Past projects 8
The Needs to Succeed
Funded Aug 24, 2021I appreciate your help in making my classroom a positive workspace for my students. Everything you purchased for the classroom has allowed my students the opportunity to succeed. The pencils have been a daily necessity, and saves so much headache in looking for one. The post its have allowed students to stop and jot questions they aren't quite ready to share out loud. They have also been used to highlight the most important parts of our lessons.
The chart paper has been such a wonderful addition to our classroom. It allows our lessons to be with us the entire marking period, and is a tool I push students to utilize. I've been able to create some pretty awesome posters with the markers you provided, and my students love the incentive of getting to use the special markers to complete various assignments.
I apologize for the late delay in this thank you. Please know it wasn't forgotten about. We had some major shut downs within the school and are just getting back on track. Having your materials has helped to make this year as normal as possible and still promote a learning environment in my class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 3 other donors.Math Materials Matter
Funded Aug 19, 2021It has been a wonderful start of the year, and a great deal of that is thanks to the calculators and handheld games that I have been able to allow my students to work with. The calculators have been used daily in our classes, and because of this the students know how to use the tool properly, and feel prepared for those big tests coming up. The handheld games have been a great resource to pull out for my "I'm done!" kids, and even brought out at recess for some math fact competition.
My students have absolutely loved being able to come to math class and have calculators for each of their daily lessons. Prior to this students would have to share calculators with a partner, or not even get the calculator until test day. One issue that always came up was that students didn't know how to properly use calculators, having daily use has eased their nerves and increased their confidence. Thank you for making that happen.
One of the biggest positives that has come from these materials being available has been with my struggling learners. There are many parts of math class throughout the year where we cannot use the calculator, however, the time saved and the confidence building it has brought with certain objectives has been a positive change for these students. They focus on understanding the process and operation, and let the calculator do the work. (I mean we all use a calculator, don't we?)”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Your friend in Pennsylvania and 2 other donors.Ready to Read!
Funded Feb 6, 2020These items were just starting to get used when the pandemic hit and our school year was cut short. I had a few students spend their lunch period with me in order to organize the materials on a community shelf so that they were ready to go for their classmates. The few weeks we used them allowed the students to take some real pride in their work, and ensure they were being responsible for completing assignments as required. As a teacher the tools allowed me to better understand what my students were annotating and fully see the progression of their thoughts on paper. The items are still on my shelf, awaiting a new set of hands next year. Thank you for providing my students with some basic school supplies that had a major impact on the way they read and write.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 3 other donors.Study Smart!
Funded Dec 31, 2019The items were used in the classroom as much as possible before the pandemic hit. I thank you for giving us enough resources to also be used when we resume in person learning next year. The students were able to use the tablets daily for both vocabulary work, as well as test prep. They were also a great motivator to complete in class work in order to explore various "free time" options I downloaded. The thesaurus books that were provided were used for vocabulary work, but then also utilized during writing class. The books allowed the students (who were all writing on the same topic) a chance to make their essay "stand out" and rid their essay of those overused words. We were just getting into a great routine with using the wonderful resources, and finding different ways to implement them into our day (because doing something different is always a great attention grabber)- sad for what we missed, but excited to dust them off and bring them back out.
Thank you for everything you provided to my students, it allowed me to explore different paths to reach them- and I know it had an impact.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 2 other donors.Get It Started Right
Funded Oct 25, 2018Thank you again for your generosity, without it we would have a very boring classroom. Currently our walls are filled with anchor charts thanks to the Post-It pads you donated. Thankfully, the anchor charts are vibrant and fun for the children to use due to the bright colors from the markers your provided. My students have even had fun creating some of the charts. To be honest, prior to your donation I wasn't able to spare paper "like that", now with the pads in our room, I enjoy my students truly being apart of the learning and teaching process in making their own anchor charts.
My students could not wait to open the boxes that they knew had new books in them. I teach 70 students, and had to develop a plan for who could have out what book and for how long. I had friends in different classes working out a way to get the books at the same time so they could read them together, #meltedmyheart. I loved being able to provide my students with a book for over the winter break that I knew they would enjoy, and in some senses could relate too. Thank you!
