Past projects 17
Class without a Pencil is Pointless!
Funded May 9, 2024When our giant box of pencils arrived, the students were so excited! They can hardly believe that people on the internet would be so kind and generous and willing to help them over life's small hurdles in the classroom. In the past I have provided these myself and 6-8 pencils per day for my high school classes doesn't sound like much, but it adds up to over 1400 pencils for 1 school year. That's a lot of pencils! With your help, I am now set for the entire upcoming school year!
My students will be looking *sharp* with never a *dull* moment as we cruise through our curriculum. Thanks for being Number One with these *number 2* pencils. Having one less thing to worry about has really helped my student engagement in classes. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 2 other donors.Ring in the New Year with 3-Ring Binders
Funded Mar 23, 2024These binders have made a world of difference to my disorganized and lost freshmen students. When I have a student in need, you should see the look on their face when I break out a brand new binder with dividers. Then we take everything out of their backpack and let the organizing begin!
First we make piles of papers for every subject and then punch holes in their papers. We label all the divider tabs ,and then I show them how to use the binder with sections for each class with their most recent papers on top. About 90% of the students who go through this process continue to use their new organization method going forward. There are, of course, a few hold outs who need more re-teaching and encouragement. Having the necessary materials to learn organizational skills has been critical. These are skills that will follow them all through high school and hopefully throughout their lives.
Thank you for your generosity so we could send these students down a road to success!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Funded Nov 8, 2023Thank you so much for supporting my classroom! Bringing back my lab management procedure was the best thing I've done for my chemistry students all year! With these materials, every student knows their role on the team, and they know each others' roles as well. Everyone wears their lab team role tags with pride, and every lab activity now runs like a well oiled machine. My classroom is even cleaner too, since everyone is held accountable for their areas and equipment.
I've had a lot of positive feedback from students about this. One student remarked that he "thrives on structure", so this was a dream come true. No more flailing about during lab procedures. I couldn't have done it so seamlessly without your support. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors & Young Sheldon on CBS and one other donor.Beyond Beakers in Chemistry
Funded Aug 15, 2023These digital scales for chemistry class are awesome! I wish I'd had them years ago. They are super cute, easy to use, and really useful. It's only October and we have already used them for several lab activities. They are one of the best things I've added to my classroom in years, and the students love them!
The other materials have also already gone to good use, especially the blue card-stock paper. I used it to create fabulous individual Periodic Tables for each student. It's something we use nearly every day in chemistry class. When I distributed them, I told them, "Behold! I give you the secrets of the universe!" And as we learn more and more about chemistry, they are learning to love the Periodic Table as much as I do -- which is saying a lot!
And finally, our class colony of hissing cockroaches and Tiffany the tarantula are also grateful for materials to keep their habitats healthy and happy. Our class pets add a little boost of extra joy to our learning environment.
I cannot thank you enough for your generosity. It has already had a huge impact in so many ways. With your help, chemistry class will be an experience to remember for a lifetime for all my students. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
This classroom project was brought to life by The SONIC Foundation and 4 other donors.Super Science Stools!
Funded Jan 25, 2023We had a dramatic opening of the materials when they arrived. As the boxes were presented before the students, I announced that they were filled with special "tools of knowledge" that had been generously given to us by donors throughout the cosmos.
The joy they felt knowing that others cared enough to send materials directly to our classroom cannot be described. The box was opened. "Oooohs" and "Aaaahs" filled the room. We put these materials to use immediately!
In our extremely crowded school, space is a premium. My small Science intervention classroom now has more room for students to move around and be comfortable since I ditched the desks and we can use the stools at the lab counters. They have enough hurdles to get through being that they are already struggling with their classes which brought them to the intervention program in the first place. At least now they can be comfortable which makes their path to success a little easier. The real value of your gift can never truly be measured except in the faces of my grateful students.
Thank you to all the donors for your kind and loving generosity. Please know that with every stool, a student is one step closer to success in class. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Lab Stools for Science Intervention
Funded Dec 7, 2022As the boxes were presented before the class, I announced that they were filled with special "tools of knowledge" that had been generously given to us by donors throughout the cosmos. The joy they felt knowing that others cared enough to send materials directly to our classroom cannot be described. The boxes were opened. "Oooohs" and "Aaaahs" filled the room. We were now ready for anything.
In our extremely crowded school, space is a premium. My small Science intervention classroom now has more room for students to move around and be comfortable since I ditched the outdated desks and we can use the stools at the lab counters. They have enough hurdles to get through being that they are already struggling with their classes which brought them to the intervention program in the first place. At least now they can be comfortable which makes their path to success a little easier. The real value of your gift can never truly be measured except in the faces of my grateful students when they realize they are able to participate in class in a meaningful way. We will put these materials to use immediately!
