Past projects 23
Coping with Feelings after Covid-19 in My Cozy Area!
Funded Apr 12, 2021It took us some time to utilize our cozy area in our classroom, one more consequence of the pandemic, but we finally are back and stronger than ever. When our students saw the material for the first time, they fell in love with the books: "Can I read this book? "They asked. We opened the boxes and were overly excited with the pictures and comfortable material. Our students helped us to decide where to create the cozy area and to decorate the area as well.
The cozy area is visited daily by many students. Our cozy area is wonderfully comfortable. It is decorated with beautiful colors, pillows, and books, and it makes you stay there for the entire day. Our students are three years old and most of them have separation anxiety at the beginning of the school year. Students are invited to relax in the cozy area by sitting under the canopy tent or listening to a story. In our cozy area we added relaxing pictures and techniques to help them cope with feelings too.
Currently, our cozy area is an essential part of our daily routine. Our students know that if they feel sad, lonely, or worried, they have a wonderful space where they can go and feel better, feel loved and secure. Without the cozy area, our students will not be functioning and adapting to the new insecurities and uncertainties that the pandemic, a new academic year, and separation anxiety exposed them too. It is extremely rewarding to hear, "I feel much better, I want to play now." "I feel much better, I want to eat now." "I feel much better, I want to go outside now." Thank you, donors, for making possible a creation of a peaceful and secure space in our school challenging world. You are our shining star!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great®.Achieving the Impossible!
Funded Nov 14, 2020our virtual classroom is finally functioning efficiently because of your kindness, thank you for your support. The new computer is facilitating the live transmission of the daily instruction in a faster and effective way. Our students can see us better, hear us better and interact with us efficiently. The innovative technology has kept us united and protected during these challenging times.
In the morning, when I open the virtual classroom to my students and families, they are happy and excited to get connected. Children love sharing their feelings, questions comments and completed work. The new computer has made the school family connection achievable. Parents can communicate with me rapidly and I'm able to better help them. I can see how parents help their student learn better and parents are also eager to learn about technology to better help their students.
The microphone has really filtered unwanted noises and it has been a great vehicle to better hear my students especially the students with special needs. With the new headset, I'm able to hear my students better, identify articulation problems and develop individualized plans to instruction at an amazingly effective level. With the new headset, my students can really understand better and communicate better.
We utilize the technology system also as a window to our daily world. When we talk about weather, I'm able to go outside and facilitate a real view to better description. Recently we saw the snow falling from the ski, we saw icicles formed and birds celebrating the snow. We were able to attend the President's Inauguration and this week we are making rocket ships to go to the moon and to meet Mae Jemison.
Thank you very much donors for your great contribution to the school year 2020-2021, a year that will mark the beginning of a new generation of learners and leaders. You made it better, you provided us with the gift of unity and clarity when we were most separately. We will be always grateful, and we will always remember.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund and one other donor.Here, There, We Can Learn Everywhere!
Funded Mar 30, 2020Thank you for your kind donations. Parents were very happy to receive the material that will help their children rise during these difficult times. The new material is providing our students with an open ended word of possibilities. Our students are writing their first words an drawing their future dream careers. Our students are writing numbers and building robots that depict their power beyond imagination. Learning was enhanced by your kind donations and our students will learn as long as we come together as one. Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
It All Starts with a Story!
Funded Jun 25, 2020Thank you very much for supporting the purchase of wonderful books to keep our students learning during these difficult times. We gather as a large group to read the books and our students love describing the pictures and making predictions. Our students love stories and are learning social skills, moral character, and how to solve problems peacefully. Our students are virtually interacting more by asking or answering questions related to the wonderful books we read. Getting feelings acknowledge, especially fear, during the pandemic is essential, and that's exactly what the books are facilitating; understanding! You are amazing!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 6 other donors.Engineers in the Making
Funded Jan 1, 2020We are thrilled to honor your kindness with an infinitive thank you. I wasn't expecting the wonders magestically created by our students with the magic Legos. I call them magic Legos because every single child in our classroom has been able to create something unique, different, special and meaningful.
When the material arrived I asked the students to closed their eyes and guess what was inside the boxes. Our students were not expecting Legos and couldn't wait to utilize them. We divided the material in different containers and they have become our students favorite toys to play with.
