Past projects 17
Being in Class Without a Pencil Is Pointless
Funded Jul 15, 2019When the huge box of pencils and supplies arrived to my classroom, my students' faces lit up! The joy they felt knowing that others cared enough to send materials directly to our classroom cannot be described in mere words.
The impact this huge supply of pencils has had on my students already is limitless. 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 instead can 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.
The gratitude I feel for all the donors who helped contribute to this project is boundless. Thank you so much for your kind and loving generosity, and 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
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 4 other donors.Adventures in Aquascaping!
Funded Apr 9, 2019What started as a small idea has grown into a dream come true thanks to your generous donations. We began with one small aquarium filled with plants, and with the materials from you, it began to flourish. It has grown so well that we started another aquarium, even bigger and better than the first one. All of the plants in the second tank came from cuttings from the first one which my students transplanted. We have also added several fish and a variety of invertebrates (snails and algae-eating shrimp). With the addition of a huge periodic table in the background, and an entire aquaponics system on the top, these aquariums have become so much more than just a tank of water full of fish.
Learning about the nitrogen cycle has never been like this before! Having a living, breathing, eating, decomposing, cycling and working ecosystem has brought true meaning to so many biology and ecology concepts. My classroom has been completely transformed by the beauty of these aquariums and the interest they generate for my students. When one of the guppies had babies, my students were overjoyed. The guppy fry are able to hide in the plants and are continuing to thrive. Who knows, by next semester, we may even have to expand into a third aquarium.
Many of my students don't have pets of their own, and they have taken great pride in ownership of the aquaponics system that we have created together. Your generosity has made this dream come true, and truly transformed my entire classroom. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Owl Pellet Dissection Perfection
Funded Oct 23, 2018My students were so excited to receive these new materials for our science classes! We put all of the large beakers to use right away in several lab activities where we created supersaturated solutions of sodium borate in order to grow ionic compound crystals.
We are currently working through lessons on genetics, evolution, and ecology which will all come to an exciting conclusion when we get to do our two-week-long project utilizing the owl pellet dissection materials that you have so generously provided. My students are looking forward to matching up bones with homologous structures on other charts and using a dichotomous key to identify the species they find in the owl pellets. Then they will be preparing the bones and creating displays of their projects for an exciting competition. This project is the culmination of all the skills they will have learned in biology class this year, and they are so excited.
None of this would have been possible without your generous donation to our classroom. This is an experience they will carry with them throughout their lives, long after they leave high school. I thank you again from the bottom of my heart for making our school and my classroom a better place, and for touching the heart of so many of my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Beyond Basics in Chemistry Class
Funded Apr 12, 2018Words cannot express the measure of my gratitude, or the smiles on my students' faces when we opened all the packages of supplies for our science classroom. I am now able to assist students with basic supplies for class that they are unable to provide for themselves. Most students have basic supplies in the fall at the start of the semester, but beyond that they rely on me. Most years, I have purchased these materials myself for my students. Thanks to you, this year will be different, and I can now concentrate on providing quality instruction instead of worrying about supplies.
Your donation also means so much more because you are a former graduate of our school, and are now in a position to give back, and make a difference. When I informed my students of this fact, I could see the light in their eyes as they realized that like you, they would always have a connection to this place. The time they spend here and the knowledge they gain will always be a part of these future alumni. Someday they may like to give back to future generations just as you have.
At a time when it seems that public education is being hit with cuts from every side, it means everything to have the support of private donors. These materials have already been put to good use in my biology classes with the skeleton reconstruction projects in our ecology unit, and will be used for some of our favorite chemistry demonstrations as soon as possible. I cannot wait to share the exploding hydrogen balloon demons with my class and grow crystals with the borax when we study ionic bonding.
You have made a difference to so many students, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Wild About Whiteboarding
Funded Jun 14, 2016In just a short time these materials have already started making a huge impact in my classroom, and I cannot begin to thank my donors enough. We started with a "training" session on scientific argumentation, and the donated whiteboards have been indispensable. They allow the students to put their thinking processes onto something tangible where they are less afraid to make mistakes since whiteboards can be easily erased and corrected. These boards have made for invaluable presentations of their evidence, and the logical thinking patterns are now flowing! The phrase, "What is our evidence?" has become commonplace in our classroom as conversations to create arguments and solve problems take place.
These materials will have many other instructional uses in our classroom as well. We are using them to build models of atoms and compare different atomic theories. We will be using them in review games for chemistry nomenclature, and for lessons balancing equations. Having my students solve difficult problems on these large boards lets them work together and at the same time, lets me see where they need help.
Since these materials are reusable, they are sustainable, and the impact of this donation will continue for many years to come. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me to teach my students skills that they will have throughout their lives.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
These Chemistry Students Matter
Funded Aug 18, 2015Dear EKU Chemistry Department and Dr. Hall,
This donation has had the single biggest impact over every other instructional tool I have used this year. We use our new periodic table every single day in my classroom. It is the most important tool in our chemistry course, and has been invaluable to my students. Our old periodic table was printed in 1972 and was barely readable because it had faded so badly over the years. It was also sadly out of date and had only 105 elements listed on it. This new one has the current 118 elements, and can be read easily and utilized from every seat in the classroom.
There was a lot of excitement when it finally arrived, and we had a ceremonious opening of the package as you can see from the photos. Students immediately began coming up with new chemistry jokes and puns to complement my daily dose, and their deep appreciation for the work of Mendeleev started to come to light.
Without this generous donation, I would not have been able to give these students the foundation for the beauty of the modern periodic table and all of the things we can learn from it.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for caring about my students and helping us with something that really matters.
With much gratitude,
Ms. Regnier”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier
Science Literacy Is No Reason to Panic!
Funded Nov 2, 2014We 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 many secrets of the universe and that it had been generously given to us by donors throughout the cosmos. The students were instructed "Don't Panic," and the box was opened. "Oohs" and "Aahs" filled the room as the new-book-smell permeated the atmosphere. "Forty-two," I said aloud. They could hardly believe that people could be so kind and generous to students they had never even met.
Students dove head first into the first few chapters in class during reading time after unit exams. Many passages from the book have been used to enhance specific topics in our curriculum and generate discussions. For example, the description of the Babel Fish was of great interest to the students to our Biology lesson on evolution. The excerpt on the importance of carrying a towel when hitchhiking was a great dramatic reading to stress the necessity of being prepared in our science class. "Forty-two" has now become an inside joke as it is the answer to everything whenever someone can't recall a correct answer from our content lessons.
These materials have enhanced our class in terms of science literacy by bringing joy and humor into our classroom as well as added vocabulary. It has boosted my ability to teach by allowing me to share amusing anecdotes and curiosity in Douglas Adams' sarcastic descriptions and deep thought processes. The underlying theme of the book "Don't Panic" has become a go-to phrase in our class when preparing for assessments.
I am overwhelmed with the generosity we have received. We cannot thank you enough for making this possible. I look forward to many years of sharing these books with my students to promote science literacy!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Regnier