Past projects 21
3, 2, 1 - Liftoff to a New School Year!
Funded Sep 18, 2024Thank you so much for funding our project "3, 2, 1 - Lift Off to a New School Year!"
At my school, Bartlett Community Partnership School, we teach science each and every day in the middle school grades. This is critical for building a strong foundation in science before moving up to high school, college and life in general.
Thank you for supporting my students. We will be using the great new light meters in a few weeks. It may sound like a little thing, but the glue sticks help our fledgling scientists keep their science notebooks organized and up-to-date. We use the toner cartridge every week to print student work.
We are in the midst of our STEM Club season and will make great use of the Estes rocket motors so the kids can launch rockets on the playground behind our school. This is always a highlight!
Thank you so much for supporting my students. Our district either does not have or does not allocate resources to properly support my students learning in an appropriate way. Without your support, they would struggle.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community & an Anonymous Partner and 3 other donors.You Are My Density
Funded Feb 25, 2024The idea of density is a critical concept for middle school science students. Unfortunately, many middle school students struggle with this rather abstract idea.
Since an understanding of density underpins much of what we learn about weather, gravity and energy transfer, it is critical that we find ways to clarify and solidify this concept.
The density sets included in the project will go a long way to help my students grasp this idea. The Tungsten sample is the "clincher" in this understanding. It's the same size as the other blocks, but so much heavier - clearing demonstrating what we mean when we talk about the density of matter.
Thank you for your generous support. My students and I appreciate your help.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
Ready to Launch a New School Year
Funded Aug 22, 2023Thank you so much for funding our project, Ready to Launch a New School Year.
I have been leading my school's STEM Club for the past 8 years. The primary goal of the club is to get kids excited about science, technology, engineering, and math. The culminating event each year is the district-wide science fair. Last year, one of our projects won the science fair!
One of the ways we get kids excited is to give them great activities as the school year begins. The rockets and engines in this project helped us kick off the STEM Club this year. Each kid built a rocket, then, when we were all set, we went outside and launched them all. It was fun and exciting for the club members..
This project also included a large number of glue sticks for use in our daily science classes. Each 7th and 8th grade student maintains a science notebook and the glue sticks help them keep their work organized.
Due to your generous support, we are able to engage our STEM Club members and support the learning of all our 7th and 8th grade science students.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
A New Beginning in Science
Funded Jun 20, 2023Thank you so much for funding our project for "A New Beginning in Science."
This year, I was asked to move back into the science lab I was asked to move out of two years ago. In order to create an efficient classroom, where time is not wasted, I asked for a set of blue bins to hold supplies at the lab benches. They are stocked with sticky notes, markers, and glue sticks. I also add in paste-ins, and handouts. This saves so much time passing out and collecting supplies!
For years I provided "busy work" for my fast finishers. Knowing this was not a great practice, I replaced it with chess. This project replaced some chess sets that had missing pieces and added more. Now, when kids finish their work early, I encourage them to play chess.
Thank you for supporting my students.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
Setting the Stage for Science
Funded Sep 21, 2022Thank you so much for funding our project "Setting the Stage for Science."
At my school, Bartlett Community Partnership School, we teach science each and every day in the middle school grades. This is critical for building a strong foundation in science before moving up to high school, college and life in general.
As time passes, supplies are used up, damaged, lost, or even stolen. This project replaced some of the supplies that are critical to the work we do.
The bins help us stay organized and allow us to find and use the materials we need when we need them. The toner cartridges are necessary for the students to print out their work when needed. All our junior scientists who participated in the district science fair, printed out all of the materials for their boards (time and time again, until they got them just the way they wanted them).
Thank you so much for supporting my students. Our district either does not have or does not allocate resources to properly support my students learning in an appropriate way. Without your support, they would struggle.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 4 other donors.A Solid Foundation for Science
Funded Feb 18, 2022Thank you so much for funding our project for a new lab table.
It is important that my students be able to do as much lab work as possible and, in order to do that, they need solid, sturdy lab tables to work on.
The tables provided by my school administration are well-worn, wobbly messes. The new lab bench is a vast improvement over those. This table has already been put through its paces with the kids doing projects, labs and school work. The table has been a solid work surface for building, painting (Cleans up super-easy), doing classwork, playing chess when the students have finished their work, and so much more.
Thank you so much for supporting my students. Our district either does not have or does not allocate resources to properly support my students learning in an appropriate way. Without your support, they would struggle.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
A Solid Foundation for Science
Funded Dec 19, 2021I teach at an low-income, urban Pre-K to eighth-grade school in Massachusetts. I teach science in grades 7 and 8 for over 100 students. I also lead an active STEM Club (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) of 40+ students from grades five through eight.
The tables that were supplied to our new science lab are well-worn school tables. They are old and well-used. No two are the same, some are different heights, and several wobble. Some of the surfaces are pitted and cracked.
The solid, new table you helped fund gives these students a safe and solid foundation upon which they can do labs and school work.
This table is a good start to upgrading the new grade 7 & 8 science lab to appropriate standards and will benefit over 100 students in my school.
Thank you for your support and generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
This classroom project was brought to life by Young Sheldon on CBS and 3 other donors.Sparking Curiosity & Engagement
Funded Oct 25, 2021Thank you so much for funding our project: Sparking Curiosity and Development.
As I type, a group of four 8th graders are clustered around the plasma globe this project funded. They are mesmerized. I can hear them speculating about how it works. In a moment, I will suggest that someone "search it up," to use their parlance. This is the kind of organic curiosity that I was hoping to spark with this project
My goal was to fill my room with fascinating objects that my students would return to again and again, trying new things, figuring out how they work and looking up the science behind Newton's Cradle, magnetic field tube, the drinking bird and all the items funded by this project.
Thank you for your generosity and support. Life is not easy in my district, but because of you, we are better able to serve our students in the science lab.”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 9 other donors.Hands-on DNA Models
Funded Jul 23, 2020The large 3D DNA models that I ordered were unavailable when it came time to ship them. They are, apparently, still unavailable.
Instead of the DNA models, I substituted a life-size human skeleton for my science lab.
While this is not the original plan, the skeleton is paying dividends.
The students are very interested - it has attracted a lot of attention. As a result, students are asking really interesting questions about human anatomy.
We ran a school-wide contest to name our skeleton and Theodore Bonesevelt was the winning name.
Thank you for your generous support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
Project Based Learning Supplies
Funded Jun 2, 2020My plan was to do more projects in my 7th and 8th grade science classes. Unfortunately, COVID got in the way of that. The lockdowns and remote learning did not change the project, but it sure did change the timing.
Now that we are 100% back in-person, the projects can begin! We will use some of the materials into our upcoming 8th grade exploring the solar system project.
In the spring, we will use the seeds to study germination and growth with tiny in-home gardens.
The toner cartridge has helped students print resources and their work during projects and in-class work.
Thank you so much for your generous support!”
With gratitude,
Mr. McKellar
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 4 other donors.