Past projects 9
Personal Cooper Care Closet!
Funded Dec 4, 2024I am writing to express our heartfelt gratitude for the generous donations of personal care items provided to our upper elementary students in need. The impact of these donations has been truly transformative. When the students first saw the items, their faces showed signs of relief and a calmness came over several. Many of them expressed how much these items would help them feel more confident and comfortable in their daily lives. It was a touching moment that highlighted the importance of community support in fostering a positive school environment.
We have organized these donations into a new care closet, which is now a vital resource for our students. The care closet is stocked with essential items such as toiletries, hygiene products, and other personal care necessities. Students can discreetly access the items they need, ensuring they can focus on their education without the added stress of lacking basic necessities. This initiative has not only improved their well-being but also their academic performance and overall school experience.
Looking ahead, we plan to continue expanding the Personal Care Closet to meet the growing needs of our students. Our next steps include organizing regular donation drives, partnering with local businesses for ongoing support, and creating awareness programs to ensure all students know about this valuable resource. We are committed to maintaining and enhancing this initiative to support our students' health, dignity, and success.
Thank you once again for your incredible support.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 12 other donors.Community Garden Grows in Bushwick
Funded Jul 5, 2024My students were so excited to get supplies for their garden. They have worked out a job rotation to assist with turning our compost bin (after we collect our food scraps inside each week)
They have started plannng out the calendar for our seeds so we can start them in our seed starters at varying times. And have others in our greenhouse. I have started to prepare the complex area to bring in some of our plants for winter, and they will live in the second greenhouse.
It has been wonderful watching this new class get accustomed to the garden, and take responsibility for various tasks. We have even picked a spot to transplant our tree received in spring, it will have one of the round raised beds around it with some wildflowers from the seeds we received. The entire back garden will be full of color and pollinators thanks to all of you. Not only bringing beauty to our school grounds but our community as well. It is also helping with their social/ emotional sides. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by Newman's Own Foundation and 9 other donors.Calling for Classroom Calmness
Funded Jan 9, 2024It is with sincere gratitude that I write this thank you note. Our calming corner has helped ease tensions and allowed my students an outlet we hadn't had. I set up the coloring mandala in our hallway as a stress relief/ calming corner when not only my students needed to step away and regroup. They love it! I have even caught adults stopping to color with the kids which in turn opens a dialog.
The headphones we received have really helped with our new reading program. Daily my students individually read aloud into the microphones. This program has been monitoring their speed and accuracy. It had helped improve their decoding especially because it corrects them in real time and they hear themselves in the playback. I cam also hear them and speak to them about specific information afterwards.
Thank you again for helping my class and the students around me.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by Someone who cares about New York City and one other donor.Let's Grow Together!
Funded Jun 6, 2023I can not begin to thank you for Hydroponic Growing Tower that my classroom received to start the school year. The garden is set up in the back of the classroom (away from the heaters) and still close enough to an outlet. I put it on a desktop (to avoid mice) and set up a step stool for my 4th and 5th graders. We have planted herbs to start our garden.
It was a complete surprise to my class as they went to a prep period and came back to a set up garden. All 6 had many questions about what it was. They were able to see the different pieces used instead of using dirt (which blew their mind.) My kids did not believe we could grow anything in just water "WAIT AND SEE!" I used the curiosity to lead us to our unit in ELA about culture but more importantly to our personal narrative writing. We used the discussion of the different herbs planted to lead into our talk about our cultures and the different tastes or smells we think of.
Many of the students are eager to taste the mint once grown as they have never had actual leaves or seen it first hand. We have basil, dill and several others growing as well. Once the 18 pods grow large enough (with parental permission) students will be able to taste whatever they are willing to try and they can even take some home once the growth is large enough. We can even try to come up with some kind of simple food recipe to try in class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 6 other donors.Let's Connect & See Where It Goes
Funded Mar 25, 2022I can not begin to thank you enough for donating to our classroom. It means the world that someone would take the time to help us out.
Our classroom is made up of many different personalities and disabilities but one thing we all share is that we have come together to learn. The materials that you supplied the stylus and classroom iPad have come in so handy. Each day the kids grab their assigned stylus when working on a digital worksheet or lately as they create a short video in coding. The stylus allows more flexibility and helps with fine motor skills when working electronically.
The iPad also allows me as the classroom teacher to demonstrate various items on the same platform they are using. Since we use Google Classroom I am connected as they are and can easily link them to various sites we use to demonstrate a skill. It also allows me to connect a child online if they forget their device. This year I am participating in an educational grant that teaches me how to teach them to CODE. Using the iPad, SMARTBoard and our styluses we have started on an adventure beyond the basic simple display. My special education students have started to animate their names in their videos with the use of their stylus as sometimes doing it with a finger can be cumbersome, THEY LOVE IT!!!! THANK YOU!!!!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by Optimum and 6 other donors.Seat Change Please, Ms. G!
