Past projects 9
Expanding My Calming Corner
Funded Dec 3, 2024Thank you so much for your generous donations to help me expand the Calming Corner in my room. Not only do my own students utilize the area during class time, but students come in during class periods when I am free to relax and de-stress. It gives me a chance to see and connect with students in our high school who are not on my rosters, which is terrific.
I was a little concerned that "Tools to Stop Overthinking" book that I purchased would not get used, but I have actually had students come in to read out of it and a couple who have borrowed it for a night or two so they could read. I know now that a few more books of this nature could be useful.
As much as I enjoy seeing them use the space, I also love it when I see them take items from the area to their desks so that they can work and de-stress at the same time. They especially love the weighted sloth, and so more weighted items are going onto my wish list! Thank you for giving me the means to be able to help my students take care of their mental health!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Relaxation is the Best State of Mind
Funded Aug 12, 2024Your generosity has allowed me to build a space in my classroom that is a retreat and a place where they can relax and unwind when they need to. Students who learn better in a non-typical seating arrangement benefit the most. And the shelf full of fidgets and items to distract is used almost every period of the day. Those items allow even the students sitting in the regular seating to destress. It has been a hugely successful area and has not taken away from instructional focus (which I worried was a possibility).
I am hoping to expand the space in the future, but this has been an amazing starting point and is definitely a popular spot. Thank you for helping me recognize that all of my students do not learn the same and that my students sometimes need a place to refocus and destress. This area makes them feel loved and cared for, and that is tremendously important. I could not have done it without your help.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping me love my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org Teen Mental Health Initiative.Media Class Equipment
Funded Apr 21, 2024We started the school year using our new video camera to capture video - what an incredible difference between this piece of equipment and the small (and cheap) versions we had been using! In fact, what we had been using was so ill-equipped that we tended to use iPhones or an iPad instead - and sound quality was never good. Imagine our delight when we did a test run and found that the sound quality is amazing! We have used it to record multiple sets of B roll and some interviews and are currently putting together our first real broadcast of the year - we already produced and published a fun video for rivalry week that garnered almost 2,000 views and so much interest! And we were only able to do it on the fly so early in the year because this camera made creating it so much easier. We are only in the first steps of our projects this year, but the students are so excited to have something that is quality and is helping them to produce quality work. We are incredibly grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
This classroom project was brought to life by Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 3 other donors.Help Bison Theatre Outfit Its Tech Shop
Funded Apr 22, 2024I've included images from our last two performances, and creating the sets for these shows was so much easier due to your generosity! My theatre students are grateful for materials that help them take their visions from paper to reality, and they feel so special when they know that there are people out there, both in our community and complete strangers as well, who care enough about them to help them to reach their goals. In a world where fine arts sometimes get overlooked (small school, rural school, one that prioritizes sports) it is amazing to see their faces when someone prioritizes THEM!
You are making a difference for my students, and I am eternally grateful!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
This classroom project was brought to life by Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 6 other donors.Starting the Year Off Right!
Funded Jul 14, 2023Your generosity has been a wonderful thing for our competitive speech and academic UIL team already this year and will continue to be a benefit to our entire group. Not only do the items make traveling and spending long hours at contests more comfortable and more productive, but the fact that we now have some of these items that previously they only saw other schools using has been a huge morale boost for them. The fact that there are donors out there who care about them and the things they care about has been HUGE.
If you could have seen their faces light up when they opened the packages, you would know what a difference it made to them. They were excited to get everything ready to use and are happy to load the items up every time we head out for a contest. Thank you so much for your generosity - you have made a difference.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
Speech and Debate Travel Equipment
Funded Apr 6, 2023As we move into our heavy competition season, the debate students are so excited to have some of the same equipment they see other schools with. The equipment not only makes the students more comfortable and able to continue to work between rounds with chargers and extension cords as well as portable chars and tables, but also allows them to have the equipment they need in-rounds. The table stands have been particularly useful for them, making it easier and more natural for them to use their laptops while debating without having to hold them or bend over to read from the desk.
Beyond the practical aspects, though, they feel a little more supported and confident knowing they have some of the things they have only seen with other schools before. t has done a lot for their morale to know there are supporters out there who support what they are doing and care about them. That has been the biggest gift - and it has made a true impact and difference.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
Bison Theatre Needs an Ultra-Short Throw Projector!
Funded Nov 29, 2022Thank you so much for your generous donations for our ultra-short throw projector for the Bison Theatre group. The students are so excited for the addition of this piece of technology for our program and to have the ability to use this for our theatrical productions. This projector gives us the ability to use a cyc for projecting colors and images in the background of our stage productions. It is a piece of equipment we have hoped to have and use for a long time.
This projector is particularly exciting for our tech students, who now have the ability to change lighting and moods for scene changes, and will additionally allow us to actually change the entire look of scenes for our plays.
One of our projects for this spring, now that we have ended our competition season (except for our public performance next week) is for students to become familiar with ways they can put together images on their laptops to project - we plan to use short plays and let them have practice brainstorming for ideas and seeing these ideas blossom on the stage on a small scale. We fully expect to have the projector as a major part of our next full production, as well.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 16 other donors.Journalism Students Need Portable Printers!
Funded Nov 4, 2022My journalism students have been so excited about receiving printers to use for our competition season. They have already used them at district, which was a couple of weeks ago, and at which they excelled. They took first place journalism team and will be competing in multiple events at regionals on April 22. They are most excited about how much easier it will be to travel with and set these up and thus have less stress at the front end of their competitions. In addition to journalism students, my debate students have been able to put these to good use, traveling with them to state competitions so that they would be able to update their files during the competition as needed. Even though we are nowhere near the end of our competition seasons yet this year, the printers are already making a difference for these students, and we appreciate your willingness to help us out!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Funded Feb 15, 2013Thank you so much for your donation of an external flash for my journalism staff's camera, which allows my staff to produce better-quality photographs for our newspaper and yearbook publications. It has been especially helpful in the auditorium and gymnasium, where so many student activities take place, because it was previously too dark for us to get high-quality photos in those areas. In addition to the newspaper, yearbook, and memory book that we produce, this year we have started using our photos in a newsletter that goes out to parents once every six weeks. This means that our improved photography is impacting, literally, all of our students and their families in some way. Additionally, my students now have a tool that allows them to compete more strongly in photography contests and to have more up-to-date equipment when they attend photography workshops.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Melonie Menefee