Past projects 12
Keep the Keys Playing!
Funded Oct 1, 2024My students absolutely LOVE exploring sound and music with the keyboards in our classroom. Your generosity keeps them able to keep going, even when batteries run out!
We have a full set of keyboards for each class to use, and the support you have given helps me to continue teaching beginning piano skills. Thank you so much for the wonderful gift to our school!
Students like making up their own songs on the keyboards, and look forward to music class when we take the keyboards out. This gift truly makes it easier for me to give them this experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
Mic Drop
Funded May 9, 2024Your wonderful gift has helped my students learn how to use technology in music production and understand sound amplification. Thank you so much! There are specific techniques needed to be understood in using microphones while singing, and this gift of fantastic, professional equipment will extend their understanding of making music.
For students who are interested in sound and production technique, learning microphone setup is a crucial step in an exciting STEAM project. We were able to use our new microphones and stands in our Spring Musicale this year, making sure our vocalists were heard and appreciated!
Thank you, again, for your amazing support of our school music program.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Kids!
Funded Mar 27, 2024What a wonderful gift you have given to my music students! I am so grateful. We have just begun to experiment with all the sounds and beats available on these lovely keyboards, and now that I have a full class set, I don't have to have them share! Each student uses a set of headphones, learns basic skills on the keyboard, and some have already created their own music that they have shared in class.
One beautiful anecdote I want to share is that some of my 6th graders traded headphones with the students next to them, and played for each other. The joy in their faces was incredible! Thank you so much for bringing this happiness to our music classroom by your wonderful generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 4 other donors.Getting The Sound Right!
Funded Mar 1, 2024Thank you so much for your generosity in contributing to our music classroom! We used the beautiful amplifiers, cases, and cords in our Spring Musicale performance this year, featuring the new Guitar Club in our show! They performed "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica, and the audience LOVED it!
It is such a treat to have true, professional equipment to share with my students, and to help them experience the full feeling of making music on great instruments. Because my program focuses on music students like, I hope it will inspire them to continue to make music for the rest of their lives.
Thank you so much for being a part of that inspiration.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
Turn the Amp Up to 11!
Funded Nov 27, 2023What an amazing gift you have given to our music classroom! I have had so many students who would have never gotten to play instruments like these learn how to play, tune, adjust, and even plug in everything with these beautiful electric guitars! Having the real instruments in their hands adds to my students' engagement with and excitement for creating music.
We are starting to learn contemporary songs, solos, and chords, and having instruments that are used in the music students listen to gives them a greater sense of agency and creativity in their lives. Music is so powerful - thank you for giving such a wonderful opportunity to our school.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
Guitar Tool Hero!
Funded Nov 29, 2023Thank you so much for your generous support of our music classroom! Because of your wonderful gift, we now have the tools to take care of our acoustic and electric guitars. Students are learning how to tune their guitars, how to care for the guitar components, and how to change guitar strings.
Learning these skills with the proper tools will give my students a pathway to life-long engagement in music making! Your gift has made this possible, and our entire school community is thankful for your support.
Hoping you have your own memorable engagement with music-making!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and one other donor.Pump Up the Bass and Drums!
Funded Oct 11, 2023Thank you so much for your amazing generosity in adding instruments to my music classroom! My students were so excited to help me put together the new hi-hat for our class drum set, and have been practicing and taking turns playing our Basic Back Beat. All we were missing was the hi-hat! Please know how excited they are to continue using a complete drum set in class.
The beautiful bass guitar added so much to our performance in December! All students studying guitar will now have a chance to learn bass, as well. Thank you so much for adding such an important and beautiful instrument to our classroom.
Many thanks for helping me keep the music going at our school! Wishing you the best, always.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
Reading Every Day!
Funded Aug 2, 2023Thank you so very much for helping our school increase diverse reading material in our library. We are a school that represents many amazing cultures, and having reading material available to students that show representation of that diversity in the books' authors and/or main characters help students find themselves and build their own stories.
The greatest skill students can build is reading. Students must be drawn to material in books, and having more choices for them will lead them to develop into better readers, writers, and thinkers.
Thank you for helping this happen in our school.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and one other donor.Clip Boards and Pencils and Tissues - Oh My!
Funded Jun 12, 2023Your gift has allowed me to help students write comfortably in my choral classroom! Because of the setup without desks, often it is difficult to have students do theory work and learn necessary music notation and vocabulary. Already this year, my 7th and 8th graders have been able to write, discuss, research, and apply music vocabulary by working on the clipboards. Of course, often students do not have pencils as well, and having a complete set of tools - clipboards, pencils, and tissues for dry erase music staves - has already increased my middle school music literacy.
Thank you for your generosity. Increasing music notation skills opens students to a whole new world of creativity and a new language, as well.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and one other donor.Reading Material for All
Funded Mar 11, 2023Our school has such wonderful diversity, with most of our students able to speak and understand two or more languages. Giving students interesting and contemporary reading material in various levels of English competency engages them and expands their understanding of the world.
By helping us to truly have a representative library selection for our students, you have supported your community in building knowledge of culture, and have given our students a better chance to be successful in their lives.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Castine