Past projects 12
2025 Battle of the Books
Funded Dec 3, 2024Thank you for donating to my Battle of the Books program. Thanks to you, 20 brand new, award-winning books, will be put into the hands of eager young readers. And thanks to you, my students will get a shot at competing with other schools in the 2025 Chicago Public Schools Battle of the Books competition. This program makes my students feel a part of something bigger than their school, and it gives them the chance to prove to themselves that they can do difficult things.
Thank you for making this possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.2024 Battle of the Books
Funded Oct 17, 2023Thank you for supporting our students in their reading goals this year! Your donation has made it possible for brand-new best sellers to make their way to our classroom, where hungry readers await. Your donation has cleared some roadblocks for us as we try to read our 20-book list for our Battle of the Books competition. And finally, your donation is proof of the goodness in the world. Thank you for your generosity and kindness. We truly appreciate you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by A Donor Who Loves Teachers and 7 other donors.Multicultural Book Clubs
Funded Oct 1, 2020Thank you for this incredible gift of reading you gave my classroom. Thanks to you my students--from last year to this year and for the years to come--have brand new books that are award-winning, engaging, and that represent many different cultures. When I opened up this cabinet in September to show students the book club books, there was a collective gasp of excitement. I've never seen students so excited to read in the seven years I've been teaching. They eagerly chose new books and were very excited to meet with their peers to discuss them.
Reading actual novels allows my students to really apply what they're learning from reading lessons that use short texts, to an entire piece of authentic writing. They also learn to love reading--that reading isn't a "have to" but a "want to," and that's why I encourage flashlight reading or finding your cozy spot. Students have facilitated their own book club discussions, preparing roles for them, leading to more of a sense of empowerment.
Thank you for this amazing gift that will serve hundreds of students who don't always get a chance to see their culture in the stories they read.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by Major League Baseball Players Trust and 7 other donors.Terrific Tarantulas!
Funded Oct 17, 2021Thank you for the incredible gift of the pet tarantula!! The initial idea of a tarantula was met with mixed emotions in the beginning, but students quickly grew attached and fascinated by it. They had so many questions throughout the year about its age, what she eats, when she moves, why she's still, how she eats crickets, when she molts. I've seen my students so eager to feed the tarantula crickets. They lovingly named her "Chimkin."
One of the most exciting things to have happened was when the tarantula molted in March. One day it flipped upside down and completely shed its skin in one piece. Now we have a tarantula exoskeleton to investigate with magnifying glasses!
This project has also sparked three other classrooms in my grade to get pets, which is a first for our school, so thank you for helping to spread this joy of learning to even more students.
Thank you for this gift that truly keeps giving and that will continue to give with each class I receive in the years to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 3 other donors.Cool-Down Corner
Funded Dec 1, 2021Thank you very much for your generous donation. Thanks to you my students will have a cozy space in the room where they can feel safe to relax, calm down, and be empowered to understand and accept their emotions. This project will help students with diverse learning needs who also need to feel safe in my room.
Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Whiteboard Wonder
Funded Sep 2, 2020My students use their new whiteboards every single day. In October, every student came to pick one up so he or she could use it at home. They were excited to have this brand-new whiteboard and receive something in-person that tied them to our class even though they couldn't come to school in-person at that time.
My students use it to practice new math problems or work out their thinking. It's great for me to be able to see their work, especially when students are not physically in the classroom. Students will also take pictures of their whiteboards and insert them into their online documents so I can see their work.
These whiteboards have been invaluable for me to check my students' understanding and to help keep them engaged. We and they love them! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
Apprenons le Français! Let's Learn French!
Funded Jan 31, 2020Thank you so much for donating to my "Let's Learn French" project. Your donation provided French workbooks, engaging French magazines, and French teaching CDs to assist in our after school program.
I am so proud to tell you that our after school program was a big hit. I originally expected maybe 10-15 students, but I had 22 student (85% of my class) choose to come for an hour once a week to learn French. And they loved it. They each chose a French name, and we used your books and audio to learn how to introduce ourselves, our family, express our interests, order at a restaurant, among other things. The class was so popular that when our funding was up (I was allotted 10 sessions), I volunteered to continue for free. Then our school decided to pay for the program to run until the end of the year.
What you gave them is much greater than French words and phrases--you gave them access to a world and culture different than their own. You helped create in them a belief that they are world citizens, capable of learning anything, traveling anywhere, dreaming big. Learning new languages shouldn't be an opportunity for only the more privileged schools; it should be something all schools offer. Thank you for making this happen.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
Class Supplies for Our Classroom!
Funded Sep 7, 2018Thank you so much for so generously donating to my classroom. The supplies we use each and every single day are not always glamorous and flashy, but they are necessary to help us learn and stay healthy.
I use the colored copy paper to add some pizazz to the lesson activities, and you wouldn't believe how just a little color affect a student's engagement! It really helps. I use chart paper so students can work in cooperative learning groups, peer-assess, do "gallery walks" to see one another's work, and it is yet another tool for engaging students and helping them get up out of their seats. The PostIts really help me get a pulse on students' learning mid-class, and they also teach students how to closely read a text, because as they are reading silently, they make note of questions, interesting passages, or connections they have.
And the tissue and Clorox wipes are really important in keeping us healthy and at school every day. One step towards closing any achievement gap is helping to ensure that students are at school every day to begin with, and thanks to items such as these donations, our fourth grade has a 98% attendance rate.
Thank you for all of your kindness. You inspire me and my students to be more generous. Thank you for this gift, as well.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
This classroom project was brought to life by Neukom Family Foundation and one other donor.Awesome Audio Books!
Funded Jun 12, 2018Thank you so much for donating to our "Awesome Audiobooks" project. Thanks to you, my students have an incredible listening center at their disposal.
Anytime we do center work, which is 3-4 times per week, groups of four students at a time will go to this listening center, listen to a book together, and then reflect on it based on what we're learning at the time. For instance, if we just learned about theme in the first hour of our reading block, then at the listening center students will listen to the book and try to find the theme of it. It is fantastic independent practice for students. Additionally, this center allows students with limited reading fluency the opportunity to hear what a fluent reader sounds like: how to use intonation in the voice, where to take breaths, when to change one's voice level.
And equally important is the fact that this listening center enables me to then meet with another small group independently, so that students can get more guided instruction during our reading block. These small groups really help students grow.
My students love working at the listening center. They love holding up the book so everyone can read along, and they take great pride in setting it up and putting it back when they are done.
Again, thank you so much for this incredible resource. Your kindness and generosity is an inspiration to my students and me. You are giving the gift not only of reading but of what being a caring, compassionate person looks like.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano
STEM Books for Growing Readers
Funded Mar 20, 2018Thanks to your donation of science and technology books, my students had access to a wide variety of brand-new, exciting nonfiction books this year. Students would occasionally read silently while taking notes, and then they would share what they learned with a partner. Students also met in small groups with me, where they would read aloud and we would talk about the book.
What my students and I loved most about these books was that they related to real-life problems and solutions that scientists and engineers today are dealing with. These books were so relevant to the students' world.
Thanks to these books, students are learning about the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources, why bees are so important to us, how energy is never destroyed, how light works, and many other things. It's opened up a new world to them and made science come to life!
Thank you very much for your donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Caetano