Ms. Bricker's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 5

• Supporting Our Unhoused Students for the Holidays

  Funded Dec 3, 2024

  Thank you so much for your generous support of our "Supporting Our Unhoused Students During the Holiday" project. Your kindness has made a significant impact, helping us provide essential resources, warm clothing, and holiday cheer to students in need during this critical time. Because of your generosity, these students experienced a sense of care and hope, reminding them they are not alone. We deeply appreciate your commitment to making a difference and helping us ensure that every student feels supported and valued. Thank you for being a part of this meaningful effort!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bricker

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 16 other donors.

• Adaptive Supplies for PE and Art

  Funded Nov 18, 2021

  Thank you again for generously donating to this important and fun project! The materials that we purchased have already enhanced our programs for the students in ways big and small. For example, a non verbal student, who ordinarily sits to the side of the gym during PE, saw a giant, colorful ball and has begun throwing the ball back and forth to his aide and to other students. What an incredible moment for us to witness!

  Art and PE are classes that most of our students really look forward to. The materials have only enhanced their enthusiasm and their ability to fully engage with projects, activities and also engage with their peers. As I type this note, I look to the classroom wall where I see colorful pictures made with stencils, adaptive brushes and scissors. The students' school experiences have been greatly enhanced because of your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bricker

• Sensory/Calm Down Corner for Ms. Bolton and Ms. Dec's rooms

  Funded Apr 25, 2021

  The impact of the calm down corner to our 2 classrooms has been noticable from the first day of school. Each classroom has a dedicated space that is sacred to our students; it is preserved for emotional regulation only and not for free time. The teachers have done an extraordinary job discussing how to use it and prompting students with "i can see you need a break" to help them build a habit of use. The students enjoy the different sensory tools, whether auditory, visual or tactile. A favorite tool, to no one's surprise, is the putty!

  Thank you so much for taking an interest in our the Roosevelt High School cluster program!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bricker

• Good Health Good Hygiene

  Funded Dec 30, 2019

  When I wrote the project Good Health, Good Hygiene, I didn't expect the impact to be as great as it has been, both to students and to staff. You can imagine the usual gratitude that comes from a student after eating a granola bar or popping a mint; after all, what student doesn't enjoy a mid day snack or a minty refreshment in their mouth? However, the impact has extended far beyond the simple happiness of watching a teen "ask and receive" a snack. Breaking bread with another allows a deeper relationship to be created; it can opens up a longer conversation of personal food references, or what food means to a family, or who cooks meals at home or if their family has enough food for all. Having a snack to offer students can also uncover deeper meanings from statements: "I didn't eat lunch today" or "I haven't been going to the lunchroom lately". A student who I regularly see came into my office, eyed a granola bar and stated "I'm starving. I didn't eat lunch today". Your donation allowed me to offer this student a bar and learn that the reason he hadn't eaten lunch was because of a social media incident that led to threats of being beat up. All involved in this social media thread shared his lunch period so he was avoiding the environment altogether. Knowing this enabled me to consult with his teachers and dean to ensure his safety--and it all started because he saw the granola bars in my office. Additionally, when a social worker has a particularly difficult conversation to have with a student, having food to offer can help provide a "softer", more casual atmosphere that feels good both to clinician and student.

  When your donations first arrived, they were placed with a heavy thump into the corner of my office. The act of assembling the hygiene bags (included were soap, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste) created a great opportunity for a social work lesson on GOOD HYGIENE or my "cluster program" students who all have mild to moderate disabilities. While we all assembled the bags, I was able to provide a hands on lesson to the kids about how to keep our changing bodies clean everyday so that when we have to sit close to one another, we only smell good smells on the person next to us. The bags we created were then given to the counselor's office and the social workers to provide to students who we know don't smell so good day to day. Your donations allowed us to have a tool to start a deeper conversation. One student, so bright and talkative, regularly does not smell good. I learned his mom cannot work because of a disability but her disability check had not yet arrived. Your donation helped him get through another few weeks of personal cleanliness.

  There are so many issues that affect a student's ability to learn in the classroom and to positively function throughout a school day. Your generous donations have been so helpful to better understand some specific issues facing our students. Thank you so much for your generosity. I am truly humbled and appreciative.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bricker

• Growing Into Our Future

  Funded Oct 17, 2019

  First of all, THANK YOU for everyone that donated to our classrooms. We are incredibly grateful. The flexible seating has been amazing for our kids. They get to put into practice body awareness skills and choose, based off a visual, what kind of seating works best with how their body is feeling each day. In a cluster classroom, we make almost every material used for daily curriculum. The binders, folders, and office supplies have helped with individualized reading instruction and the laminator is used on almost an everyday basis to help make visuals and interactive activities.

  How our students reacted when they first saw the materials:

  We like to intentionally change things in our classroom and in our schedule to teach reacting to change in an appropriate way. The addition of the new seating and new visuals, however, was a positive change for our kids! They immediately ran over to try them out and pointed out the visuals that were different in the room.

  We are so excited to start our bi-weekly cooking in the classroom lessons! We have several microwave only recipes that will be super beneficial with helping our kids practice this necessary life skill when they are out of the classroom. Now that we have a refrigerator and microwave, these lessons will be possible to do in a safe space.

  Thank you again for your generosity and kindness which has already made a difference in our student's lives.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Bricker