so much for contributing to our music program! We are in debt to generous people like yourself who give to others to uplift education and the value students see in themselves.
These music stands are now being used by the school band, orchestra, jazz band, bagpipe band, and choir. Our previous stands had lasted a very long time, but many of them had reached the end of their lifespan. Daily tightening and repairing was taking away from the instruction and rehearsal that is so crucial.
Most of all, I want to thank you because it shows my students that people outside of their immediate circles value them. My students have worth and it is through small and simple gestures that help kids see that worth.
So again, thank you so much for adding to our efforts to give our students the ability to express, create, and find joy in music!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
Science Equipment for Those With Mad-Skills!
Funded Oct 11, 2021Thank you so much for contributing to our science classroom! We have a great need to be able to make our high school chemistry lab feel like the real deal.
Our school's focus is to be College and Career ready. As a science department, we wanted to be able to make this the reality in our classrooms. Hence, the request to get this equipment so that it would feel like a College Chemistry lab.
We already had a student who planned out a use for these tools. He came to our Chemistry teacher with an idea for a science project and even just exploration of his own design. He wanted to with with a ferrous material to help improve a process that is already in place across the industry.
It was only with the mixer that you provided that he was even able to start on this journey, which will hopefully yield wonderful results.
Thank you for supporting education, but more importantly, supporting our students! We couldn't do this without great people like you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Clorox and one other donor.Robotic Skills in the 21st Century
Funded Dec 1, 2020What an awesome opportunity I got to have when I showed my students what they now had access to - I felt like Santa Claus! And it's all thanks to you!
My students are sometimes the kids who get the hand-me-downs: not just with clothes, but with school supplies too. Funding across the whole education spectrum has always been tight. So to see their faces light up when we unboxed these Vex Robotic Kits was priceless!
We have already assembled these and began using them in all of my classes. Most recently, we have incorporated hydrogen fuel cells as a power supply to teach my students about alternative fuel sources. They built a three-wheel car, added some circuitry and a fuel cell, then powered them up and calculated speed with physics formulas. What a great learning moment!
I have no doubt that these robotics kits have already begun to fuel my students imaginations and possibilities about what the future might hold. Thank you so much for having faith in my students and in my role as an educator!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and one other donor.Hands On Physics In A Virtual World
Funded Aug 6, 2020I wanted to thank you for donating to my physics students' success. As we have had to navigate the virtual world as it relates to education, I have found great comfort that I have been able to put into my students' hands tools to help them understand and process real science.
These materials were always slated to go into the hands of students who had to learn online. We knew coming into this school year that there would be a percentage of students who wouldn't be able to join the learning in-person. But what we didn't know was the amount of students who would need to utilize online learning. From the beginning of the year our numbers have doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled from where they started. But because you took initiative and donated to our school, I had a real head-start at providing my students with the same physics tools that we would have used in a physical classroom.
Thank you for bringing a sense of normalcy to the online world. Instead of merely sitting in front of a screen, my students can interact and collect data from the world around them. I greatly appreciate you!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and one other donor.Math Without Using Phones!
Funded Feb 6, 2020Thank you so much for the classroom set of calculators! I heard from so many of my students that wanted this done in every class that uses math!
We applied velcro backings to each calculator and at the corner of each student's table. This ensured that a student always had access to a calculator for our physics classes. When class was over, every calculator had a home to go to and it was very easy for me to do a 4-second scan of the classroom to see if those calculators had made it home.
In years past, I typically would lose a calculator each month. They were likely being taken by students who didn't have the funds to buy a calculator; and while that isn't completely terrible, it was hard to continually replenish the supply. Since this project was funded with your generous donation, we have been able to hold on to every single one - and I don't anticipate losing one ever again.
Thank you again for your wonderful donation and bringing the accessibility of learning to another attainable level!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Ogden School Foundation and 4 other donors.Students Can Make Their Own Data!
Funded Aug 25, 2019Thank you so much for donating your hard-earned dollars so we could purchase our Range timers. We just finished up our unit on motion in our physics classes and these we a great help!
For our last activity I set them up in our cafeteria. The students had to run through the lunch lines as quickly as they could. The Range Timers gave us extremely specific data which the students then used to calculate their average speeds, average velocities, and their kinetic energies.
The students loved doing it so much that many did it over and over again to see if they could beat their friend's kinetic energy numbers. It was so much fun!
