Past projects 10
Game On! Leveling Up Learning with Fun
Funded Mar 11, 2025Mahalo for your generosity!! On behalf of our haumāna , we sincerely thank you for your generous donation of games and literacy manipulatives. Your contribution will make a meaningful difference in the learning experiences of our students, providing them with engaging tools to enhance their literacy skills in a fun and interactive way.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawaii State Dept. of Ed and Marc & Lynne Benioff.RTI Treasure Chest
Funded Oct 20, 2024On behalf of the entire team at Kahaluʻu Elementary, we extend our sincerest and most heartfelt thanks for your incredibly generous donation of materials to organize our Response to Intervention (RtI) resources. Your support has made a significant and immediate impact on our ability to effectively serve our students.
Thanks to your kindness, we now have bins, filing carts, and other RtI supplies. These materials have allowed us to transform our previously cluttered and inefficient RtI storage into a well-organized and easily accessible system. This transformation will directly benefit our students by:
Improving Efficiency: Teachers and staff can now quickly locate the necessary resources, saving valuable time that can be dedicated to direct student instruction.
Enhancing Organization: A structured system ensures that all materials are readily available and properly maintained, maximizing their effectiveness.
Supporting Timely Intervention: With organized resources, we can provide timely and targeted interventions to students who need them most, leading to improved academic outcomes.
Your generosity demonstrates a true commitment to the success of our students and a deep understanding of the importance of effective RtI practices. We are incredibly grateful for your partnership and your belief in our mission.
We are confident that your contribution will have a lasting positive impact on the lives of our students. We are committed to utilizing these materials to their fullest potential and ensuring that every student receives the support they need to thrive.
Thank you again for your invaluable support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Dept. of Ed and Marc & Lynne Benioff.Multi-Sensory Learning is Beneficial to Memory
Funded Feb 17, 2024Learning math has been a fun and engaging experience for our children. The multisensory math manipulatives and games purchased provided a hands-on approach that goes beyond memorization and textbooks. The students are developing a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
* **Stronger Foundation:** These tools provide a concrete foundation for abstract concepts. For instance, students use the multiplication boards to explore arrays to build a foundational understanding of multiplication.
* **Enhanced Engagement:** Learning through play has been an enjoyable and motivating experience. The Math games turned practicing previously taught concepts into exciting challenges, fostering a positive attitude towards math.
Incorporating these manipulatives and games into their learning routine has significantly improved their math skills and made the journey of mathematical discovery a fun and rewarding experience. The students constantly ask, "When can we play again?" What better way to learn when you don't even think that you are learning?”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
Critical Thinkers + Creativity Thinkers = Problem Solvers
Funded Jun 30, 2022We are extremely grateful for your continued support of our students!!
The students have been so enthusiastic about using the Dash and Dot robots. They are building their understanding in computer programming that meets the new computer science standards.
Everyday the kids come into class yearning to learn more about computer programming!! It had been a joy watching them learn and grow in their skills.
Not only are they building their computer science and problem solving skills, but also their communication skills! We are fortunate to have donors like you who have been involved with our students!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 2 other donors.Letʻs READ!!
Funded Oct 29, 2022It was amazing to get all of the reading materials! It provided various ways to teach phonics to our struggling students.
The last item to arrive was the wonderful half rug. Students use the alphabet rug as a reference when reading and writing. The picture with corresponding letter enables them to encode words. Plus, who doesn't love lying down at the end of the day to complete your work or playing games with your friends on a beautiful rug!!
Your generosity has not gone unnoticed!! We are extremely grateful for your generosity to our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
This classroom project was brought to life by Hawai'i State Department of Education.Learning Centers for Lively Classroom
Funded Sep 13, 2016Thank you so much for your generosity! The headphones, seating, and color printer have become an integral part of our classroom. When we opened the packages the students were so excited! With the new wobble chairs being by far their favorite items, the other items are used throughout the day everyday.
As you can see in the pictures, the color printer has made my class a vibrant and exciting place to learn. Although I am a new teacher at this school, often visitors and other students will stop by and comment about how the classroom is inviting and enticing. It enables me to have enticing bulletin boards that the students use as references throughout the day. That is possible because of you! Many of their supplemental center activities were printed in color and laminated so that these materials will benefit these students and many more to come. The students work collaboratively to complete the vocabulary puzzles and vocabulary cards.
The headphones are shared by all of the students. The children listen to stories, access differentiated online lessons, and watch videos hand picked by me. In our photos, you will see a group of girls choosing to listen to a Multiplication Mash Up song. They were so obsessed with singing this song that I truly was thankful for those headphones.
Finally, those lovely wobble chairs have been held hostage for right now. We have swivel chairs, pillows, and therapy balls for all kinds of alternative seating. I hate to admit that those seats are still considered luxuries. Thus, I have been waiting to introduce those little gems for next semester. The plan is to include them in my VIP seating. Special desks and seats with special materials for those students demonstrating exemplar behavior in our 5 R's (Responsibility, Respect, Relationships, Resiliency, and Resourcefulness).
Your donations has made our classroom more fun and more engaging. We cannot thank you enough! Mahalo Nui Loa for your kokua!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
The Metamorphosis from Students to Scientists
Funded Oct 7, 2014Every material purchased from your generous funding brought smiles and excitement to my group of students. The students were simply amazed with every special delivery to our classroom.
