Past projects 12
School Teacher Dreaming
Funded Sep 10, 2019Thank you so much for your generous contributions to my project. My students and I are very excited to be able to add this novel to our collection of novel studies this year. It makes me happy that people like you share the same vision of educating our youth as I do. Again, thank you so much for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
Choose Kind
Funded Dec 15, 2017The purpose of my project was multi- fascited. We had read the novel "Wonder" and were learning about empathy, kindness and anti-bullying and I also wanted to ensure that each of my students had the basic necessities to be successful students. Our school already provides them with free breakfast and lunch and I provide them with classroom materials. However, I was noticing that many of them were coming to school on cold mornings without the proper clothing for the weather because their families could not always afford to provide them with such items. I decided that each student needed a warm "Choose Kind" sweatshirt of their own for these cold days that they could also wear around campus and spread an anti-bullying message to their fellow peers and younger students (since they are the role models of the school). With your help, we purchased a sweatshirt for each of my students that corresponded with the novel we had just finished reading and they proudly wear them around school!!
The students were so incredibly grateful to receive their sweatshirts. I overheard many of them making comments about how they had never received such nice gifts before.For many of them, having something of their very own was a first. Not only has this simple gift of a sweatshirt instilled a sense of pride in a lot of my students, but it also has accomplished what we set out to do-- keep my students warm and spread a positive message of kindness towards each other throughout the school campus!!
It is because of your generous donations that allowed me to purchase the these sweatshirts for my students. My students and I thank you once again for your donation to this project.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
This classroom project was brought to life by Life Essentials Supporters and one other donor.Another Genre Of Literature Exposed
Funded Sep 3, 2017The purpose of my project was to ensure I would be able to bring novels and other literature into my 6th grade classroom. Tragically there has been a decline of humanities amongst our children given how aggressive and violent our culture can be. Stories organize culturally and emotionally. They stretch our minds and help grow our moral capacity. Novels are about life and introspection upon the depths of human experience. However, because of the generosity of your donation that allowed my classroom to receive the funding for a class sets of "Anne Frank, The Diary of A Young Girl", my students will gain from reflection a powerful reminder of the horrors of war, yet sensitivity toward the human condition as well as gain a greater sense of empathy.
In addition to becoming better humans, my hopes is that they will also become better and more cultured readers. They enjoy reading novels and because they actually enjoy what they have been reading, their comprehension skills have improved. My classroom could not have achieved this much improvement without all the continued support from the community and your donation. We are very thankful and appreciative. Thank you for sharing the same vision of educating our young people as I have!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
Success Starts With Planning and Organizational Skills
Funded Aug 9, 2017The planners my students received as part of this project have been a big hit with both my students and parents! Every day, as parent of our daily closing activity, we pull out the planners and write down the night's homework and any long term project assignments in them. I have a master planner that I project on the board for the students to copy. The parents are expected to check and sign the planners every night to ensure the students are doing their assignments. So far, my students have been responsible with completing their nightly assignments and planning for projects. I owe it to the planners! In addition, the parents have been kept informed of their child's homework assignments in an easily decipherable format. We are currently in the middle of parent/teacher conferences and I have yet to hear one parent question homework assignments, as they have in the past. I feel that by the time my students reach middle school next year, the practice of writing assignments in a planner will have become second nature to them and they will be that much more prepared to take on the rigorous demands and expectations that will be placed upon them. I thank all the donors that helped to make this project possible and that continue to support our students. Thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
Heroes, Gods and Monsters, Oh My!
Funded Apr 22, 2017The purpose of my project was to ensure I would be able to bring novels and other literature into my 6th grade classroom. Tragically there has been a decline of humanities amongst our children given how aggressive and violent our culture can be. Stories organize culturally and emotionally. They stretch our minds and help grow our moral capacity. Novels are about life and introspection upon the depths of human experience. However, because of the generosity of your donation that allowed my classroom to receive the funding for a class sets of mythology novels, "Heroes, Gods and Monsters", my students will gain from reflection and broaden their imagination and sensitivity toward the human condition as well as gain a greater sense of empathy.
In addition to becoming better humans, my hopes is that they will also become better and more cultured readers. They enjoy reading novels and because they actually enjoy what they have been reading, their comprehension skills have improved. My classroom could not have achieved this much improvement without all the continued support from the community and your donation. We are very thankful and appreciative. Thank you for sharing the same vision of educating our young people as I have!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
Project Based and STEM Learning Made Easy with Technology!
Funded Oct 10, 2016My students have had the opportunity to utilize the new laptops in our classroom in a variety of ways. By bringing technology into the classroom, I have opened new doors and new realms of possibilities to my students. They have been able to create multimedia presentations in a variety of subjects and conduct research online. Later in the year they will also be able to Skype with experts to help them with their research projects!
