Mr. McConnell's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 24

• Tape to Communicate on Campus

  Funded Dec 9, 2024

  Thanks to your generous donations our school community can share information more easily and effectively around campus. Having rolls of painters masking tape has been a relief to our leadership class and custodial staff who used to worry about how to post messages without peeling paint off walls. Additionally, the blue tape rolls were a godsend when we hosted a special artist at our school and students constructed cardboard cutouts to show our appreciation of his creations. None of the multitude of applications of the tape in our school would have been possible with donors like you. We deeply appreciate your support.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

• Manga to Motivate

  Funded Oct 30, 2024

  By bringing these materials to my students, you have encouraged a zeal for literacy that would otherwise not exist. By making available books that my most reluctant readers asked for by title, we have enriched our classroom library and moved closer to a culture of reading.

  We greatly appreciate your generosity and want you to know that your donations to this project have already made a difference in terms of student engagement and motivation. I have heard so many giddy comments of "I'm going to read the whole series" and I can't help but smile knowing that time reading and thinking will have resounding impacts on my students' academic performance and self-confidence.

  We are deeply thankful to all who supported this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Reese's Book Club and 2 other donors.

• Growing From Concrete

  Funded Jun 30, 2024

  Your donations have made a lasting impression on our student body and will continue to grow and impact the entire school community in positive ways. Thanks to your generosity, the area around the student cafeteria which was once a barren and cold space without life, is not the planting area for a variety of beautiful and culturally and ecologically significant plants. The area is now a place where relaxation and emotional regulation are possible and the planters also serve as a learning space for students to explore the connections between themselves and the native environment. We thank you deeply for helping bring this project to life!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

• Creative Chain Reactions

  Funded Sep 3, 2023

  Your contributions to this project have allowed students to engage in creativity, problem-solving, collaborative communication, and engineering/design thinking.

  The teams of 10th graders building contraptions in multiple iterations was so fruitful thanks to your generosity. This exercise allowed for enhanced understanding of co-dependence and group participation. Allowed students to fail frequently and learn from their mistakes-- a central tenet of the class culture, and develop the growth mindset that will be helpful to their future successes.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

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

• Play Kendama for Wellness

  Funded Jul 29, 2023

  Thanks to your contributions, I have seen students develop confidence and build friendships around the Kendama. Having an outlet that isn't tied to a screen and which allows for concentration and practice has been really beneficial to the students mental and physical well-being.

  Thanks to your giving, our school community has another helpful resource to support the development of the whole child and encourages the creative play that so many youngsters lack today.

  We are so grateful to the donors who supported this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by Mission Tiger & Albertsons Companies and 4 other donors.

• Getting Ahead with Headsets

  Funded Jun 25, 2023

  Thanks to your generous donations, my students have the ability to build language arts skills thorough accessing and listening to content as well as recording their own words. Your donations are instrumental in developing the voices of my students and in allowing those who have not had a voice to profess and communicate their experiences and share their stories. We are extremely thankful to all those who have to this project and provided the technological resources that have motivated my students ti share their words, experiences, memories, and ideas on a large stage.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 7 other donors.

• Poetry for Healing Teens in a Post-Pandemic World

  Funded Apr 13, 2021

  The stories that were read from these anthologies helped students connect with the human experience. They allowed my students to feel part of a larger community and understand that everyone faces challenges and hardships in life, which was especially poignant as we all endured this year of pandemic learning and the constant anxiety and stressors it has caused. We learned from the characters and built a better understanding of themes in literature and how to interpret these lessons and find evidence from the text to support our assertions. We also learned that perspective is essential and that often people may see the same thing in different ways and that is one of the keys to these texts, the voices are diverse and they all matter.

  Students read the texts in multiple ways, sometimes in small groups, at times independently, but everyone most enjoyed having the teacher read as a model of fluency while allowing students the ability to listen and visualize the story. We stopped often to inquire, make connections, and talk about the texts to deepen our understanding.

  As the books included several authors work, some students did go on to seek out other materials by those writers and it has yielded an increased sense of "readership" amongst my classes having the experience of reading through so many pieces of literature.

  We are very grateful that these books were supplied thanks to your generous contributions to this project and thank you deeply for giving.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. McConnell

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 10 other donors.