Past projects 3
New School Year "Scaries" and a Fresh start!
Funded Dec 4, 2023My students and I appreciate your generosity! We have been putting all materials to use on a daily basis! I am already out of the pencils and browndages that I received earlier this year. When I was able to add my new sharpener to the room they were all excited/surprised to see that it lit up when you sharpen your pencil and changes colors when it has finished sharpening. To be honest, that was a surprise to me too! The floor lamp comes in handy as well- we like to keep the lights off and the "mood" lighting on. I have a few LED lights that go around the top of the room, but with just that on it can be a bit dark. I have tried using extra heat lamps from my prep lab, but that makes the room VERY hot. The floor lamp adds the perfect amount of light for students to be able to see their work and keep the calm, setting and avoiding the harsh overhead lights.
You have all helped alleviate some financial burdens on myself and allowed for the students to have a more productive and relaxed classroom setting.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kirka
This classroom project was brought to life by A family that cares about Boston and 3 other donors.Organization and Motivation
Funded Dec 19, 2021Thanks to you, my students were able to maintain an organized binder for the entire year. I was able to reuse some of those binders for students that did not want to keep theirs- it's the gift that keeps on giving! I have students that are unable to get their own school supplies throughout the year, students that have lost their homes, misplaced their bookbags, or joined late in the year. Having the binders and other supplies readily available has made the transition much easier for everyone.
My school recently adopted PBIS rewards and with that, my "treasure chest" and goodies were put to great use! At first they thought it was silly, but came to love the box filled with school supplies and stickers.
Thank you again for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kirka
This classroom project was brought to life by Clorox and one other donor.Season's Lab and Classroom Organization
Funded Jul 20, 2021I wanted to say, "Thank you!" again for donating to my classroom. My students were able to complete their first ADI of the year in mid-September. If you are unfamiliar with the term, ADI stands for Argument Driven Inquiry. The students go through a 7 step process of being a scientist and using their previous knowledge and work with classmates to come up with a solution. They first identify a phenomenon, receive the question they are trying to answer, brainstorm, do some background research through a series of provided readings, plan their experiment using the resources provided, execute the experiment, collect data, analyze the data, share their results, reflect, and report their findings. For our first ADI I decided to have them explore Seasons! A pretty basic concept that most students (and adults) still struggle with. We are able to use the information learned throughout the year in meteorology, climatology, and astronomy. The students were able to answer the question of, "What causes the seasons on Earth?".
I was able to provide enough materials for 6 different groups of students! It was great seeing them play around with the globe and choose locations for their data. I don't believe many of these students have had the ability to play around with a globe in a small group setting- Most classrooms only have one globe. The thermometers were quite fun. A few groups figured out very quickly that the heat lamps get hot enough to actually melt the thermometers! One student had the heat lamp directly on the top of the globe and yells out, "GLOBAL WARMING!!".. he got some "brownie points" for that one.
The other materials you donated to are also being used very well! I had enough resources to give every student a notebook! I have also been using my organizers on my cart to make everyone's life a little easier. After almost a full year of remote learning, the students are actually asking me to take notes. Students used to complain about notes, and now they want more! Also, with my new organizational setup, the students have the ability to leave their notebooks with me if they choose to.
I have had other colleagues come in to observe the ADI my students were doing and they requested access to the materials so they could try it out as well! Everything is getting plenty of use! Thank you again for everything! My students and I really appreciate it all.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kirka
This classroom project was brought to life by Emerson Collective and 4 other donors.