Past projects 24
In Desperate Need of a Printer at Home
Funded May 19, 2020I am so appreciative for this added resource during distance learning. I was recently able to print a bunch of subject awards and "Distance Learning Rock-Star" certificates for my students, which I distributed with a team of teachers this week. The kids were so excited to see us and their faces lit up when they were told they received an award for their hard work this year. Their parents were equally excited. In times where there doesn't seem much to look forward to or celebrate, I am so proud and happy to have given them this experience. Normally, our students would have a big award ceremony the last week of school in our auditorium surrounded by their friends and teachers. But with this project, I am glad we were able to give them some semblance of an end-of-year ceremony. I could not have made this happen without your generous support and funding of this at-home printer and ink.
I will continue to use this printer for summer schooling, and any virtual learning I am expected to do come September, now that hybrid learning seems to be the plan for Fall 2020 in NYC.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 3 other donors.My Codesters Need Tech to Code!
Funded Dec 19, 2019We have already hit the ground running with our new Chromebooks! My students are using them to program Arduinos to control their animatronics, as well as to code their LEGO robotics! We've also used them in class to do research. It's been so rewarding seeing my students get excited when we bust out the Chromebooks cart (which, by the way, has been totally funded through DonorsChoose) and I cannot thank you enough for you're contribution. You have made my vision for my after school Imagineering program a reality. Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
What's Better than a Diarama? A Biorama!
Funded Dec 3, 2019My students were SO EXCITED to receive our donors choose box of materials in the mail! We had a lot of fun using these bioramas already. For example, during our "biomes" lesson, students were tasked with creating an energy pyramid specific to a particular ecosystem (ex: tropical rainforest, open ocean, tundra, etc.) and our algae bioramas were so helpful in showing students what kind of producers exist in the aquatic biomes. Later in the year, we will use our forensic entomology biorama to learn how carrion insects help us solve crimes!
We can not thank you enough for your support in giving us access to these materials. We hope you will continue to follow our classroom projects.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
D=M/V , but Fun!
Funded Sep 23, 2019I can't begin to thank you enough for your generous support. My students were able to use this density kit to design and carry out their own experiments. One group, for example, tested how the material an object is made out of affects whether it will sink or float in water. They were able to test iron, PVC, brass, nylon, copper, wood, acrylic, and a bunch of other materials that I would not have had access to had it not been for your donation. Through this lesson, they learned how to 1) ask a testable question, 2) identify independent and dependent variables 3)control for constants (the size and shape of the blocks in this kit), 4) write a step-by-step procedure, 5) carry out an investigation while collaborating with group members, 6) record and plot data, and lastly, 7) analyze data and write a coherent conclusion. All of these skills were obtained because they had materials and manipulatives to work with in class, and that is because of YOU.
I hope that you will consider donating to future projects because its your support that allows my lessons to come to life and my students to be truly engaged in learning.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
The Last Time You Did Something For the 1st Time...
Funded Aug 30, 2019Your generous donation to my Chromebook project has made my vision for an Animatronics program at my school come to life! These computers allow my students to be able to program prototypes that they engineered and built and bring life to them through coding and the use of Arduinos, breadboards, and their circuitry knowledge/skills.
We are so excited to have access to technology, and that is because of you! I am excited to also use these Chromebooks in my Lego Robotics after-school program, as well as a supplemental tool for my students to perform research in class. They will also be able to study the designs and movements of organisms in nature by watching videos on these Chromebooks in order to try to replicate/simulate those movements and features within their own project prototypes.
Thank you again for caring about my students, their learning, and their future. I hope to inspire the next generation of engineers, computer programmers, and scientists, and that would be very difficult to do without access to technology. Your generosity has already made a huge impact on my students' engagement and career potential. I hope you will continue to support our future projects.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 10 other donors.The Housing Crisis II: Class Pet Addition
Funded Apr 16, 2019Wow! You could not believe the look on my students' faces when they heard we were getting some surprise class "pets". They were so excited to see our 30 baby caterpillars arrive, and even more ecstatic to watch them grow before their eyes. I fielded SO many questions from their curious little minds about life cycles and what was happening during the "pupa" stage. We also addressed many misconceptions about butterflies (ex: they don't actually form cocoons! Moths form cocoons from outside materials like leaves and twigs while butterflies will make a chrysalis from their own body hardening!)
Our gorgeous (and large!) habitat sits beautifully inside our spring-themed classroom and has attracted students (and staff!) from all over the building. My administration was so excited to see how engaged the students were in this lesson brought to life. This Thursday we will be having a "Family Night" at our school where the students will show their parents our habitat and talk to them about all of the life stages they learned about.
Again, it is only because of your generosity that we were able to have this experience as a class; an experience I'm sure they will remember well-into their adulthood. Thank you so much for providing us with the opportunity to purchase these materials, and feel free to check out our posted pictures!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 4 other donors.Building Assistive Technology Prototypes!
