Past projects 9
Keeping the Mind Stimulated Through Motion
Funded May 9, 2018With the range of diverse needs in my classroom, this project has played an instrumental role in supporting all of them. Being physically comfortable in the classroom allowed them to actually pay more attention. Those who need movement can sit on bouncy balls, those who need to rock can stand on wobble boards, those who prefer the ground could choose to be on the floor chairs.
When the students first saw the variety of flexible seating options available to them, they were stunned and relieved. The classroom looked so different, so much more inviting, and fun! Concentration improved and students also were wonderful about allowing others who needed a specific type of seat to take it for that period.
Thank you for your support and generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 6 other donors.Keeping the Mind Stimulated Through Flexible Seating Options
Funded Jul 27, 2018With the range of diverse needs in my classroom, this project has played an instrumental role in supporting all of them. Being physically comfortable in the classroom allowed them to actually pay more attention. Those who need movement can sit on bouncy balls, those who need to rock can stand on wobble boards, those who prefer the ground could choose to be on the floor chairs.
When the students first saw the variety of flexible seating options available to them, they were stunned and relieved. The classroom looked so different, so much more inviting, and fun! Concentration improved and students also were wonderful about allowing others who needed a specific type of seat to take it for that period.
Thank you for your support and generosity!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
Technology For Engaging With One Another's Ideas
Funded Dec 15, 2020Your generosity has made so much more possible during distanced learning. Having an iPad with an Apple Pencil has markedly improved the online math lessons I am able to deliver to my students. I don't know how I went on for so many months without such impactful tools!
If you look at the photos I shared, you can see how I can actually LEGIBLY write numbers, equations, patterns, and just annotate so much easily and in color, no less! All this time I have been using my trackpad and could not write anything quickly or neatly, not to mention the lag and the frustration on top of it.
I am also able to use the iPad and Pencil to purposefully plan my lessons. I can take notes without trying to flip through pages of a notebook trying to find where I had written something down. I can draft out math problems and situations quickly, then save them in folders to find easily later. I can reference and save resources such as the state standards and then mark up the text. While it wasn't my original intention to use these tools for planning, I've found them to be useful for that purpose as well! This allows me to more effectively teach my students because I can keep my planning more organized.
Finally, having this iPad serves as a second screen and another tool to monitor Zoom breakout rooms! I log in with computer, but since having this iPad I also log in with it as well. It has saved me on multiple occasions when I got disconnected from my laptop. I am also able to use the iPad to more easily monitor the chat, which is the main way my middle school students communicate and participate. Rather than have the chat box clutter my computer screen, I can look at my iPad. When students are in their breakout rooms, I can use my iPad to monitor another breakout group since I can't be in more than one place at once (although having this iPad certainly makes it feel possible)!
Again, I tremendously appreciate your donation as it has made the stress of online learning shift from feeling insurmountable to manageable. Thank you so very much.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by Chevron and 3 other donors.Connecting Digitally With Students
Funded Dec 17, 2020Because of your generosity especially during distanced learning, I have been able to provide my students with a more streamlined online learning education. As a teacher who is also a mother to young children, there are many instances when my children find their way into the room while I am in the middle of a lesson. With my youngest, she wiggles her way onto my lap and begins to pull on cords and cables.
Now that I have wireless ear buds and a wireless ergonomic mouse, I'm able to avoid losing moments of sound when my daughter pulls my earphones out by the cords. Also, I can easily reposition the mouse to a different area and still manage to teach even while I have her in my arms. Prior to this, my students would experience more interruptions and lulls in their lessons because I was having my earphones yanked out and was unable to reach my trackpad to continue showing slides or to manage Zoom.
While this project doesn't necessarily affect my students directly, I do have to emphasize that they feel the impact of this project because of how it improves their overall learning experience. Thank you again so much for your support!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
Games that Promote Empathy and Social Skills
Funded Sep 27, 2019My students have thoroughly enjoyed using the games to talk more openly about their socio-emotional learning. They get excited when game time is on the agenda for the day. My students have told me that they have learned more about their friends and have gotten to befriend more of their classmates.
The look on their faces when we first opened the materials was heart-warming. They opened the games with such care, and treated them just as carefully when it was time to put them away.
Moving forward, I know these activities will encourage them to further get to know one another, thereby fostering an even closer classroom community. Thank you so much again for your generosity, and particularly for understanding that we must tend to our young people's socio-emotional learning.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by District Partnership Program and 4 other donors.Staying Fit and Active During Recess & Lunch!
