Past projects 9
Help Us Get a Leg Up with New Pants!
Funded Nov 16, 2024I am pleased to report that the uniform closet is currently well-stocked with pants! It's such a good feeling to open the Amazon packages and replenish those empty drawers and know that we are covered when we need it.
It may sound simple, but I don't take it for granted that now when the need arises, we can easily provide our students with a clean, well-fitting, brand new pair of pants. The student can get back to learning, the school staff can get back to their other duties, and we don't have to interrupt our families' days to ask for an emergency pants delivery to school. One less source of stress!
Thank you for being a part of the vision we have for a school community where all of our students' needs, big and little, are met, so that they can flourish, thrive, and achieve any future they desire.”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Replacement Uniform Pants
Funded Jun 26, 2024The new pants have arrived and, a month into school, almost all of them have already been put to good use! (The beginning of the school year always includes a fair amount of accidents among the younger students as they get used to the new routines.)
It's a relief both to students and to staff to have pants in appropriate sizes available if they need it. Students can move on with their day and their learning, and staff don't have to spend additional time pausing instruction or services to track down phone numbers, call home, and then wait with the child while a family member brings a change of clothes.
I am so proud that that we can provide this uniform closet for our community here at Girard. At school we do so much more than just learn, we are also meeting each others' human needs both big and small every day. Thank you for your support and for helping my students get their needs met with dignity and kindness!”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Garden Club Essentials
Funded Feb 13, 2024We are so thrilled to have already started putting this donation to use. On a rainy winter day the 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders in garden club worked together to assemble the composter and brought it outside, and now it is outside ready for us to fill with our organic materials. Next year we will have rich compost with which we can nourish our beds.
Initially we requested indoor growing lights so that we could start seeds in winter, but unfortunately there was a problem with the order. Donorschoose generously let us choose a replacement, so we now have two sturdy watering cans we can use with our existing rain barrels in order to keep our veggies, herbs, and flowers well taken care of now that the sunny and warm weather is starting.
There are so many parallels between gardening and education. As much as we might wish for instant results, it is a slow and steady process of daily care, nourishment, and progress. Things don't always go as you hoped, but you pivot to plan B (and C and D and E...) There is some struggle and a lot of trial and error involved, but it makes it all the more rewarding when you are able, through the right combination of patience and persistence and effort, to arrive at the conditions that will allow living things to flourish.
I thank you for being a part of that journey with me.”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Pants Pants Pants!
Funded Nov 13, 2023The pants have been flying off the shelves! Thank you for your generosity in replenishing our uniform closet.
A great example of the impact is a student who recently transferred to Girard mid-year, which is always a challenging transition. In addition to moving, kids have to adapt to a brand new, unfamiliar school environment--including new uniform colors, an extra expense which can be hard on family budgets this time of year. But we were able to give the student a free "starter uniform" so that he could feel ready to start school and like he belonged on day one. The other day a teacher stopped in my office to let me know that the student had been telling her about how welcomed he felt at his new school, and he specifically mentioned the uniform that we gave him.
That was such a rewarding moment, when I could see clear evidence of the values and vision we try so hard to embody at Girard: providing resources, warmth, welcome, and love to our entire community. And you, distinguished pants donors, have made that possible! Thank you!!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
This classroom project was brought to life by Townsend Press and 8 other donors.Help Us Grow a Healing Garden
Funded Sep 4, 2022Thank you again for your generous donation to the garden at Stephen Girard Elementary. Fall in the garden was a family affair -- my sister came to school to help build the shed and the picnic table, and my mom donated a bunch of daffodil and crocus bulbs to plant so that we can enjoy those first signs of spring. Kindergarten, first grade, and third grade classes all had a chance to come learn about bulbs and plant them along the fence for the neighborhood to enjoy. We will all watch for them with anticipation, and hopefully be able to enjoy the fruits of our efforts hopefully for years to come.
It is a pleasure to be able to share the enjoyment, beauty, wonder, joy, and sense of accomplishment I get from gardening with students. They had a chance do hands-on learning, be active, contribute to the school community, and-- perhaps the thing that generated the most excitement-- touch worms.
There is nothing more hopeful to me than the way that we can count on perrennial flowers and plants to be totally hidden and invisible in the winter, then grow and bloom when the time is right and they have what they need. It's a metaphor and a reminder for how I hope as an educator to create conditions under which students can thrive. One of those conditions is a school environment that is safe, healthy, beautiful, and joyful. Donorchoose projects are not a replacement for equitable models of education funding, but they are a statement of the vision, hope, and power that we hold as community to create the world that we dream of.”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Spare Uniforms and Counseling Office Supplies
Funded Jun 12, 2019The uniforms have arrived and although it's only the second week of school, they have already gotten heavy use and distribution! As you know we have a lot of students who come from economically precarious situations and the uniforms have proven immensely useful already. For example, it was gratifying to be able to give a family who was struggling a set of uniforms for their twin kindergartners, no questions asked, no forms to fill out, no proof of hardship required...just a need and a quick and easy way to meet it.