I look forward to using these again this year when we review the entire year's learning, and then again for years to come. Thank you so much for your generosity and for thinking of Ben Lomond High School!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
Lightning With Music!
Funded Dec 16, 2018Thank you so much for contributing to our "Lightning With Music" project. Having been a music teacher and now a science teacher, I saw real value in connecting the arts with the sciences.
This year we spent some time learning about the advancements and inventions of Nikola Tesla in my Physics classes. Students were especially interested when they learned about Tesla's ideas for wireless electricity. But when I was able to actually show them it blew their minds!
I started simple with the Tesla coil, by talking and demonstrating about frequency. Then we carried it to the idea that if we could increase the frequency of lightning bolts to several hundred times per second, then we could actually have a note. Imagine their surprise when I started to play music with the Tesla coil! They heard songs like "Beat It", "Imperial March", "The Pokemon Theme Song," and many others. We even played a little game of name that tune. They were seeing lightning make music and it was incredible. But then we took it one step further by placing light bulbs in their hands. Due to the nature of the electricity that is being produced, it behaves much like a radio wave and the students' bodies were able to act like antenna. They couldn't believe that the lightbulbs weren't plugged into anything, but were glowing because the electricity was traveling through them. What a great lesson you have allowed me to teach!
Moving forward I plan on sharing this technology and science with the younger generation. We would like to be able to demonstrate this and other physics concepts in elementary and junior high classrooms within the district to be able to get them really excited and enthusiastic for science and engineering. Hopefully, this will help push a few more kids out of the cycle of poverty that many find themselves in.
Thank you again for your charity and good-nature towards making the world a better place.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Samsung and 7 other donors.Physics Rocks Math!
Funded Mar 21, 2018I wanted to write you and let you know the impact that you have made at our school. Last year you kindly made a donation to my Physics students at Ben Lomond High School. We were in need of a classroom set of calculators and you came through for us!
Many of our students' families are in economic stress. Finding funds to purchase a calculator can sometimes be difficult, if not impossible. But in a physics class there is a lot of math and calculators are absolutely necessary.
Thanks to you we have a drawer full of them now and since the start of the school year, they have gotten some great use. I can say with certainty that every single one of my classes uses those calculators every single day. What a great impact you have helped make on the learning and achieving of my students.
Thank you for supporting my students in their education. You are the best!!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 3 other donors.Making Music Last Forever!
Funded Feb 22, 2015Thank you so much for your donation to our project creating a mini-recording studio. We have been using our new Yeti Microphone as part of our music studio and we love it!
The first day that we had the microphone I had students in our practice room/recording studio making their very own music. It has been quite fun seeing what creations can come out of my students' minds.
Our Jazz Ensemble has used this microphone the most. As a class we decided that we would create an album of our music that we have performed throughout this school year. The students came up with the Album title "Sweaty Wrists" in honor of our drummer and we began recording as a class. The audio quality is so much better than anything we ever had access to! We have been short on brass players this year in jazz band (trombones and trumpets). But my brass players have come up with the idea that they want to play all of the other trumpet and trombone parts. So they have spent time in the recording studio playing the other parts and we have been able to overlay those tracks on to the existing full-band tracks. It has given my brass players a great confidence boost and experiences that imitate what a real studio-musician experiences.
Thank you so much for being a part of our music program here at Ben Lomond! We all appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
"My Instrument Is Broken"..."Here Are the Tools To Fix It!"
Funded Aug 23, 2014My students, who come from very financially difficult backgrounds, were so surprised and impressed that people and organizations that have no direct affiliation with our school would willingly give money to help them.
My students usually aren't able to provide their own instrument, and because of this they rely on the school providing them with one. However, since many of our school-owned instruments are quite old and well-used, they are also in need of frequent repair.
The money that you provided gave us the ability to obtain a woodwind fix-it kit. It came with new flute, clarinet, and saxophone pads and tools that has eliminated the need for me to take an instrument in to the repair shop. Instrument repair shop fees are often quite steep and we would rather spend the money on other things. What's even better, is that the students have been able to do the repairs themselves. This means that instead of a student missing rehearsal time while their instrument is sent to the shop, they have been able to fix it right there in class and jump back in with their playing.
I appreciate so much your willingness to make the world a better place. My students and I thank you for contributing to our success.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Jensen
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 3 other donors.