Past projects 11
The DRAMA of it All!
Funded Sep 8, 2024Thank you so much for your thoughtful donation to my classroom and my students. It means so much to be able to continue to update the literature that I have available for my students to read. With each new year, we have more and more plays that showcase the many narratives that reflect the human experiences of my students and help build empathy in students. Thank you thank you thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
Reading the World
Funded Jul 9, 2020I am beyond excited that my project has been fully funded and I will be getting some amazing books into my students hands! This would not be possible without the support of each every one of you. It is so inspiring to have people who believe in the importance of young people reading about the world we live in and how it is represented in different pieces of literature!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
Students Creating Films Inspired by Literature
Funded Feb 28, 2019You would not believe how creative my students can be when they are able to express their understanding through the use of short filmmaking. Since adding the GoPro cameras and dedicated AirBook for film editing, my students have made daring choices when it comes to final projects that capture their learning and analysis of both classic texts like The Bacchae and contemporary texts like The Immortalists. They literally bring the literature to life as the classroom and the hallways become their production studio.
The GoPro was very exciting for them -- it freed them up and made them make very active choices as thinkers. It made them feel professional and really inspired them to work together as a film crew during shoots. Having a dedicated computer for editing in the classroom allowed for multiple groups to get their work done in a time effective way. Groups have been able to get their ideas filmed and edited in quick turnaround times because of access to the technology.
As some students were finishing their first project, they were already talking about and thinking about ways they would use the technology in the next phase of class! Doesn't get any better than that.
Thank you so much for your true generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 5 other donors.Powerful Performative Reads!
Funded Nov 7, 2017Thank you so much for your generous donation to help me secure the amazing texts I need to bring my theater classes to the next level. I know that the students will not only enjoy reading, but performing these plays. It means so much to me that you are supporting my classroom and my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
Sensational Soccer in the City!
Funded Dec 29, 2015Thanks to the donations and support, we have been able to have an intense and productive spring soccer season. With the needed equipment, my players have really been able to do a larger variety of drills to hone their skills. For example, before when we had one or two soccer balls, we were limited to large group passing drills which did not allow all players to be active at once. With a decent supply we are now able to keep everyone moving throughout practice in partner drills that allows me to move around and help them with specific changes to make themselves stronger players.
The smiles on my players faces were wide when I showed up with all the new equipment. It literally put a pep in their step and made them feel more legitimate. It was so exciting to be able to reward their hard work in the fall season with brand new, top of the line supplies to make the team stronger this spring.
We will continue our work in the summer and gear up for August pre-season in order to defend our high level of play in the fall. I have no doubt that this boost of morale will also boost the players' confidence resulting in our best season ever!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
He Named Me Malala: Sisterhood Led
Funded Aug 31, 2015The trip was amazing. Dozens of students came together at the end of a sunny Monday to take a walk to the Sunshine Cinema on Houston Street to see a special screening of He Named me Malala. We had students from grade six through twelve represented -- both young men and women.
The students took over the theater and the anticipation was palpable. They broke out into cheers when the movie began, but the most powerful moment was, without a doubt, the cheers through the tears at the end of the movie. Everyone was inspired.
Both in classrooms throughout the school and in our Sisterhood and Brotherhood programs dialogue continued and students have made commitments to make their voices heard. Yay Malala!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
Literacy Live!
Funded Dec 10, 2014There is no way to truly convey the excitement that comes with simply unpacking four brand new ipod touches in a classroom of students. Everyone wants to get there hands on one asap. They want to know why they have been bestowed with these gifts. And then the fun part comes...getting to do everything you can do with the ipod touch and it even expanded beyond what I originally imagined.
Students have been using them to: follow podcasts about different sports teams for my sports journalism class, conduct interviews with coaches and players for articles they are writing, to listen to audio books while they challenge themselves to read higher level texts in all my classes, to film short videos to capture major scenes books we have read or to create video editorials about important issues in my power and voice class.
Overall, students are engaged, having fun and exploring and growing in a new way with their multiple literacies. Thank you so much for making this happen. Hoping to continue to expand their access to these tools. Thank you thank you!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by Kia and 9 other donors.Capturing Inspirational Women in our Community
Funded Mar 9, 2014Any new technological resource in the classroom creates a buzz of excitement. The students are so savvy with technological communications but they love learning new things like filming and editing on the ipad. They all wanted to use it all the time. It was an invaluable resource. They said it allowed them to film in such better quality than then had been able to before and they could take still pictures and then put it all together in one place using the imovie app. Though they all wanted it all the time they also noted how easy it was to share and use efficiently.
We used the ipad mini to conduct interviews with each other and other members of community. We then edited these interviews down into 3 minute clips that really captured the special story of each person interviewed. All of the clips were put together and shown at a public event for the whole school to raise awareness about people who are making a difference in their community.
It was beyond exciting to have this opportunity and I feel more confident to make it even better next year!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by AT&T Foundation and 3 other donors.Reading Novels to Explore Power and Voice
Funded Dec 9, 2011Your generous donation has had a huge impact on my classroom, especially considering the fact that there have been great funding cuts in our school's budget this year. Reading is an integral component of our students' lives and the addition of these novels to my classroom has made one class I teach, Power and Voice, more engaging for the students.
As a whole class we read Marcelo and the Real World and students were riveted by the story of Marcelo. We had deep discussions about how autistic people can be marginalized in society but in reality we can all learn something from all different types of people and they way they think. Students really enjoyed writing an additional chapter for the novel and really trying to get into Marcelo's voice.
Now, we are working in small book groups and I have different groups reading My Most Excellent Year, The Parable of the Sower and Rikers High. They are really enjoying examining how different characters find their voice and use if for power in difficult situations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
Exploring the 20th Century via August Wilson's Plays
Funded Jan 10, 2011Thank you so much for your generous donation of August Wilson texts for our unit on power in drama. We have been able to do a much more extensive study of the century cycle of August Wilson's work because of your generosity. Though I have been teaching this unit for almost five years, this is the first time that we have had access to all of August Wilson's plays. Being able to study the full ten play cycle has allowed my students to have an even greater understanding of how August Wilson chose to explore issues of identity, race, culture and struggle throughout the 20th century.
Furthermore, because of the quantity of texts we had to choose from, students were really able to find plays that they personally connected to. This had a great impact on the choice of scenes they made to use for performance. The performances of scenes this year were phenomenal. It was such a moving and powerful day. Your donation made that happen! Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kelly
This classroom project was brought to life by American Express Members Project and one other donor.