Funded Aug 18, 2018I want to start by saying how excited my students get when they learn a project of mine has been funded from Donorschoose, because they know they're in for a fun lesson! They're also always so shocked that people from all over the country, that don't know them, care enough about them to donate money to make our classroom lessons come to life. I love to plan hands on, relevant activities in our science class and in my after school program, but with the limited resources at my school, this becomes a huge challenge and source of financial stress for me. I'm so grateful that people like you take the time to read our projects and contribute to making them a reality. With the resources you just helped fund, I'll be having my students research neurological conditions (both mental and physical), study the symptoms and challenges of people with those conditions, then design and build a prototype of a new technology that could help alleviate those obstacles and improve their quality of life/restore some independence to them. I'm so excited to start my school year off strong and with these very needed materials. We'll be beginning this challenge in my engineering design program after school. There's nothing more my students love than getting their hands dirty building models. And there's nothing more I love than watching my students solve the very real world challenges we face today, while developing a sense of empathy in the process. I have no doubt my students will walk away from this project as better people. And it's all thanks to you and your generosity. So again, thank you, and stay posted for pictures of them working!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 3 other donors.A Paperless Classroom: The Chromebook Project 2
Funded Jul 23, 2018I'm always so amazed and humbled to see friends, family, and complete strangers take time out from their busy days, go into their wallets, and personally fund classroom materials for students they may never know. A lot of people may judge my students and their potential for success due to where they live, were born, or even look like. But I'm here to attest to how amazing these kids are and the incredible work ethic and enthusiasm they have, especially when it comes to lessons incorporating technology. I'm so happy to know that you also believe in them and their potential.
Your generosity is allowing my students to get the resources they need to prepare them for our current technology-driven workforce. In the past in my class, they've used Chromebooks to do research on neurological conditions after dissecting a real brain and, as one example, have designed a touch-sensor spoon that closes around food for individuals with Parkinson's disease after observing footage on the internet of their tremors and the challenges it poses. As another example, they've used Chromebooks to design their own Mars Rovers that incorporated 6 simple machines after researching the engineering criteria and constraints of the real NASA rovers Curiosity and Opportunity. They then programmed their robots to do tasks using Lego Mindstorm software downloaded onto their Chromebooks. They've also used Chromebooks to create their own websites presenting the pros and cons of current debates in the media related to energy, such as mountain-top removal, fracking, and nuclear investment. Finally, they've used their digital literacy skills to code their own simulations of tornado and hurricane formation mechanisms using Scratch and Python languages during our Weather and Atmosphere unit.
None of this would be possible without your generous contributions to my classroom projects through DonorsChoose. I promise that these kids are so deserving of these resources, and of the opportunity it will provide them for a competitive education. Their faces are going to light up when they see this new set of Chromebooks waiting for them to use, which for many, is the only time they have access to computers or internet being that most are from low income households.
I hope you will continue to support us in the future.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 9 other donors.Atlas Moths and Walking Sticks and Frog-legged Beetles, Oh My!
Funded Apr 12, 2018I've just finished up teaching about adaptations and natural selection, and I have to say, this unit was one of the most dynamic and exciting series of lessons all year! This is all thanks to the items you helped provide. The kids got to work hands-on with real insects with amazing adaptations. Their diversity and unique features got the students so amped up for science class everyday. We got to learn about camouflage and optical illusions with our tailed jay butterfly and how their wing patterns help them avoid potential predators in nature. We also got to observe a real leaf insects and walking sticks (which are so incredibly rare to find in Brooklyn!) My students have never seen anything like these organisms and the look of shock and awe on their faces is what makes my job worthwhile. I wish you all could have been a fly on the wall in my room when we brought these critters out!
Thank you again for inspiring the next generation of scientists by funding a classroom. You have no idea how far each dollar goes, because when the students are engaged, they grow. I hope you will consider contributing to future projects.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by Orkin and 4 other donors.A Paperless Classroom: The Chromebook Project
Funded Mar 27, 2018Wow! Getting that email saying this project was funded was probably one of the most exciting moments of this school year. This has been my largest project yet, and never did I imagine it would be fully funded and so quickly (huge shout out to Verizon and Ripple!).
In my classroom, my students rely on technology to perform necessary research for projects and to develop scientific literacy ( I actively try to teach my students how to research responsibly, that is, how to evaluate source bias and data bias, analyze author credibility, and interpret data objectively). Unfortunately, some of my students do not have access to computers at home, which makes assigning research for homework difficult. We rely on class time to do this, and without having access to personally owned technology, this ends up becoming a stressful task as I have to sign out a handful of laptops that 100 other teachers in my building also need each day. I often never have a class-set to use, and so work becomes unevenly distributed on research days (If I'm lucky to reserve any laptops at all). I decided it was time to put an end to this madness, and because of the generous donations I received, I can now build by own class-set of Chromebooks for use whenever and wherever I need! This will revolutionize my teaching and my lesson schedule.
The Chromebooks from this project will not only allow for more in depth research in the classroom, but also in my Engineering after-school program. My eager and innovative students in this club actively take part in design challenges each week to practice designing solutions to real-world problems. The Chromebooks will also be used to further incorporate coding into my student's assignments and presentations using both Scratch and Codesters. I've been recently taking Professional Development workshops on Python and am so excited to introduce this new coding language to my classes! Lastly, these Chromebooks will go along way in helping students produce their own Google-slide presentations and very own websites, all skills essential in preparing them for the 21st century, technology-driven workforce they will soon be a part of!
Thank you so much for this gift. We will use these Chromebooks for years to come, engaging hundreds and hundreds of young learners. Not to mention- it will help us go paperless! Can't wait to practice the sustainability lessons I preach!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Carcione
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 2 other donors.