Ms. Tarr's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 37

• Copies for us to Play

  Funded Nov 14, 2012

  Thank you so much for your generous donation of copy cartridges for our class copier. You have made many of our class projects a reality in that we were able to create the copies that we needed in order to do them. There have been so many cutbacks in the school budget, but thanks to you we were still able to make the copies that we needed. Students were able to copy song lyrics for their groups in order to use their pantomime skills in music videos. They were able to copy their adaptations of elementary students' short stories for an upcoming tour performance of the plays that they created from them. We were able to make last minute copies of parent permission slips for field trips, and we were also able to make copies of graphic organizers to help students with special needs.

  None of this would have been possible without your extremely generous donation. I am so grateful that there are people like you who care about making a difference in the lives of my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Kia Motors America and 2 other donors.

• Yoga For A Serene Life

  Funded Nov 20, 2012

  Thank you so much for your generous donation of yoga mats to my classroom. I hope that you will take a look at the photos of my students doing their yoga and feel as much gratification as I do. It is an amazing gift to see my students connecting their mind, body and breath to become more present and aware. They LOVE doing yoga and constantly request that we do it more. When students ask for more of what you're teaching, it is the biggest compliment you can receive!

  None of this would have been possible without your kind donations. With the increase in class sizes and zero-budget to work with this year, we needed more mats for everyone to participate. I am so grateful that donors like you care enough to make a difference in the lives of my students.

  Thanks again for your wonderful, generous support.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

• We Ought To Be In Pictures

  Funded Jan 12, 2012

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom. My students had a lot of fun with our beginning films. I'm excited for us to participate next year in the film festivals for middle school students in our district. Everyday, on my way to work, I pass by at least one, if not more, film sets. There is so much potential for my students to be involved in this industry which exists right in their own backyard.I think the cameras are really going to help us capitalize on students' potential to create and tell their own unique stories. None of this would be possible if you had not supported this project. I am so grateful that all of you cared enough to donate. Every little bit of support helps. Together we can make a difference and change students' lives.

  ”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 22 other donors.

• Can You Help Motivate Us to Stay in School?

  Funded May 9, 2012

  Once again - you helped make this year a success and helped students to reach their potential, and I am so extremely grateful! It wouldn't be possible without you supporting my DonorsChoose projects that give students an awesome incentive prize to work towards all semester long. I wanted to share with you some of the pictures from one of my more challenging classes this year. In the pictures they are working on applying makeup from one of their designs created to go with the characters from the play Novio Boy. A lot of these students have struggled in school for a long time. They have struggled with English as a second language, absent parents, gang-related families, anger management, etc. Many of them have failed multiple classes for multiple years. As you can see in the pictures however, they were motivated in my class all year long to keep trying and to complete the assignments they were given. I truly believe that it is only because of your generous donation, and the fact that they knew that they could win an iPod. They worked together, completed their assignments and were more successful than they have ever been. It's this kind of accomplishment that helps students not to give up, to keep on trying when they feel overwhelmed or challenged, and gives them hope that they can be successful if they put effort into their work. My hope is that they will carry this on to high school and will continue to do their best, because now they know that they feel good doing it.

  I am so grateful to have a friend like you who cares enough to help make a difference in the lives of these kids. Un mil gracias mi amiga!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

• Copy That!

  Funded Mar 9, 2012

  Thank you, thank you, thank you - for you and your family's most generous donation to my classroom! It has been one of the best additions EVER! We used the copier for so many different projects and in many ways that improved students' learning this year. As you can see in the posted pictures, we used it to copy stories written by elementary school students to help writing teams adapt them into plays. We did several read arounds and re-writes of the scripts, so the copier was a tremendous help in allowing students to have multiple copies to read from; in order to hear the scripts aloud, get notes from their peers about strengths and weaknesses in the scripts, and make changes to improve them. This would not have been possible without your wonderful donation! The copier also came to the rescue several times when things needed to be modified for my students with special needs. I was able to copy items for them to have more time and to finish work at home, which was part of the modification that they needed in order to be successful in my class.

  We also used it when students traded creative monologues that they had written to be performed in class. They were able to make copies out of their notebooks for a classmate to use as a script.

  It also came in handy, when at the last minute we would be short a copy for field trip, or for an assignment, or for a needed cue list for a performance. There were just SO MANY ways this copier helped me and my students this year! If my students were writing this, they would tell you how it seemed that I was almost "in love" with the copier from the way that I sang its praises every time it got us out of a bind.

  I am so grateful to have such a caring friend. You really made a difference and helped improve learning for my students this year and for many more yet to come. ”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

• Yoga for a Peaceful Life in a Chaotic World

  Funded Jan 1, 2012

  Thank you to all the donors who helped make this project possible! Without your help there would not have been enough yoga mats for our classroom due to the increase of class sizes as a result of school budget cuts. Thankfully, because of you, we were able to learn and practice yoga this year and it has had an amazing affect on students! They are more focused, attentive, calm, and less reactive to stress as a result of the work that we are doing in my class. They LOVE yoga. Just about every day students will ask when we will be doing it next. I am so grateful that I have been able to teach them this very powerful tool to help them deal with the middle school stress that they encounter on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of fights at our school recently. This is common with not enough supervision due to budget cuts as the end of the year draws closer. Students become agitated with the increased attention on high stakes testing and feelings of inadequacy. But because we practice yoga in my classroom we have become a small oasis of calm in the middle of the storm. We have been focusing on becoming part of the solution rather than part of the problem. I truly believe my students can be ambassadors to help change this problem at our school. They are willing to participate and are grateful for the peace that they have been able to find and cultivate. Many of them are taking what they have learned back to their homes and teaching family members as well.

