Past projects 107
Teacher Homework
Funded Feb 28, 2024Y'all gave me homework...again?! LOL! One of these books will forever touch my heart. Lila Green, Teacher of the Year! It's an incredible book that resonated with me more than ever this year because... I won teacher of the year at my school! We're all trying our best to be our best selves for students and it just goes to show the great impact teachers can have on students. (They can unfortunately have bad impacts too.) Teach Like a Champion has been an (updated) book I've wanted for years. I'm in the midst of it. The most impact from it has been how I prepare lessons nowadays. The techniques go hand in hand with making the most for your buck. I can't wait to read the other books! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ME!!! I've been going through a lot of change with more to come, and continuing to grow and providing for my students is so important to me. I'm so lucky!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Professional Development Books
Funded Jan 23, 2024Thank you for giving me more books to make me a better teacher currently and for the future. Exciting things in the future are on the horizon that I can't share yet...stayed tuned, I can't wait to share! My favorite book out of the incredible collection of PD books (I haven't read them all yet), is Visible Learning: The Sequel. I'm a data FREAK! This book uses an effectiveness scale that gives a visual of the effects of every strategy you can think of that's ever been used in an classroom! Hattie goes into the why each one has been effective or ineffective. Honestly...it's been humbling. Some strategies I use... aren't that effective. But thankful many I have used or are currently using are effective! I'm on the verge of picking 5 strategies for next year to use constantly!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Ice, Ice Energy
Funded Jan 8, 2024ENERGYYYYYYY! I think of Pokemon when I think of energy from water and ice. It relates to the the students too! This ice has come in clutch. We've had some injuries at recess that "needed" some ice. The ice truly did wonders! LOL (Gotta love kids.) More importantly we've learned about the changes of matter from ice to water to evaporation. During math now, we're learning about Fahrenheit and Celsius and how to convert between the two temperatures. Who knew an ice maker could make such a big impact?! Thank you for support! This ice maker will continue to play a huge role in my classroom for years to come! YOU ROCK!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by College Football Playoff Foundation & Cheez-It and 2 other donors.Florida Sunshine State Books
Funded Aug 2, 2023Another year, another group(s) of students that LOVE LOVE LOVE to read! These students are devouring their my Sunshine State readers! So much that I have to keep of a list of who has what book. I even have to keep a waiting list because students are so eager to read these books! When we read Odder together, it had a profound impact on my students. They were more interested in poetry (that's how it's written). On top of that, my zoologists wanted to learn more about otters so they dove onto the internet (with permission) and do research on Otters! I wish I was allowed to share their happy reading faces with you, but my school is not permitting me to. Regardless, they are reading a LOT and their love for reading has grown because of YOU!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Helpful Headphones
Funded Sep 11, 2023Hey everyone! These headphones came in CLUTCH! My other headphones were starting to fall apart and/or break from the repeated usage they've gotten over the years. Having these new pairs of headphones ensured that every student (and this year I've had over 40 students!) is able to borrow a pair so they can concentrate on their math, science, and reading courses. When part of the headphones fall off, they're super easy to fix. The set I have is in a variety of colors. The students find the headphones comfortable and easy to use.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares.Growing and Farming with a Tower Garden!
Funded Aug 2, 2023A project that has failed time and time again. Today it's been funded! This idea comes years in the making. Now, the school will get to experience what a tower garden is. More importantly, the growing that'll happen has me excited for how this project will look in the coming months! It's going to be a special year growing! I can't wait to get started!!!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Oddly- Satisfying Outdoor Games
Funded Apr 28, 2023From the drones to the flag football equipment to the dodgeballs, this project has been extremely fun everyone involved! The flag football benefited so many students in other classrooms since a chunk of 4th graders enjoy playing it this year. The drones were magical to see flying around our classroom, but also the hallways of the school. It got conversations started. The dodgeballs, welllllll those were for my class since dodgeball (and football) have been our biggest play time activities this year. Seeing the joy that these items have brought has been extra special ending this year. Thank you for making this project a reality. YOU ROCK! Have the BEST SUMMER EVER!!!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Rebuilding Our Book Library
Funded Mar 30, 2023WE LOVE BOOKS!!!! Have you noticed? We are the talk of the school often. Lately, we've been winning a lot of reading awards. Through the end of March and through April our reading has taken off exceptionally! It's been great to read A is for America each day to class to learn about the USA. The Would You Rather has been a great book to get the class debating and supporting their reasoning behind their choices. Amal Unbound and Meet Yasmin! have been class favorites so far. We just received these books a few weeks ago. Thank you does not begin to express my gratitude for your help in continuing to fill our shelves with relevant classroom books! You rock! Have the BEST DAY EVER!!!!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.New Year, New Books!
Funded Mar 5, 2023You all already know the impact books have on our classroom. My newest group of students continue to build their love of books daily. Don't tell anyone, but I'm back to sneaking in AR time daily for my students and it's showing. They're back to enjoying reading and talking more about books. As you know, I specifically choose specific books I've heard about for each project, and one of those "Swim Team" is now going to be a Florida Sunshine State book for the 2023-2024 school year. That is a BIG DEAL! There are a few graphic novels in this collection, like Fred and so forth that students have been rereading nonstop. Thank you for supporting my current and future readers!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Classroom Basic Supplies
Funded Jan 20, 2023Let's gooooooo! Thank you for funding this project! The colored paper, the timers, my favorite kind of pens, and ziploc bags have been extremely helpful. The colored paper SCORED this past Monday when I did my Super Bowl classroom transformation for the different activities we were doing. (I'll share photos.) The timers have been so helpful keeping my students independently on task. The pens...oh my goodness, they write unbelievably nice. I'm so grateful for every single one of you. I can't wait to share the photos with you. Thank you for supporting our classroom. YOU ARE AMAZING!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.