Mr. Smitka's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 10

• Making Ideas Into Reality - 3D Printing In The Classroom

  Funded Sep 1, 2022

  Thank you so much for your generous donation of the 3D printer! With your help and generosity, we are creating the next generation of STEM students in Michigan and future rock stars of the work force! We will truly use this printer to help build creativity and talent! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

• Materials + Students + Creativity = Makerspace Awesomeness!

  Funded May 4, 2021

  Thank you so much for your generous donation of materials to our makerspace. With your generosity, my students will be able to create, inspire, and take steps towards becoming the next generation of inventors and STEM innovators. Your donated materials will help my students learn how to design and create awesome inventions using laser cutting and 3D CNC milling. These materials will help my students take ideas and make them truly come to life. We learn by trial and error, creating prototypes and iterations of our ideas, improving and tinkering with each consecutive step. These materials will allow my students to continue along the design process and learn how things are created in the real world. Once again, thank you for your generosity and commitment to STEM education. It is with donors like you that I get to create opportunities for my students to become better people! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 8 other donors.

• Creating the Ultimate Innovation Lab!

  Funded Sep 21, 2020

  Thank you so very much for your support and generosity in helping make STEM come alive at our school. This year, with the ongoing pandemic and a majority of our students in a virtual environment, it has been extremely hard to engage them in meaningful ways while at the same time, allowing them to create, tinker, learn and engage. This truly has been a transformative experience for my class, virtually or in school.

  With your generosity, we have been able to send home take-home Micro:bit computer kits to each of our students enrolled in our STEM class, allowing them to have a hands-on experience and make the best of a not-so-great situation. Our 3D printers have been working overtime, pumping out virtual student designs to be sent home or mailed to our students. Our Sphero robots are ready and waiting for our students to be back in the classroom, so we can group together and learn about robotics, design and engineering in new ways. Lastly, our DJI drone has added a new look to our school, allowing us to document our school and events that our STEM club will do in new and exciting ways.

  All of this would not of been possible without donors like you! Please know that your awesomeness is being spread among our students, staff and community in more ways than you know! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We look forward to inviting our donors out to our school once things get better to see how their passion for STEM has come to life in our school!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

  This classroom project was brought to life by PwC Charitable Foundation.

• Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators With STEM Education!

  Funded Jun 14, 2016

  Thank you, thank you, thank you to all at GHI Electronics who made this donation possible. With the donation of the Sphero, Ollie, Makey Makey, Drone, and Ozobot, you have helped spark imagination, creativity and drive into my students in our REST (Roseville Engineering, Science & Technology) club. These items will add to my students' interest and drive for learning robotics basics, coding and future technologies.

  I have to admit myself, that I was most excited when this project was funded and once we received the items after the summer break, myself and my students instantly dove into these, trying to figure out ways to learn from them. The "tech toys" were even used in our annual open house to interact with the general public and get them to ask questions about what we do, how we do it, and what we are going to do next! The Makey Makey was the biggest hit, with our banana-powered piano that we played for the entire gym!

  In addition to the donation, we want to express our sincere gratitude to GHI for reaching out to us afterwords and offering us additional training, mentorship and advice for future club endeavors. We look forward to working with them and towards a great and innovative future for my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

• Be a HERO! Help My Students Capture Life In a Whole New Way!

  Funded Sep 23, 2014

  Thank you so much for funding my project with a GoPro HERO camera! This amazing piece of technology has opened up a whole new world for my science classes! It truly has changed how we see nature during labs, experiments, and especially field trips! We recently went on a field trip out to a local park to investigate water quality and ecosystems and the GoPro camera was invaluable in bringing a new perspective on what we were looking at. We were able to dip it into the local stream to actually see how we capture the water samples for pollutant testing and, with our extension monopod, we were able to photograph our groups working in nature in a whole new way. We were even able to stick the camera down into a crayfish hole to see if anything was actually hibernating down there! (There wasn't, but it was a cool way to explore something new!) We are constantly looking for new ways to use the camera in class and soon, with my AP biology class, we will look into the time-lapse option on the camera to help us document some of our AP biology labs. Once again, thank you so much for your generosity and flash funding! You truly did make this teacher's day!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

• 3D-Printed Science! - Bringing Science to Life!

  Funded Nov 22, 2013

  Thank you ever so much for your help in helping my class receive a MakerBot 3D printer! When I first brought the machine into the classroom, many of my students had never heard of 3D printing before, and because of this, never realized the impact on what 3D printing will have on manufacturing, science, medicine and our future. To be honest, the machine and software was a little bit of a learning curve for me, but once I got a hold of how to use it, I introduced it to my students and they became fascinated. Many of them would watch the machine intently, as it extruded layer after layer of filament, seemingly creating an object from nothing right on the print deck!

  Looking into next year, we plan on taking this piece of amazing technology and applying it towards creating biological models for the classroom, exploring protein structures, and creating scientific manipulatives that my students can get hands-on with, taking their 2D learning to a 3D level!

  Once again, thank you ever so much for helping bring an amazing piece of technology into my classroom that I would never of been able to afford before!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

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

• Exploring the Microscopic! - Up Close & Personal In Biology

  Funded Feb 1, 2013

  Thank you so much for the opportunity to bring the microscopic world digitally to my students. With your donation, I am now able to show my students the detail they need to truly understand the microscopic and see life down to the cellular level! With this ability, my students will continue to gain use year after year. From regular biology all the way to my AP Biology students, the ability to see the unseen in a digital manner, and then capture these images for later use will be invaluable. Once again, thank you so much for your generosity and your support of education in science!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

• Reaching Out and Touching Science

  Funded Feb 23, 2010

  Thank you ever so much for your generous donation of the HP tablet laptop for our science class. Not only has it changed the way we interact with PowerPoint lessons, Internet based labs, or even everyday notes, it has further broadened my students view of technology in the classroom. My students love the opportunity to use the touch-screen option to digitally write out their answers on the screen and have it broadcast in front of the room for everyone else to see! Not only has this changed my students views on science education, but it has also changed mine. The uses for this laptop do not end at the end of the school day either! It also serves as an excellent resource for lesson planning, keeping the class grade book and helping to design the class website in which my students are now able to visit, interact with, and visit from home for more help on the areas in which we are working. Without generous donors like you, my class would not have such a valuable resource such as this. Thank you from the bottom of both my and all my students' hearts!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

  This classroom project was brought to life by HP and National Lab Day and one other donor.

• Michigan River Testing and Water Ecology

  Funded Dec 6, 2008

  Thank you, thank you, and thank you! It is because of your donation that I'll be able to share the outdoors with my students and get them to connect real world situations with things they are learning in the classroom. This spring, when we begin to learn about our ecosystems here in Michigan, with this water testing kit I'll be able to now take my students out to the lake to explore how healthy our water is and where sources of pollution are coming from! I truly feel that our students today need to get outside and explore our world away from their own backyard. You have provided the spark to ignite my students' fire and I can't wait to get my students excited about this spring! Thank you once again. We couldn't have done this without you”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 9 other donors.

• Creating a Digital Vision for Biology Students

  Funded Dec 18, 2008

  Thank you, thank you, thank you! It is with your generosity that my students will now have a window into digital education! With this projector, my students will be able to work together, performing online labs, demonstrations and interactive activities that before were not possible. This truly will change how we learn in my classroom and I am forever grateful to you for donating to my classroom. My students will be thrilled to hear the news about what we will be receiving. Thank you for your support of teachers, education, and our future”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Smitka

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