Past projects 4
Safe & Successful: Ready for 2020-21
Funded Oct 1, 2020Thank you so very much for your generous donations. This year has been one of the most challenging years of my career and what really keeps me going is the resilience of my little geniuses. We have been learning remotely and safely in school with your help! Having individually prepared packets of crayons, folders, scissors, and more for each student has been very helpful to ensure everyone is safely learning and using appropriate materials. Additionally, my students have been enjoying the OSMO projector during remote sessions as I can play regular games with them and project workbook/worksheet pages with ease. Overall, you have helped tremendously in making this year a little more "normal". We thank you greatly for your commitment to our community and schools!
My students and I send you many thanks and wishes of health and peace during these difficult times.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turbina
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.Super Duper Speech!
Funded Dec 3, 2018Thank you for all of your kind and generous donations. We have all enjoyed all of the new materials we received this school year. The students have been engaged and motivated during my sessions. For example, when my students see the manipulative tokens they want to collect them all and are more likely to respond to the questions and prompts that they are given. We love learning and playing games together in speech. We have even used different parts of the resources to boost our old activities.
We will use these games and resources for years to come and can't wait to tell all of our friends all the reasons why we love coming to speech/language therapy. Thank you for supporting our classroom and our learning! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turbina
This classroom project was brought to life by Staples and 5 other donors.All Things DIY Learning Resources, Materials and More!
Funded Nov 3, 2017Thank you to all of you who donated to our project. We cannot express our gratitude enough! This year, with your help, we have been able to have colorful materials, that are engaging and will last us a long while. Having a printer, and laminator and all the additional ink, paper and pouches helped and continues to help all of us (service providers and teachers) feel confident that we will be able to make and adapt resources that will guide our students to success. For example, we have been able to print out various Expanding Expressions Tool (EET) extension activities. EET is an evidence based approach that uses a color coding system to assist with oral and written expression, vocabulary development, describing and making associations for children who thrive with the use of graphic organizers, and visual stimuli. With this tool and our printed colorful materials, students have made tremendous progress this school year.
The students really love having materials in color and are always more motivated when they see them. Cheers of "wow" and "this is so nice" fill the room when new materials are presented! I firmly believe, they are attentive, engaged and collaborating because of it!
With your generous help, our creative, colorful tool box will keep growing and our materials will be with us for years to come. The impact is tremendous for my classroom, and the school as a whole.
Thank you for all that you did (do) to support our school, and schools like ours.
With lots of gratitude,
Ms. Turbina, and the little learners at WHEELS”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turbina
Speech-Language Therapy Space
Funded Feb 2, 2017There are not enough words to express the gratitude I, we feel with the gift that you have given us. With your generous donations and efforts in bettering our classroom, you have touched the lives of many children and have played a huge role in their academic, social and emotional progress in the last few months. The divider/partition has helped transform a regular classroom, where speech and language services were provided simultaneously along a full class lesson and instruction, into a separate space. Our room is now a place where students can come to receive services and learn without the added pressures of tuning out background noise, or having to divert their attention to unnecessary stimuli.
When the divider was delivered, and the room was split, it instantly felt like, and became a new room. I quickly arranged the desks and chairs, and hung up posters and learning resources for my students. I can't describe the feeling, but as a new speech and language therapist, it was an enormous accomplishment to be able to provide my students with a safe and optimal learning space. The first session in our new room, was a group of three, second grade students. The girls walked in and gasped, "wow Ms. Darya", "Finally we don't have to be distracted by the big kids", "This is so nice", "Our speech room is the best." However, it wasn't until therapy was being provided did I not realize the enormous difference, in each of my student's behavior, work ethic, and ability to sustain focus for longer periods of time. A sixth grader with auditory processing difficulties, and a person who stutters, explained that "I can finally hear myself think, and I don't have to ask you to repeat directions to me five times." In addition, the other teacher who shares the room, expressed that his classes were running smoother, and he did not have to redirect his students to face away from my area.
As a speech and language therapist, I work with students with varying range of disorders, who all have communication deficits related to listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is my role to teach and provide my students with effective strategies and techniques to help them reach their goals. While a typical developing child may be able to block out the distraction, a child who's learning systems are impacted, needs a quiet environment to learn the necessary skills and then transfer them into his/her classroom. The use of a divider to separate space, has become on a larger scope, our strategy. I have used it to not only eliminate noise and reduce distractions, but also, to hang up tools or visual cues, that help them better access the curriculum and succeed. I even display the work that students are proud of, to model their best efforts and to help motivate them further. Working in a growing school, in a high needs area in New York City, I know that I will continue to use this divider/partition for years to come to help designate an optimal learning space for my students. We, educators face enormous challenges as a community and having the support of others helps tremendously.
I hope this letter will reach you well. I truly mean it when I say that there are not enough words to describe the contribution you have made. Each of you will forever be responsible for the progress and gains these children have made and will make. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you a million times for participating in this project and for helping me advocate for the rights of my students. We appreciate you and your dedication to schools, children and education.
With full hearts, smiling faces, and tremendous gratitude,
Ms. Turbina and her silly, smart, hard working little learners”
With gratitude,
Ms. Turbina