Past projects 6
Strong Skills, Strong Women
Funded Apr 14, 2019This is Caity, Natalie's co-teacher and partner in arranging this adventure. This was an unforgettable trip for our young women. Although many of our students have been raised just a few miles away, not one of the students had been to Metropolitan Opera House before. For many of our students, this is not a space that most feel comfortable entering without preparation and coaxing from adults.
We arrived with some extra time before taking our seats and our students opted to take some photos and eat their lunches around the fountain. They perused the gift shop and some students spoke with the doorman asking him a myriad of questions about the history of the building, including one I overheard that warmed my geologist-turned-science teacher heart, "Where'd they source the gold from to make the ceiling?" One of my favorite memories from the trip was from after we took our seats, when lights dimmed, and the glass starburst chandeliers began to retreat into the gilded ceiling, and our students looking up with wonder and awe.
Encouraging students to participate and take ownership of spaces where people don't look like them, don't dress like them, and don't speak like them, is difficult, but is so important in building a world where equity. As Misty Copeland said, "Decide what you want. Declare it to the world. See yourself winning. And remember that if you are persistent as well as patient, you can get whatever you seek."”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
Expanding Our Wellness Learning & Wellness Workshops!
Funded Mar 19, 2016The project which your donations so generously funded has had a farther reach than you may have expected. There were multiple iterations, or sessions, of this project - run during times when students could drop in and participate, with fellow students offering tutorials to their peers and teachers. Students took part in the preparation of both the space and the process, tempering and melting the materials as needed and soliciting and delegating the participation of their friends as the afternoons went on. It was a teacher's joyous moment to behold - the opportunity to watch students learn and explore without self-consciousness and take on leadership roles and encourage one another to try something new!
What has been for me as an educator most exciting is to see how these new skills and this opportunity for exploration has reached farther than the singular moment of an experience in my classroom. For example, I have heard from a former student, one who has now graduated and is a college freshman, share that she has taught her younger sister and much younger brother how to make homemade salves, scrubs, and infused oils, and they are working together to make them for their relatives during her winter intersession at home - a great way to spend time with her siblings! A former colleague who now teaches at another school has passed on the instruction to his new students, who in turn, made them for a recent PTA fundraiser, generating enough to start a small garden where they can study plants that they themselves will grow!
I am myself at a new school - one with an innovative and powerful approach to restorative practices - and I look forward to sharing these (and creating new) opportunities with an expanded community of students and colleagues. I hope for the chance to share these stories and adventures with you as we explore future endeavors.
Thank you for being a part of the village that supports the growth and learning of every child, no matter his or her story.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 3 other donors.Creating Our Strength & Finding Our Focus
Funded Feb 8, 2016The project changed my life. I enjoyed doing this project with my friends and my teacher. Doing it with my teacher made me feel that school is not just about education from our classes, but it is about exploring materials for our community and ourselves. These resources changed school for me because we have been involved in and interested in doing things that can help us in our lives. This project is simple and easy to do and learn about. The idea of it is to be able to use the things we make with our own hands. There are many things we can use around us that are better than buying products. Our project involved using organic resources. I have been using the lavender oil I made for two weeks now. I was surprised at how it helped me skin, because when it gets cold, my skin gets affected. Carrying the oil with me when I go somewhere is satisfying. It provides relief, it is natural, smells good, and I made it myself! You can see the results faster than buying a product for your skin, which can put yourself at risk to having a negative reaction. Every thing we made has a purpose. Some for our skin, our hair, our tummies, or whole body. I like all of the things we've made and I am using them all. My mom has even asked me about them and has asked me to show her how to make them. I am grateful to my teacher and my friends for sharing their ideas with me - and to you for making this possible. I have recommended to my other friends to try it. They were happy when we did them together. The mandalas that we colored helped me to relax and now hangs in my bedroom, which reminds me to breathe and it makes me smile. I also learned from the other participants and feel closer to people that I wasn't really friends with before. I plan to take a picture of the things I made and sending it to my friends around the world, so they can spread the word and make it with their friends too :)
(The letter above takes lines and statements from each of the girl's letters!)”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
This classroom project was brought to life by ExxonMobil & Think It Up Supporters and 6 other donors.Chamomile, Earl Grey, and Green Tea - Oh My!
Funded Sep 30, 2015Thank you sincerely for your efforts and assistance in making our tea-ventures possible! We are enjoying the most wonderful time sharing over cups of tea and exploring different brews. Students have taken great initiation in directing our talks, which have ranged from the headaches and joys of their college application process to how to tell a girl you like her, and generally remain silent until everyone has a cup brewed in hand. Then the chatter explodes! Students stop into my classroom in the morning on Fridays, before the school day has begun, to see if our 'tea table' is set up. When they see it is, they proceed to exclaim, 'Tea Time!' before heading off to their first period classes. When the lunch period goes quickly and our conversation takes the lead, students leave with their tea in hand, much to the wonder of students in the hallway from other classes who ask, 'Where did you get the tea?!' Thank you for enriching our experience as thinkers, as speakers, as communicators, and community. May your cup always be full!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
Mesmerized by Mozart: Classical Music Comes to Life!