Thank you for giving our students the opportunity to learn, share, be creative and develop a solid foundation for math, science, social skills and spacial relations.
Your kindness makes our future generation better, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 2 other donors.Comfy Couch for Learning and Relaxation
Funded Nov 12, 2019Thank you very much for your generous donation. Our students are very happy with the new sofa set. The day that the sofa set arrived, our students were waiting for a surprise. The surprise was announced during the morning message: " Amazing donors love us and they are sending us a gift; we have to promise that we will learn and that we will be kind to each other." They agreed! Our students couldn't believe that we received a new sofa set. Our students were asking if they can sit on them right away and they were jumping up and down out of happiness. Our students helped to find a space for the sofas immediately. Now, our students have a safe place to read books, have conversations, solve problems and learn. All this wonderful results because of generous donors like you. Thank you very much. We love you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 3 other donors.Inspiring Early Writers
Funded Dec 21, 2018You are amazing! Thank you for your giving heart. The day we received the writing material donated by you, our students were very happy. They couldn't wait to open the boxes. Once we opened the boxes, the children were hugging the material with excitement, illusion and gratitude. As a teacher I felt very proud of them because I knew it was the beginning of a great experience for them.
The children are utilizing the writing material in many different ways. Our students are signing their names in the morning, they are drawing colorful pictures and some of them stringing letters and giving them meaning. Recently our students built a wagon and created a chart to select a name for the wagon. It was so wonderful to be able to let them use the writing pad we received in the order.
You brought a smile to our students and that is awesome. Thank you for donating the material to us and inspire our students to write, to be creative and to be unique. A sea of hugs and happy faces from us!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone Who Cares and 3 other donors.I'm Not Afraid, I Can Build Safely!
Funded Oct 1, 2018Thank you very much for your giving heart. We received the new carpet and the students knew exactly were to place it; "We needed in the block area!" Gerald said. Justin added; "Now we're not going to be loud." After I explained that kind donors made it possible for us to buy the new carpet, they sent this message: "We love you because you love us"(I can add that you believe in our students and their potential to be great leaders in the future). Our students are very happy and more eager to build better and bigger structures with the new carpet in place. Children are building ramps, skyscrapers, barns, school, houses and at the same time developing new vocabulary like friction, angle, surface and foundation. Now the wooden blocks can last longer because they are not breaking. I also noticed that other students around the classroom are more concentrated when learning in other areas because the noise level is definitely lower. The new carpet took the learning experience in the block area to a different dimension. Thank you for facilitating a better environment for our students to learn.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by PNC Grow Up Great® and 4 other donors.Engineering Critical Reasoning Thinkers Through Building Blocks
Funded Mar 27, 2018Your loving heart is helping to build a better generation of thinkers and builders one block at the time. Our students were very happy to see the custodians bringing the boxes inside the classroom. The children helped to open the boxes and were very excited to know that they were new blocks: " blocks, we have more blocks, now we can build more houses together. With the additional blocks donated by you, children are able to build bigger and better structures including a stage for singing and dancing, highways and ramps for cars and helicopters. Our students are developing engineering concepts like structure, blueprints, design, columns, foundation and balance. Our students are working together and sharing, they are asking questions and making connections between stories read and building extensions. They recently built a school for Pipo; a character from a story wevread and will be building bridges and castles too. One block has infinitive possibilities, thank you for giving us that chance.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 2 other donors.Crawling Caterpillars for Curious Kids
Funded Apr 22, 2018Thank you very much for facilitating an unforgettable learning experience to our wonderful students. Just like the caterpillars we received turned into butterflies, our students went through a similar metamorphosis during the learning process because for most of our students it was a new experience. Together we made predictions about what was inside the container we received, what will happen to the caterpillars and who sent them. We investigated how to care for caterpillars and butterflies and created rules to keep them safe. We created tridimensional representations about caterpillars, chrysalis and butterflies. We sang songs and read many books about butterflies. During the different stages, our students learned new vocabulary words and math concepts including symmetry. We added wings to our dramatic play area and many students danced gracefully while pretending to be butterflies. At the end, we let the butterflies go with many thank you wishes to our donors but they will live in our students hearts and memories for ever. Thank you for your loving heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Torres
This classroom project was brought to life by Orkin and 2 other donors.