Past projects 2
Night Of The Arts!
Funded Mar 9, 2020We were finally able to have our first ever Night of the Arts. It was a great success, partly due to your generosity. The night was well attended by the community. People of all ages and ethnicity were present. Included in the night's attractions were the Show Choir, the Jr. High and High School Bands, The Drill Teams, the Drama department, and the art department.
Your donations of lights, costumes, and art supplies were greatly appreciated. We will continue to use your gifts as we plan to make our Night of the Arts an annual event. Thank you again!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Parker
This classroom project was brought to life by The Walt Disney Company.Consumer Beware!
Funded Jun 15, 2016My classes are very lab based. The students enjoy getting to do hands-on lessons. My fellow teachers and I unfortunately, have to share one lab which makes scheduling lab time somewhat difficult some times. Having labs that can be done in the classroom helps to combat this problem. The students were very excited, and motivated to do their best, when they saw the box of materials made available through donorschoose.org and the groups of individuals that supported us. One of them even remarked how surprising it was that people out there cared that much about what we were learning in class.
Students in my room were allowed to choose from a group of consumer-based products to be tested. Many students chose to test bottled water, some tested toothpaste, while others test things like soaps and shampoos. Through the use of the scientific method, the students not only learned to write individual lab reports, ( a skill they will need in college and many careers), they also became better consumers. Students had their own preset ideas about how generic and other name brand products stacked up. This unit allowed them to get past the common notion that "price is always the indicator of quality". Many students were upset by the results they found for the bottled water and toothpaste labs. I believe they have not only learned a lot about science, but about being a buyer of consumer goods.
Having the ability to offer students a choice in their own education (no matter how small) give them such a sense of accountability and motivation. I could literally see the "drive" behind each question and conclusion. It was fun and refreshing to see students enjoy learning. Chemistry/physical science can be difficult subject, especially with all the math incorporated within the learning. Having lessons like this let everyone feel as if they can achieve something and that what they learn is important.
Our next unit will be about the properties of matter. We will use hands-on methods to classify some materials by finding their properties.
Thank you so much for your help. It feels great as a teacher to know there are others out there who support my efforts in the classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Parker