Funded Dec 11, 2011From the bottom of my heart, my class and I thank you tremendously for your generosity. These past several months, the students have been thoroughly enjoying all the equipment they have received. Now, instead of just standing around at recess and trying to figure out something to do, the students can't wait to take out the play equipment and play soccer, basketball, tetherball, football, and more.
Some of this equipment they have never had before. They are taking care of the equipment because they know it came from people who care. It's also wonderful to see that they are staying healthy while also having fun. Outside of school, there is not much open space for them to play the way they can here at school. Such is the nature of living in a densely populated urban neighborhood that is shared with many businesses.
I just can't express to you the amount of joy they show on their faces (perhaps some of it is captured in the photos)! They are proud to have equipment that is just for them. They take care of it and use the air pump to fill up the balls when needed. They are great at self-managing and taking care of all the materials you were able to help make possible to purchase!
Again, our class thanks you so much! We hope that you continue to support projects like ours! One cannot place a value or price on the impact your contribution has made in our classroom! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 12 other donors.Encouraging Exploration and Inspiring Creativity!
Funded Dec 15, 2011It really is impossible to describe the level of excitement and enjoyment my students have been getting out of exploring the K'Nex kits! The students have been spending their own free time during recess, lunch, and after school to build with these kits. It takes a substantial amount of concentration to be able to follow the directions in the diagrams and build each structure. Watching my kids do so has revealed to me how amazing their abilities truly are! They're even more brilliant than I already thought they were.
In Science class, the students learn about different energy sources. The K'Nex kit that focuses on alternative forms of energy has been the most popular kit. The students loves using the solar panels to run their K'Nex structures. They are eagerly fetch me to show me what they have built. They are engineers in the making!
Donors, without your generous contributions, our students would not be able to delve into such deeply meaningful learning experiences that are equally as fun. Our district and state budget cuts make it such that materials such as K'Nex kits are merely considered extraneous and not part of the core curriculum.
Thank you so much for making these learning experiences possible for our students. We hope that you will continue to support classrooms like ours! Please know that your impact is significant in our classroom!
”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 5 other donors.A Weekly Dose of Science & Why It Matters!
Funded Nov 30, 2011Thank you so much for your generous donations to our classroom. Our students have been thoroughly enjoying the Weekly Readers they have been receiving. I can't even describe to you how excited they get on a weekly basis when they receive the newest edition.
While it is difficult to get students to read the newspaper, essentially that is what they are doing while reading these magazines. They get to learn about what is happening around the world. The kinds of questions that arise when they are reading the Weekly Readers show how deeply they are concerned about the topics they learn about. These topics are relevant and interesting.
The monthly Science Spin magazine that comes along with the Weekly Readers also help in our science and health class! We are currently studying plate tectonics. One of the recent editions included topics on volcanoes, which directly relate to plate tectonics. Another edition included an article about the new My Plate food guide that is replacing the food pyramid. We used this article to supplement our health textbook when we were studying nutrition.
Our class thanks you so much! We hope that you continue to support projects like ours! One cannot place a value or price on the impact your contribution has made in our classroom! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 9 other donors.Bringing Science Home with a Video Library!
Funded Nov 12, 2011I can't even begin to describe the joy and excitement that our students have expressed ever since they received the materials for which you made your generous donations. On a daily basis, students peruse our new Science DVD Classroom Library and check them out to take home. When the students watch the DVDs at home, their families watch as well. This generates a good amount of discussion and interest in science topics, such that when the students return to school they just can't wait to tell me about it!
Additionally, when one student tells others about a really "cool" DVD he/she just watched, it peaks their interest and they immediately want to check it out next. I have heard students tell me that their father watched a DVD twice in a row, that they now know how to reduce their carbon footprint and will take action in small ways to better care for our planet, that they would like to have jobs as engineers who build robots, and so much more. This type of excitement would not have been generated had it not been for the DVDs that they students are able to check out and take home.
Moreover, students have been making connections to the information and images they saw and heard about on these DVDs. As we study plate tectonics, or natural disasters, they are able to understand visually what is happening based on what they saw on the DVDs.
Again, thank you so much for making these learning experiences possible for our students. We hope that you will continue to support classrooms like ours! Please know that your impact is significant in our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Lee-Ortiz