Mrs. O'Sullivan's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 102

• Pad & Apple Pencil Digitally Connecting Students to Learning

  Funded May 29, 2020

  Thank you so much for helping me connect to my students better and how to improve feedback to keep students engaged. I am in the process of preparing to do running records on my iPad with students online and in the classroom remotely. Now I can do a running record with a student online where the student could look at my screen and I could record miscues and note responses using an iPad and Apple pencil while viewing them. By having this iPad and Apple pencil I am able to deliver more effective instruction and able to assess students with these tools. Thank you for your support of this project.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Rekenreks for Financial Literacy

  Funded Mar 11, 2020

  Thank you so much for your generous support of our classroom. It is so important for students to have manipulatives and tools that support their learning and growth in Mathematics. These tools are so useful, students are able to bring tools to their meeting area and use them during mini lessons. The idea that students have tools that can help them visualize even when they don't have tools is amazing. Students are moving from counting by ones to counting by 5s and 10s, which supports student growth in financial literacy.

  I had purchased a small amount of these myself, and the students loved using them, and their Math fluency especially with groups of numbers had increased exponentially. However, now with the funding from this project, all of my students have their own tools, and it is so exciting to see how much they love using them to perform various Math activities. Watching students who would count to 20 by ones, now easily counting by 5s and 10s is amazing. None of this would have been possible without your generous support. So thank you for difference you have made in our classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and one other donor.

• Seating That Makes Cents: Learning Financial Literacy Through Flexible Seating

  Funded Feb 27, 2020

  My class has been completely transformed from a regular classroom with some flexible seating to a true flexible seating classroom. Through the funding in this project and its sister project, my classroom has been reimagined. Students have control over the types of seating they prefer and can sit in any type of seat that works best for them. At the same time they are developed financial literacy skills at a young age without even realizing it. They are learning that their ability to make these choices comes as they earn coins for their good behavior. The better they behave the more choices they have to make. At the same time if they are not behaving they lose coins which reduces their choices. It is amazing to give this wonderful gift to my students. They not only have a totally unique and productive learning environment, they also have one that they were part of creating as they helped choose the materials they thought would work best for them. As they have adjusted to their new learning environment their productivity and focus have improved exponentially. Additionally they have learned what makes them work best and now have another powerful tool, because when they are comfortable they get more work done. An added bonus has been that other teachers who thought flexible seating might not work for them, and were afraid to incorporate it, or didn't know how to, are now seeing how to do it and the benefits of using financial literacy to maintain behavior management with a flexible seating classroom and are beginning to incorporate it in their rooms. I can truly say that your donation has been transformative.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Math and Financial Literacy Listening Centers

  Funded Feb 27, 2020

  Your donation has truly been a game changer for my classroom, I had previously had earbuds, and while they helped students stay focussed and quiet during math it didn't last for long. First graders are unintentionally not that gentle, and they weren't able to act in partnerships. Eventually, almost all the ear buds stopped working. At the time when I did that project I ordered two air pods as well, and they worked fabulously, because students were able to listen to the same book or the same math problem at the same time and truly work collaboratively. Now with this project, so many more students are able to work in the same way, these are hygienic and can be cleaned to be used year after year, the children love them and I can even listen to what they are doing from a distance. The wireless earbuds work just as well as the AirPods and I plan to create another project for them, so that every student will have a pair. They have been so wonderful and have reduced the noise in the classroom from the technology use, without reducing the active engagement of my students in Math and financial literacy. Students know that they have to do their other work (non tech) and reading before being able to use technology, and they are able to earn coins to use their technology, which teaches them the value of hard work and financial literacy. Thank you so much for your generous donation and your ability to believe in transformative change in early childhood classrooms.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and one other donor.