Thank you to all the donors for your kind and loving generosity. Please know that with every stool, a student is one step closer to success in class. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 5 other donors.Pencils Are Priceless!
Funded Dec 21, 2022We had a dramatic opening of the materials when they arrived. As the box was presented before the class, I announced that it was filled with special "tools of knowledge" that had been generously given to us by donors throughout the cosmos.
The joy they felt knowing that others cared enough to send materials directly to our classroom cannot be described. The box was opened. "Oooohs" and "Aaaahs" filled the room as the new-pencil-smell permeated the atmosphere. We were now ready for anything.
The real value of your gift can never truly be measured except in the faces of my grateful students when they realize they are ready and able to participate in class in a meaningful way. We will put these materials to use immediately! Some students have huge personal hurdles that they must manage every day, and not having a pencil is now one tiny obstacle that has been cleared from their path. When a student asks me if they can "borrow" a pencil, I can instead give them one that they can keep. They are relieved and grateful because borrowing a pencil only solves their problem for one class, but now they are ready for the rest of the day. This has allowed me to nurture my students and grow our relationships in a way that they learn to trust that I am always on their side and will help take care of them.
Thank you to all the donors for your kind and loving generosity. Please know that with every pencil, a student is one step closer to success in class. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Great Eggs-Pectations
Funded Oct 16, 2021We have now completed the first trial of our "Great Eggs-pectations" challenge to grow a chick embryo outside of its shell. This is honestly one of the best projects I have ever done with my class. It was completely student-led and literally enjoyed by the whole school!
On the first run of the project, students were just hoping to work out some the procedural kinks. We collaborated with two other biology teachers, and we had a group of students determine the procedure and set it all up. One experimental embryo survived 16 days! Realistically, I didn't expect any embryos to make it past 10 days, so this was already a huge win. They also incubated some eggs IN the shells as the control group. Two of the control group chicks made it to day 21 and hatched!
It was truly a magical moment when we watched the chicks emerge from their eggs during biology class this week. Everyone was crowding around the terrarium and so I connected a document camera and projected the image to our large flat-screen so we could all watch at once. Then I got the idea to live-stream it on YouTube so that our whole school could watch! Many of the other teachers reported that they streamed the baby chicks on their TVs all day long while they worked in their classes on poetry, math, art, and other classes. Former students, and other classes stopped by the classroom to see it in person. Most of these high school students have never seen this small miracle of life up close like this, and it truly touched their souls. They had so many questions and were just filled with joy.
Now that we've been through one trial, and worked out some of the sources of error, the students are more excited than ever to try again. Our two live chicks will stay with us in the classroom for 2-3 weeks before they go live at the farm of another Biology teacher.
These students have had their curiosity set on fire! Your generosity has made this all possible. This is a project that I will continue to expand and touch many more students. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in me and for being part of this treasured experience. I could not have done it without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
From Molecule to MoleCOOL
Funded Jan 21, 2021Once again I am overwhelmed by your generous spirit. I've been wanting these materials to create molecule models for several years now, and I finally got the project together. You funded it almost immediately! Having a physical model of a science concept is a game-changer for these students. It is one thing to have a drawing of a model on paper, and quite another to have a physical model in 3 dimensions that really drives the concept home.
Not only does it benefit them to have a model to view as an instructional aide, but now my students will also be able to build these models themselves! That hand-on experience makes all the difference. I will be able to use these materials for years to dome and it will help so many students.
This would not have been possible without your generosity and donation to my classroom. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Headphones for Digital Learning
Funded May 7, 2020You have no idea how much this means to me as a teacher and to my students themselves. When I initiated this project, my intent was to have these headphones and materials for in-person instruction so students could watch interactive instruction at their own pace without distractions. As things turned out, our school has been 100% virtual for these first 6 weeks. Our plan after that, is still to be determined.
So with our students all working from home, these headphones have still been a great resource to help some of my students reduce distractions in their home so they can focus in our zoom calls, and they can watch recorded instruction. I was able to get these in the hands of some who really needed them when they came for textbook pickup at school.
After these first four weeks of school, some of my students are reporting that this type of learning is very stressful, so any extra help has been received with immense gratitude. In spite of the challenges of virtual learning, they have been really stepping up! Participation has been really good, and they have shown again and again that they are really eager to be learning. I am so proud of them.
Our district is starting plans for returning to in-person instruction soon and thanks to you, we will be ready! So, I thank you for giving from your own pocket to make our school a better place and to make learning more within reach even in difficult times. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.