Although we haven't gotten to use out Apple TV yet (we are awaiting funding approval for our class to start Project Lead the Way), we anxiously await for the moment to plug into the exciting world of STEM and benefit from this piece of technology!
Technology for my students is no longer being used just for basic word processing and/or practice games to review skills-- it's being used in a more creative, collaborative way and I am forever grateful that I was able to bring this type of learning to my students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
Organization And Planning Are The Keys To Success
Funded Sep 11, 2016The student planners my students received as part of this project have been a big hit with both the students and the parents! Every day, as part of our daily wrap up, we pull out our planners and write the night's homework assignments in them-- I write in mine and project it on the board for my students to copy. The parents are expected to sign the planners every night. So far, my students have been more responsible with completing their nightly homework and planning for upcoming projects. In addition, the parents have been kept informed of their child's nightly homework assignments in an easily decipherable format. I feel that by the time my students get to middle school next year, the practice of writing assignments in a daily planner will have become second nature to them and they will be that much more prepared to take on the rigorous demands and expectations that will be placed upon them! I thank all the donors that helped to make this project possible and that continue to support our students. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
More Books!!!
Funded Nov 21, 2015The purpose of my project was to ensure I would be able to bring novels and other literature into my 6th grade classroom. Tragically there has been a decline of humanities amongst our children given how aggressive and violent our culture can be. Stories organize culturally and emotionally. They stretch our minds and help grow our moral capacity. Novels are about life and introspection upon the depths of human experience. However, because of the generosity of your donation that allowed my classroom to receive the funding for two class sets of novels, my students will gain from reflection and broaden their imagination and sensitivity toward the human condition as well as gain a greater sense of empathy.
In addition to becoming better humans, they have also become better readers. They have enjoyed the novels and because they have actually enjoyed what they have been reading, their comprehension skills have improved drastically! My classroom could not have achieved this much improvement without your donation and we are very thankful and appreciative. Thank you for sharing the same vision of educating our young people as I have!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
No Student Should Have to be Cold and Wet at School!
Funded Dec 2, 2015The purpose of my project was to ensure that each of my students had the basic necessities to be successful students. Our school already provides them with free breakfast and lunch and I provide them with classroom materials. However, I was noticing that many of them were coming to school on cold mornings without jackets because their families could not afford to get them one. These kids were often getting sick and in turn, missing school. I decided that each student needed a jacket of their own for these cold, wet days. With your help, we purchased a jacket for each of my students.
The students were so incredibly grateful to receive their jackets. I overheard many of them making comments about how they had never "had a brand new jacket before." For many of them, having something of their very own was a first. Not only has this simple gift of a jacket instilled a sense of pride in a lot of my students, but it also has accomplished what we set out to do-- keep my students warm and dry, in hopes they would have better attendance and be more successful in school.
Many of my students' attendance has improved over the past couple of months. I'd like to think it's in part because they are in fact now staying warm and dry because of your generous donations that allowed me to purchase the jackets. With improved attendance comes improved academic success. My students and I thank you once again for your donation to this project.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Team and 3 other donors.Technology!
Funded Aug 21, 2015Technology!
My students need a laptop computer in the classroom.
My Students
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers students to do what they want to do. It lets students be creative. It lets students be productive. It lets students learn things they never thought they could learn before, and so in a sense it's all about potential.
The majority of my students are poverty stricken with very little opportunity for life experiences outside of their own.
They are the students that want to get ahead in life, want to make a better future for themselves but do not have the means outside of school. They are the students that although they do not have much, are grateful for what they do have and appreciative of what is given to them. They are the students, that if given the chance, will make the world a better place.
My Project
I asked for a laptop for my classroom because technology in the classroom enables the use of more interactive educational tools, which allows for a dynamic learning experience that directly benefits students. As classroom computer technology is being used for different types of communication (for presentation, for class interaction, and for collaboration), students are required to be readers, writers, editors, and publishers and must be willing to collaborate and co-create closely with others, all skills that are critical for students to learn as they grow and enter the workplace.
In my classroom, this laptop is centered primarily on collaboration and sharing, and encourages student self-expression, interaction with peers, and opportunity for authentic learning experiences.
Through the implementation and integration of computer technologies in the classroom setting, my students are now able to have new authentic and meaningful learning experiences. With our new laptop, hooked up to a projector, and an Internet connection, the possibilities are endless. My students just finished their first technology projects-- they created PowerPoint presentations and are sharing them with their classmates using our classroom laptop! We have also used it for interactive learning and have virtual field trips planned in the coming months!
Again, I can't express my appreciation for your generosity and sharing the same vision for our young people as I do.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Ysuiza
This classroom project was brought to life by Tony and Nanar Yoseloff and 6 other donors.