Past projects 2
Bring Bob Ross Back to Our School!
Funded Dec 31, 2024Thank you so much for sponsoring our PBIS program! Our painting event has become popular at school and we are excited to be able to offer more students an incentive that matters to them. I am excited to bring Bob Ross back to WIS and promise to update you with some great pictures!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Metcalfe
This classroom project was brought to life by Allison and Austin McChord.Piano Lab
Funded Aug 14, 2024You have done it again. On the first of October this year, students were welcomed into a classroom of 23 working piano keyboards where they could explore and improve their music literacy skills. While I have taught these skills at the keyboards for a few years, wear and tear often impacts the equity of instruction over time. Because of your efforts, every student that enters my class can work at his/her/their own keyboard: headphones in, brain engaged, music-making at the forefront of their motivations.
The truth is, most students do not have access to a piano at home, and for about 70% of my newest students, this is their first time touching an instrument without having to share it with someone. "Piano Days" are celebrated in the music wing. Connections are made between reading notes on the piano and reading notes for chorus and instruments in band. Sometimes, connections are even made where there were none at all- such was the case with one of my 5th grade students this semester.
Let me tell you about this fifth grader- a student who is mostly nonverbal, struggles to achieve, and is also actively navigating English as a second language. As his entire team and I struggled for a way to reach him, the answer became clear when "Piano Days" began. He would reach for me and demonstrate little songs he had heard before. Woah! Suddenly, we had a way to communicate. I began to share with him different songs and sheet music, and he would grab it eagerly and demonstrate what he could decode. In turn, I would teach him simple words to ask for help, greet others, and make connections- to both his music and his other subjects. His efforts in school have improved a great deal in a short amount of time, and I get great delight in that half smile of success as he finds ways to connect. I am not sure we could have reached that student without your assistance. Piano gave him a voice.
With your help, and the substantial help of The Gates Foundation, I can continue to teach music literacy and expression without having to reinvent a way to reach young musicians without instruments. I can spend my time teaching instead of inventing new curriculum that doesn't involve hands-on work. The experiential, universal language of music thrives and gives not just a few, but ALL of my students a voice- thanks to you.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Metcalfe
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.