Past projects 107
Robotic Math
Funded Feb 6, 2019It was a long time coming. When I saw this project, I knew it would benefit my kids. Words can barely express my gratitude for the impact this project had. Because of you, we were able to start my first ever CODING CLUB! At our peak, we had half our class, at our lowest we had 7 students. For the 2nd semester, the students were given Eva & Wall-E (our Root Robots) and given a weekly task to complete: move from point A to point B, design geometric shapes, create ____ degrees in angles (all 4th grade math standards), etc. I was proud of the obstacles the students overcame. They learned Independence, perseverance, and commitment throughout their time. I'm grateful to have been part of their experience, which was made possible thanks to YOU! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 4 other donors.Magnificent Math Manipulatives
Funded Jan 23, 2019Another project funded all because of your generosity. This time it was math. We've funded a few math projects in the past; but the majority of the projects this year was spent on funding reading. This project centered around small group in math. With students at various levels in math it's important to students. Thanks to this project I was able to use hands on math manipulatives so students could get caught up. By doing this students were given differentiated learning experiences based on their needs. That's all because of you.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by ETA hand2mind and 7 other donors.Can You Hear Me Now?
Funded Oct 28, 2018Thank you again for making another project a success! Our new headphones are making an immediate impact academically. My class is now more focused and on task when they're using these new headphones. I've heard zero complaints about: "they don't fit right" or "I can't hear what the app is saying." My class has said just the opposite: "I feel like I'm actually learning now, Mr. Potrzeba." Some students have complimented how much noise canceling the headphones are. My students even take the time to put their headphones back in their own bag because they take pride in keeping taking care of their headphones. Stay tuned...BIGGER things are coming!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 3 other donors.Send me to the Teach Your Heart Out Conference!
Funded Jul 16, 2018You did it again! I can't thank you enough for supporting my third set of kiddos. Because of your donations I was able to go down to beautiful Miami Beach and learn from some of the best teachers and even present to other teachers what I'm doing in my own classroom. I took back new strategies that I started implementing immediately! Gerry Brooks' compliment notebook, Bethany's super focus chant, Jed's "Destroying the Box", and many others. The week following the conference, my class skyped-live video chat with a person in another part of the world, with a real scientist, then the next day we tried the experiments for ourselves! That's because of YOU! I'm sincerely grateful for you ...and your generosity. Thank you! :) #YOUROCK”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
IPad our Launch Pad
Funded Jan 30, 2018Thank you so much for donating to our iPad Project! Because of your contribution my students were donated three iPads!
Not only did my students' faces light up when they saw not one, not two, but three, brand new iPads. My students also knew these iPads would be the key to coding with our LEGO Boost Robots.
To date we've had one night where we've used the iPad's in conjunction with the LEGO Boost robots. To use the LEGO robots it was ESSENTIAL to have iPads in order to code and program. This is only the beginning. Next year my goal is to use iPads more regularly for coding nights and inside our classroom daily.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 2 other donors.LEGO Math Robotics
Funded Jan 25, 2018Thank you so much for donating to our LEGO Math Robotics project! Because of your contribution my students were donated three LEGO Boost robots!
My students reactions were priceless when my they saw the new robots for the first time. Their faces lit up as they saw the robots move and talk like actual humans, animals, and machines! We also built a cat and bulldozer.
So far we've had one LEGO robotics night where we met last week. During this LEGO night students had their first opportunity to code with these robots like never before. Students were able to maneuver around obstacles and create paths to challenge their robots to follow. This is only the beginning. Next year we're hoping to establish a LEGO club!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The First Million Fund and 3 other donors.Kindle My Fire of Knowledge!
Funded Sep 9, 2017On behalf of all the 4th grades in my two classes, THANK YOU! Thanks to you, Ms. Taylor, and myself we immediately became the ONLY classroom in 4th grade with one-to-one technology usage. That meant that every student, including new students each had access to a Kindle at anytime they wanted or needed. This was important because we constantly take district-wide programs and tests on computers. With your help students didn't have to wait. My my instructional time increased because everyone had access to technology immediately, no waiting for anyone to finish. That also meant that students were never pressured to use their device at a specific pace, except their own.
Having Kindles has also cut down on our paper and printer usage. With apps like Nearpod we can do bellwork and homework on our Kindles instead of having to waste 60 sheets of paper a day (multiplied by 5 days). The Kindles have given myself instant feedback and assessment. No waiting, no hassle, the results are shown right away. This means I can start meeting the individual needs of students faster than I ever could. One to one technology has been the powerful tool we have! Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba