Past projects 6
Printing the Future
Funded Nov 18, 2023Thank you so much for the generosity! My students have loved being able to print their own art onto different items. We have learned so much in this process and it hasn't always been easy, but that is what makes it so wonderful. Sublimation printing is all the rage right now and students are able to see how it all works. They now look at the world differently and are starting to understand how things are made.
Each day the kids come with new ideas and we only wish we had more time to dedicate to learning and perfecting our skills. Thank you again for your generosity. It is wonderful to be able to share with my students that the kindness of strangers helped them have this new experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.Decoding and Reading
Funded Oct 29, 2022Thank you so much for the generous gift to the students here at Sunset Beach. Learning to read is challenging for many students and having extra supports and activities has inspired our students to dig deeper and push themselves harder with their learning. Especially now they have tools (decodable readers) and other materials (flashcards and phonics games) that are better aligned to their needs and interests. Students particularly love the pop-it learning tools. They enjoy the special writing tablets and are having fun with the microphones.
It means a lot to me and my students that projects are funded via DonorsChoose. We talk about how people that don't even know them care about their learning and well being.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.Shark Stories- Close Ups in Class & on Campus
Funded Mar 6, 2022Thank you so very much for supporting our students in their movie making! We have been using the green screen, lights and microphones to make our weekly video broadcasts.
Students are loving having access to new technology and are learning the basics of movie making. We are practicing writing scripts and having deadlines.
Many of my students are coming in on their own time at recess and lunch to be able to use this new equipment. It is really fun to see them get creative and apply their new skills.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.White Boards for Thinkers
Funded Jan 31, 2019Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for the donations to help get our whiteboards. These whiteboards are used daily by students across the whole school. We sit with them in circles each day and write our thoughts, questions, and ideas as we practice listening and thinking with one another. In our Philosophy For Children circles, we practice developing our critical thinking skills, listening to different options, and hearing examples and counterexamples to answer questions that students develop.
When we opened our new whiteboards it was amazing to be able to share with my students that these boards were funded because some generous people (that didn't even know them) cared about their education and wanted to help support their learning in some way. In my class, the only rules I have are to be kind and helpful. Donor's Choose is a perfect example of people in this world being kind and helpful. Thank you for setting such an example for my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden
Makers Space Start Up
Funded Dec 9, 2017Thank you so much for the kind and generous donations. We are currently creating a large periodic table using our 3D carver and the materials that were purchased through this project. The machine creates a lot of debris so it is so nice to have the vacuums handy. In addition to learning about the periodic table, we are also learning about measurement, in particular depth- as when we program the carver the students need to be sure they do not carve too deep.
My students were thrilled to begin as they have been learning about the periodic table all year, but now that they knew their work would be on display for the rest of the school for years to come it pushed them to work and research more. The best part about having the project funded was to be able to point to all the kind and generous people that support them and their education even though they have never met them. We practice kindness above all in my classroom and it was great to have some real-world examples of people like you who show kindness even when it doesn't benefit them.
Thank you again for this donation and for helping us get started. We have lots more planned from school improvement projects to projects that will help the environment and the world. Our goal is to make learning tangible and fun.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden
21st Century Teaching
Funded Oct 27, 2015Mahalo Nui Loa! Your generosity has made a world of difference to our classroom this year.
Apart from the impact this generous gift has made for these students in the form of technology, it also was a wonderful experience to share with our students that there are still good people who believe in "paying it forward". We talked about what it means to have a larger cooperation (or anyone) reach out and donate to people that they do not know, and help those who need it. I hope that all of my students will one day be in a position to pay if forward in some similar way, so I wanted to say thank you for that first.
Many of our students do not have regular and reliable access to computers or technology at home. Now with your donation we have five brand new chrome books where the class can do research, practice typing, work on missing math and language arts skills, as well as learn how to use the different Google Apps for Education. Students want to come in during their recess and after school to get on the computers because they are so fast and efficient. They are motivated to type reports as opposed to just hand writing them and enjoy researching new topics. And now they are able to collaborate and share work with each other and their teachers.
There is one student in particular who is our "Google Guru" he ensures all the computers are put away each day in a neat and orderly fashion. He helps students login to new programs, learn short-cuts and helps everyone (teachers included) to navigate new programs. He has rallied a group of students that like to come in and compete on a typing program, and says that he prefers to use our computers in school because the one he has at home isn't very fast.
Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Ishii Dowden