  Your donation has not only impacted the lives of my students, but is reaching out and changing the community. Thank you so much for helping to make a difference!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Help Us Reach Our Goals!

  Funded Dec 13, 2011

  Thank you so much for your generous donation to help buy an Apple iPod Touch as a reward for the positive behavior incentive program that I have in my classroom. You are ensuring that my students will work together to help one another succeed and to become one less number in the high school drop out crisis that grips our urban schools.

  It is difficult for my students at this young age to conceive of how decisions now will affect their future. They need a powerful incentive to motivate them. This iPod has provided that incentive. It has motivated them to keep on trying whenever they fail, to push themselves and each other to increase their efforts, and to overcome the obstacles they face on a daily basis in order to be in my Theatre Arts class and to do their best. It takes a powerful motivator such as this to get students to work outside their comfort zone; to take a healthy risk to get up in front of their peers and perform. But their sense of accomplishment and increased self esteem when it's all over goes a long way in helping them to believe that they CAN reach their goals.

  My students are not only the future, but they are an inspiration; a light in my life. I am so lucky to be their teacher and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to make a difference in their lives.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 9 other donors.

• Creative Theatre Kids Need Your Help

  Funded Dec 13, 2011

  Thank you so much for your wonderful generous donation of art supplies to my classroom. Students have been busy using many of these supplies with our class projects. Students were able to create posters with a quote of a favorite song to help inspire them while they did projects in front of class that took them our of their comfort zone. Each student could look up and see their own hand made reminder that they were wonderful and it was okay to try something new. They were able to create Theatre Safety posters that were hung back stage to remind students to be careful during rehearsals and productions and to follow safety guidelines. They were able to create set designs and prop renderings for a play that we have been reading and will continue with costume rendering projects, and make up designs. They also used the supplies to create Vision Boards, which were a visual collage of goals that they have for their future.

  Most recently we have been working with an outside foundation that teaches students (and teachers) how to use art to help students tell their own personal stories. Students have created water color designs, story boards, and collages to help illustrate their personal story. The students have loved working on this project and it would not have been possible without the donation of the art supplies. The project will end with a Story Slam presentation much like those done at The Moth which holds story slams around the country. I'm very excited and so glad that we were able to participate in this so that students had a chance to have art integrated in to the curriculum; all because of your help.

  Thanks for making a difference in the lives of my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 2 other donors.

• Reading is Fun When It Involves Plays!

  Funded Feb 1, 2012

  Thank you so much for donating to this project! The plays have been a huge success in my classroom. Even students who are reluctant or dependent readers are simply engrossed in the plots and the humor. They have made the design projects fun, easy and attainable for ALL of the students in the class. This is no small feat, as many of the students have recently been redesignated out of ESL into my Theatre Lab class. Since we have started working with the play Novio Boy I have seen students grades go up. There is a sense of motivation to do the work that was missing before. So far we have created set designs, prop lists, and prop renderings for the play. We will continue to work on it as we create costume renderings, make up designs, and sound and lighting designs.

  I am so grateful that you have given this opportunity for my students to work on fun and culturally relevant material. Without your generous contribution none of this would be possible. With the budget cutbacks continuing to get worse DonorsChoose is our only hope to adding great materials, like these plays, into our classrooms to help students improve their reading skills and close the achiement gap that exists in public education.

  Thanks again for your kind and generous donation. You make a difference in the lives of students.”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr

  This classroom project was brought to life by Wasserman Foundation and 14 other donors.

• Rehearsing for a Successful Life

  Funded Jun 10, 2011

  Thank you so much for consistently making such a huge impact on the lives of my students. Over the last few years you have helped to see that hundreds of students are successful in my classroom. You have provided an incentive for hundreds of kids to arrive on class to time, bring their materials every day, do their homework and assigned classwork, and meet the expected behavior guidelines. I could not have the results that I do if I did not have such a fantastic prize as an iPod Touch to entice them. Your generosity will help to ensure that these students feel that they can be successful in school, which in turn will help them try harder in their academic classes and lead to higher success rates. Although it has been the same reward every year, to each set of students it is a new an exciting opportunity. Their eyes light up when they hear that they can win something just for doing what they're supposed to. But at our school and in our community that isn't always as easy as it sounds to others; especially when that means getting up in front of their peers to perform. They all have anxiety and fear. But through the process of the class they learn self-confidence, trust in their classmates, and that courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. When it's over, they discover not only did they survive, but they actually had fun! They feel a sense of accomplishment which can help them to accomplish other things that seem too challenging. But they might not be as willing to take these types of healthy risks if they didn't have the chance at winning the grand prize. I am so grateful for all that you do for my kids!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tarr