Past projects 20
Headphones for Distance Learning!
Funded Jun 29, 2020Thank you so much for your generosity. Since March 2020, my school has been closed, and the new school year started online. Many students received a mobile device from school, but they didn't have headphones for them. Most of my students don't have their room or have to share their rooms with siblings. I see them sitting in the living room, and their family is carrying on their lives around them. I hear their little brother and sister crying and playing, TV on the background, and parents talking on the phone.
With your generosity, all my students were able to receive their headphones. That way, they can focus on the lessons and avoid the distraction as much. Also, this gave me a great opportunity to meet them physically. I had to drive to a school parking lot to meet with my students and their families for the first time. It was so rewarding to see their smiling faces when I gave them a gift.
I now see my students using the headphones, and they seem to focus on the lessons better. Thank you again for caring for my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
Keep Creativity Alive!
Funded May 20, 2020Thank you so much for your generosity.
After the closure of the school on Friday, 13th, we moved to a distance learning. When I gave my students great news via Zoom, they were all excited. Especially, I mentioned about scented markers! Since they can't go out much due to Corona Virus, I wanted my students to have something besides watching TV and the internet. When I took the materials to a school parking lot, my students stopped by with their parents for pick up. They were so excited to get their gifts.
Their first project after receiving the materials was to write a thank you card using the crayons, markers, and paper. They enjoyed the activity.
With these materials, they will be working on their art projects and coloring. I also asked them to work on their picture diary during summer break to keep up with their reading and writing. (I gave each student a journal too.)
Thank you again for thinking about my students and their family!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and 3 other donors.Chromebook Holds My Students' Success!
Funded Nov 1, 2019I am so grateful for your generosity and thrilled that my project was funded.
This year 80 % of students are struggling and still learning to read. My district has this program called, I-Ready, and students are required to be on this program daily. This I-Ready caters students' needs and level. By completing the required minutes, students can build their math and reading skills that they didn't get it during the class. By having a brand new Chromebook, it helps my students get their required minutes and also get familiarized with computers.
When the boxes arrived to my classroom, my students were so excited to see what's inside. When I took out the Chromebook, they were screaming with their excitement. They had to fight over who would be using them first.
All of my students are so happy to have new working laptops and eager to be on I-Ready with this brand new Chromebook. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by An anonymous donor and 8 other donors.Recovering from Hurricane Irma
Funded Mar 27, 2018My school is Title I school where 90% or more students receive free or reduced lunch. Except a few students, most of students don't have an access to the computer or technology. So these IPad, frames, and headsets are used everyday in my class. IPad has many applications which help with my struggling students.
When I brought the boxes to my class, a whole class got excited to see IPad and all of them wanted to use it right away. As soon as I downloaded a few applications, I started using in my small group instructions. I have some students who need interventions and IPad's applications seem to help them with reading and math. As a matter of fact, my students scored well in 3rd Diagnostic test in math and reading. Especially my struggling students' reading scores improved drastically.
One of my students with special needs loves to use IPad and he is calm and focused when he is using IPad.
Thank you so much for your generous donations and my students and I are really thrilled to receive IPad as a part of our learning tools.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by Ripple and 3 other donors.Teacher, I Can't Hear!
Funded Mar 27, 2018My words can not describe how much I appreciate your generosity. My school district requires students use this online program called, "i-Ready" and as a classroom teacher, I have to monitor the minutes they use it. Since most of my students don't have an access to the internet at home, they all have to meet the minutes while they are with me.
I requested ear buds and headsets as a part of school supplies but only a few students actually brought them. Also they were not well made and in a few months, most of them were already broken.
My students were constantly complaining that they can't hear well. I tried it without using headsets but it was very difficult for my students to focus and concentrate to the program.
Since these new headsets, my students were able to focus and not talking to their neighbors. As a result, the scores of my students 3rd diagnostic reading went up and my class met the district target score for one year.
I have a few students who have difficulty sitting and focusing but their scores also went up since they had no outside noise coming in and they were able to focus and finish their test.
I can not thank my kind generous donor! Thank you, thank you and thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 5 other donors.Ready for Future Learners!
Funded Oct 2, 2017I can not thank enough to generous Chevron for giving us these laptops for my students. Most of my students come from home where they don't have an access to the computer or Internet. Sometimes they don't even have a transportation such as car to take them to the library to use Internet. Having more laptops in my class means more access to the district mandated internet program which will help students succeed.
