Past projects 112
Checkmate: Tournament in Search of Chess Sets
Funded Dec 23, 2013Chess is now alive and well in our classroom. These chess sets are so well designed! They are light, portable, can be taken anywhere during the day (thanks to their carrying case), and now we will be able to make sure we don't lose any pieces. The cases also store easily but the sets will be out more often than stored. Chess is a hit and we are thrilled by your generosity and support. This is one great gift to our students that hones thinking skills and concentration.
Thank you so much for giving us the gift of chess with first class kits in beautiful carrying cases. We can even have "chess on the go"!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Office Has the Last Word
Funded Oct 31, 2013Hooray! We now have Microsoft Office and the software allows us to load the program onto 6 machines (both Mac and PC). That is simply awesome! We have learned that without Office and all its powerful features, we were at a tremendous disadvantage. The writing, the spreadsheets, the ability to create PowerPoint presentations, all those are essential tools for work students produce. Thanks to you we now have powerful tools and we have them on 6 machines. That means we can get quite a bit of work done simultaneously. I can't tell you how thrilled we are. This is truly a gift that students will use for years to come.
Thank you so much for this crucial classroom software. What a difference it has made!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
This classroom project was brought to life by Quill.com and 4 other donors.Makerbot: A 3D Printer to Realize Student Science Innovation
Funded Nov 22, 2013Oh my goodness! What an amazing device this MakerBot is!! We had the students take it out of the box they not only unpacked it, but put it together, installed the necessary software, and proceeded to design and print in 3D. I could never have imagined this in a public school classroom. As it happens, we have first grade "buddies" and we are the technology mentors. That meant the students not only set up our printer, but theirs as well. We now have class collaborations to design and print in 3D. The sites that MakerBot has included o get started with printing and designing are just jaw dropping. Speaking of "jaws", that was one of the group's first creations, a shark named jaws.
We are involved with science competitions in which prototypes are required. Thank you for the very tools that will allow us to do that. We just can't thank you enough for this "almost home" initiative which made MakerBot possible for the class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
This classroom project was brought to life by MakerBot and 3 other donors.STEM In Living Color
Funded Oct 15, 2013We're now able to remain a colorful class, thanks to your generosity. The ink cartridges had to be changed yesterday (imagine that) and we had the replacement cartridges! We were able to print out our plans for our hydroponics project and the PH levels had to be in color.
Our student work will now be proudly displayed in colorful fashion matching our personalities. Thank you so much for helping us. These are the details that are so costly yet overlooked because they may seem small. Color toner is BIG. Thank you again for your kindness and your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 4 other donors.The Art of History
Funded May 26, 2013This has been a wonderful gift with significant impact. We love looking at American history through the lens of its art and now we're even replicating some of the printmaking techniques. Yes, we love getting a bit messy but what we create is beautiful and now we have a new perspective through which we can study historical events. Thanks to you this project has opened a collaboration with the New York Historical Society that has expanded the role of art in our curriculum and we're having so much fun.
Thank you for the vision of funding a project that is delightful, exciting, infuses art in our day, and one that truly engages our students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Microsoft Office For School Laptops
Funded Aug 17, 2013Three copies to install of Microsoft Office! WOW! That is phenomenal because we are always using our laptops and desktops for writing. Having the full suite is such an asset as the children are also learning to use spreadsheets. Thank you so much.
As for Big Universe, what a treasure trove of resources. The children all have accounts online so they can read any number of books in every content area. They can read high school level books, too so this is a powerful program. Big Universe allows you to publish your own book with images they provide or even ones you can upload. This is amazing.
Thank you for this incredible reading program. We LOVE it. The students also have access from home so this really will contribute to supporting and enhancing literacy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Ballroom Dance for Young Ladies & Gentlemen
Funded Aug 19, 2013"Five, six, let's begin." We have begun to dance like ladies and gentlemen, and what a difference ballroom dance makes in everyone's behavior. The boys were initially wary of learning the foxtrot, the merengue, and dancing with a partner in ballroom dance style. It turns out everyone loves it and we all look forward to ballroom dance. It's elegant and fun, and we even found out how much energy it requires. We're looking forward to our dance competition where we can show what we have learned while looking elegant.
This is a gift that the students will be able to enjoy their entire lives. No wallflowers are in our class and we'll all get up and dance when we hear the music. Thank you for this incredible gift. We will dream with our feet and dance with joy, thanks to you.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Junior Scholastic News: All the News That's Fit to Print
Funded Aug 30, 2013Hooray! Junior Scholastic is now one of our resources for current events. The global issues covered and the high reading level are just what we needed to address informational text and the common core curriculum. What a pleasure it is to have a powerful resource that offers significant content to the students. The fact that the magazine has so much to offer makes is a valuable reading tool for discussions, improving reading comprehension, and using the magazine as a primary source. Thank you for this gift of reading and for bringing a magazine to our students that is relevant.
This is just terrific!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Novels by Literary Greats to Engage Students
Funded Jun 26, 2013We can now read novels together. The Phantom Tollbooth and The Red Pony can now be read by everyone in the class and discussed. It's wonderful to be able to read works by these authors and share our ideas without waiting. The Phantom Tollbooth has transported our students to another world of wild and wacky characters whose double entendres and humorous antics can now inspire us to create our own. We can interpret this book on so many levels that it can be enjoyed by everyone.
The Red Pony has now joined our classroom library with a class set now available. We'll have a class book club as we study this author's work. Thank you so much for giving us a gift of reading that the whole class can enjoy together. Fine literature that engages students is a wonderful gift. Thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
Magna Tiles for Mathematics and STEM Learning
Funded Jun 10, 2013Our young architects have begun to build creative imaginative structures. The Magna-Tiles have arrived and construction is underway. There are three kits you were kind enough to fund and so we have enough tiles for some awesome projects. We are very big on supporting our future engineers and these Magna-Tiles are just the vehicle to do that. They are wonderful because they stay in place. The frustration of collapsing structures is gone because those magnets hold. Now we can really create interesting buildings. Gehry and Piano, we have your apprentices developing ideas. Architecture now has a concrete meaning as we draw our templates and then turn them into reality.
Thank you for this remarkable innovative gift. It will be used all year to the delight of all my students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Alperstein
This classroom project was brought to life by JPMorgan Chase and 5 other donors.