Ms. Sally's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 4

• Take It Away With a Killer Instrumental Solo!

  Funded Aug 17, 2024

  Can you imagine a silent disco but in a music room without the dancing? That is what is is like here today. Every single student is attached to thier instrument with headphones on working independently. Some are connected to their NEW device with headphones strumming along to a song they need to practice for upcoming class performance. The bass players are able to extend their learning way past what I can give them thanks to the device you funded. They are on a super intense youtube channel learning complicated scales and riffs. I have no computers in the music room as I believe that students have so much exposure in their lives outside the classroom, this is a place to DO and experience with all thier senses. However, these lilttle devices are like an encyclopedia we can pull from the shelf to reference and expand our learning far beyond what I can give them. It also means we are experiencing music from all over the world in real time. I just saw the guitarists ask our percussion kid to bring the cajon over to replicate a cumbia pattern for a song they are improvising. These 5 devices have expanded out musical world immeasurably.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Sally

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Let Us Write You a Song!

  Funded Feb 2, 2024

  Thank you so very much. Our students now have a keyboard each! It is easy to share a keyboard when you are elementary school students but when you are the size of a young person, such as many of the music majors in 7th and 8th Grade at our school, it is impossible. Our schedule allows our music majors to come to music every day, what a gift and a privilege in a world where the arts are so regularly pushed down the list of educational priorities. Some of these days we play together, sometimes it is headphones and practice and on the occasion for some students it is the one time in a stressful day, that they can rest their minds, settle their emotions and just get on the ninstrument.

  It would be wonderful for you to see one of our classes where we are all playing a song together suggested by a student, often a favorite song from their families or a song that is popular in their world. There are good fights about orchestration and solos, who is going to sing? Who is going to count us in? Should we begin with just the guitars or just the pianos? All this problem solving and experimenting, messy and loud, collaborative and joyful is the result of having instruments to play together. What a gift and how marvelous to respect that hard work and willingness of our students by offering a room full of instruments for them to use. It is not easy in this budget environment to achieve and for you all, we are truly grateful.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Sally

  This classroom project was brought to life by Someone who cares about New York City and 5 other donors.

• Music Inspiration Often Comes in Moments of Quiet.

  Funded Jan 17, 2024

  I would love to bring you into the music room on a given day when our students pile into the door having come from a test or a recess where things were stressful. They immediately want to play. We select a groove, a key and we just play together for a full five minutes. Sometimes it sounds like a jazz club on a sunday night, sometimes a mosh pit at a rock concert and sometimes it sounds a lot like a truck is barrelling through the music room. But upon closer inspection, there are kids playing together and connecting who wouldn't say a word to each other outside the classroom, there are students for the first time in a day taking a moment just to be with themselves, others seems to visibly settle as they work on creating something bigger and cooler than just their one voice. It is loud, but joyful. To give them that moment of togetherness and then move onto working on skills independently...a student who wants to learn THAT favorite song or figure out THIS tiktok riff...being able to give them a chance to be alone on their keyboard or plug into the amplifier with their headphones and work on really crafting something musical is pretty special. Some days it feels like therapy for all of us. There are students who have more than once expressed how much they look forward to and NEED this. So thank you, thank you so very much for giving us all the gift of time and opportunity to rest up in the music”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Sally

  This classroom project was brought to life by Someone who cares about New York City and 3 other donors.

• Tell Your Story

  Funded Jan 4, 2023

  Middle School is tough. I am sure you all remember a time when you needed a break from the cafeteria or didn't feel like dealing with recess. Or maybe you usually love being outside with your friends but just this day, you couldn't deal with the loud space that is 100 kids in a lunch room. Whatever it is, for a group of 8 students the music room at during breaks has become a space that they can decompress. For some it is a space work through the complicated thoughts and feelings of adolescence. This cohort is an unlikely group of students who would not normally socialize or necessarily have much in common but find themselves collaborating, coaching, showing off and sometimes just quietly playing with headphones on in the music room EVERY sing day!

  The word EVERY, is capitalized for a reason. As a teacher, in a music room with more than thirty 8th graders all playing instruments all day, the moments of silence to collect ones thoughts is a beautiful thing. Before you all sponsored these headphones, I would eat my lunch and do my thinking against a wall of sound and often needed to close the room to gather my thoughts. Now the room remains open all day every day, before school, during breaks even when I am holding meetings or teaching other groups. For this small group of students, many of whom would spend the break sitting in the hall alone, the music room has become their home. A space for friendship, experimenting, rest and joy. After 27 years of teaching I am amazed and delighted to know that complete strangers would care about our little space in our little corner of NYC.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Sally