• Seating Makes Cents: Learning Financial Literacy Through Flexible Seating

  Funded Mar 1, 2020

  My class has been completely transformed from a regular classroom with some flexible seating to a true flexible seating classroom. Through the funding in this project and its sister project, my classroom has been reimagined. Students have control over the types of seating they prefer and can sit in any type of seat that works best for them. At the same time they are developed financial literacy skills at a young age without even realizing it. They are learning that their ability to make these choices comes as they earn coins for their good behavior. The better they behave the more choices they have to make. At the same time if they are not behaving they lose coins which reduces their choices. It is amazing to give this wonderful gift to my students. They not only have a totally unique and productive learning environment, they also have one that they were part of creating as they helped choose the materials they thought would work best for them. As they have adjusted to their new learning environment their productivity and focus have improved exponentially. Additionally they have learned what makes them work best and now have another powerful tool, because when they are comfortable they get more work done. Additionally, an added bonus has been that other teachers who thought flexible seating might work for them, and were afraid to incorporate it or didn't know how to, are now seeing how to do it and the benefits of using financial literacy to maintain behavior management with a flexible seating classroom. I can truly say that your donation has been transformative.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 4 other donors.

• Seating That Makes Cents: Learning Financial Literacy Through Flexible Seating

  Funded Dec 27, 2019

  The students were so excited to have more seating options that when the carpet and pillow came they couldn't wait to put them out. Students were feeling the carpet and testing the pillow and helped decide on their placements in the room. They couldn't wait to start using them. They have been spending their "Seat Cents" on different options like the cushion and laying on the rug to do work in addition to our floor table. This addition is just one step toward our class goal of having a flexible seating classroom, and we couldn't have this without donors like you. Thank you for your support as you provided my students with sensory seating that helps them get their wiggles out, increase focus, and apply financial literacy concepts through an authentic learning experience!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

• Seating That Makes Cents: Learning Financial Literacy Through Flexible Seating

  Funded Oct 3, 2019

  It is so exciting to see my students actively earning rewards and learning in so many different ways. Most of us grew up learning at a desk and whether it worked for us or not it didn't matter. That was just the way it was in our classrooms. That's not the type of room or learning that I wanted for my students. The fact that they have choices in where and how they learning is so important to them and makes such a difference in what they are learning, and the speed of their progress. Even more important is their ability to earn their way to those spots and taking both financial and personal responsibility in the process. The ability to sit on the floor and still work collaboratively is so amazing and they love that their classroom is like no other. Up to this point they only had gaim ball chairs as a choice, or laying on the floor now they have so many choices and it's exciting to see them excited to learn. None of this would be possible without your support and generosity, so thank you for all that you have done to help transform our classroom.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and one other donor.

• Math and Financial Literacy Listening Centers

  Funded Sep 16, 2019

  I can't tell you how much your donations mean and how much they will help my students. I have been fortunate enough that through the past few years I have been able to purchase iPads for all of my students. However, with this large quantity of iPads it can get very loud in our classroom. They are using math apps to support their Math program and learn about financial literacy and reading programs to provide them a virtual leveled library, sometimes listening to books, and comprehension questions. With 29 of these going at the same time it can be quite distracting.

  Now with the ability to have privacy through headphones, and AirPods for students who struggle with wires or for partners listening to the same book or questions. The classroom has become so much quieter, while still being vibrant, and alive with excited learners using technology. Again thank you so much for your donations and for all that they will do for our students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Exploring Science

  Funded Jun 19, 2019

  Thank you so much for your generous support of this project. Your donations have changed the way inquiry goes on for our classroom. Students are able to use child friendly durable tools when conducting scientific inquiry. These tools are also being used in other areas of the classroom through a multifaceted approach to learning. In reading students are acting like scientists to discover new words and how words are formed. In Math they are able to look closer to check their outcomes like they do in science and in writing they are recording observations in the world to write about. Your support has helped our classroom in so many ways.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and one other donor.

• Washing Machine to Dress for Success

  Funded Dec 13, 2018

  I want to take the time to thank you for your very generous support of this project. Not only has your donation helped my students come to school in clean clothes, but it has affected an entire school's culture allowing all children to come to school clean. Beyond that their families are able to have clean clothes further impacting the community.

  So many times we focus just on academics, and forget the child as a whole, your donation helps us reach the child as a whole. It is so hard when children have to worry about adult issues like how to clean their clothes, and become self conscious. The last thing they can do is worry about learning. They no longer have to worry about this adult issue, they now have one less thing to worry about. They can focus on their academics a little bit more.

  The children and their families were so excited when they found out their school had a washer and dryer. We even have detergent for them, now. With this new feature they don't have to worry about what to wear, just how to learn. Thank you again for your very generous donations. They have truly had an incredibly wonderful impact on our students, their families, and the community.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. O'Sullivan

  This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Cares and 29 other donors.