Past projects 12
Critical Literacy = Student Success
Funded May 9, 2016Thank you so much for your generous donation of supplies for my classroom! We were really scratching our heads at the beginning of the summer because we just didn't know how we would encourage our students to be critical readers and writers without the necessary physical tools. Now, the notebooks you helped provide are being used everyday as vehicles to literacy! Students are recording, explaining, analyzing, defining, musing, and discussing through their new notebooks. Without your generosity, only those students who have the means and the support from home would be able to fully participate. Again, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
Bringing the Arts Alive
Funded Sep 2, 2015Thank you so much for contributing to this project! Without your generous donations, I could never have given my students the opportunity to experience the arts in our local community theater. Many of them have never had the chance to attend such a professionally produced show, and it made classic literature come to life for them. Several expressed that it made them consider their community differently and to think more deeply about the themes in the story. In this way, it has changed the way many consider the world around them. This makes it a success! The students bonded through this experience, and it has already enlivened the discussions about literature, promoted acceptance of a wider variety of people, and brought us together as a group. Your funds have made it all possible!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
Incorporating the Arts Into College-Prep English
Funded Jul 31, 2014Your thoughtful gift has brought such life and energy into my classroom! With such a heavy emphasis on assessment scores and the stress and pressure the students experience in the senior year, there is rarely time or resources available to engage the students in real-world applications to their study of literature. The donation you made allowed them to meet with a real acting apprentice from the local theater, engage in a pre-show workshop in which history and literature came alive for them, and in a very unique performance of the literature we were studying as a group! The students were enthralled with the acting, excited to meet the actors in person, and we were able to connect the experience to analysis, argument, and dramatic elements. I only wish I could do this with each unit! Thank you so much for your generosity and kindness.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
College And Career Ready Research Skills
Funded Jan 12, 2014We so appreciate your taking the time to honor us with your generous gifts. My class and I were able to gain access to the digital library at a public university, engage in training on the efficient use of the databases available to college students, use them to actually find credible sources to assist in an action research project, and enjoy the day overall. The students also had the opportunity to hear from the student support division of the university about services that will be available to them as incoming freshmen. This helped to decrease some of their anxiety about college in general. This experience was invaluable and could not have happened without your help!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
Integrating the Arts into the Common Core
Funded Oct 11, 2013I appreciate your contribution to my effort to bring the arts to my students. They spend so much time preparing for high-stakes tests and worrying about college entrance that they often lose the zeal for learning once cultivated in elementary school. I always yearn to re-capture that as they navigate the pressures associated with senior English, and this project helped me do that. The students were captivated by the performance, truly interested in Charles Dickens (wow!), and have depth to their interpretations of the story which will undoubtedly translate into better writing. None of this would have been possible without your support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
This classroom project was brought to life by Community Foundation of Louisville and 8 other donors.Supporting Literacy Through Technology
Funded Dec 14, 2012It is difficult to find the exact words to express my appreciation for your kind and generous gift in support of my technology project. The e-readers you helped fund have breathed new life into the process of independent reading for my students. These tools allow us to break down the barriers of the classroom walls; we no longer have to rely on money, transportation, or accessibility to new and exciting books. The e-readers allow us to download them with the click of a mouse! This kind of freedom has become instrumental in motivating these students, who generally struggle, to achieve.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
This classroom project was brought to life by Community Foundation of Louisville and 3 other donors.E-readers: Bringing Special Needs Students Up to Speed
Funded Oct 8, 2011On behalf of my classes, and those of the special education students that will also benefit from the use of the e-readers purchased with your help, I cannot thank you enough for your generous contributions that ultimately fully funded my project.
I have already seen great progress in reading comprehension with the assistance of the audio feature on the e-readers. Other students who may not need so much assistance are entranced at the idea that I can download previews of new books for free and let them sample as a reward for staying on task, or for contributing insightfully to the class.
Without you and others like you with kind hearts and open minds, projects like this would not be possible. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
This classroom project was brought to life by Community Foundation of Louisville and 10 other donors.Connecting Teens And Parents Through Reading
Funded Sep 14, 2010Thank you so much for your contribution to our classroom and school! The books we requested arrived quickly enough for us to use them for our first parent, student and teacher book club meeting. We met off campus for discussions about the first text, sharing our opinions, asking questions of one another, connecting on themes, and making suggestions for future books to read. The parents were particularly grateful for the opportunity to read with their children, and were excited to have a culture of reading building in their homes as well as at school. Your thoughtful gift made this conversation possible, and will continue to help facilitate many more to come in the future as we expand our scope, inviting new teachers, parents and students to share with us. Once again, thanks so much!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
Coming of Age: An Exploration of Multicultural Literature
Funded Feb 28, 2010Your gifts have already made measurable positive impact on my students; in just a short time, the wide variety of cultural resources have enabled me to introduce my students to cultures outside their own without ever leaving the room.
Our study of the various pieces of literature has prompted deeply moving discussions between students about current issues in the world, and has helped them to decide exactly where they stand on these issues before they go out into the world as adults in a few short weeks. The students are producing authentic writing and projects based on their study of the coming of age stories we were able to purchase, and are even planning to publish these in a school-wide showcase in a few weeks. I am excited to see the potential uses for these resources for many years to come as well.
This has been such an empowering experience, and it would not have been possible without your help. ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 9 other donors.Bringing the Theatre to Life
Funded Aug 5, 2009Thank you sincerely for your donation! It allowed both of my senior level English classes to attend the theater performance of Dracula, and for my students to have a representative from the theater come teach a workshop on the elements of drama.
For students that may have never attended a theater performance otherwise, this was one that has made believers of them to be sure. There were students that are otherwise difficult to engage in the study of dramatic elements and critical analysis praising the play and offering personal, insightful feedback on how the experience of the theater affected them. The result has been an increased interest in not only the theater, but in reading other plays in class, and acting them out using some of the techniques the students observed on this trip.
It has been truly amazing to watch the students carry over this experience into their everyday classroom experience. The door has opened to critical analysis, in both writing and speech, and the engagement level has risen. The result was as desired, then, and I have you to thank for this.
Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ennis
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.