Past projects 10
Tap Dance Club
Funded Feb 6, 2023My students were able to use our tap shoes to create steps that put smiles on their faces. Students were excited to put on their tap shoes and dance on the wood stage where their sounds became powerful. I saw their confidence grow once we had tap shoes instead of just using tennis shoes.
Although some students were unsure of the tap shoes at first "they felt weird" or they were slippery, once they got a hang of it they rushed to change their shoes once we started tapping. I am so thrilled to be able to share my love of tap dancing with students who may not have ever been able to be exposed to such an amazing form of art.
As we continue to grow our dance program, I look forward to seeing where tap can take my students. Thank you for contributing to my project and classrooms like mine!”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by Mission Tiger and 11 other donors.Dance Teacher Technology
Funded Dec 7, 2022I can not express how thankful I am for my apple watch. It has been a game changer to assist in my dance classes. I am able to change songs with just a tap of my watch. This allows me to be more present during my classes. I am also able to have smoother transitions and not have to pull out my phone or jump on my computer. In addition, I can track my movement and report back to my students about our class activity levels. My students like that feature and enjoy tracking/reflecting on their fitness activity.”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 4 other donors.New Year... New School!
Funded Oct 11, 2022I am so thrilled to be able to organize and encourage my students through the materials that were funded with this project. It helps me as a teacher manage my classroom as well as saves me time by having resources right at my fingertips. Before, I would have to create, then send off to the print shop and then wait for material to arrive. Now, I am able to print on beautiful colored paper and laminate it myself to be displayed in my classroom. My students are also able to use the portable speakers during their self creation dance projects. They are able to practice in open spaces where they feel comfortable to be themselves and have plenty of room to dance. I look forward to utilizing the materials in my classroom for many years to come.”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 5 other donors.21st Century P.E. Class
Funded Feb 15, 2022Thank you for supporting this project "21st Century P.E. Class"! With the Apple TV and our current TV that is hanging on the main viewing wall, our students get excited to walk into the locker room and see what has been posted. The TV is one of the first things they see when entering in the locker room. I have noticed the students taking the time to view all the slides before setting their stuff down. They love seeing pictures of themselves and the work they have been doing during P.E. The students also congratulate friends for athletic achievements based on slideshow. I am also able to play music through the Apple TV that connects from either my computer or phone. Lastly, it helps free up time for myself as students do not have to rush my office for questions (do they need their chrome books, what are we doing today, etc) and that allows me to be able to ensure safety and help students get things they need during our short time in the locker room. Thanks again for making this possible!!!”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
Going Green With Plants!
Funded Dec 1, 2021We are having a blast learning and seeing our plants grow!! The students were so excited when the boxes were delivered. It took a while for us to get everything organized and set up but one the plants were repotted, different groups of students are assigned plant duties. These duties include watering, supporting the watering of plants (holding leafs out of the way), dumping excess water, making sure the blinds are open for natural lighting & repotting. My students love getting to work with the plants. We voted and named all of our plants bringing them into our advisory family.
Thank you for helping bring this project to my classroom. We really needed this uplifting project this year :)”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 12 other donors.Honey, I Shrunk Tennis!
Funded Aug 19, 2021Our ping pong unit was amazing!! Our students were able to progress from hand eye coordination. We started them just getting feedback from their own paddle, then the wall, and finally from a partner and table. As teachers we learned a lot on how to address this unit and plans to continue updating to make ping pong one of our best units at our school. It was so fun seeing students who had no skills in ping pong at the beginning of our unit to crushing their opponents on the advanced tables. We are so thankful to be able to offer a new unit such as ping pong to our students this year.”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by Mission Tiger and 7 other donors.Celebrate Student Athletes
Funded Sep 17, 2020Thank you for your support to this amazing project. Unfortunately, we have not been able to implement the award "patches" yet because we have not been dressing out this year for PE. With that being said, I am working on learning how to use the machine to design the patches. My PE coworkers and I are so excited to roll this out next year.
We have been talking to the kids about how next year we will have our very own school fitness standards and the kids are excited. This will be the perfect addition to our PE program next year after a very usual school year. Our hope is this really gets students excited to make fitness goals and push themselves in many fitness areas. By being able to celebrate our student's hard work and displaying it for others to see, our students will make memories and goals that will last a lifetime.
Thank you for making this idea a reality!”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose 20th Anniversary Fund and 14 other donors.Juggling Distance Learning through P.E.
Funded Dec 1, 2020We are having so much fun learning how to juggle. It has meant a lot to be able to provide my distance learning students with materials to engage with at their home environment. Being able to teach my distance learning students new skills that require hand eye coordination, has brought a different level of learning through these difficult times being away from school. The faces on my students' faces when they get the skill is priceless. From huge grins to victory dances, the juggling materials have made this unit!
Using the technology of Facebook portal devices has allowed me the teacher to be able to move around my classroom or home demonstrating skills. This ensures better instructional teaching because I do not have to pause move my computer to be able to capture myself in the screen. I am able to engage with my students and join in on workout activities while still monitoring my class.
One of the best parts of this project was having material pick up day. Getting to see some of my students for the first time in person was so neat. It was such a great feeling to provide them with this experience and hope for what their future has in store for them.”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 9 other donors.Distance Learning P.E.
Funded Jan 15, 2021My distance learning P.E. classes have been able to explore new engaging lessons through this project. It helps me as their teacher, adjust how I normally teach in person to feeling confident and growing as an educator by providing impactful lessons. I have been able to use resources to make new lessons in areas such as: first aid/CPR, health and wellness, and even thinking outside the box to take fitness units and modify them to work in their home environments with limited resources.
The students are most excited about what is next to learn. Many of my students are used to traditional in person P.E. and are continuing to thrive while at home through a different approach to teach P.E. My students provide feedback on lessons and units and the majority really like learning the background to things like how/why the body moves the way it does instead of just moving our bodies and gaining skills.
This year has been an interesting journey but my students continue to teach me everyday and for that I am forever grateful. Projects like this help make crazy ideas more of a reality. Thank you so much,”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by San Diego Gas & Electric and 8 other donors.Lifelong Fitness!
Funded Apr 17, 2020This project has reached many of our students during distance learning. It has been a very strange time not being able to see our students everyday. Students were able to come to school for equipment pick up and or ask for equipment to be mailed home to them. They have been enjoying using the resistance bands and jump ropes while creating their own fitness workouts. PE teacher made demo videos to show students many different exercises they can use with resistance bands and what muscle groups it targets. Students are then able to go through slides and design their own fitness workout. Many teachers have been asking students to record themselves explaining the activities they will be focusing on in their designed workout and or explain in writing their designed workout. Teachers at our site have expressed how much the students are enjoying the equipment and being able to create their own workouts!”
With gratitude,
Coach Mandel
This classroom project was brought to life by Mission Tiger and 6 other donors.