Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 6

• Beyond the Barbie Movie, Reading to Empower Female-Identifying Students

  Funded Aug 7, 2023

  Your generous gifts of diverse gender identity focused books for this project have allowed students to see themselves in texts. I teach at a school for recently arrived immigrants. Students are from over 30 different countries and are learning English. Your gift allows students to continue working on their literacy skills in English, and develop a sense of belonging in their new homes.

  As students read more of the books in small groups, they will take part in Socratic style discussions and will design and facilitate workshops on gender identity and equity for their peers in the upcoming months. Your kind donations have given the students resources to help them feel efficacy in their new communities.

  Thank you for your gift.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom

• A Second Home Called School

  Funded Aug 9, 2022

  Thank you for helping me create a more comfortable learning environment for my students. With your donation I was able to furnish my classroom with flexible seating. Now, while we read individually or aloud as a class, students are able to sit on the floor, stretch out their legs or sit in a quiet corner in the classroom.

  These new chairs have been especially helpful as students are preparing for their graduation portfolios. As 12th graders, students have longer tasks to complete. These seats allow them to be comfortable and help reduce some of the stress they may be experiencing. The new flexible seating will be used for years to come, thanks to your generous donation.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 3 other donors.

• Printable Poetry

  Funded May 9, 2022

  Thank you so much for donating to the Printable Poetry Project. Students will create poetry on buttons, bags, and T-shirts using Google Drawing. So far, they have take pictures of their silhouette and then created poetry that they laid over the image.

  Thanks to your generous donation of a color printer, we were able to print out the poetry in color. Some students will choose to print their poetry on transfers and then iron on the poems onto bags or T-shirts that they can gift at the end of the school year to show gratitude to those who have helped them graduate from high school.

  Students also used these poems to teach younger students about dominant and counter narratives that society holds about them. They designed workshops in which they shared their poems and stories and encouraged the 9/10th grade students to be proud of who they are and to be themselves. Sharing their poems in a creative form has helped students feel proud of their work. Thank you again for your generosity!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom

• Honoring Our Identities

  Funded Apr 8, 2022

  Thank you for your generous donations. Because of you, my students were able to read and analyze the novel The Poet X, written by National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo and design and facilitate a student created workshop.

  Many of my students share Acevedo's Dominican American identity. Through her poetic verse, she creates the coming of age character of Xiomara who struggles to balance the desires of her parents' version of herself as a pious, obedient daughter and her own need for independence as an outspoken, burgeoning poet. As we read aloud in class, students gasps and repeating of lines in both English and Spanish showed me that the were seeing their own identity reflected in her words.

  The novel inspired students to write their own poetry, and to create workshops after analyzing themes of bias and discrimination in the book. Each 12th grade student worked in small groups of three to teach a small group of 9th and 10th grade students what to do when their identities were not honored. After facilitating the workshop, one student reflected: "At the end of the year I feel more confident as I grew, I learned a lot. I like all the discussion that we have in class as we read and with the 9th graders, that built my confidence." Thank you for giving this important gift to our classroom!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 9 other donors.

• Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

  Funded Aug 23, 2021

  With your generous donation of books to my 12 grade classroom, my students are finding stories that are "mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors" of their experiences. Welcoming students back to in-person learning has not been easy, but books have helped us create a community in which we read independently and collectively: we write discussion questions based on the books, then we meet weekly to have Socratic discussions about the books.

  Through these discussions students practice many academic skills and get a chance to connect with one another and build empathy. One skill students have been practicing is focusing on evidence from the text. They select specific evidence while they are reading and then write a discussion question for their peers. During the student-led discussion, they have a chance to hear various perspectives on the same text. Giving students an opportunity to select a text that is interesting to them and then asking them to collaborate with others to make meaning of the text allows for them to build a community with their fellow readers and more deeply appreciate the similarities and difference that exist amongst them.

  It is with your donation of books that we have been able to create book clubs and, within these book clubs, create reading communities that support one another to understand the text and the world of individuals around them. Thank you for your generous donations. My students and I think of you as we see our rainbow colored bookshelves daily.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Allstate Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Heathy Eating Starts with Home Cooking

  Funded Mar 27, 2015

  Thank you so very much for your generous donation of microwaves and accessories. This project has enabled our students to bring home cooked healthier lunches. They use the microwaves during lunch time to warm up the food that they or their family members have cooked. They also use the microwave during their extended day college classes. Students are not only enjoying their food more, they are talking about what they have cooked and how they can include healthy options. All of our students are recent immigrants from 30 different countries, so sharing their food has helped them expand their knowledge of other countries and customs as well. Here is what one of our students has to say about the new microwaves:

  "After we have received the microwaves, more students are bring their home made food to school. In lunch time, some students sit together and share their lunch with friends, and are responsibly using the microwaves. Also they will notice other people about how to use it and encourage other people to bring their own food. One of the students said, "Oh, that is so nice, I can heat up my food instead eating cold food like before." Another student said, "I want to bring own food because of the microwaves." According to what students said and how they using the microwaves, this project has brought healthy lunch to our students."

  As you can see, these microwaves have really started to change the way students think about food at school.

  Originally, when we received the microwaves, the adults in the building were a bit nervous about the upkeep of the microwaves. Also, the project designers (students) were concerned about students using it to heat up unhealthy food. However, so far students have been very responsible in using the microwaves. At the end of every lunch, students clean up the microwave and their food. Also, they have been encouraging students to make healthier choices by not bringing processed foods, but rather bringing home cooked meals. We thank you for helping our students learn life long skills of choosing healthier food. They are really beginning to understand what the phrase "You are what you eat".”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Pirani-Mellstrom