Past projects 33
Food for Thought: Munching on Manga
Funded Nov 13, 2022Words cannot express the impact these books have had on my students. Never before have I seen teenage boys impatiently waiting to check a book out of the library. When it is finally their turn to borrow the books, they come to school the next day and cannot wait to tell me how awesome the books were.
I had hoped that providing these Manga books would spark a love of reading for some really tough to reach students. It worked so well, they are begging for more. That is such a great problem to have!
Thank you so much for providing a gateway to reading for my kids. I could not be more excited to see the joy of reading on the faces of my non-readers. We are grateful for your generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 6 other donors.Micro:bits for Massive:fun!
Funded Jun 8, 2022Since our school goes year-round, I like to break up the summer months with electronic and programming projects. With these Micro:bits, I was able to do some fantastic things with my students all while sparking an interest in STEM. We worked with LED lights, motors, and switches. We made things light up and move!
Before your generous donation, I only had a few generic microprocessors from a variety of sources (teachers are very good at scavenging for classroom supplies). They were all very different and required separate instruction. With this classroom set of microprocessors I was finally able to run whole-class instruction in electronics, so thank you for that too!
I know that my students were impacted by this donation because on a "Free Day Friday," they wanted to continue working on their electronics projects. We never know what the future holds for our kids, but I am hoping that this project let them see the wonders of the STEM fields that are available to them.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by Suddenlink.Welcome to Our Place!
Funded Jul 20, 2021I am blown away by the generosity of strangers. Thank you so much for funding my 360 degree camera project. This camera will open up so many possibilities for my students to immerse themselves into 3D environments to be ready for whatever the future may hold. We appreciate you, and we are so grateful!
Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by Emerson Collective and 2 other donors.Covid Can't Keep Us Down
Funded Mar 12, 2021Thank you for the donation of sewing machines and notions for my students. From our first encounters with the machines, it is evident that these kids will not get this experience anywhere else. We spent a few hours so far learning to use the machines and making some masks. The girls I worked with were so excited to be creating something that they could then share with others. I have to admit that the learning curve was pretty steep as they are not used to taking their time to practice and want to just dive in and produce something wonderful. We only broke one needle and had to disassemble the machines three times in two hours, but it was so worth it. The pride on their faces was worth all of the frustrations of teaching them to sew.
We started with face masks because there is a current need for these which hopefully will soon become a thing of the past, but with these machines the possibilities are endless. We will be working on quilts for children in foster care next. Having this resource to offer to the kids makes me thrilled beyond words. As an educator in a residential facility, I am happy to offer some of the after school activities that I had growing up. Thank you for allowing me to share sewing with my kids!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
Go Big or Go Home!
Funded Aug 21, 2019You have rocked my world! When my students saw this 3D printer, they were shocked. Then the ideas started pouring in. "Does this mean we can print life-sized heads?" (Halloween is a big deal at my school, so yes, we 3D print heads.)
I was a little bit apprehensive at first, but I stood back and let my students unpack and set up the printer. Some were afraid to touch it, but others were very eager to figure out how it works. Of course we had some set-backs. The power went off and the touch screen did not work when the power came back on. We replaced the screen and were soon back in business.
Thank you for your tremendous generosity. I am teaching mainly girls this year, and this printer has gotten them a bit more interested in STEM careers. We are still shy about our talents, but the more we do, the better we become. Your help is truly appreciated.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by Walmart and one other donor.Makers Gotta Make
Funded Jul 19, 2019I am humbled by your generosity. My students this year are mostly teenage girls. I am so blessed to be able to introduce them to STEM in such a creative way. When we first opened the boxes, the girls were overwhelmed with all the parts that needed to be put together to make the CNC machine, but excited at the prospects of what they could do with this new tool. They got to work 3D printing the remaining parts needed to complete this project. Now that it is complete, it is difficult to keep up with all the projects they want to take on. This is a problem I am happy to have! Thank you so much for helping me to show my girls that they are capable of anything they put their minds to.
Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
You Can’t Touch This!
Funded Dec 28, 2018Words cannot describe how excited the students (and their staff) were when they saw the boxes of footballs. After months of borrowing the one ball that was available on campus, each group in turn asked, "Do we get our own football? We don't have to borrow one anymore?" This made my day. They were so happy, and the colors of the footballs are so bright that there is little chance they will lose them if they throw them over the fence into the woods.
Each group on campus has a football team. We don't have a field on-site, so the students have to practice in the gym, or outside in the parking lot. The parking lot is adjacent to a wooded area. In the past, when student threw a bad pass, the balls ended up over the fence and in the woods. Many times, they could not be found. With these balls, retrieval is pretty much guaranteed.
When teams wanted to practice, they had to hunt down which group had a football. We have given each group their own football and put their name on it so there is no doubt who the owner is. This has made a huge difference in practice time. They no longer have to waste time finding what they need to practice - they can just practice.
Thank you so much for making this happen for my students. I feel so blessed that I was able to get this project funded for them. You made this happen and for that I am truly grateful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 8 other donors.The Magic of Reading
Funded Oct 26, 2018The students we have right now are budding readers. They are checking out books to find what they are interested in, and then they just keep reading. The Merlin set of books was recommended to me by a colleague at a conference. I will try anything to get the kids started on the road to reading, and these books were a hit with the kids. They love the fantasy genre, and these caught their attention - and kept it. It is great when there is a series of books so that when they finish the first, they know exactly what to read next. Thank you so much for giving this opportunity to my kids. Reading is such an important skill, and they lose it if what they are reading is boring.
I often stay after school working on projects, or cleaning up after the school-day projects. Student catch me in the hall and ask, "Can you go in the library and get me the next book?" I am so happy when that happens. It means we have helped another one become a reader. And when I say we, I mean you. You helped my kids to read. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 2 other donors.Crafting For Charity
Funded Aug 9, 2018My girls have been busily making dog collars for our craft show in November. They have learned how to use para-cord to make interesting weaves on the collar. They do this after school in their cottage, but I saw the pictures of what they have done and it is amazing. Thank you so much for giving us the supplies to create these collars. It means so much to them to create something in a positive way that will then be used to help them achieve their goals of helping others. They come into class and tell me about their work and are so proud of what they have done. Their pride makes my heart happy, so thank you for bringing this joy to me and my girls.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
Welcome Computer Overlords!
Funded Mar 27, 2018The Alpha One robot was more than a success. It brought so much joy to my students, I could never thank you enough. I suppose my excitement about getting the robot was contagious, because every box that came in the building, they asked, "Is that the robot?!" When it finally came, they could not wait to see it in action. When a student came back from a doctor's appointment, the rest of the class insisted that I show the robot to the newcomer. I have never seen so much excitement in my classroom. I intend to continue to elicit that excitement by programming it specifically for them. Eventually, I hope they will be able to create programs of their own, but first we need to see what the limits are. I am forever humbled by the generosity shown by others for my children. Thank you so much for helping me to show them how to have fun at school (apparently they do not get as excited about math as I do!)”
With gratitude,
Ms. Kazda
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and one other donor.