Mr. Obillo's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 15

• I Dreamed It, And Made It

  Funded Mar 30, 2017

  I am so excited that this project has been funded! The boxes arrived yesterday. Immediately, the students' interest was peaked. One student helped unpack and carefully read the instructions. What came next in my upcoming classes was totally unexpected.

  Of course, students would come in and ask if it was a 3d printer, but then a handful of my girls started asking if they could set it up. When they were done with their classwork, they began reading the manual, checking online, inspecting the parts, everything to get this printer started. A few trial runs and we were close to having it right. They gave up their lunch to stay in and watch you tube videos, research online and continue with trial and error. This was so exciting to me, as they were helping themselves become more independent learners. To understand how to approach a real life problem and tackle, watching these kids develop that, that what was amazing.

  I know that the use of a 3d printer to help them visualize and learn 3d graphing is important, but I realized a more important aspect of having it in the classroom. These students are now motivated and practicing problem solving techniques without having me guide them. It is helping them learn to be more independent with their development.

  Thank you to everyone that donated. Thank you for your kind words and your faith in my students.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Obillo

  This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 10 other donors.

• Keep On Running

  Funded May 17, 2016

  Since we have started our running team the students have become excited to be a part of something new. They have found success to boost their self esteem and discovered another reason to become excited to come to school. I have seen kids who were once strangers become like family in support of each other, cheering each other on and pushing themselves to more than they thought they could be.

  I remember the first time they saw the shirts, they were so excited. They earned them by coming to practice. The day the shirts were distributed they were so happy. They picked out their shirts (and thought they were not washed yet) and put them on to proudly wear during practice.

  My kids are so excited for their first race. It's something that most of them have not been a part of before, they will be competing against other schools and hundreds of kids. Until then, run team is a place for them to learn about themselves, push their boundaries, and make new friends. Every practice we end with positivity, congratulating each other on a good workout. I know that this has made a positive impact on my kids.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Obillo

  This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and one other donor.

• Books, There and Back Again

  Funded Aug 6, 2016

  I have seen the impact on my students from this project in different ways. First, the love of reading has been sparked in my students. Some students admitted that the promise of free stuff (their own book) lured them in. However, as they began to read the book they got more drawn in. One student smiled, telling me she would have never read a book like this on her own, but she's enjoying it. Other students have joined in the reading because their friends have, but soon they, too, are enjoying the book. Their intellectual curiosity has been sparked and many of them are excited to finish The Hobbit and begin The Lord of The Rings trilogy.

  Another way my students have been impacted is socially. Some of the most timid students in class are able to speak up and be an authority on the subject. Other students are yielding the floor to them, giving each student is gaining in their self esteem as they are all seen as valued with an important opinion to share. I love seeing their smiles as they talk about what they would have done to the dwarfs if the same thing had happened at their own houses. They all talk big and laugh, knowing they wouldn't be able to talk as tough if a dwarf showed up looking for dinner at their house.

  Finally, I love the excitement as discuss the evolution of Bilbo. His transformation is what we teach in our small learning academy. As he learns about courage he never knew he had and pushes himself out of his comfort zone to do things he never fathomed he could achieve, he teaches our students. He teaches them to get out of their comfort zone, to try new things, to be more than what they thought they could be.

  Thank you to everyone that helped with this project. My students are doing something more than sitting behind a video game screen or playing on social media. They are interacting, reading, and building themselves up.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Obillo

• Running for the Future

  Funded Dec 22, 2015

  Thank you so much for your support! Many of these students hate run day. They had never been part of an organized running program. They were hesitant at first, but the promise of their own uniform motivated them. It was awesome to hear them after just two practices talking about how their pe runs days have improved. We recently completed our first 5k. We had one student take third in his division! Even more memorable to me was the student that went from "I probably won't even finish" to breaking her projected time and signing up for another event!

  I've already seen a chance in the confidence level of these kids. Not only did they succeed in something that they normally shy away from, but they are finding themselves having more of a sense of belonging in our school. This is definitely something that is showing them their limitless nature.

  Thank you again, what you do matters.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Obillo

  This classroom project was brought to life by DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation - Sports Matter and 4 other donors.

• Movies and Math

  Funded May 17, 2015

  Thank you for helping my students have a chance to approach math problems in a different way. By using the Ipad, students are able to do "real world" problems. They see that these items are more than an avenue for social media and streaming videos. The power of the devices allows them to bring problems to life that previously were static in a text book. By using multimedia with the math class students have more connections to the mathematics of everyday life. Seeing how our classroom learning can help solve everyday problems.

  I think the most exciting thing for the students is that they have their eyes opened up to what they can do with these tools. "We can do that?" is a great comment to hear when we start using this tech to solve problems. "I never thought of that," shows how these tools can replace some of our older more isolated tools.

  The students love using this tech. It infuses some laughter in the class when they watch their videos and predict the fastest students. They fight over (but not violently) who gets to film or snap pictures to create our data and problems.

  In short, the infusion of the Ipad has given "real world" authenticity to many problems in class. It allows them to see "when are we ever going to use this in the real world."”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Obillo