Past projects 11
Creative Concepts For Distance Learning
Funded Apr 1, 2021Thank you for your kind contribution to our virtual classroom this year. I have already put your donated materials to use! This was a part 2 project to funding creative machines in our classroom. Teaching from home has been hard, especially when there is no access to a laminator, printers, or a CriCut. These creative machines and their accessories allowed me to produce materials for my students that foster both academic learning and community building!
The printer is used the most to print notes, student exemplars, anchor charts, graphic organizers, personal vocabulary walls, and many more learning materials I am able to distribute to my fourth graders weekly. These materials are fun and interactive - which is rare for distance learning. Scholars and families are so appreciative of these hands on materials! They are tools they can keep and use in our virtual classroom for deeper learning and on their own for independent processing - especially when laminated with the laminator! I also use the printer to scan reading materials into our Google Classroom/Seesaw so Scholars have access to more complex and current text.
I plan to use the CriCut for end of the year class t-shirts, personalized stickers, yearbooks, good-bye letters! Getting the most creative keeps learning engaging, and keeps kids feeling special and interested!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
This classroom project was brought to life by T-Mobile and 2 other donors.Creative Concepts from Home
Funded Jan 11, 2021Thank you for your kind contribution to our virtual classroom this year. I have already put your donated materials to use! This was a part 1 project to funding creative machines in our classroom. Teaching from home has been hard, especially when there is no access to a laminator, printers, or a CriCut. These creative machines and their accessories allowed me to produce materials for my students that foster both academic learning and community building!
The printer is used the most to print notes, student exemplars, anchor charts, graphic organizers, personal vocabulary walls, and many more learning materials I am able to distribute to my fourth graders weekly. These materials are fun and interactive - which is rare for distance learning. Scholars and families are so appreciative of these hands on materials! They are tools they can keep and use in our virtual classroom for deeper learning and on their own for independent processing - especially when laminated with the laminator! I also use the printer to scan reading materials into our Google Classroom/Seesaw so Scholars have access to more complex and current text.
I plan to use the CriCut for end of the year class t-shirts, personalized stickers, yearbooks, good-bye letters! Getting the most creative keeps learning engaging, and keeps kids feeling special and interested!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
Books In Hands!
Funded Oct 8, 2020Your generous donation of providing our class text to all 52 of our 4th grade Scholars during distance learning has been a game changer. When I decided to change text this year and focus on a story about a young immigrant girl, the same age as my students, facing racism and struggles with assimilation in their day to day lives, I knew just providing a version of this book online was not enough. Every one of my kids and their families appreciated picking up the actual book to read on their own time and follow along during our Zoom class lessons. I have had many students read it a second time during winter break because they were so excited to have it.
Students now struggle with getting their hands on books, especially at my school, when students rely heavily on our classroom library. I cannot express how much these books mean to them and me. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and one other donor.Books In Hands
Funded Dec 14, 2020Your generous donation of providing our class text to all 52 of our 4th grade Scholars during distance learning has been a game changer.
Students now struggle with getting their hands on books, especially at my school, when students rely heavily on our classroom library. I cannot express how much these books mean to them and me. Every one of my kids and their families appreciate picking up the actual book to read on their own time and follow along during our Zoom class lessons. Scholars don't have to stare at a screen to read, they can open up their book and read from there. They now have this accountability, ownership to their learning which has been so hard to establish with virtual teaching.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and one other donor.Headphones at Home
Funded Aug 24, 2020Thank you again for your incredible contribution to our learning during these times. Scholars are much more focused in our live Zoom classes. They absolutely love the headphones, both students and families are so grateful. Scholars can now work in the same room as their siblings on Zoom without being distracted. I love the headphones too, because scholars are now connected to their computer! And as their teachers, I love seeing them so present in class.
You have enriched our learning during such difficult times, and have given access to my kids when their access was denied.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
Double Our Library - More Books!
