Past projects 107
Be a Better You!
Funded Mar 26, 2021I finally asked for something for myself. Granted, they're "just books". But you know just how important and life changing books can be. My book journey through these books is just beginning and I definitely found a great differentiated collection. These books have already improved my vocabulary instruction, improved my mood, and our school culture. This is one of those projects that can keep snowballing. That's why I wanted these books. They're educators I've met, educators I inspire to be, and educators I hope to meet. Thank you for supporting my growth as a teacher.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Moving Our Way to Success
Funded Mar 31, 2021What a great feeling to give the students chairs they want. My students need to let out their wiggles. Yes, we do brain breaks and I teach with movement, but these stools are awesome! They allow students to get out their wiggles and have some serious comfort. These stools are also multiple purposeful in classroom too. We don't just use them during instruction time. Students love to use them to read their books while socially distancing themselves with their friends. Thanks to you we have a portion for some of the students. Now we're trying to add a few more sets to fund an entire classroom. Thank you for supporting my current and FUTURE students!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Book Quest!
Funded Mar 9, 2021Last but certainly not least, Book Quest! I always say this, and I don't lie, but this is my new favorite funded project. To have a very quiet and polite gentleman want this series from the beginning of the school year to him finally being able to read the collection just makes my heart a little more happy. Thanks to you, this project funded the first 6 series, which totaled 36 books! How crazy is that? You can imagine he's gotten to work right away and he is happily re-reading book #1 again, but through the series you bought us. Why? Because it's in a different font, and has images to tell the story. Seeing him happy and reading, makes my heart so happy. Thank you for blessing with a collection I've been dreaming about since the first day of school!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
'Lucky' Books
Funded Mar 17, 2021We were so lucky to have you donate this collection to us! Every time I think I have all the months and holidays accounted for, I don't! Every time you come in clutch! It's been magical to see students read about difference versions of Jack and the Beanstalk, St. Patrick's Day, and even March Madness books! These collection has a mix of fiction, mythological, and non- fiction stories. It's very unique for those reasons. This collection also had a mix of poetry and rhyme books where is a difficult standard for students to master so having more books is very helpful. Thank you for making us feel extra lucky this month :)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Favorite Author Books!
Funded Mar 17, 2021Josh Funk is the man! The students jaws dropped with excitement when they saw their favorite author had way more books than they imagined! If you don't know Josh Funk, you need to. He's a very selfless author who virtually reads to my students every single year with no questions asked. Little do these readers know, but after testing they're in for a special surprise. Yep, he'll be reading to us in a few months. It's the perfect way to end the year. This class, thanks to YOU will be very knowledgeable about his books since they'll have read his entire collection. I can imagine each my readers will be itching to talk to him and share his/her favorite book. It'll be a lifetime memory and that's thanks to you! Thank you! :)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
I Spy...Books!
Funded Mar 16, 2021I spy with my little eye ENGAGEMENT! LAUGHTER! DETECTIVES! FUN! These i-spy books were an additional option to morning choice. Sometimes we just need our space and independence. That's what i-spy books allow readers to do. Although they're considered old-school, when one student sees another student searching through one, it gets them curious! Then that rolls into another student and another and another! By the time you know it, there's no more books and Mr. P has to request another project! I'm excited about these books! Thank you for giving us the gift of curiosity!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Morning Choice
Funded Mar 16, 2021You know the story: a few years ago I learned how letting kids just be kids before school makes a BIG difference. This project has opened up the floodgates for new and stronger relationships amongst their peers and myself. I don't have to open my doors at 8:15, but I want to because they're so happy to be in a classroom that allows them to just play. These games and legos have really added even more flare to our classroom. There is no concern of "what if they don't put them away quickly". These kids understand how fortunate they are to be able to have time to play without consequence . Morning Choice has really put us all in better moods and has improved attendance! Thank you for donating! :)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Books a Million
Funded Mar 16, 2021Books that students want make a difference! It's so underrated. You can brag a book. You can show them the text. You can show them a video. But at the end of the day, students are interested in books ....they're interested in. That's what makes this project special. I don't ask for a lot of books, but rather books that have special meaning. That's what they collection of unique favorites is. Students immediately caught on that a new book was added to their favorite series, or a popular book was sitting on the shelf. It's amazing the difference a reader will read when they have a book they want to read. Thank you for supporting another book project! :)”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
This classroom project was brought to life by The Center for Disaster Philanthropy and 2 other donors.Presidents' Day Books
Funded Feb 18, 2021The timing was slightly off because of when I created the project, but the learning doesn't stop. Neither does reading books. Students are/were able to read about our past presidents, our current president, and first female vice president Kamala Harris! How cool is that?! No longer do students want to read outdated books, and that's why every book project funded is immediately praised by our class family. Non-fiction books are almost always read the lowest percentage at every school I talk to. Part of that is normal, but what's not normal is part of the reason: we don't have non-fiction books in our classroom. Thanks to YOU over the last few years we have given students relevant non-fiction books to learn about the world they're growing up in.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba
Minecraft Zombie Books
Funded Feb 23, 2021We love Minecraft! These were for the perfect books! The students were craving these for so long! Now students can play Minecraft, put stickers on their notebooks (writing reward), and read all the books! How amazing! With arguably our biggest project, 15 books in all, students are going to be reading these books for a long time. You've be surprised who's reading them as well, because it's not just the boys, but also the girls, and high and low readers. They're not graphic novels, but rather your typical chapter book, but just as amazing? Why? Because students are interested! These books are perfect for 4th graders!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Potrzeba