Past projects 4
Color Our World With Polka Dots, Patterns and Rainbows
Funded Jan 8, 2019How many times has the opening of a brand new box of crayons brought pure delight to a budding artist? The bright sharp points of every hue of the rainbow just waiting to create masterpieces. Images of nature, imagination, emotions and actions pour forth from the hands holding those little, waxy, rainbow sticks.
My STEAM classroom is full of those budding artists plus scientists, writers, mathematicians and builders. But we must remember that they are also 21st century "digital builders" of models, info-graphics, artwork, computer science and nonstandard measurement projects, word clouds, and so much more. From food chains to electrical circuits, all of their creations are chock full of contrasting and complimentary colors and patterns. The fantastic "toner donors" have brought color and happiness to all of our class projects from kindergarten to grade five. We are so thankful for the generosity of the donors and also those that match the donations that bring much needed supplies and joy to our students. The promise of being able to print work in full color entices and engages students in the real work of learning. It is akin to a paycheck after a long week at work that brings pride for a job well done. Even students who face obstacles in communicating and expressing their thoughts succeed when given tools to display and demonstrate their knowledge in different ways. The artist, Wassily Kandinsky said, "Color is a power which directly influences the soul." Color provides students with a way to demonstrate those influences. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. McGinty
This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 3 other donors.Brother, Can You Spare a Printer?
Funded Nov 8, 2018When I was a little girl, I visited my aunt who had one of the first color televisions. I will not forget how I was awed by the beautiful color peacock that was a symbol for one of the stations of the time. And, although that was a very long time ago, I remember I could not get enough of watching programs in color. For the past several years I have only had an old, basic printer in my classroom. I knew however that student work printed in black and white would not have the visual impact that a printed color image could have; just like that first color television peacock logo.
My students have produced creative and amazing projects such as mini-books, info-graphics, conservation posters, and character trait Word Clouds to name a few. They are proud of their efforts and their successes but when printed in black and white, the work just did not elicit the excitement of the digital work. Now that we have the color printer, students wait impatiently for their work to appear in bright, bold colors right before their eyes. There are plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" when they see the hard copy of their works, not to mention, HUGE smiles.
Our bulletin boards have also taken on a brand new look and students are proud to see their work displayed. Some however want to take projects right home to show their parents. Having the more beautiful hard copy in hand has also motivated some children to get assignments done on time so that they too can wait next to the printer for the magic to happen.
I am so thankful to all of the donors to "Brother, Can You Spare a Printer?" I choose this title for my project because, like the song in the great Depression, it gave me the courage to ask you for help to bring to my classroom the basic supplies students should have in the 21st century. The song, so relevant to the Great Depression story, with an optimism toward hope and for basics such as bread is likewise relevant now when we want to provide our students with the basics they need to feel success and to shine in school. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
With gratitude,
Ms. McGinty
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 10 other donors.Bring Our LEGO Robots to Life
Funded Aug 31, 2018The first time that I worked with students to complete a robot challenge was several years ago. I will never forget the thrill we felt the first time we were successful in completing a challenge. We were all jumping up and down and laughing. What a great feeling! As we continued to learn robotics together, we felt that excitement with every successful task. Later, when our equipment began to fail, we only felt frustration and disappointment. So, when our Donors Choose package arrived and the students began jumping up and down and laughing, we all felt that same thrill that I remember from the first successful experience several years ago.
My student teams were so excited to receive the new Lego Intelligent Bricks and have been busy rebuilding their robots with the new computerized hardware. They have begun to build challenges and plan out how to program their new robots to move, turn, lift and carry objects. As with learning any new skill there are many attempts as students try to reach a goal. And, even if they are still not successful (which happens a lot with robots), they do not give up. Failure here is not really failure at all but rather a rich, deep learning process. This is such a wonderful and enjoyable experience for my students and more importantly, lays the groundwork for future science, math and engineering dream careers. In addition to the STEM content knowledge gained by building and programming robots, my students have also learned some important lessons about working together; supporting each other and learning that each of them has something valuable to add to the team effort.
None of this would have been possible without the awesome generosity of all of the donors to this project. Some of the donors are caring family and friends who can always be counted on to support my students and me. Others are anonymous caring individuals and corporations that truly care about the children of today and the scientists and leaders of tomorrow. Almost all of these children would not have been able to experience a project like this had it not been provided at school. So in addition to bringing pleasure and learning, these donors have provided increased equity of experience for ALL of my students.
As Oscar Wilde once said, "Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result." Through your generosity you have provided us with optimal conditions for positive results and I count my blessings and want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you!
Most sincerely and with gratitude,
Cynthia McGinty”
With gratitude,
Ms. McGinty
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 6 other donors.Junior Scientists Directing Documentaries
Funded Dec 18, 2013First and foremost I must express my gratitude for providing my students with such a fantastic opportunity. We had so much fun learning and bonding with each other over our discoveries in this project. The students wrote script, filmed, use technology (wiki) to communicate, acted, and got a bit silly at times (using Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street as a prop.) Our documentary is still in production as the frog metamorphosis is as yet, incomplete. Hopefully nature will cooperate before the last day of school.
The students were so excited to receive the frog eggs, chattering back and forth on the Junior Scientist Club wiki. Their creative ideas flowed and they built on each other's comments and plans. They showed each other respect and took turns sharing the camera to record segments of the documentary. The science club members were not the only students to benefit from the resources, as every child that came into the science lab was filled with wonder and loads of questions about the frog eggs and the tadpoles. This gave the members of the science club plenty of opportunities to share their learning and research. While I watched them interact, I was so proud of them. It was inspiring to see nine and ten year old students handle such a multifaceted project with interest and persistence. The team members, from all different classrooms, also showed maturity in meeting, communicating and respectfully sharing their common connection, that is, FROGS! Our next and last step before presenting our documentary to the school community is to edit all of the videos and put everything together in one neat package. Students already have ideas for another project in the next school year. Perhaps butterflies!
As teachers, we are always striving to meet all of the requirements of the standards, the curriculum, the school schedule, and the testing schedules. This project provided me with a chance to meet many of these mandates in such an enjoyable real world learning experience and I am grateful to you for this and for providing the means for my students to be successful learners. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. McGinty
This classroom project was brought to life by an anonymous donor and 5 other donors.