At the beginning of August, my students took the test online which showed 40% of students were performing two grades below. After receiving these laptop and spend more time practicing online, my students' score improved dramatically. Recently my students took the test again and numbers of students who were performing two grades below decreased from 8 to 2!
My classroom computers are old and tend to freeze often. Having brand new laptop means smooth operation of the online program. I also picked laptops in beautiful colors which students love to use.
Avoid fighting of who uses which laptops, I assigned each laptop to different students and put a sticker with their name.
One of my students feels so grown-up to use the particular laptop with his name on it and even he will remind me that he needs to get on this district program without me telling him to get on it.
Thank you again for your thoughtful gift to my students!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
Chromebooks are The Keys to Our Learning!
Funded Feb 28, 2017Wow!! My students face lit up as I carried the boxes to my classroom. They know there were something good inside.
We are training these students to use technology in daily bases however only chance my students have to access Internet is at school. Unfortunately, we have 4 outdated computers in our classroom and they tend to freeze. I have 21 students and even with rotation, it is almost impossible for us to take turns to get on the computers. With 2 added Chromebooks, we are able to make the rotation much easier. Also the Chromebooks came with updated technology, the district mandate application seems to run smoothly.
Compare the passing rate of the program from the beginning of the school year and now, all my students scored above 80% on reading.
The Chromebooks are light and smaller and easy to use for the little hands of my first graders. My students are so happy to use their Chromebooks.
Some of my restless students are more focused now and with the fast technology, they are able to sit through the whole program and are able to complete it too.
I and my students can not thank enough to our generous donors.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 2 other donors.Future Awaits!
Funded Dec 24, 2016My students and I are so excited when we saw the boxes delivered to our classroom. As soon as I charged the tablets, we were ready to roll.
These days some of our learning tools include technology and my students are required to learn to navigate the website and how to click and answer the questions. Unfortunately most of my students do not have computers or tablets at home to practice the skills. In my classroom, we only have 4 old computers which are not enough for all of my students to use and also they tend to freeze often. By having these tablets allow my students to familiarize with the navigation of Internet and to stimulate the different types of learning.
The new tablets we received are very kid's friendly and easy to use with their small hands. I am using them everyday to supplement my differentiated instructional time and all of my students are so happy to take turns to use these tablets to try out the new educational website such as math games and spelling games.
I have some students who have problems sitting and focusing but with these tablets, they are so focused and sitting quietly in their seats without walking around the classroom.
My students and I are so thankful to the generous donors who helped us with this project! Thank you so much.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
Shoot for the Health!
Funded Sep 23, 2016Dear Donors
Thank you for granting us with the wonderful basket ball hoops and the balls. When I received the email saying the package was shipped, I shared the great news with my class. My students were so excited to find out that they were getting their own basket balls and hoops.
When a huge box arrived at my class, every student was so anxious to open and look inside. As I inflated balls one by one, I could hear the excitement in the air. First sunny day my students carried the hoops and balls and marched outside. We found the good spot to set the hoops.
The size of balls are perfect and the height of the hoops are just right for my first graders.
Even some of the shy students were chasing the balls and shooting for the hoops.
As my students get comfortable with holding and tossing the balls, I would like to teach the correct ways to shoot for the hoop. Then, eventually, my students can learn to dribble, toss to someone and shoot for the hoop as a team. It will be a good lesson for team sports and for taking turns as well.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by Target and one other donor.Being Green!
Funded Oct 9, 2015My students are learning about living things. We have our own vegetable garden and students love to work in the garden. When I asked my students, "can plants grow without soil?" All of my students told me that plants cannot grow without soil. So we decided experiment and find out if their hypothesis was correct. I then applied to Donorschoose, and thanks to these generous donors, my students were able to find out if their hypothesis was true.
When I carried a huge box into the classroom, my students were so anxious to see what was inside. As we opened the box, students had no clue as to what was taken out of the box. They were curious about the new materials. I explained what each item was and how to use them. Students were so excited when I told them that we were going to test our hypothesis using these materials and each student would create their own little pot with seeds. I could see how happy and excited my students got!
My students want to know now what kind of plants will grow without soil. So far, we have tried with pieces of potato and avocado seeds. I am planning to ask students to bring different vegetable cuttings to see which ones would grow better.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Nakamura
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 2 other donors.