Mrs. Gilpin's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 29

• Tools for Sensory and Attention Needs

  Funded Nov 16, 2021

  Thank you so much for these important tools and supports. Each of the items has been effectively in use since your donations arrived. My students are always so excited to hear that people from our community donated to our class.

  The under the table bicycle pedal is stationed at the back table for a few students who sometimes choose to go get their wiggles out and move their body while they are learning. The smaller fidgets rotate between students that needs something in their hands to focus. The chair bands are on many chairs to give students in need of some sensory input a tool that will help them. The students love all of these supplies, and when they have these tools they are more successful learners.

  In my 16 years of teaching I have learned that there is no tool box too big for helping students have what they need to do their personal best. Thank you for supporting us!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• Bring our School Garden Back to LIFE

  Funded Oct 1, 2021

  Thank you so much for helping kickstart our garden revival project! Using the tools, gloves, and seeds that you helped us purchase has really made an impact.

  Classes at our school use the set of gloves and small shovels every day to weed and plant. It took a lot of work to clear out our garden beds, but we did it. We have a new garden teacher who quickly got seeds planted and growing into seedlings. Now students have planted those into their class garden beds.

  The impact of these supplies really started a school wide effort to get our garden up and running again. Thank you for your generous donations.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• Earphones for Students

  Funded Sep 24, 2021

  Thank you so much for contributing to this grant. The headphones are all being used every day. They are working great. My students are thrilled to have a set of headphones that are comfortable. They are also so humbled to hear that Donor's Choose helped our class again.

  Each day students work on online learning programs. These programs are differentiated and meet students right where they are at in language arts and math. It is great that my students can focus on these activities with out thinking about their earphones. Now they work in comfort!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• Student Portfolios for Academic Success

  Funded Aug 6, 2021

  Thank you so much for helping get these materials to our 4th graders. Each student has now put together their portfolio binder. They have decorated a cover and started to add their special assignments to their portfolios.

  Throughout the year students will add samples of their work and items that make them proud. They will be setting goals and reviewing their progress towards those goals. This really helps them have ownership over their learning.

  My students were so excited to hear that members of their community and even from other states donated to make this possible. That kindness is also a lesson.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and one other donor.

• Engaging Hands-on Science for 60 Students

  Funded Aug 24, 2021

  Thank you so much for helping to bring these materials to our young scientists. Hands on science is always the way to go. The students literally cheer when a science activity is on the daily agenda.

  So far your donations have helped us to make a paper "robot" finger that helped them understand how bones, muscles, and tendons all work together to move our bodies. We have used the materials to create a human eye model that helped them understand how the iris, pupil, lens, and retina all work together to help us see. We are having so much fun learning through these hands on activities.

  There is so much more to come from the supplies that you helped purchase for our 4th graders. Thank you for making this possible!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• A Diverse Library

  Funded Aug 12, 2021

  Thank you so much for your donations! These books have been a huge hit in our classroom. To introduce each book I do a read aloud to the whole class and then add it to our classroom library. My students are eager to get to check them out first.

  Our classroom discussions from these books have been so beautiful. We recently read a book called Not Quite Snow White about an African American American girl who loves dancing, singing and acting. However, when she tries out for the school play of Snow White other children tell her she can't play Snow White because of her brown skin. This story, and the important stories in many of these new books, have spurred all sorts of meaningful conversations about inclusion, diversity, and kindness.

  I thank you for your support. These books will be enjoyed for many years.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.

• Science in the Hands of Fourth Graders

  Funded Apr 14, 2021

  Oh what fun we had with these materials. We so appreciate your help in making this possible. Normally we only need to buy a few of these materials as students work in groups. This past year with Covid we needed each student to have their own supplies to follow social distancing precautions.

  For this experiment students were able to dissect an owl pellet and see what the carnivore bird had for its last meal. This was part of the unit that we did in life sciences that was connected to writing.

  I wish you could have heard their squeals of delight and interesting observations as they did this investigation. With a focus on vocabulary, students discussed the diet and digestion of owls.

  We so appreciate you bringing this rich hands on learning to them.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• Providing Comfort for Students if They're "Under the Weather"

  Funded Jul 12, 2020

  Thank you so much for helping get this project funded. This has been such a hard year on our students. We wanted their return to campus to feel safe and cheerful. These items help make that possible for our sick isolation room. The room is actually a warm, fun, and cheerful place because of you. Being sick is never fun, but now there's the extra stress because of the pandemic. We wanted to kids to feel like they were in a nice space while they waited for their parents or for the nurse.

  Your materials provided decorations to make our plain isolation room into our "Under the Weather" room. Hanging clouds, cheerful wallpaper, lighting, and other decorations have made the space into a fun place to be.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

• Art Supplies for Distance Learners

  Funded Oct 22, 2020

  Thank you so much for getting art supplies into the hands of our fourth graders! Because of your donations all of our fourth graders now have their own set of color pencils, a watercolor palette, a brush, and lots of watercolor paper at home.

  We have been doing art lessons over Zoom and the kids are loving it. They proudly present their work in their virtual journals in our "Seesaw Classroom." Students enjoy looking at their classmates' artwork as well.

  We have done coloring projects, directed drawings, and watercolor projects. We connected science through art when we learned learned about our ocean ecosystems, and then did watercolor paintings of phytoplankton. We have explored types of lines and created paintings in the abstract style of Kandinsky.

  Thank you so much for making this possible!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Donor and 8 other donors.

• Focus, Calm Down Corner, and Alternative Seating in 4th Grade

  Funded Oct 5, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generous donations. Your donations have made a big impact in our 4th grade class. As soon as we received the materials we put them into use.

  The two wobble chairs and two seat cushions are being used by some of my students that really need to move. I have already seen a positive change in them. Instead of constantly finding reasons to get out of their seats, they are able to sooth that need to wiggle right at their learning station. The stools have provided some other seating options for kids that want a change. They have also been really helpful in quickly creating new seating arrangements as they are compact and easy to move around the room.

  Our calm down corner is complete now with the peaceful beach poster and calm down items. Students frequently use this corner to handle big feelings. They are trained to flip the bubble timer and try to use self directed calm down strategies. Once the timer is done they know to return to the group. The fidget toys and manipulative items help with their self soothing. It really has become a positive space.

  We are so appreciative for these tools and seating options. Thank you for making this all possible.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Gilpin

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.