Mrs. Van Kirk's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 199

• Let's Read a True Story of the Fight for Justice

  Funded Aug 11, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting this project! I was able to hand the book to a couple of kids from last year to test it out for me and they were instantly hooked! I personally love the sentence right inside the front cover that says, "I am persuaded that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice." I'm in! I can't wait to share that line and the entire book with my students! I know they are going to learn so much from it. Thank you again for helping us bring these books into our classroom!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Equal Justice Initiative and one other donor.

• Individual Materials for This Strange Year!

  Funded Aug 6, 2020

  This year has already been incredibly challenging. This project is making life just a little bit easier. I love that I am able to hand each student their own materials. They will be able to have what they need for each class without having to dig around their backpack or worry about not having something. I know not all families have the funds to purchase basic supplies right now.

  Nothing is going to stop these kiddos from learning! That is an incredible feeling! I also just sent off my first two good news notes! These kids have been through so much! I'm so glad I can give them a bit of encouragement right now!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 2 other donors.

• Fine Tuning Our Classroom

  Funded Aug 31, 2020

  I already adored the iPad that has made grading fun and easy, but the Apple Pencil has truly revolutionized what I can do! My feedback is quick and thorough thanks to this great tool! I am sure there is so much more that I am going to learn about as I use it more and more.

  The command strips are making my classroom a fun and inviting place. I received ten new posters that show famous people caught reading. They are now all over my room! Everywhere my students look, they will see more and more booklove! It's awesome! Thank you so much for being part of this for us!!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

• Mission Unstoppable Holograms

  Funded Aug 11, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting this project! Although this was a much more challenging project than we thought, it was super fun! The kids told us how much they enjoyed it. They love hands-on activities! When I made my example, my own kids were oohing and awwwing! It was a good time for all of us!

  I didn't realize how much thinking would be involved! Lots of math and attention to detail was needed! This was a fantastic learning experience for every 6th grader! Thank you again for being part of this journey with us!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies and one other donor.

• Promoting Mental and Emotional Wellness With a Class Book

  Funded Jul 30, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting this project! My students have been so excited when I hand them this book! They are rushing home to read it and parents are sending me messages about how thrilled they are! I can't wait wait to hold our first discussion this Friday!

  I know this book has the potential to help kids so much! I'm sure they're all feeling a bit like the new kid right now! And I love that I'm going to be able to share that the sequel is coming out in a few months! Again, thank you so much!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 7 other donors.

• With an iPad, iCan!

  Funded Aug 7, 2020

  This iPad has been the best addition to my distance learning classroom! Thank you so much for helping me get it! I am able to use it to record my lessons, host virtual meetings, and grade. I love that I can give feedback with their grade. My students get personalized comments on their work. I believe this is especially important right now as I attempt to build relationships through a virtual setting. I have never looked forward to grading before, but now I get to hop on the iPad and 'write' on their work. It's fun!

  Thank you again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by A Generous Donor and 33 other donors.

• Basically, We Need Supplies!

  Funded Jul 30, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting this project! I think supplies are going to be more important than ever for this year. I know those Kleenex are going to come in handy!

  I love that I am able to use the sticky notes to write personal messages to my students who check out books from my classroom library.

  The dry-erase sticky notes are working out great for my lessons! The kids love seeing me use them to display their answers on the graphic organizers. I love that I will be able to continue using them when we come back to in-person learning. Thank you again for helping my classroom and my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex® Brand and 6 other donors.

• Hoping for Heartfelt Reading Groups

  Funded May 5, 2020

  Thank you so much for supporting this project! Although I have to say, it is far from the original plan! I had asked for a group set of a book, but when it came time to purchase them, they weren't available. I tried to change the number of copies, but they still weren't available! As one of the books I ended up getting is titled, this was a Beautiful Oops. The books I was able to get are books I just kept hearing about! beautiful Oops is one of the coolest books I have ever read! Pink Is for Boys is so fun! My own kids love the unicorn page. I can't wait to share these books with my students!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 2 other donors.

• Feeling ‘FINE’ancial

  Funded Mar 26, 2020

  These books are beautiful! I usually don't read nonfiction during my own time, but these books just might make me start! There are a ton of text features to talk about with students, as well as easy to understand information. One picture really caught my eye! It was a picture of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. They used a popular example to explain a complex economical concept! Yes!! I saw another picture and caption that used Netflix. I think my students will relate to these examples and be way more interested in reading the rest of these books! Thank you again!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk

  This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 7 other donors.

• Comfy Chairs for Reading Time

  Funded Jul 4, 2020

  These chairs are so awesome! You should have seen everyone's face who stopped by today! All the kids wanted to test them out! They are a little small for adults, but I did sit on the corner one for awhile.

  I absolutely love how many options there are with these chairs. When we are able to be closer than six feet, we will have some fun discussions from these seats. I think they will also make a great back row to our meeting space. One long line of cute seats!

  They are going to last quite a while because they are nice and sturdy! They are also light enough to move around, though, so they are fantastic additions to my classroom! Thank you so much for supporting this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Van Kirk