The new bookshelf has brought the nonfiction portion of our library to life. With this new book display the students have greatly increased their reading of nonfiction in the form of books and magazines. Students are constantly informing me of all of their new information by saying, "Ms. Dycus, did you know...." As a teacher, nothing is more rewarding and exciting to see the excitement of learning in a child's eyes. The extra iPad minis have allowed my classroom to be a 2:1 device classroom, which has allowed for a Selfie center for the students to document their reflections about their books using great online websites / apps. Finally, the hands on science materials has become another integral part of our center choices. Students discover independently through additional reading and experiments about Science topics like life cycles and rocks / minerals.
This project has added another dimension to my classroom and teaching. As mentioned earlier, the students have increased their reading of nonfiction text, which is a crucial skill for students to be able to navigate their world. It is a natural genre for the students to get additional practice in close reading and a place for students to build upon their critical thinking skills. The iPad minis, like most technology, is always engaging for students and is another critical skill for children today. These pieces of technology has allowed me to add more technology to the classroom by adding a Selfie center. This center has allowed my struggling writers an avenue to record their thoughts and opinions without getting stuck on just the writing aspect of the piece. Students were able to practice taking online assessments, which was great preparation for their testing for next year. Finally, the Science center materials and shelf have allowed me to increase the amount of hands on activities to my already existing Science curriculum. It was much more engaging for students and an avenue of self-exploration in the classroom. I believe that it is very important to allow students to self-explore their own interests. In order to become self-directed life long learners, I needed to cultivate that skill by simply having opportunities present for them to choose.
Again from the bottom of my heart and with much aloha, I thank you for your generosity and thinking of our keiki here in Hawaii.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
Perusing Periodicals
Funded Sep 7, 2013Your generosity has added curiosity to our classroom library! With your funding the students are now able to read non fiction and fictional periodicals at their reading level. Many students have never seen a periodical that is made just for children. The pictures and illustrations are so engaging, thus further engaging the students. Each month the students wait patiently for the next periodical issue!
A student that feels successful and is engaged in reading is guaranteed to become a better reader. It is always exciting to watch children become readers, but it is extremely rewarding to see struggling readers learn to love to read. The feeling of being a successful reader for struggling readers is such a powerful feeling and motivator. Once these students feel success as a reader, then they are willing to take risks and read more difficult texts about topics of their choice.
One way your donation benefited my students was that students of different reading abilities now read the same genre or about the same topic. ALL students then had the background knowledge to participate in classroom and group discussions. For example, students chose different endangered animals to research, discuss, and report over the past quarter. In addition, other students chose a story from a periodical to practice asking and answering questions. On a daily basis students read from their book bins which contained books and NOW periodicals that they chose from the library that you helped fund.
Your kokua was greatly appreciated and is making a tremendous impact on the lives of my students!
Mahalo Nui Loa!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
This classroom project was brought to life by NEA Foundation and 9 other donors.Lackluster Library Needs A Plethora Of Publications
Funded Oct 8, 2013Your generosity added tremendous depth to my current classroom library! With your funding the students had a variety of genres to choose from at THEIR reading levels. Different genres and different reading levels not only created interest and engagement for the students, but also gave students the ability to feel successful when reading. A student that feels successful and is engaged in reading is guaranteed to become a better reader. It is always exciting to watch children become readers, but it is extremely rewarding to see struggling readers learn to love to read. The feeling of being a successful reader for struggling readers is such a powerful feeling and motivator. Once these students feel success as a reader, then they are willing to take risks and read more difficult texts about topics of their choice.
One way your donation benefited my students was that students of different reading abilities now read the same genre or about the same topic. ALL students then had the background knowledge to participate in classroom and group discussions. For example, students chose different life cycles and habitats to research, discuss, and report over the past quarter. In addition, other students conducted a Henry and Mudge book study to compare and analyze the characters. On a daily basis students read from their book bins which contained books that they chose from the library that you helped fund.
Your kokua was greatly appreciated and is making a tremendous impact on the lives of my students!
Mahalo Nui Loa!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus
Love of Literacy
Funded Jun 24, 2013Through your generosity, our classroom has become quite the talk of the campus. Our classroom was the place to see during Open House. The students brought all of their friends and family members to sit and try out our new classroom chairs. The students have found so many different ways, beyond my imagination, on how and when to incorporate the therapy balls. In addition to the therapy balls, other students were in astonishment that we had iPod shuffles in the classroom. They were slightly disappointed to find out that they were downloaded with fluency passages and audiobooks. They had been hoping for the latest music.
The therapy balls and iPod shuffles have become an essential part of the classroom. Most of the students in the classroom use the therapy balls as their primary classroom chair. For other students it is an incentive to earn to use or bounce on the therapy balls. Often the students use the therapy balls as a movement break from their daily work or during indoor recess. Three out of the four iPod shuffles are loaded with fluency passages for the students to practice reading smoothly, accurately, and with expression. The final iPod shuffle is loaded with audiobooks, which are paired with our current unit of study.
Being an inclusion classroom with students with many different needs, both of these items have become an integral part of my instruction. The therapy balls have given students movement throughout the day, as well as alternative seating options. This has greatly impacted their ability to focus, thus their learning. The iPod shuffles have enabled more students to practice their individualized fluency passages to become more confident readers who read with smoothness, accuracy, and expression. The audiobooks expose children to topics and vocabulary beyond their reading ability. Students then can compare different texts (audiobooks, periodicals, literature books, etc.) to the current unit of study to broaden their knowledge.
Your aloha has been greatly appreciated by myself, as well as all of the students in our 2nd grade!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Dycus