Beyond new school year needs, we've already had accidents, a full-body red-sauce spill, a replacement for a too-small uniform for a family experiencing hardship, a ripped inseam...so the uniform cupboard has been busy.
Beyond the concrete need that is being met by providing these uniforms, having them so readily available has also provided me with another valuable and scarce resource at school, which is time. While there are measures in place to provide uniforms to scholars who need them through the school district, the process to request them is time-consuming and after the paperwork is submitted, there is another long wait while the request is processed and the uniforms or voucher is sent. Having these uniforms available allows me to bypass that entire process...all I have to do is reach into the cupboard. And I have you to thank for that, for reaching into your heart to support this project. I can't thank you enough!”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Back to School Basics for the Counseling Office
Funded Aug 26, 2019Life with these supplies is great! It makes such a difference to have what I need right at my fingertips. Making the calm-down glitter bottles is a popular activity and whereas last year I had to "hoard" my materials, this year I feel confident telling any student who wants to that they are free to make a glitter bottle.
Similarly, between my interns and myself we run about 6-7 group counseling sessions a week, and it is truly a luxury to know that we have plenty of fresh, high quality, non-broken scissors, glue sticks and art supplies available to use as needed. The headphones get used regularly as students work on computer-based academic interventions in my office (last year's headphones only had one side working), and I've started giving out blank journals to students who need an outlet.
The lime green paper has already been turned into scholar dollars, which is our schoolwide token economy to reward positive behavior. Scholars can use them on "Cash Out Friday" to buy things like treats, prizes, and toys as well as to buy time in our Longstreth game room, which has a variety of games like air hockey, hot shot basketball, bowling, and more.
This work can be difficult, overwhelming, fast-paced, demanding, and at times, discouraging. But it is support like this that helps renew my energy and remind me of why I chose this path in the first place. Thank you for bringing my students one step closer to the fun, thriving, well-resourced school they deserve.”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Giving Kids the Gift of Play
Funded Aug 26, 2018Thank you so much for contributing to our recess equipment here at Longstreth. We are working on improving the school and making it a more fun and kid-friendly place, but structural changes like upgrading the play area are costly and require a great deal of work at the administrative and district level. BUT, providing students with sports and play equipment has been a great solution for the interim, and we have you, our generous donors, to thank for that!!
In addition to use at recess, we've also been using the play equipment for special events and rewards. For example, we do a monthly attendance party for students who have 100% attendance in that month, and we brought out the equipment for that as well for student who chose outside time as their reward.
It was such a pleasure to see frisbees flying, jump ropes flipping, and balls being thrown and caught, and to hear students laughing and playing. In addition to the challenges our students face on a day-to-day basis in terms of resources and safety, often in education the focus is on high-stakes testing, data, grades, and performance metrics. While these can be important, I know both from my training and personal experience that giving students an opportunity to play and be kids together is not only a stress-reliever and community-builder, it also lets them practice the "soft skills" that they will need in life just as urgently as their academic skills.
I appreciate your generosity. It means a lot that you would contribute to our school without having met us, out of the goodness of your own heart. Thank you for making a difference to our school community!”
With gratitude,
Ms. D
Using Play to Tackle Trauma
Funded Aug 9, 2018Thank you so much for the therapeutic games and materials! The Talking Feeling Doing game has been a big hit with my weekly small groups - the competition is fierce and the questions allow the students to open up in a safe way about deeper topics that they might otherwise not feel comfortable talking about. It has been immensely rewarding to see my 7th grade boys group get to know each other, find common experiences, disclose difficulties, and offer support to each other. It is often so hard to get through the outer layer of silliness and goofiness at that age, yet I have seen them open up and share sincere thoughts and struggles - intermingled, of course, with lots of discussion of Fortnight!
Another exciting thing we've been doing this year is monthly attendance awards parties. Research shows that attendance is one of the most important factors in students' academic success, so we're trying to provide incentives for students to attend on time every day. One of the choices for the monthly "95%" attendance party is a game room - where your board games have been very popular! The game room in fact has been so popular that principal is looking into getting us a separate space that will include things like hotshot basketball and table hockey. It's a big idea that grew out of a smaller one, and the board games you helped provide started that ripple.
Thanks again and Happy Thanksgiving!”
With gratitude,
Ms. D