Past projects 4
I Am Brave, I Am Kind, I Am Strong
Funded May 13, 2024I am writing to thank you for your generous donation to our social-emotional group. Thanks to your support, we were able to purchase social-emotional coloring books for the kids to use during our group sessions.
Your contribution has made a significant difference in the lives of the children we work with. The coloring books have provided a creative and therapeutic outlet for the kids to explore and express their emotions in a safe and supportive environment.
Your generosity has helped us further our mission of promoting emotional well-being and resilience in the children we serve. We are truly grateful for your kindness and support.
Thank you once again for your thoughtful donation. Your generosity has had a positive impact and is deeply appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lafond
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 7 other donors.I Love Me
Funded Apr 7, 2022I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to you for contributing to the 'I LOVE ME" project. The I LOVE ME affirmations coloring books helped my students to develop confidence and allowed them to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. A few words of encouragement could make a student's day.
As you can see from the pictures, the coloring pages and activities from the books were used during my weekly group sessions and helped me teach my students social-emotional skills such as self-awareness, behavioral management, and self-confidence. During the groups, students enjoyed coloring the fun images with positive affirmations on each page. They also completed activities such as positive affirmation word puzzles, mazes, and worksheets. This activity book helped build the confidence of each student. As we know, coloring is enjoyable, and most children like the creative expression it allows them to express. Because of you, my students could color while learning essential life lessons. It may have a profound impact on them. This was my goal for my S.M.A.R.T. students. Thank you for helping me accomplish this goal.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lafond
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 3 other donors.Dare to Dream
Funded May 19, 2021My name is Rosalie Rothenstein. I am a school counselor at PS/IS 109 – Glenwood Academy. My coworker, Ms. Edonine Lafond, participated in the Donors Choose program In June 2021, we became the fortunate recipients of funds that enabled our purchase of materials through the Program. In September of 2021, we began to utilize these wonderful materials received and decorated a shared space that is approximately 15'x9'. The space, that we call "Dare to Dream" is shared by Mr. Rickets, SAPIS counselor, Ms. Lafond, Social Worker, and myself, School Counselor. On behalf of my team, I would like to express infinite gratitude to you for your contribution to our "Dare to Dream" project.
Our wonderful project began with painting our space to accommodate the beautiful stickers and decals that we were able to purchase. Ms. Lafond ordered wonderful trees, flowers, and other garden decor to allow for an inviting ambiance with uplifting colors for our students and staff. We spent quite some time teaming up and putting our own creative minds to work....and it paid off. Our students who visit our space sometimes claim that the room affects their mood – what could be more rewarding than hearing this? Our shared meeting tables that we newly acquired house frequent groups that engage in social-emotional learning activities for varied age groups. Collectively, we believe the environment is more conducive for what we do with our students – which is to provide them with a S.A.F.E. space that is supportive, accessible, fun, and engaging.
Since the completion of our space, some of our teachers have taken their students to view our space, and the responses have been very positive. We plan to surround our space with revolving activities to suit the season, such as a gratitude corner as well as an SEL activity of the week wall. We are also looking to plan a welcoming party, to ensure our students understand that this is a S.A.F. E. space that is Supportive Accessible, Fun, and Engaging.
In addition to our " Dare to Dream" shared space, we have painted our offices to compliment the new décor. We have refreshed them with new social-emotional reading materials, posters, and tools to help support SEL in our students.
Once again, I want to thank you for your support and generosity through the Donors Choose Program. This is a wonderful program and I am so grateful to my coworker for taking the initiative to participate.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lafond
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 14 other donors.S.A.F.E Place - Support, Available, Fun, Engaging
Funded Dec 30, 2020I would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thank you for giving me the opportunity to obtain wonderfully useful materials to use with my students. All of the books, cards, games, activity books, and social-emotional lessons were a tremendous asset to my work this year.
Your generosity and donations gave us the chance to use helpful materials with the students as they struggled through online learning, in-person learning, the opening and closing of schools, and just the continuously changing daily routines.
My students loved using the cards as they were a great help to getting the conversation going and engaging more students. It was clear they really enjoyed the sessions and engaging in conversation with each other, as they smiled, laughed, and connected on different levels. This is something they often don't get to experience especially this year. When I didn't bring them to use, they would request them. The board games were fun because the student truly enjoyed playing them in class.
It took them a little time to open up and get used to following the directions but then they enjoyed it as well.
I am looking forward to using all of these great materials with my students next year, as I am sure it will be extremely helpful as they are trying to adjust to another change in their school year.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lafond