Ms. Mikolajewski's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 16

• Special Seating for Independent Reading

  Funded Feb 15, 2025

  I have not been on Donors Choose in a bit. I’m so excited to add these seats to my classroom. The kids love to have alternative types of seats to use for independent reading and I know that they will be just as excited as I am to add these to our space.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

• Comfy and Cozy Reading Space

  Funded Sep 1, 2024

  Thank you for helping purchase comfortable alternative seating for my classroom. The chairs took some time to arrive, but now that they are here, my 8th graders have a place to read in the library that isn't their traditional seat. I plan on rotating the kids on different days to ensure that everyone will have a chance to read in the seats throughout the week. Some people might think that 8th graders would be so excited about posing for pictures with the new chairs, but I had students jumping out of their chairs to volunteer to be the first to try the chairs out.

  Thank you for being so generous and kind. The kids are truly grateful.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

• Novels in Verse-Powerful Tools to Cultivate Voice and Promote

  Funded Aug 3, 2023

  The purchase of these books will allow for my students to be able to annotate the poetry right inside their texts. They will also be able to keep this book as theit own. Many of you know that books have the power to save lives and reading them has so many positive benefits. Not only do books enrich us on an individual level, they also make us better citizens who are more empathetic.

  We will be using these books to help us study poetry, and after we are done, we will be creating our own narrative arc story using the poetic elements that we witnessed used in these novels.

  Thank you so much. Again and again, I can rely on donors like you :)”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 8 other donors.

• Adding some Spring Fresh Air to our Classroom Library

  Funded Mar 30, 2023

  Year after year generous people like you have helped me provide my students with engaging reading material during a time in the school year when it is most needed. Being able to provide the kids with good books that speak about significant and relevant themes while state testing is happening humanizes the experience for them. It is my intent to remind them that literacy is life and that besides providing content, stories give us pleasure and help us connect to what it is that makes us human. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.

• Legend Book Series

  Funded May 5, 2022

  Thank you for once again supplying books for my classroom. Today I had the opportunity to have a visit from sone of my former students who benefitted from the books that you purchased for our library. They were super excited to take pictures with the books to thank you. In the spring, these novels will be used again with my current students. We start to read the series Legend during the window for our state testing. It's always a good stress reliever for the kids, and let's them reflect on the unit that we have just studied- A Hero's Journey. The Legend series appeals to a wide range of students- boys, girls, non-binary students and gender non-conforming kids. Besides it being a great read, it helps the children delve into deep themes about life- love, loss, poverty, wealth and inequity. I appreciate you partnering with me to provide this opportunity.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by Dollar General Literacy Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Paired Reading Out of Bounds and Born a Crime

  Funded Jul 13, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our project. As we are not yet back in our classroom in person, these books are invaluable resources. Our first month of learning has been just a tad bit normal because of your donation. The books that you sent to us allow for a lit bit of normalcy.

  We have been reading, discussing, and thinking hard each and everyday. The titles that you have supplied us with offer opportunities to challenge my student's thinking in so many ways, and they provide a great base for skills formation. We look forward to finishing these titles and applying our new learnings to our lives. We cannot wait to come back together to collaborate, learn, and enjoy one another's company.

  Donors Choose has always supported me in providing up-to-date titles for my classroom library, and I am very thankful that you chose to support this charity because they have always supported me.

  Sincerely,

  Julie”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 7 other donors.

• Paired Reading Just Mercy Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

  Funded Jul 2, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our project. As we are not yet back in our classroom in person, these books are invaluable resources. Our first month of learning has been just a tad bit normal because of your donation. The books that you sent to us allow for a lit bit of normalcy.

  We have been reading, discussing, and thinking hard each and everyday. The titles that you have supplied us with offer opportunities to challenge my student's thinking in so many ways, and they provide a great base for skills formation. We look forward to finishing these titles and applying our new learnings to our lives.

  Donors Choose has always supported me in providing up-to-date titles for my classroom library, and I am very thankful that you chose to support this charity because they have always supported me.

  Sincerely,

  Julie”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 4 other donors.

• Books Can Be Turning Points

  Funded Jun 4, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our project. As we are not yet back in our classroom in person, these books are invaluable resources. Our first month of learning has been just a tad bit normal because of your donation. The books that you sent to us allow for a lit bit of normalcy.

  We have been reading, discussing, and thinking hard each and everyday. The titles that you have supplied us with offer opportunities to challenge my student's thinking in so many ways, and they provide a great base for skills formation. We look forward to finishing these titles and applying our new learnings to our lives.

  Donors Choose has always supported me in providing up-to-date titles for my classroom library, and I am very thankful that you chose to support this charity because they have always supported me.

  Sincerely,

  Julie”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 14 other donors.

• Animal Farm Analytics

  Funded Dec 6, 2019

  Because of your generosity my students are able to engage in a thorough analysis of Animal Farm. Since the students own the copy of their book, they are able to annotate directly in the text. This will help support their transition to high school in two years. They are very appreciative of your kindness.

  Earlier this week, we sketched out the opening scene of the novel, Major Pig was just about to deliver his speech of rebellion to the barn animals. Today, we began to practice our fluency taking chunks of his speech to develop our oratory skills. Tomorrow, we will begin to analyze the opening chapter and begin to make connections to Orwell's allegorical assertions about communism. Without your support, this wouldn't be happening. So over and over again, thanks...truly.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 7 other donors.

• Rigorous Readers Need New Texts

  Funded Jul 16, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom library. My students are voracious readers; they enjoy reading all different genres of text. Most especially they enjoy reading texts that focus on topics that highlight important current events and social issues. Some of the titles that we were able to purchase with this grant added to the diversity of the texts in our library.

  Each class day, we devote twenty instructional minutes to independent, choice reading. The time is sacred in my classroom, and the students love delving into their books. Even though the new books have only been in the library since the beginning of summer, each has been read multiple times already by multiple students.

  A few of the new titles that seem to be favorites are- A World Without Fish, The Other Boy, and On the Come Up. I know these books will significantly impact the students' thinking and create most passionate, empathetic citizens.

  We appreciate you. We thank you. Please continue to give to classroom projects like ours.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Mikolajewski

  This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 7 other donors.