Past projects 55
Band Room Basics
Funded Aug 14, 2024It is amazing how small, often overlooked items can make a difference! It is easy to take every day items like tuning slide grease, valve oil, cork grease and rotor oil for granted, but without these very basic supplies, a band program will cease to function. We also appreciate the mini glockenspiels and drum pads which allow our percussion students to practice at home.
Thank you so much for supporting our band program! With your contributions, we are now fortified with the basic supplies we need to begin another successful and fun year of music making. Our band students will soon perform at the school's International Thanksgiving Put Luck, our Incoming Student Open House and our Winter Arts Festival. As the year goes on our students will have many more performance opportunities including concerts, state assessment festival, community events and even Music in the Parks!
Thank you for your incredible generosity and support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by The Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Rebuilding the Band
Funded Mar 27, 2024The materials we received from this grant have elevated our band to a level we have not experienced since long before the Pandemic. The Rovner ligatures improved the sound of our clarinet and saxophone students and the neck straps have helped our saxophone students achieve better posture and balance. The mechanical pencils are great for the students as the learn to mark rehearsal notes in their music.
Not long after receiving our new materials, the students went to State Festival Assessment and achieved a GOLD WITH DISTINCTION rating - something that our band has not been able to achieve on over a decade! As the new year begins we are building on the success of last Spring and making new exciting goals, one of which is attending Music in the Parks in Spring 2025.
Thank you so much for supporting my students. Your generosity is enabling them to dream big and reach high!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by LOFT and 5 other donors.Rhythms Resounding!
Funded Apr 29, 2023What an amazing way to begin the weekend! Your incredible kindness means that my students will have a working snare drum in time for concert and contest season! Today after school I was helping a young percussionist prepare for an upcoming assessment on our 15 year old snare drum. No matter how many times I adjusted it, the sound remained dreadful!!!
My students will be overjoyed when I share the news on Monday! The practice pads and mini glockenspiels will allow more of my students the opportunity to practice at home. Thank you so much for supporting my awesome, humble and deserving students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
Music is ESSENTIAL!
Funded Aug 11, 2020As I wrote this grant, restarting the band program seemed like an insurmountable task. Masks, social distancing, bell covers and teaching woodwinds and brass without being able to see the students' faces was incredibly daunting! What I soon learned is that the students are more resilient than we give them credit for. They took on the challenge of learning wind instruments as if learning to play behind a mask was a completely normal thing! They never complained about the multiple layers of COVID restrictions and rose to the occasion with grace, determination and humor. Against many odds, the 8th grade band played holiday music for staff and student entry in December. Their music brought smiles to the faces of everyone! As the year went on there were many performance opportunities for all 200 of the students enrolled in band. For the first time in 3 years, we performed before live audiences and the energy in the auditorium was frenetic! Without your generous support, our program never would have been feasible. The resources you provided allowed my students play and perform safely. Your kindness and generosity will always be remembered!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by A Generous Donor and 5 other donors.Making Music Together While Apart
Funded Dec 2, 2020After 18 months of separation, the students of the 158 Band finally came together in room B-27. While meeting on Zoom and making virtual band videos had its benefits, playing together in the same room was an extraordinary accomplishment! The supplies we received from this project was an integral part of the process of restarting the band program. Nothing speaks louder than the smiles on the students faces after they heard themselves play together in person. Within weeks, they could play 3 notes and eventually simple melodies. By the end of the year the students were able to perform in concerts, at State Festival and at graduation. Next year holds even more promise as the pandemic continues to recede. Thank you so much for your generous support! We would not be where we are today without your kindness and generosity!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 11 other donors.Reimagining the Band!
Funded Dec 1, 2021Thank you for your amazing support of our band. After a 2 year hiatus, we were finally able to revive our entire band program over the past several months. Your kind and generous donations helped us immensely, as we were able to start over 200 students on woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. In spite of the challenges of COVID, our band and chorus students performed three concerts, one for each grade, by the end of the school year. Additionally the 8th grade senior band achieved a silver rating at State Festival and performed for our schools graduation ceremonies. As we look ahead towards the 2022-2023 school year, I can only imagine the amazing things our band students will achieve together. Thank you so much for your kindness.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.Band Essentials
Funded May 3, 2022What an awesome way to begin teacher appreciation week!! Thank you all so much for your incredible generosity! For the first time in over THREE years, MS 158 will hold concerts. Over the next few weeks our auditorium will resound with the voices and instruments over three hundred student musicians. These resources will arrive just in time to for our concert season. Thank you so much for thinking of us as we rebuild our band program.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.Help! My Instrument Has No Case!
Funded Mar 15, 2022Thank you so much for your incredible generosity! My students will be so excited to have proper cases for their instruments. For the first time in more than two years, our band students will perform for our school and local community. Our 8th grade students will have the opportunity to compete at NYSSMA (state festival) for the first time since May of 2019. Having proper cases for our instruments will ensure that students are able to go home and practice. Your kind generosity will make the 2022 concert and festival season one to truly remember. Thank you so much for supporting my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
Euphonium Euphoria!
Funded Aug 14, 2019Thank you for your generous support of Euphonium Euphoria! We now have FOUR plastic euphoniums. The students love to take these home to practice, as they are considerably lighter than the metal ones! As soon as the bell rings on Friday afternoon, the plastic euphoniums are gone from the shelf within seconds. I plan to add more of them to our inventory because the students absolutely love them.
Our music program is thriving thanks the generous support of our donors! You are the guardian angels who ensure that students will have the tools necessary for success. In the coming months our plans include three concerts (one for each grade), commissioning the work of a local Bengali composer and competing in our state band adjudication festival. Your kind support means that budget cuts will never be an obstacle for our students. Thank you so much!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.Brass Aspirations
Funded Jan 23, 2020In less than two weeks I will return from maternity leave. Fulfillment of this project will be wonderful news to share with my students upon my return! The new plastic euphonium will be deeply appreciated by the students. We currently have three of them, but there are 20 euphonium players in the band program! Having access to the plastic instruments has been an invaluable resource to promote home practice. We also really appreciate the new cases, which will replace broken ones. The new bell mallets will sound amazing for the percussion-heavy repertoire we have chosen for the upcoming concert and festival season. Thank you all so much for your generous support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Schecter
This classroom project was brought to life by Anonymous Arts Supporter and 3 other donors.