Past projects 2
A Mouse of Their Own
Funded Sep 29, 2020Thank you so very much for contributing to our project 'A Mouse of Their Own.' In just a matter of days we were able to fund this project, and in just a matter of two weeks we had mice (the computer tools, not the live ones) delivered to the school, distributed to students, and doing work. The switch from the traditional classroom to a virtual classroom has not been the smoothest for us, but being able to supply a mouse for each child has helped ease the discomfort. Upon receiving their own mouse, students were beaming knowing that community members had rallied to support students' learning.
The reality is that most of the 4th grade students at Alder elementary do not have much experience with desktop or laptop computers. They can navigate a phone, tablet, or gaming system with ease, but technology for the purposes of academics requires a whole new skill set. We, as a school district, have not prepared students for success through technological fluency. One sure benefit of this emergency switch to online learning is that districts have been forced to get technology in the hand of students, and students are rapidly learning new skills.
The rapid switch and urgent need for new skills has left some students feeling easily escalated, very anxious, or with a strong desire to disengage. These mice were one step towards helping student feel more capable of operating the various apps, tasks, and programs with ease. Thank you for your support. We (the teachers) feel it. They (the students) feel it. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
For the Love of Reading!
Funded Jun 5, 2014We cannot thank you enough for the contribution you have made to our classroom. We opened the packages together and the appeal of the fresh clean pages went through the roof! 2nd grade students who are reading at an early kindergarten level were reading the pictures while their peers were reading the words. All were engaged.
Several of the books selected for this project were math-based literature. It has been such a treat to see students make connections and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts while practicing reading. Math became much more functional when it was taken out of the normal math hour of the day and mixed in with literacy time.
The remainder of the books were selected because they are grade level appropriate and, well, they are cool. Its been said that there is no such thing as a student that doesn't like to read... there are simply students who haven't found the right books. In low-income schools like the one I work at, it falls on the shoulders of the teacher to supply books for the children to read in the classroom. Developing an exciting and up-to-date classroom library is an impossible task without the assistance of donors like you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by 100 Women in Hedge Funds and 11 other donors.