Mrs. Austin's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 16

• Can I Kick It?

  Funded Nov 29, 2017

  We cannot thank you enough for our supplies! When the students got the boxes, they were ecstatic! I saw them literally rip through so much packing tape and cardboard, I thought we were going to have a huge, messy clean-up.

  Once they got to the actual equipment, the students were immediately drawn to plan out how they would use them in team practice. The students started planning out days and exercises that they can do during the week to get ready to play some summer volleyball. The boys were especially excited seeing the ladders that came in and were putting in work to get their soccer skills in check!

  We are eternally grateful to all the donors for choosing our school and our students for these amazing tools!”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin

  This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 14 other donors.

• Plucking Our Days Away

  Funded Jul 31, 2017

  Thank you for this gift! We received the strings and let me tell you, I had a queue almost heading out the door once those strings were opened up! I had students learn how to change strings - most of whom were never really engaged in their string instrument upkeep. After seeing how much work it was to change strings, many students also felt more appreciation knowing that their instruments would sound a little nicer with competitions coming up. We spent a few days going checking all instruments and making sure the most urgent instruments were having their strings changed. It was a fun few days of teaching many of them how to take out the old string, and restring the instruments. Now that they know, you can see how many of them hold the care of the instrument just a little bit dearer. We have enjoyed receiving these donations and are happy that people still care about music education.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin

• Endless Studies Abound!

  Funded Aug 2, 2017

  First, the String Orchestra, Mariachi, and beginning guitar and strings classes want to extend our warmest thanks to all of you. The technology we now have in class keeps our lessons going and more interactive! The class computer had been giving us problems and we weren't really able to even send files or print files out as the network would kick us off. Now, streaming videos and even audio are not an issue when we are working on pieces or watching different techniques.

  The most exciting aspect about this is having the students learn how to record themselves so they have audio files online, ready to listen to! They've been really excited as this helps many of them practice along with a track that's a break down of the pieces they are learning.

  All the students are overjoyed to know that people in the alumni network and the arts/education world at large were rooting for them to get this new piece of technology. It will be a project that will always be spoken of for years to come.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin

• Music Makes the Jaguars Come Alive!

  Funded Dec 31, 2016

  Upon returning to school after the winter break, I opened the class period by telling them about a project I had created for the classroom. I had mentioned that I was looking through the classroom during break and had realized that we need a few extra items to help us have a successful second semester. When I began to talk about how our project was completed in a few days, their faces illuminated. They were so impressed that not only had I created this new donation page, but that it was filled immediately and that we were getting our items within the first week of school. As I began to wrap up, I let them know about our sweet donors words and how they were doing this in honor of a musician, near and dear to their hearts. Their only regret is not being able to write any Thank-You letters to express their deep gratitude for caring about their musical endeavors.

  Already, we've had small group activities with our theory posters, the guitars have been using the picks in preparation for a big spring performance, and the strings have been almost all used up to replace the very battered strings on some older instruments. The class remains so grateful for all the help that has been bestowed upon them, and I know they will pay it forward.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin

• A Little School Music

  Funded Sep 20, 2016

  First, thank you so much for the quick responses and donations! We got this project fulfilled EXTREMELY quickly and all of our supplies arrived so quickly that we were able to use everything right away!

  When we received the packages, the students faces lit up! I kept hearing them ask why there were so many boxes and what could possibly be in there. When I reminded them that our supplies from our project had been on its way just a few weeks ago, they immediately ran to try to open them. Of course, their jaws dropped as they saw each box opened. They helped me laminate and put up the posters THE SAME DAY as they had arrived. It was incredibly moving to see all the students come together to make the class feel like theirs.

  Now that we have these materials, we're going to make sure they are used to reference and further strengthen our studies of music in all its forms. The bridges are going to be fitted over the Winter Break for the violins that desperately need it. I'm also going to allow a few students to study how to fix simple repairs, when needed.

  Eventually, the students will look back and say, "Remember when we helped Mrs. Austin get these posters for our class? It helped so much!"”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin

  This classroom project was brought to life by Yamaha Corporation of America – Band & Orchestral and 9 other donors.

• Reading Takes Us Places!

  Funded Oct 17, 2015

  Thank you so much for the opportunity to share a love of reading! Many of our students struggle to find books at their reading level, leaving many of them feeling left out when it comes to practicing the reading strategies they learn.

  A typical day in our reading sessions have the class either reviewing or learning a new reading strategy for the day. They are then set off to read for 20-25 minutes independently, digging into their books and finding ways to use the reading strategies. For our lower readers, 20-25 minutes feels like an eternity, especially when they have books that are too high for them to read. Giving them these books that are more suited for their reading levels helps them see that not only can they read, but they can actively participate in the class activity. It also helps guide me when I pull small groups to see whether or not they fully understand how to use this strategy with their books.

  There are also a few top readers who have especially enjoyed receiving these gifts from you. A problem I have noticed when it comes to 5th grade, is that not only do our lower readers need guidance when picking books, but our high-level readers as well. For those first few months, it was a little disheartening for these readers. They struggled to find books at their levels and were having trouble finding books that were interesting for them. Upon opening these boxes, I noticed that these students were ecstatic to see the variety of higher-level books. In fact, four of these students have already read about four of the new books, each!

  We are so optimistic now and filled with so much more joy to know that there are people out there, such as yourselves, who would reach out to help readers reach their goals.

  Thank you.”

  With gratitude,

  Mrs. Austin