Funded Apr 16, 2019Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
I can not begin to explain how grateful I am for the flexible seating. Being a Special needs class we are small and familiar. As many may know that it is hard to sit still and to expect it from kids is hard as I can't do it all day.
My students each received a seat pad to help with the hard chairs they have to sit in all day. We also love using the yoga balls and with the stands I don't have to worry about rolling away. Some students even opt for the floor when writing or focusing, so a yoga mat helped as well. My students loved all the options and can pick how or where they want to sit in order to focus and get their work done.
The items purchased for our class weren't for a specific project but to improve our overall classroom experience. I love IT!!!!!!! I love that everything can be sanitized daily so we can continue to use our items in the future.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 8 other donors.Jumpstart Our Year of Success
Funded Dec 25, 2016I can not begin to thank you enough for all you have done for our class. Your generous donation allowed our classroom to get art supplies, a laptop, reading skills folders to name a few items. So far they have made a Pizza box biography for Black History Month. My students researched a person using the laptop received. They than created a pizza biography in which each slice was a specific category of information. They used the art supplies for make their boxes stand out. My students also used some of the art supplies to make an ABC Book of the Middle East after studying it in Social Studies.
When the box first arrived I had not told the students it was coming, so it was a surprise to them all. We opened it together and they were very excited about the laptop. It can be used as a tablet as well. They immediately wanted to know when they could play with it. Many of my boys were thrilled to see graphic novels come out of the box even though they weren't superhero comics. They have since rotated them and have almost completed reading them; this thrills me! Once we unpacked the box together as a class we decided where many of the new supplies should live and how we would use them.
Since receiving our supplies we have continued our studies in Ancient Civilizations, now moving on to Ancient Egypt. We will be using our supplies to first create an instruction manual to mummify a being as if in Ancient Egypt. They will then use their manual to mummify a Barbie doll. In ELA we have been using our High interest reading folders to brush up on main idea and details as well as cause and effect. I see some improvements in my students since they have been using these readers with the dry erase pouches to identify information. Being able to express their knowledge in ways other than the typical essay has allowed my students to share their knowledge in a way that they are more comfortable with.
Again I can not say thank you enough for your help in getting my students the supplies we needed to share their abilities.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
Special Needs Class Seeks Resources to SUCCEED!
Funded Oct 9, 2014A giant THANK YOU, to all that helped fund this project. My students are always very reluctant to read but they were excited and arguing for who got which James Patterson book first. And for the first time I had a waiting list for books. Most wanted to see why I like the author so much but they were thrilled when they could read a book that I read (even if a different format) and were able to discuss it with me and each other when finished. That made me feel great and it encouraged them to try again. We have also been using the Scholastic Action magazine in class and they are loving it. For the first time in their schooling they put on part of a play. Using the magazine we learned about Edgar Allen Poe's life and death. Than we acted out the excerpt of "Tell Tale Heart"; my proudest moment was when my shyest, selectively mute student raised her hand for one of the speaking parts. Now they all want to find more written by him.
We are just now learning the topic of DNA and heredity in Science and my students will be using the heredity labs that were purchased for this project next week. We recently made models of DNA using pipe cleaners and beads; they are eager to see how it all connects to them. That is where the lab will come in. The math resources are being utilized during our independent time. It is with these that they children are able to decide what skills they would like to work on for those few minutes each day.
My students were excited to see the new books and supplies but are more eager to know that not only am I looking out for them but so are many others.
THANK YOU AGAIN from the bottom of my heart and all the hearts here in our classroom. It means so much that there are people outside of our lives that want to help us succeed.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo and 10 other donors.Let's get SMART not Bored in the Classroom
Funded Feb 11, 2011I can not begin to express the gratitude I have for your generous donation to our classroom. The laptop has not only allowed for the use of SMARTBoard on a daily basis but it has also helped my students with their reports and research in other areas. My students have been able to complete their reading program online as well as use their ELA textbook electronic version (which is great for my visually impaired child). The laptop has opened up a new world the classroom, we have completed several virtual science labs as a class with the assistance of the SMARTBoard. For our current unit the students have even seen clips of WWI and been able to complete activities attached right on the board.
Money and resources are always in high demand in public schools; especially with the budget crisis that exists so this resource could not be more appreciated in our Special Needs classroom. The students of today thank you as do myself and future students.
Without donors like you, so many classrooms and students would be missing out. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Giampapa