Past projects 3
Refresh and Relax: Equip Our Yoga Class for Wellness!
Funded Sep 21, 2024When my students walk into their yoga class, they immediately feel the calm and warmth of the space. They grab their eye pillows from the center of the room and find their favorite mats, ready to settle into a peaceful practice. At the end of class, they each wear their lavender eye pillows during the final resting pose, fully embracing the quiet, meditative moment.
Thanks to your incredibly generous donation, my students can now experience the full benefits of mindfulness without hesitation. It warms my heart to see that more and more of them feel comfortable closing their eyes and being fully present during our closing meditation, something they previously may have shied away from. They no longer feel self-conscious; instead, they feel supported, thanks to you.
When the students first saw the lavender eye pillows and wipes, they were genuinely in awe that these were all donations. I assigned each student their own eye pillow to keep, and when I gave them out at the end of the semester, their excitement was contagious. For sanitary reasons I cannot provide the same eye pillows to my next cohort. My students loved that they were able to keep their eye pillows after the class was over. It was a beautiful moment, and I can't thank you enough for making it possible.
As I prepare for a new semester of Mindful Movement, I carry with me the joy and gratitude of seeing my students grow, both on and off the mat, thanks to your kindness.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support — it has made such a meaningful impact.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Perez-Maldonado
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and one other donor.Amplify all our Voices!
Funded Oct 2, 2021Thank you so much for your very generous donations. Because of you, my students are able to hear each other speak amidst the drone of white noise in our classrooms and the muffling of their voices from their face masks. Each student has an assigned headset to avoid the spread of germs and we use the cart in order to organize our technology daily. A few students are huge helpers in the classroom as distributors and hand out the headsets and voice amplifiers to their classmates at the beginning of class. One particular student, our class technician, inventories the headsets and makes sure they are returned to their appropriate bins on a daily basis. These headsets make our classes feel a little bit closer to what they were like before the pandemic. Although some students are still a little shy and prefer to project their voices, many appreciate being able to listen and respond to each other during class discussions. In addition, the headsets help my students practice their English pronunciation when they read out loud.
When our headsets arrived, my students felt particularly special since they only saw their teachers using headsets to address them in the class. The first day their headsets arrived a couple of students asked in disbelief, "we each get one miss?" Our really quiet students are relieved that they don't need to keep repeating themselves when they muster the courage to raise their hands and speak up.
It's always heartwarming (and funny) when students encourage each other to use the microphones. They egg each other on by saying "I'm sorry what? It's hard to hear you. Come on, use the microphone!" Students are excited to hold more class discussions in our upcoming sociology unit. Our daily class announcers enjoy changing the way they announce our daily objectives and love getting into character by mimicking weather forecasters and artists as they read. Thank you so much for bringing some normalcy to our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Perez-Maldonado
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 11 other donors.Student Yogis Need Yoga Props!
Funded Aug 14, 2019Every Wednesday morning from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM my students walk into their chemistry classroom transformed into a private yoga room. It's their Mindful Movement elective. Jonathan usually walks in with a big smile and greets me with "Namaste miss!" We begin our classes by checking in with each other, seated in a circle and sharing our stories based on the class theme. I guide students through a gentle yoga asana and students utilize their blocks and blankets to access postures in a safe way. We end the class in a final resting pose and guided meditation; students use their blankets and blocks for support and their lavender eye masks for aromatherapy. My students have told me that this class has helped them relieve stress; they love the class's peaceful atmosphere, the classroom community and that it helps them start their Wednesday mornings well. It helps them throughout the day and sometimes even the week.
When the boxes continued to arrive some students became excited, curious about this elective that was beginning soon. Some students even volunteered to help me unpack the materials. A group of girls and a young man offered their help when I was setting up the classroom for the first day of class. Together we pushed the chairs and tables aside, swept the floors, set the new mats out in a circle and placed their respective blocks and blankets. Students' personal lavender eye masks, donated from a neighborhood bilingual yoga studio, were placed on top of all folded blankets. When we finished setting up, we all admired the transformation of our classroom. This particular group of students has helped me set up the room every week since. On the first day of classes, as students walked into the room in awe of all the donated materials, one student asked, "Miss is this all for us?!"
Thank you for supporting me in offering a course that will help my students' mental, emotional and physical health inside and outside of school. This is the last week of our fall semester. Next semester, the majority of my students plan to return to the class. One student suggested we practice yoga outdoors. I look forward to taking them on a trip to our neighborhood park or garden to practice mindful movement.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Perez-Maldonado
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 15 other donors.