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Ms. Tornquist's Classroom

  • South High Community School
  • Worcester, MA
  • Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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We'll charge your card today and send Ms. Tornquist a DonorsChoose gift card she can use on her classroom projects. Starting next month, we'll charge your card and send her a DonorsChoose gift card on the 17th of every month.

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Make a donation Ms. Tornquist can use on her next classroom project.

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Past projects 2

  • New Year, New Supplies

    Funded Jan 23, 2020

    In the time of COVID-19, I am especially grateful for the donations that helped me and my students before our time together was cut short. My classroom became a place where students would come in between classes to use some hand-sanitizer, grab some tissues or a cough drop, or find a snack. The dum-dum lollipops were especially a hit. After a few months, I had memorized which students preferred the mango versus the cream soda flavors and did my best to make sure everyone got their favorite. I am so thankful that I was able to say "yes! I have that!" on numerous occasions when my students or colleagues needed something. From rubber bands to band-aids, we seemed to have been blessed with it all.

    It was period 5/6 when we got the call. We were in the middle of our unit on "The Crucible" when a voice came over my classroom phone from the main office, "Uhhh...Miss Tornquist...you have a lot of packages that have just arrived...." Several students jumped at the chance to leave class (not taking it personally!) and volunteered to bring everything up to my third-floor classroom. Soon, my class was filled with boxes as curious eyes looked on. All of the students who had shlepped boxes upstairs were rewarded in the most coveted of donated items: bottles of water and fruit snacks.

    These supplies really helped to bring my classroom to life. My pencil boxes at my student-supply center were filled to the brim with new markers, crayons, and colored pencils. Students came from classrooms all over to see the wonders of the GREATEST pencil sharpener ever (you could take a tree branch and within seconds have a crafted Ticonderoga #2 with that thing!). One of my favorite memories was at the end of our Crucible unit. I had an "escape room" for my students to compete in, which tested their knowledge of our studies. The prize? A whole basket of goodies from your donations awarded to the winning team. I have never seen my students so motivated before. Almost every single student was engaged, running around the room looking for clues about McCarthyism and the Red Scare, or trying to find the poppet hidden in the room. It has easily become one of my favorite memories from this year of teaching. I'd like to think the students were just really into The Crucible...but maybe it had something to do with the donations!

    Again, I want to thank you for your generous donations. These supplies helped turn my classroom into a little home where students felt comfortable, supported, and excited. It is even more special now, knowing that we won't spend our last 3 months together in person. We could have never expected this, but I am so, so grateful that I have the memories of this first (crazy!) official year of teaching.”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Tornquist

    This classroom project was brought to life by Anonymous Arts Supporter and 22 other donors.
  • Possibilities Post Projector: Collaboration & Celebration in English Classrooms

    Funded Aug 28, 2019

    The first year of teaching is never easy, especially at a school with limited resources. I cannot imagine how this first quarter would have gone without access to a projector and document camera. It's something I use nearly every single day in my classroom and we are endlessly grateful for your donation.

    My English IV class (seniors) are currently reading a graphic novel called Hey, Kiddo which was published by a local author. As we don't have enough copies, the document camera allows me to project pages so that we can study them altogether. Our midterm project was creating a graphic memoir vignette (an example from a student attached in the photos). The projector gives us an opportunity to show off the artwork to the entire class and really celebrate the student work.

    My English III class (juniors) are working through a unit on descriptive writing through food. We have watched documentaries such as Chef's Table to help engage different kinds of learners in the classroom. We have annotated articles together with the document camera. This group tends to be my most difficult, and the projector is such a helpful resource when it comes to keeping students focused.

    In my English I class (freshman and sophomores), we are reading The Giver. As this class has a lot of students who are just learning English, we constantly use videos and class activities on the projector to help scaffold learning. Recently, we listened to a chapter from the audiobook through the projector to change up our reading in class. Soon, we will have a "Ceremony" that mimics scenes from the book. To further engage students, our projector and document camera adds an extra layer of fun by providing engaging slide shows, visuals, and music.

    I use and appreciate these resources every single day. It keeps me from needing to print endless copies, to rewrite notes on the board, and from needing to rely on old teaching habits. Thank you so much for helping to bring my classroom into the 21st century. It means the world to us. (And thank you for helping me stay that much saner during my first year of teaching!)”

    With gratitude,

    Ms. Tornquist

My students deserve engaging lessons that connect them to resources beyond the written page and give them a platform to share and celebrate their work. In a classroom focused on growth mindset, having a projector and document camera will allow my 32-student classes to collaborate together as a team in an eco-friendly way. A document camera will allow us to project student work on the whiteboard and edit together in real-time. This will be particularly essential to my seniors as they embark on writing college essays and cover letters. My American Literature students living in the second largest city of New England would benefit greatly from seeing a life-size projection of The Great Plains to contextualize early America. A projector gives us the opportunity to project a poem from a single book, or an artifact to discuss, rather than trying to pass something between 32 students or using outdated materials. This donation will help our class learn and make mistakes together that can be easily erased, rather than the finite and limited nature of paper. With 125 students total, and only one ream of paper monthly (500 sheets!), this will be an invaluable resource economically and environmentally. It will be a huge time saver as well, as I can project various assignments, such as daily starter questions, on the board, rather than having to rewrite them for each of my five classes. I will also have students in my classroom with various learning and physical needs that require accommodations that these resources can fulfill. With a projector, document camera, and necessary cables and cords to accommodate existing devices, our classroom will become a much more vibrant learning community!

About my class

My students deserve engaging lessons that connect them to resources beyond the written page and give them a platform to share and celebrate their work. In a classroom focused on growth mindset, having a projector and document camera will allow my 32-student classes to collaborate together as a team in an eco-friendly way. A document camera will allow us to project student work on the whiteboard and edit together in real-time. This will be particularly essential to my seniors as they embark on writing college essays and cover letters. My American Literature students living in the second largest city of New England would benefit greatly from seeing a life-size projection of The Great Plains to contextualize early America. A projector gives us the opportunity to project a poem from a single book, or an artifact to discuss, rather than trying to pass something between 32 students or using outdated materials. This donation will help our class learn and make mistakes together that can be easily erased, rather than the finite and limited nature of paper. With 125 students total, and only one ream of paper monthly (500 sheets!), this will be an invaluable resource economically and environmentally. It will be a huge time saver as well, as I can project various assignments, such as daily starter questions, on the board, rather than having to rewrite them for each of my five classes. I will also have students in my classroom with various learning and physical needs that require accommodations that these resources can fulfill. With a projector, document camera, and necessary cables and cords to accommodate existing devices, our classroom will become a much more vibrant learning community!

About my class

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