Past projects 10
The Sound of Silence
Funded Apr 13, 2021Thank You for being so generous and donating to our classroom. We will get great use from the masks, keyboard, and headphones. Your kindness means a lot to my students .In the next couple of weeks, my students will be testing, and your donations have made our path to state testing easier.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
When Germs Cry!
Funded Feb 9, 2021Thank You Kindly for the generous donation. My students really needed headphones to pair with their chrome books. We always need Germ -X, and this helps with keeping germs and bacteria down. Your kindness is not taken for granted. Thanks for investing in our youth's future. Every act of kindness counts.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
This classroom project was brought to life by The Center for Disaster Philanthropy and 2 other donors.Cause we are living in a Virtual World!
Funded Oct 7, 2020Thank You for giving my students a sense of security by donating. With your protection, I purchased boxes of masks to give to the students throughout the day. Sometimes our students come to school without a mask. Sometimes masks break during the day. As an educator, it is my role to set an example of mask safety, hand washing, and social distancing. My students will never forget this pandemic, and it has become a part of their young lives. We are educating future frontline workers, teachers, scientists, healthcare providers, nurses, doctors, and researchers. They are learning from the world each day. Hopefully, we are preparing the future generation to make the world a better place.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
Just STEM IT!
Funded Jan 29, 2021Thank you for providing masks, stylus pens, classroom storage supplies to our community. Kindness goes a long way in times like this. Your donation helps keep our children safe. We will give the mask to students who need them. I will reward students who participate with stylus pens to spend on their Chromebooks.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
The Students, The Teacher, and The Wardrobe
Funded Mar 9, 2020Your donation helped us organize our costumes. For years we have been adding to our costume supplies all thanks to the generous Donors of Donors Choose.
In previous years we use plastic bins to organize our costumes. Unfortunately, this method was not effective, and so we sought out additional storage. Now our costumes are organized and easily accessed.
We utilize our students as costume helpers and stage managers. The clothing rack will help students find costumes and props. We try to give our young performers the full theater experience.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
This classroom project was brought to life by The Walt Disney Company.What Time Is It? Game Time!
Funded Feb 16, 2020Our 2020 Black History Program was a SLAM DUNK! Our school auditorium was deck out in sports decorations. The songs, Space Jam, Eye of The Tiger, and the NFL Theme song played from our sound system as students and parents entered the building. We truly believe in setting an atmosphere when it comes to our school plays.
TOUCH DOWN!
Our young performers were ecstatic about their costumes. Costumes are the finishing touches when it comes to school plays. They were able to step into roles and become their characters. Our characters included Micheal Jordan, Jackie Robinson, Simone Biles, Serena Williams, Debi Thomas, Doug Williams, Muhammad Ali, and Florence "Flo-Jo" Johnson, Our dancers danced their hearts out to sports theme and motivational songs, for example, Mariah Carey's Hero. Students are already asking to take part in next year's performance.
HOME RUN!
Our stage crew did a phenomenal job as well. Theses students were assigned the task of moving props and handling the music. We also believe in letting the students leading as much of the production as possible.
The arts are often a forgotten topic when it comes to state and federal funding. However, research shows that creative and performing arts increases students' self-esteem and overall scores in core subjects. Thank you for being apart of saving the arts.
Our future endeavors will include experiencing with stage lighting to enhance our performances and organizing our costumes.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
These Kids Got That Swing!
Funded Feb 20, 2019We used the new resources during our annual African American History Program. Costumes mimic clothes worn during the Harlem Renaissance. Students wore Swing Dresses, Flapper Costumes, Newsboy Hats, suspenders, and pretended to play plastic Trumpets during their performance. The clothes helped students get into character.
Students were so excited when they tried on their costumes. Needless to say, the students wanted to wear their costumes during sequential practices.
For my next project, I would like to get children's author, Christopher Paul Curtis to visit. We usually read the Newbery Medal-winner, "Bud, Not Buddy." Each year the children enjoy the book.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
Lights, Camera, Action
Funded Feb 13, 2018Students don the costumes to portray various groundbreaking African American actors in some of their most memorable roles. Actors include Dorothy Dandridge, Diahann Carroll, Sidney Poitier, Will Smith, Denzel Washington ect. A student also portrayed Princess Tiana, from "The Princess and the Frog." Students loved their costumes and wanted to put them on right away. Via their "Thank You Notes" students participating in the African American History Program reported that they enjoyed being in the program. A student wrote that her costume made her feel amazing. Another student wrote that her costume was just the right size and stretchable. One student wrote that at first she felt nervous, but as she performed her part, she felt good. Still another student reported that he felt nervous, but as he performed he was able to "cut loose". Hilariously one student deemed himself the lead dancer and referred to the other two students as" back up dancers". Also, after the program, students came up to the creative director requesting to be in the program next year. One student ask the creative director when is his next performance? Several students that were part of the audience wrote that the program was a success and they liked the theme , "Lights, Camera, Action." Still other students mentioned their favorite parts of the program. One student partially like when the students dance to "Down in New Orleans from "The Princess and the Frog." One fourth grade teacher shared that she was amazed to see a couple of her students, who are shy in the classroom, actually perform before the entire school. Student are now working on Mother's Day Projects. Students share what makes their mother special. They share their mother's favorite food, color, activity etc. Student also share their favorite mother daughter/son activity. Students present the project to their mother on Mother's Day.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
Believing Can Be When I See People Like Me Achieve
Funded Feb 11, 2017The costumes were used during our African American History Program. Our school consist of grades 1-5. Sometimes it is difficult for younger students to sit through programs. The participants in this program held the attention of the majority of students. The leotards, tights, scrubs, lab coats, etc., added such a nice touch to the message we wanted students to receive.
The students participating in the program smiled from ear to ear when they saw their costumes. After dress rehearsal, they wanted to wear them each time they practiced. The costumes helped students feel like a future president, doctors, scientists, mathematicians, ballerinas or Secret Service Agents. By portraying successful people who look like them, they believe they too can achieve.
Often times minority males do not read as often as they should. My goal is to inspire these students to discover the joy of reading. I found that my male students will read when the book interest them. I visited various public libraries and checked out a variety of books for my students. The books were made available to students. The majority of my boys chose books about athletes. When these students took Accelerated Reading test, they passed them with the required percentages. The next project is to purchase hard back books (for durability) about athletes and student friendly celebrities, for my classroom. I would like to have them readily available from day one for my students. Our school library does not have very many books about athletes, or student friendly celebrities. Many of these books are A.R. books and the boys will read them, whether the person is male or female.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson
Inspiring Future Voters, Leaders, and Presidents
Funded Nov 11, 2016As part of the new state standards, students are required to read complex nonfiction text covering a variety of topics. "Scholastic News" and "Times for Kids" provide my students with relevant, high-quality nonfiction text. The colorful magazine articles connect current as well as historical events to the curriculum. Needless to say, the children love the magazines.
Students read and discuss text with a partner, or in small groups. They learn to share their opinions while respecting the opinions of others. Students utilize and analyze, graphic sources such as maps, charts, and graphs. The rigorous English Language Arts materials include close-reading questions.
Unfortunately some of the boys choose not to read unless they have to. My boys love the magazines. Someone has worked hard to create eye catching covers, and articles that grab their interest. Through the magazine my students are made aware of global issues. As an added bonus the magazines are available online. This is especially nice for Below-Level Readers. During "Drop Everything and Read" time, students can log in on a class computer and choose to have the text read aloud. In this way students are better prepared to read and discuss text in their groups.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Gipson