Past projects 14
Scientific Inquiry - Student Designed and Documented
Funded Dec 22, 2019Once again I am humbled! I find the generosity of friends, family and strangers to be such an encouragement in an age when funding for public education is so uncertain. Working in an urban school this is particularly the case. I watch teachers and students struggle on a daily basis with the limitations of our budgets.
The materials that this campaign will provide are going to definitely bring science alive as we are going to get hands on with nature and look at soil and water samples in a way my students may never have had the chance to do so before. Thank you!!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by Verizon and 5 other donors.Field Science Experience on Hurricane Island
Funded Jun 19, 2019This is long overdue, however, I want you to know how thankful we are for your support in taking this trip. Our time on Hurricane was incredibly memorable and impactful. Students learned about the history, ecology, botany and geology of the island. We also had a chance to interact with a group of college students that were starting their university level independent research in Marine Biology.
The students had new experiences at every turn and really enjoyed the fresh air and time away from the classroom. This learning experience is nothing like anything else they get in our fabulous urban school. The instructors were fantastic and worked so well with our students.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and 22 other donors.The Ultimate Science Experience, Unplugged and Unified
Funded Feb 16, 2018My students have the opportunity to take this trip every year. I keep expecting my experience with them to start to feel redundant or rehearsed, it doesn't. I am reminded every time I take them how wonderfully unique each of them are and how their experience with Hurricane Island will be different from the last set of students.
This past year I had one student confess that she thought she was not someone that enjoyed the outdoors. However this experience enabled her to learn of her "love of nature" that she did not know existed. This is the experience of city kids all too often. To them nature is interrupted by concrete and asphalt. They often have not been immersed in nature the way our trip can and does. I'm so blessed to be able to have a hand in providing this opportunity for them.
This fall I will be going again with another group and I look forward to the way they will experience Hurricane Island in their own unique way. I hope more will develop their love of nature and come away with the same gratitude that I do each year.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by The First Million Fund and 22 other donors.Into the Big Outdoors - Five Day Field Science Emersion
Funded May 9, 2018Thank you again for all your support!
Our students had an amazing time! I do believe this was the best group I've taken on this trip and your help made it a reality. They enjoyed each other, the great outdoors and the research process in ways that I have not experienced with groups from years past. The students were commended for their hard work and presentations. They were able to unplug for a few days and just enjoy being together. The intangible rewards I receive from this trip are far better than any success I see in students in the regular classroom and I am so grateful to all of you that participated in helping my students go. They are already asking if they can be a chaperone on future trips!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by Google.org and 27 other donors."Americanah" for a New Perspective
Funded Oct 18, 2017Thank you for helping us purchase this very important novel. Here is glimpse into the impact it is already having...
"She's a woman, of color, who is still alive!" When I told my students about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the author of Americanah, they were excited to hear that we were not reading yet another text from the Western canon. Instead, we have the opportunity to read a novel written by a dynamic young writer who they actually recognized from being featured in a Beyonce song. They were instantly more interested in this text than the classics we've read so far this year, and after reading just the first few pages were already commenting on how connected they feel to the main character. Ifemelu's experience of moving to the United States as a teenager is one that many of them share, or at least have experienced second-hand through their friends, family, or classmates. This connection allows us to move easily from discussing the surface level plot to the more complex issues of how the author uses imagery when describing a new place, or the way in which she uses flashback to establish dynamic characters. The text is quite lengthy, but the students don't seem to notice that they're reading a 588 page book when they are this engaged.
One of the most exciting aspects of the text is the way that it speaks to current issues of gender and race. As one student put it, "It's challenging but really important to read a book that talks about issues that haven't been solved yet." While my students reacted strongly to Nora's speech of independence at the end of A Doll's House, they came away with a sense of relief that gender roles are much more fluid than they used to be, "Thank goodness we don't have to live that way." While reading Americanah, our discussions instead leave students pondering, "What do we do about this?" The young women in class have been especially energized by the combination of love story and search for identity that Adichie weaves through her novel, because it's exciting to have a character who can be both feminine and strong. And it doesn't hurt that she studied at a university just a few minutes away! In a International Baccalaureate curriculum that constantly asks students to consider the context for literature, they have the opportunity in Americanah to see how the familiar (the immigrant experience, life in Philadelphia, conflict over race and gender) intersects with the foreign (life in Nigeria, returning home). And so far, my students are rising to the challenge in very exciting ways.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose.org Community and 2 other donors.The 'OCEAN' is Calling and 'WE' Must GO
Funded Jul 23, 2017Hurricane Island is a special place where students learn to let go and unplug. They learn about the importance of sustainable living. The work they've done to conduct field work and present their experimental findings has been an academic cherry on top of the wonderful experiences we are afforded on Hurricane. We are looking forward to this trip again next year and will be utilizing most of these funds to help pay for that trip as well.
I cannot adequately express my gratitude! It's been amazing to experience the support that has poured in! Thank you so much for your support!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
Hurricane Island Trip - Project #2
Funded Sep 15, 2016I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful our trip to Hurricane Island was for my students! They had such a terrific time and didn't want to leave. They learned a lot, not only about the scientific research process but about living more simply and being in community.
Thank you for participating in this effort. We returned to school richer than when we left. The students are still talking about the trip one month later and I'm hopeful this was something that they will remember for a lifetime.
Once back in school, the students shared their research again in their math class, from a different perspective, and I think it drove home the cross curricular nature of the work that they did.
I am once again humbled and grateful to have been able to take my students on this trip. You were part of a magical experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by the estate of Dorothea Lutz and 13 other donors.Hurricane Island Round 3
Funded Sep 22, 2016I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful our trip to Hurricane Island was for my students! They had such a terrific time and didn't want to leave. They learned a lot, not only about the scientific research process but about living more simply and being in community.
Thank you for participating in this effort. We returned to school richer than when we left. The students are still talking about the trip one month later and I'm hopeful this was something that they will remember for a lifetime.
Once back in school, the students shared their research again in their math class, from a different perspective, and I think it drove home the cross curricular nature of the work that they did.
I am once again humbled and grateful to have been able to take my students on this trip. You were part of a magical experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by the estate of Dorothea Lutz and one other donor.Hurricane Island Field Research Trip
Funded Aug 25, 2016I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful our trip to Hurricane Island was for my students! They had such a terrific time and didn't want to leave. They learned a lot, not only about the scientific research process but about living more simply and being in community.
Thank you for participating in this effort. We returned to school richer than when we left. The students are still talking about the trip one month later and I'm hopeful this was something that they will remember for a lifetime.
Once back in school, the students shared their research again in their math class, from a different perspective, and I think it drove home the cross curricular nature of the work that they did.
I am once again humbled and grateful to have been able to take my students on this trip. You were part of a magical experience.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor
This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 19 other donors.Hurricane Island Here We Come!
Funded Aug 17, 2015Early on a Sunday morning I met 21 eager students at our school, we loaded up the bus and departed for Rockland, Maine just before 7am. Once we arrived in Rockland we then boarded a boat and took our one hour trip to Hurricane Island for our four and a half day adventure. Several of our students had never been on a boat before and others had never been out of the tri-state area. It was so exciting to see so many students experience firsts over the few days on Hurricane Island. They explored inter-tidal zones, hiked the shores and hills of the island, observed plankton under a microscope, when birding around the island and went lobster fishing. The students learned so much, conducted experiments that they designed in small groups and presented their findings on Thursday night. I was so proud of their efforts and saw several of the students really blossom on the trip.
Thank you all for your contribution to this trip! It was truly a wonderful experience!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Taylor