Funded Jul 25, 2019Books are they keys to success. They hold the most knowledge. I cannot thank you enough for your donation of books to grow my classroom library this year. As mentioned, I am going from 22 Scholars to 54 Scholars actively book shopping in my classroom library this year. This meant, I was in huge need to double my books for double the readers. With your donation, my library is the full of the most rich content - nonfiction and fiction, historical fiction and poetry. Chapter books and picture books. Characters of color and strong black protagonists. I am the most excited that Scholars will find themselves in the books you provided, which I am forever thankful. I anticipate reading engagement being the highest this year, because of you! This means the most reading growth!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
Take ACA to the Mosaic Project!
Funded May 14, 2019I wanted to extend the deepest gratitude towards the generous donations you've made for my 4th grade Scholars to experience Camp Mosaic this year. Camp Mosaic is a groundbreaking program working toward a peaceful future by uniting children of diverse backgrounds, providing them with essential community building skills, and empowering them to become peacemakers. Their values instill mutual respect, open mindedness, self respect, attitude, individuality, and community. With your donations, my Scholars were able to travel 1.5 hours away from Oakland and learn these values in cabins, hiking, in small groups, in group presentations, in engaging activities, in song and dance with many other fourth graders in the bay area. They made friends, discovered a lot about themselves, and learned a lot about their impact in this world. It was the most amazing experience being there with them. I cannot wait to continue to take my fourth graders every year, now that we have a spot in the Mosaic Family!
Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 18 other donors.Flexible Seating and Flexible Minds
Funded Jan 15, 2019Thank you so much for donating to our classroom this year. I am a strong believer in letting kids be kids at school. Giving them flexible seating and choice in their comfort while working and learning supports kids being kids. The bean bag chairs, bouncy ball chairs, portable laptop desks are all being used everyday by Scholars during independent work time. These materials have literally changed the culture of our classroom to a very warm and inviting, happy and calm environment, where kids are in charge. These materials have become a huge part of our structures and systems, and make being at school more fun. I am forever grateful for what you brought into our lives this year. I am hoping to continue to add more and more materials that give Scholars choice in their learning and support our structured, calm, and exciting learning environment. The kids absolutely love our new materials and are proud to be in our classroom using them!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
This classroom project was brought to life by Stephen and Ayesha Curry Family Foundation and one other donor.High Standards for ESL
Funded Jan 2, 2019Thank you so much for your donation! Headphones are a key learning tool in classrooms. Each and every year we purchase the cheap plastic ear buds that last a total of a few months, at best. This leaves us with practically the entire school year without headphones. With the rise of online programs, and the number of ESL scholars, headphones is a necessity to have systems like centers, small groups, and blended learning exist in classes. I am so grateful I have access to headphones for every scholar. Not only does it allow me to implement the above systems in order to do my best teaching, but it engages my learners in a variety of ways. My scholars were thrilled to come back from winter break with their very own headphones labeled with their very own name. We have been using them every single day since they have been delivered. It's changed our learning completely!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana
Listening Tool
Funded Oct 25, 2017I apologize for the lateness on this thank you letter, I'm sure you can empathize with a busy school year. My goal was to establish a strong listening center for day to day engagement, enrichment in both love for learning and academic standards.
The mobile listening center and the CD/Cassette player that was donated has provided music for my scholars when they need to focus, mindfulness for my scholars when they need to calm down. Scholars have an especially wonderful time with the CD/cassette player when I play our Mindfulness CD.
The timers have supported procedures around this listening center and classroom management overall. The timers have have been used for our buddy reflection table, small breaks throughout lessons for individual scholars, and timed activities during centers and small groups. Scholars have been more engaged in their work and have been more responsive to the use of the sand timers rather than regular timers, which make noise and cause interruptions.
I haven't gotten to the point this year with using the CD/Cassette player for providing enriching and engaging academic materials when they need the extra push towards excellence, and another opportunity of high quality learning. This is a goal I have for the coming year. Getting books on tape, setting up research center with the cycled use of this CD/Cassette player, ect.
My next steps is to fund a class set of headphones and these research listening materials on extreme weather and the American Revolution (both research units we complete in the year) to help meet these goals for this listening project.
Thank you again, for you most generous donation.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Semana