Funded Feb 14, 2015'It's not that I don't like it Ms. Soto. It just puts me to sleep.' Maxwell's words were said to me after I inquired about his head being positioned forehead-down on the paper in front of him during class several months ago. This was in contrast to some of the students beside him who were humming along or mimicking the imagined movements of a passionate conductor. Maxwell was not alone in his sentiments. While most students were lively, seemingly more focused, and at the least less distracted by noise in the hallway or one another when the music played, for some, like Maxwell, the music's soothing tones (no matter the composer or movement) lulled them to a state of drowsiness. To decide not to take them on the trip to the New York Philharmonic did not once cross my mind. Quite the contrary, they prompted me to explore this opportunity. Aware of the expectations of a performance space, Maxwell turned to me as the students looked out onto Lincoln Center Plaza, people-watching and posing for pictures with one another - many visiting Avery Fisher Hall for the first time - and whispered urgently, "What if I get sleepy??" I smiled and assured him, "You won't." Actually, I wasn't sure that he, or the handful of students in attendance who shared his concern, wouldn't but I trusted in the power of the experience music being conducted and played live for the first time - an investment that resulted in great return. The students - both those who insist on my playing classical music while they work when I forget to turn it on myself and those who get the drowsy look of babes when it plays for too long - raved about the concert: they sang the praises of the experience to their friends in other classes; they sent pictures to their parents of the performers on stage and of themselves in their seats. My appreciation, and most certainly theirs, extends beyond this single event. The students, immediately following the performance and of their own accord, when to the ticket office to ask about any discounts their college IDs might afford them in the fall. They began to talk of their plans to attend with friends, with younger siblings for whom they are responsible, with one another, and even on their own. They spoke of feeling important, of feeling privileged. My father, who once again got to share with me in the experience of chaperoning these wonderful young minds on a new fine arts adventure, noted that it was inspiring to see a new generation - one that might not otherwise have glanced in the direction of the concert hall - make independent plans for an imminent return. Oh, and if you were curious about what Maxwell had to say to me when I checked in with him during intermission: "MS. SOTO DID YOU SEE THAT?! THE MAN ON THE PIANO!!! HE'S NIIIIIIICCCEEE. I CANT WAIT FOR THE SECOND HALF!!!" Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto
Some Love Rock 'n' Roll. We Love Opera
Funded Sep 16, 2014THANK YOU. This trip was, both for the students and myself, one of the most memorable moments that we have shared as a class. In the days prior to the trip, we learned about the history of the Metropolitan Opera house; about the staff it takes to successfully prepare for and execute a production; about the costumes, the light, and the space. They asked questions: about the characters we would see on stage and even what would be okay to wear - one student concerned that he does not own dress shoes and would have to wear either boots or sneakers. The day of the trip arrived and the students made sure to find me as soon as they got to school to let me know that they were on time. I made the announcement for the students to meet me in the school's common area and they gathered promptly, with heads held high. When the other 12th grade classes asked why they were going on the trip and not everyone else, they gave the reason that I had given them: "We're being acknowledged for our scholarship."
Despite the rain, the students were in excellent spirits and remarkable disposition. We rode the train to Lincoln Center, making conversation with other patrons who observed the students' fine dress and general excitement - we even met a chorus member of the Metropolitan Opera on our way! The students marveled at the space, our amazing seats, and at the voices and music. The orchestra and conductor could clearly be seen for much of the production, which one student whispered to me made it all "like magic."
Upon return from the winter break, we read two versions of Hansel and Gretel and created comparisons between the production we saw and two translations. They identified literary techniques and devices used in the texts. They practiced writing Question 27 for the New York State English Language Arts (NYSELA) exam using the opera and its script. They have continued to practice using it as one of their "go-to" texts for the Question 28 NYSELA Critical Lens essay. The students have sought out the opportunity to take advantage of other student offers at local arts institutions ON THEIR OWN - something of which I am immensely proud. They are eager to secure their IDNYC and encouraging their parents and siblings to do with them. If you are not familiar with this program, it is a government-issued identification card which gives access to all holders - regardless of their immigration or housing status. "IDNYC benefits every city resident, including the most vulnerable communities—the homeless, youth, the elderly, undocumented immigrants, the formerly incarcerated and others who may have difficulty obtaining other government-issued ID." While their excitement about this program comes from the free membership and access to over 30 arts institutions around their city that the card makes possible, a willingness that undoubtedly comes in part from this trip ("I feel more comfortable here than I thought I would"), it also means that they are encouraging their families to join them - and in doing so, are giving their families a means of identifying themselves apart from the fear and hesitation that has come from their financial and immigration situations.
By seeking empowerment and confidence as new patrons of the arts, they are empowering their families to be able to seek greater care for themselves.
The wheels would not have been set in motion without your help. Thank you for making this possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Soto