Past projects 6
Tech for the Techie Generation
Funded Aug 22, 2019In the few months that we've had the gift of your donation, these 2 Chromebooks, my students have been able to conduct research projects, write personal statements for college, and so much more. These resources have been invaluable to their continued growth and development as 21st century learners. Being able to learn more about Google suite, improve their typing and writing skills, and just generally having access to these resources has been amazing and so helpful for them. My students are motivated and come into class asking if they can do work on the laptops during their study periods, showing the increase in their academic drive. That's all thanks to you.
I have two students in particular, who come from very impoverished backgrounds and don't have access to technology at home. They were able to apply to college because of the access these laptops have provided. That's the impact of your donation; providing opportunities for the future of these students.
We can't thank you enough for these tools, and will continue to be grateful for them as the years go on.”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 2 other donors.Visual Novels for Visual Learners
Funded Sep 23, 2018I wish I could you show you all in pictures what it looks like to see a student's face light up when they recognize they're able to read books in a way that's most accessible to them. It is truly an experience I hope you all can see some time. My students and I are so grateful for the visual novels we were able to receive as a result of this project and your donations, and we can't thank you enough with bestowing that gift upon us.
In classes this size, its challenging to do whole class novel reads, with visual novels like these, but I've been having my students read independently with them. The vocabulary they're acquiring and the ability to retell stories that they're developing, as a result of reading these novels, is amazing. They're completely different students.
I have one student, Arihel, who just LOVES to read Monster, over and over, because he likes being able to understand what he's reading and get help visualizing the book through the pictures in the visual novels.
Several of my students also enjoy reading El Deafo, and seeing characters like themselves in the novel. It's inspiring to see their faces light up when they notice a character in a novel is just like them. It doesn't happen a lot, and to even have that character be a super hero, its awesome!
Thank you so very much for providing these experiences for my students. They are grateful beyond words, as am I.”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings
The Write Way to Learn
Funded Feb 2, 2019These writing materials are just amazing, and we have you to thank for that. I've seen my students engaged in developing their writing, invested in the writing process and that look of self satisfaction at the outcome of their writing experience, which have been amazing to witness as a teacher.
When my students first saw the magnetic boards with the words, they were intrigued at all the things they could do with them. They worked in partners, as our first activity with the words, to develop simple sentences, or more complex sentences using adjectives and adverbs. Some students did amazing, some students struggled, but the amount of GROWTH that we saw that first activity was phenomenal.
My hope is to move forward with using these materials to develop student writing even more. Using the folders of the writing process to continue to guide them through how we approach writing in steps, using the magnetic boards and words to frame their writing before copying it down on paper, and the buzzers to add an element of gaming to the whole process, to make writing as fun to them as it is to me.
We're going to play a game today that's like relay, but with words and sentences, I'll try and let you all know how that goes. These dreams and innovations in the classroom couldn't be possible without you. We are grateful, as always, for your generosity and willingness to dream along with me as we hope for our students to reach the stars.
Thank you so much, again, for your continued support!”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings
New Year, New School
Funded Jul 23, 2017Thank you so much for your support in providing these supplies for my students. Coming to a new school this year was a challenge. We started off without a ton of supplies and curriculum, and not entirely knowing what we needed to support the students. Your gift changed that in such a positive way and we can't be more grateful.
With your support, we were able to get new materials including a U.S. Map, which supported teaching U.S. History (not pictured), as well as many curriculum materials to support student learning. These lead to many fantastic lessons and classroom discussions, which supported the students in learning the new material in a very positive way.
These materials will also be helping the coming school year preparations and getting us started off on the right foot. None of that would be possible without you. Thank you for caring, for investing in these students and for supporting our classroom. We couldn't be more grateful.”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings
Basketball for All
Funded Mar 14, 2018First, I'd like to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time and money to see value in our Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students and their dream of creating a basketball team. Thank you for believing in them and showing that belief through an investment in their future. But most of all, thank you for giving the gift of sports and teamwork to these kids.
As I am sure you'd assume, these resources went immediately to work. We held out first basketball practice the week of Spring Break for us, and 80% of our team came. The kids had a blast, and showed a burgeoning talent for basketball. They practiced hard for about 4 weeks, often doing 2 practices a week for 2-3 hours a day, to prepare for our tournament. On May 5th, we competed against 7 other teams at Burbank High School for the annual DHH Basketball Tournament.
Although we lost both games and placed last, the kids had an amazing time. They played so well in both games, and I just know that with a little more practice we'll be able to place next year. Not only did they play well, but the opportunity they had to socialize with their DHH peers and meet new people that were just like them and part of their community was invaluable to them.
This was all because of you. You cared enough to invest in them and let me tell you, that investment paid dividends in spades. These kids became more confident through their practice of this great game, and that shows through today. So thank you again for supporting this cause and this team, we're thankful for your support! The students are looking eagerly toward next year and our team wouldn't be possible without your help.”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings
This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 9 other donors.Ready, Set, Read!
Funded Mar 11, 2017First of all, thank you. Your kindness and generosity has given the gift of reading to my DHH students and they are all very grateful. The classroom library is such a hit! Every day during silent reading time, the students are eager to dive in and see what books we have that they haven't discovered yet and its really cool to watch.
We try and read every day now, for at least 15-20 minutes a class period, because I truly believe that reading is the gateway to a more creative mind, better writing skills and better cognitive skills. When we first received the books last semester, I immediately started with teaching the novel "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. A favorite book of my own, I was so sure that my group of 10th grade kids, mostly boys, would buy right into reading it and I was right. Some of the pictures from the thank you package include photos of our white board discussion about identity, which directly related to "The Outsiders" and one showed a picture of their final projects after we completed the book, a character bio.
I also elected to read "The Giver" with my 9th grade class, and although we didn't finish it, I did a paired reading with the movie and the students were so fascinated and interested in that futuristic world, it was inspiring. I never got to shoot a picture of their final project last semester, but they created their own utopia based on that of the utopia in the book, and they did such a great job. That couldn't have been possible without you and your donation.
The top books in our class now are the Goosebumps books, but I have plenty of students reading anything from The Hunger Games to The Maze Runner and everything in between. What is most inspiring is to see the broad range that these kids are willing to read, despite language acquisition challenges they have had. They love diving into a good book as much as the next kid, and that is so great!
We appreciate your gift so much. Every day the kids read you're expanding their minds and lives just by the small token you gave to our classroom and we will never be able to fully express how grateful we are. I only hope that by continued access to literary resources like these, that our students can continue to be inspired by the fictional worlds that have taken us all away at one time or another, and build their academic skills at the same time. They'll always have you to thank for that.”
With gratitude,
Mx. Hutchings