Past projects 282
Poppin' Up Some Fun
Funded Nov 15, 2024Thank you so much for supporting our project. This popcorn will be a healthy snack for students. This is especially important for our sixth graders that have an early lunch but a long afternoon, and our seventh graders that have a late lunch and may need a mid-day snack.
Donors, I appreciate you all so much! You have made my classroom a safe, fun, learning environment for every student. Thank you for considering all of the details that make a classroom as comfortable as possible. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by STAG Industrial and 3 other donors.Choose Your Own Adventure, Career Edition
Funded Oct 7, 2024Thank you so much for supporting our project. These books will allow students to be creative and also plan out potential outcomes for various events. I think it will be the perfect learning opportunity for students and they will hopefully feel proud of the books and stories they create.
Donors, as always, you are appreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by Charles Schwab Foundation and 3 other donors.Executive Functions Are Fundamental
Funded May 14, 2024Thank you for the professional development books about executive functioning skills. Last week, we started our new unit dedicated to executive functioning. I think the skill that has been the most interesting to watch students learn has been metacognition. Many of the students have not really thought about how they think or learn. Once students learn what works best for their learning, they can advocate for themselves to get what they need. Of course, attention, flexibility, planning, and organization have been important topics for students to learn as well.
Donors, I appreciate you so much! As a teacher, I always want to keep learning and growing. Your support allowed me to read research-based strategies to better support my students. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 5 other donors.Books to Make Me a Better Teacher
Funded Jun 21, 2024Thank you for supporting my professional growth by gifting me the books. I have always been curious about how students think and I wanted a scientifically supported way to help them retain what they are taught. Two of the books helped me to learn new strategies to help students with this process. We begin and end every lesson with a review; the beginning is a review of what we learned the day before, the end is a summary of what we learned that day. I have students complete "brain dumps" to force their brains to search for as many things as they can remember from the lesson. At first, students could only remember one or two things, often not even related directly to the lesson. We're now about a month into the school year and students are more familiar with the process and remember far more than before. Another book focuses solely on vocabulary and how to help students to remember words. Students with extensive vocabularies tend to do better when faced with new content and making connections to their previous knowledge. Finally, a few books focused on how to get students to reset when they are stuck. A simple reset is often all it takes to help a student to reorient themselves and stick with the lesson.
Dear donors, you have done so much to support my projects and I appreciate you immensely. It not only helps me in class, but it also helps me to know that others want to support what goes on in my classroom. That kind of involvement and support makes teaching easier. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
Clean Routine
Funded May 10, 2024Thank you so much for supporting our project to restock our hygiene supply closet. Just this week, girls from the volleyball team used my room before their game and they were relieved to know that there were items available to them. Anything to help a middle schooler's confidence is worth it, it can be such a trying time. The items give my students security as well, and that's something that can be difficult for many adolescents. Removing a barrier and giving them one less thing to worry about is definitely the goal.
Donors, you have done so much for my students and I cannot thank you enough. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.Student Message Center
Funded Jan 30, 2024Thank you for supporting our project to create a message center for students. We had a corner at the front of the room set up with calendars, message boards, and file folders with assignments. This helped students to stay informed and to complete any work they may have missed while they were out. Additionally, we had a sandwich board that we used to celebrate the winners of our class challenges. For middle school students, that recognition, and a little friendly competition, helps students to stay motivated.
Donors, I truly appreciate all that you do for my students. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by Kleenex and 4 other donors.Second Semester Refresh
Funded Jan 28, 2024Thank you for supporting this project! This year was my first time teaching this course and I didn't consider that I would need twice the amount of initial supplies since it is a semester course. Your support really helped my students and it gave me a sense of relief! This project gave me the opportunity to give each student an individual folder to keep track of their work. Part of the class is about learning organization, goal setting, and responsibility. Each student having their own supplies for the class helped teach these valuable skills. Additionally, students were able to have their own earbuds to use in class. This helped when they were doing research and needed to listen to a video or podcast. Students also used the earbuds when they were working independently and needed music as a means to focus.
Donors, you are always appreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
Team Building for the Win!
Funded Nov 19, 2023Thank you so much for supporting this project. As a middle school teacher, most of my past students would arrive at our school with most of the needed skills to work as a team. Of course, we always continued to practice this and encouraged growth in our team building efforts, but it was a skill most students were primarily equipped with. The past few years have required a more dedicated focus on this because students were learning from home for a few years. Working as a team online is very different than working in person. Your support of this project has helped to make this a focus of our class. Working together is a valuable skill that all of my students need to have. Thanks to you, they will all be better prepared to do so.
Donors, you are much appreciated! As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by VanTrust Real Estate and 3 other donors.Winter Wonderland Sports Edition: Quarter 2
Funded Nov 19, 2023Thank you so much for supporting our project. Our students love selecting sports equipment for their holiday gifts. When our students "shop" in our free holiday store, they select a gift for their family or for themselves. The sports equipment is always a hit because it can easily be a family gift. What's even better, while our students are getting the health benefits of physical activity, they are also getting to spend quality time with family members. These gifts were selected right before we went on winter break. With the relatively mild winter weather this year, students could use the gifts right away. I'm certain these gifts also helped to alleviate some boredom while school was out.
Donors, I appreciate your support so very much. Thank you for all that you do for my students!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by VanTrust Real Estate and 2 other donors.Winter Wonderland Art Edition
Funded Nov 13, 2023Thank you for supporting our project to bring art supplies and craft kits to our school store. This was the first year that students ran every aspect of the store. Unfortunately, while I was trying to prepare students as much as possible, I forgot to take better pictures. I can promise you there were several painting, sketching, and coloring kits. There were also several craft kits like lamp painting, rock painting, bracelet makers, beads, knitting, and more. The arts and craft kits are always very popular with our students. They are some of the first items purchased in the store.
Donors, you have done so much to support our students. Thanks to you, every student was able to get a winter gift. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Batdorf
This classroom project was brought to life by VanTrust Real Estate and 4 other donors.