Past projects 15
Holiday Fun
Funded Dec 4, 2024I cannot even describe the excitement that my students had the week we worked on these fun projects. Most of them planned to give their finished ornaments to their parents as Christmas gifts. If it weren't for your generosity, those children would not have been able to give their parents anything for Christmas. The sense of pride they took in their work showed through their attention to detail.
Some of my students who do not celebrate Christmas were so very excited to participate in the wreath activity and the snowman ornament. They had plans to turn them into their own personal winter decorations.
Because of you, every single student was able to engage in comfortable winter/Christmas fun. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
Headphone for Focus
Funded Aug 14, 2024This is one of the most useful tools that have been donated to our classroom this year. Our daily math and reading program has an online, game-like component. This is an additional place for our students to get caught up on missed skills in targeted learning areas. This program has sound and our students have not been able to concentrate on their screen because many students use the program at the same time. The majority of our families do not have the financial means to supply their children with headphones. This very generous donation has been a game changer for the students and our classroom. Everyone has the same headphones. Everyone is able to independently listen to their individualized lesson. Everyone is able to work without getting distracted. And finally, I am able to take and teach a small group of students during this time without the level of noise getting too distracting for them. All around, this has been a win for me and for my students. Thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and one other donor.Graphic Novels for Fun
Funded Sep 20, 2024Life is all about balance, right? As teachers we need to help the students see that while chapter books are important, fun and necessary, its also more than ok to read books for fun, that they enjoy. Lately, all the students want to read is picture books and graphic novels. As an early childhood major, I have spent year collecting picture books for them to read. They have an abundance of those to choose from.
Graphic novels in classrooms are relatively new and I only had three series and they were mostly geared toward the boys. The books you supplied to our classroom were for everyone. All the students were beyond excited to see which ones were donated and they flew off the shelves. I saw new books in their hands every time I looked at them. I also noticed that they were taking every opportunity possible to have their nose in a book or were even asking to take the new books home so they could read them uninterrupted. You are the one that made that possible. So, thank you.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
This classroom project was brought to life by The Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation and 5 other donors.Make 2024 Amazing
Funded Jul 20, 2024I would like to take this time to pass along my utmost gratitude for your unwavering generosity and support. I was able to set up a Calm Corner in my classroom with the newest fidgets for students to escape, for 3 minutes at a time, during high stress, academic times. There is very little time for fun in the elementary schools these days, and these small items with small pockets of time, for students to take a break, are some of their favorite parts of the day. So, for that I would like to say thank you.
Second, with items like the colored pencil sharpeners, dry erase board erasers, and dry erase markers, I was able to put together materials bags for each student. This allows them to have their own school supplies, when most of our families cannot afford to supply such items for their children.
Finally, the books are probably my favorite part. You donated book club sets of books for us to use to practice our reading and comprehension skills. Students lean into picture books and graphic novels these days. Giving students chapter books and showing them how fun and interesting they can be is unlike anything many of them have experienced before. So, thank you again.
For all of these reasons and more, I am grateful for your partnership with my students. We could not have all of this without your support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
Fidgets for My Fidgety Learners
Funded Dec 23, 2023Where do I even begin? We started the year with a calm corner. I grabbed some fidgets from my personal children, things I had laying around the classroom and I purchased a few more to give the students some fun fidgets to use for a brain break throughout the day. I noticed that they started to get bored of the fidgets in the basket. Your purchase came right after Christmas vacation. The timing couldn't have been better. As we put our heads down and really began to prepare ourselves for the state testing, students needs brain breaks more than ever. They were so very excited to have new fidgets to play with. Thank you for your donation. This one really went a long way.
I would also love to personally thank you for the laminator. My old laminator broke and I was definitely missing it! I have used it so many times since it arrived. I grabbed a couple different times I used the laminator. One of the times was to laminate students awards from an award ceremony and another time was on some math open response practice for the students. So, your donation was incredible for our classroom. Thank you for taking the time to donate and to read this impact letter. We greatly appreciate you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
Organized Learners
Funded Aug 9, 2022I apologize for the delay in my response. I do not have a reason to give you. The cart and bins have been amazing. They allowed my second group of students to have a place in the room that was all theirs. Last year, we were departmentalized and the students came to me for all of their reading and writing. My homeroom had desks that were their own space. The afternoon group didn't have anything. These bins allowed them to have a space to store their ELA materials and to call their own. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
They are being used again this year. I moved up a grade, so I am teaching the same students I taught last year. They are using those same bins as their ELA storage space. This is allowing them to keep less items in their desks. We are working on keeping their materials organized and this allows them less items to manage on a regular basis. So, they are as helpful this year as they were last year. So, again, I thank you for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and one other donor.Little Readers
Funded Dec 1, 2021I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. My students deserve the best materials and supplies. The new whiteboards and markers are used three to four times a week. The students just love how white and clean they look. They were using black socks as erasers up until the good erasers came.
The letters have been so nice for us all as well. We use them to help make new words and find words that belong to a word family. The students love being able to come up to the easel and move the letters around. Starting next week, the letters will be going into our reading centers. They will get to make our sight words before they practice writing them. They are already so excited for this center.
So, I want to thank you for helping my students have good, quality materials to help them learn. Thank you for supplying new materials that make learning so exciting. Thank you for being a partner to help my students succeed.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.School Supplies
Funded Jan 8, 2020I appreciate your generosity! My students will be so excited tomorrow when I share that our project was fully funded!
Thank you so much for being a big part of my students' learning. Because of you, they will be a little more successful!
I am most excited to share the paper with them, so they can explore their artistic side on a more regular basis!!
I am sorry this is late! I wrote this awhile ago and thought I had uploaded it. The paper is gone and was loved by so many students. The sharpies and Mr. Sketch markers allowed so much learning to happen. This was even extended into the pandemic where at home learning occurred. This allowed me to continue teaching with extra supplies. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
Technology for Reading Success
Funded Aug 12, 2021I want to start by expressing my gratitude for your unbelievable generosity. I am blown away by this generosity. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My students are a little in love with the added technology. I added reading and math apps to them so they can be used off wifi. The children work extra hard to earn them as an incentive. They also are able to have books read to them in centers. Center time is very important because this is the time I teach the first graders how to read. So far, the students have been entirely engaged in that center, when it comes around, so learning can happen.
So, please know that your generosity is the reason so much learning can occur when that center is out.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 3 other donors.Comfort for Learning
Funded Sep 4, 2018I cannot even express my gratitude for you and your generosity!! We have a very old building with no air conditioning. Our windows open out, so we do not benefit from wind blowing. We also have large windows that let all of the morning sun into our already hot classrooms. Most days, as we live in New England are perfectly fine. The start to this school year was brutal, however. I am very much looking forward to setting up and using this air conditioner in May and June when it gets extra warm. My students and I are beyond excited and grateful for your generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Mitchell