Past projects 61
Feed Debaters Hungry for Meals and Victory!
Funded Oct 19, 2017This trip was so terrific. We had a large group of kids - mostly underclassmen - come to Villiger to compete, and four of them advanced to elimination rounds. We had two juniors advance to Quarters in Oratory, a sophomore advance to Semis in Declamation and one of our seniors won the entire tournament in Dramatic Performance. We were so proud of our kids who advanced, but more importantly, I am so proud of the courage of my students, who gave speeches on topics including racism, sexism, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Thank you so much for your support of these terrific kids.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Feed Speech & Debate Kids Hungry for Success (And Meals!)
Funded Aug 15, 2017Mary Louis was a great experience. The team was able to build new friendships with freshmen and new members on the bus and during the tournament. The first tournament is always pretty scary but we get rid of our jitters with warm-ups and after results by giving what we call "warm fluffies" which are shout-outs. The hope for these tournaments are not to beat yourself down for not being ranked but to instead have fun and know you are doing something you are passionate about. We were able to have about 6 finalists and it was just a memorable time.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Hotel Room for Brooklyn Speech & Debate Team at Yale
Funded Aug 5, 2017Yale was the first tournament of the speech season so the entire team was, as expected, nervous. Personally, it was the first time I competed in my new category being Original Oratory which I present my own speech discussing a topic I am extremely passionate about. Thankfully I had my speech team as a support system. While no one did make it to Yale final rounds, my team walked away with incredible amount of feedback that will only push us forward in the season. Thank you so much for making this trip a possibility for us!”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Brooklyn Speech & Debate Team Bus for Yale Invitational
Funded Aug 1, 2017Thank you so much for sponsoring our trip to Yale! Our bus ride enabled us to get up to New Haven and back conveniently so that we could focus on doing well at the tournament. We had mostly sophomores and juniors competing and one of our juniors was just one spot away from advancing to the elimination rounds - not half-bad for the first national tournament of the year! Students have already started adjusting their speeches and I have already started adjusting my coaching based on the feedback from Yale, and we are looking forward to a strong season!! Thanks so much!!”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Social Justice Debaters Need New Jim Crow Books
Funded Jun 12, 2017Thank you so much for your support!! The kids were at debate practice after-school when they saw the box of books arrive in my classroom, and they got so excited! Specifically, three of them were like, "Can I please take a copy home to start reading it tonight? I need it for the mandatory minimums speech I'm writing [for the next tournament]!" My kids started using these books RIGHT AWAY to start preparing for our next tournament and not only that but they were SO, SO excited to finally have their own copy of this book. Thank you so much!!!”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and one other donor.AP Textbook for Ambitious Brooklyn Debaters
Funded May 9, 2017Thank you so much for investing in my kids! The course that I am offering the kids is not for academic credit (although they will likely sit for the AP exam next May) but is instead just a course that they are opting to take because they want the extra challenge. The bulk of the heavy lifting is being done by the students themselves as they push themselves through the text that you so generously contributed to and make notes of the chapters. It's a college-level text and they are all freshmen and sophomores coming on their free time during lunch or before school, so it is really extraordinary to watch them challenge themselves in this way. Thank you so much!!!”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Provide Textbook for Ambitious Speech & Debate Students
Funded May 20, 2017Thank you so much for your generous support! My kids have been coming in an hour early to school three times a week and spending many lunch periods and hours after school reading and taking notes from their college-level text. These ambitious students - who are mostly freshmen - are going to benefit so much from this opportunity both in terms of content knowledge and time management habits. Teaching such a motivated group of kids is a terrific way to start my day, and we couldn't have it done it without your support.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Feed Our Speech & Debate Team at Nationals!
Funded Mar 29, 2017Thank you SO MUCH for supporting our team at Nationals this year!!! I tried to pick some pictures that showed you how emotional our kids have gotten this year when they have advanced to elimination rounds at national tournaments. Through supporters like you, we have been able to regularly offer them opportunities on the national circuit and they have gained such confidence this year that when two of them advanced to Octafinals at Nationals last weekend, they weren't even that surprised. That's confidence you can't buy, and we owe it to your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and one other donor.Top Debaters Need a Textbook to Study AP Human Geography
Funded Apr 22, 2017Thank you so much for investing in our top kids! We started this week and the kids have been putting in 110% coming before school at 7am and spending their lunch period taking notes out of the couple textbooks that we are lucky enough to have. They are all freshmen and sophomores and the work they are putting in now is going to pay off both in terms of academics, self-discipline and of course Speech & Debate. I cannot wait to see what this crop of talented, hard-working kids accomplishes, and it will be in part thanks to your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
Send Our Top Three Speakers to the National Championship
Funded Mar 29, 2017Thank you so much for sponsoring my kids as they competed at the NCFL National Championship in Speech & Debate this past weekend. The kids had a phenomenal time in Louisville, and we also made history with two of our kids advancing to elimination rounds for the first time at Nationals. They made it to Octafinals and were just a few spots away from Quarterfinals. We were able to watch some extraordinary competition while we were there and came back ready and motivated to start prepping for next year.”
With gratitude,
Teacher DiColandrea
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and one other donor.