Past projects 9
A Green Screen Journey
Funded Jan 26, 2021This green screen has changed our virtual classroom! We have transported to far off lands and experienced virtual field trips. Having the green screen has added some excitement in learning while being on zoom. Your generous donation has made our virtual classroom a better place to be. The students are more engaged and I am more creative in how I present information to them. Thank you so much for your generous donation and helping me to give them a more well-rounded and exciting education. You have made a difference in our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
Engineering Bridges
Funded Jun 12, 2018Thank you to all the donors for making this project possible. Thank you for sharing in my vision of bringing more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) to our classroom. My students have benefited from your donation tremendously. First we learned about different types of bridges and how they are constructed. Based on the information they learned, students worked collaboratively using the STEM kits you donated to create a bridge. Students then presented their bridge and information to the class. The addition of these reusable building materials to create and problem solve have provided collaboration, perseverance, and a love of learning. Students have had the opportunity to learn through mistakes, develop confidence, and build their vocabulary. Thank you again for your generous donations.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
Coding with Ozobots
Funded Jun 7, 2018I can't fully express my excitement and gratitude for your donation to my project. Thank you for sharing my vision for reaching children through education and technology.
We began our journey with Ozobots by exploring why robots are important and how we can use them to make our daily lives easier. We then learned to program codes to change the Ozobots color and directions. They were so excited to share what they could do with me and the other students.
The tools that you have funded have enabled students to make connections to logic and coding. Students have created and challenged themselves and each other through learning with these awesome tools. Once again, thank you for your generosity and for providing my students with this wonderful opportunity to explore coding and robotics at such a young age.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 17 other donors.Building Tools for Engineering
Funded Aug 11, 2018Thank you so much for your generous donation to building tools for engineering. Your generosity provides students with opportunities to engineer, collaborate with peers, and problem solve. We have been studying our government and the various American monuments. We read and researched about six of the monuments. Students worked in groups of four to create one of the monuments using Lego pieces. While students collaboratively created their monuments, the classroom buzzed with rich vocabulary, problem solving, and students developing communication skills. Some groups were not successful right away, however they were encouraging to one another to try other ways, which led to self-confidence.
Throughout the engineering of this project, students were engaged and enjoyed learning. They were able to add the specific details that made these monuments unique. They were able to verbally share the knowledge they learned about their monument to their classmates. At the end of they day, students were so excited to share their creations with their families. Because of your donation, students had an incredible day of learning while developing college and career ready skills. AND....we get to do it again with another lesson! How great is that? Thank you for giving and instilling a love of learning for my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
Motivation Through Flexible Seating
Funded May 9, 2018Thank you so much for your contribution of various seating options to our class! My students come to school excited to learn and to sit in our new seating options. There are two different choices now thanks to your donations. Students can choose to sit on a flex-space comfy floor seats or beanbags.
The flexible seating options have given my students several opportunities to learn valuable 21st century skills. Last week, we did a project in groups and students were able to collaborate while moving freely to complete their project. Students are also learning to take turns and share, which is developing empathy and respect for all classmates. Students are also building autonomy and learning which seat is best for them to learn. Some students have expressed that the seats help them to focus more because they are comfortable.
Because of your generous donations, several of my students who have learning challenges have been successful in the classroom because the flexible seating supports their sensory needs and improves their focus. Thank you for providing my students an environment that can accommodate various learning styles. I appreciate your love and support for our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and one other donor.Summer Reading Books for 2nd Graders
Funded Apr 27, 2015Thank you so much for your donation. Previous to getting our box of books, my students anxiously awaited the arrival by looking out for the FedEx truck and checking in with the office secretaries to see if the books had arrived. The day the books arrived they screamed out their favorite titles as they looked through the books. Considering we got the box a couple of weeks before summer, students were planning which books they could read before summer break and which ones they planned on reading during the summer. It was so exciting to see their enthusiasm to READ! Yay! After all their planning, one student asked if they could have time to read right at that moment. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" I replied. This was the same class that was very uninterested in reading at the beginning of the year. We spent time sharing about the books they read within the next couple of weeks before they went on summer break.
My students took 5 books home during the summer to read. Before taking the books, we discussed how they could be purposeful readers throughout the summer and ways to encourage the classmates we live near to read over the summer. We discussed when and where they could read. I checked in with some struggling readers over the summer to encourage them about the importance of reading.
School recently started up again and my students are now in third grade. Most students brought their books back to exchange for new ones. I asked these students to share their reading "adventure" with their new classmates. One child shared how she fell in love with the author Judy Blume and asked her mom to take her to the library to get more books by Judy Blume. Another student shared how she loved reading the Magic Tree House books by her apartment pool. And another student said that his grandma was in the hospital for most of the summer so he took his books with him to the hospital. Their third grade teachers have also witnessed their love for books. Thank you so much for helping to instill this love for reading.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
Let's Get Organized and Read!
Funded Feb 14, 2012Thank you contributors! Our classroom has changed greatly with the help of your contribution. I wish you could come to our classroom and see our books stored conveniently and accessible to students in our mobile book organizer. My students have more room to enjoy reading because of the book organizer, which thrills me! They also are able to find the book they want more quickly. Our small group time has also improved with the turn-in-your-work organizer, magnetic pockets, and paper pockets. My students are spending more time on task and learning the benefits of being organized at an early age, which is exciting. Thank you for contributing to our class! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
Let's Play And Learn!
Funded Jan 28, 2012Thank you! Thank you! Because of your generous contributions, my class received several educational games. These games are played during Fabulous Friday. Students who have completed their daily reading and homework have the opportunity to play these games for 20 minutes every Friday afternoon. Fabulous Friday has become a motivating factor in my students doing their homework. Homework participation has increased tremendously and my students are learning through these standards based games. Through these games my students are learning more about context clues, synonyms, prefixes, multiple meanings, cause and effect, and more. They are also learning to be responsible, self-motivated, independent, active learners. You have contributed to a life of a child and I wanted you to know how grateful I am.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 13 other donors.Chapter Books for our Classroom Library
Funded Jan 21, 2012I wanted to personally thank you for contributing to my project. Before this project was funded, our class library consisted of books with limited vocabulary and text. My students enjoyed reading, however they were not getting the necessary practice they needed with these books. With your contribution this has all changed and I am thankful! Every morning my students have time to check out books to take home. This has become a very exciting time because they are taking books home they really enjoy and are engaged in. They are especially enjoying the Andrew Lost series. I have witnessed their joy for learning and reading strengthen, which has been so exciting!
I also believe their hope in humanity has been deepened. When I told my students that people, some we knew and some we didn't, had contributed to our class project, they were touched by their thoughtfulness. It was surprising to them that people that didn't know them would give to them. Thank you so much for contributing to my class project. ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Meneses
This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 22 other donors.