Lastly, though a small tool, the pencil cases have allowed my students to stay organized with the materials they need for my class. No more pencils in our pockets, or left on the desk at the end of class. This was something for them, 100%, no returns needed. Some of my students come to school without a backpack, with the pencil case they carry some of the necessary basics for the day.
Thank you again for all you donated, it has helped my classroom make some major moves in a positive direction.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and one other donor.Help Our Library Grow!
Funded Dec 9, 2014Once again I thank you for your contributions to my classroom. You have truly made our learning community feel warm and cozy as we work hard to grow our reading levels. My students absolutely love the new comfortable reading spots. They are so excited to pick their book and pick their spot and get to work. When I say it is time for independent reading the entire class shuts down in hopes of being the first to pick a seat. I would have to say their absolute favorite is the chair and ottoman combo- they feel so "at home" when in that chair. My class is looked at as one of the best reading places in the school due to all the resources you were able to provide for us.
We have had the wonderful opportunity to use the resources you provided to us daily. We are a school who truly believes that students need to read in order to grow as readers. Therefore, we have 60 minutes a day dedicated to student reading. With so much reading time the books you provided for us have also asset. My kids have developed goals for reading a certain number of books, and without your contributions I am not sure my library would have been able to accommodate them.
I cannot begin to tell you the ways in which your contributions have helped our classroom. I feel as though it has made it feel as a more comfortable learning environment. Also, many of my students have made tremendous reading growth. As an inner city school, and with almost all below grade level, these large gains are needed for both their academic futures as well as their own morale. Again, I thank you. You have made a difference for me and these 50 5th graders. We are happy, comfortable, growing readers.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
Basic Ingredients To Succeed
Funded Feb 1, 2014I cannot thank you enough for helping to fund my classroom project. The materials that you have provided has taken my classroom to a whole new level. It's funny but the little things really do make a difference. There is no more fighting over who has the pencil with the best eraser-because we all have erasers, and we all have brand new pencils! My room is full of colorful and useful anchor charts. We have been able to keep a record of reading for the chapter books that we read and never ran out of paper because of the chart paper you were able to provide!The simple fact of having my daily objectives written in bright colors- not only brings attention to our goals for the day, but a little joy and sunshine to our room. The timer has really helped with adding some more structure both for me and the students during independent time. Once that timer goes off we know we should be moving on to the next set of directions. It also allows us to take some much needed brain breaks and still get back on track in our lesson. I personally find the "clicker" as the most useful. I can easily circulate throughout the room and move the lesson forward. No more going back to the computer to move to the next slide, or standing by the computer during the lesson. It also makes the kids feel more mature, to be able to point to an area on the slide with the laser- one student stated, "I thought they only had that in college". These little items that help to make up my classroom has really made a difference. It shows my students that we all really do care about their education and want the very best for them- and in turn they have that outlook as well. Thank you again for your generous donations. They will continue to provide for our 5th grade students next year as well.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski
Reading Is Power
Funded Dec 7, 2013I cannot thank you enough for providing our 5th graders with these resources. For some it was the first time they have seen so many books, and the fact that they were all for them- they just could not believe it. My students were so excited to go through the titles of the books- we made it an after school party. The books you provided to our classroom are in constant rotation and are being used daily to help students obtain their reading goals. I thank you so much for giving us this gift. The bins you provided have helped in keeping our books neat and organized making sure that 5th graders for years to come will be able to enjoy nice books. They also add color to the room, which, while a little accent- it livens up our day. We have also filled our magazine boxes with our latest Time for Kids and National Geographic- I love that the students can easily access information on current events- and it is all thanks to you! Our mailbox has also helped to keep kids on track with various assignments and allows me to provide individual goal oriented materials to students who are in need. It makes the routine of the class run so much more smoothly. The students are so excited to come to class and get to work- they feel valued by being trusted with these materials and that we all care enough to want the very best for them. Thank you for all that you did and I am sure will continue to do.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lapacinski