Past projects 25
Trapezoidal Triumph!
Funded Jun 13, 2017The idea to have no desks in our room was a wacky, unfathomable idea thought up by my creative and crazy co-teacher, Chelsey. No desks? How could that... would that be possible? Your generosity has made her vision a reality and this is the ONE time she gets to say, "I told you so!"
No desks has made our classroom a warm, inviting and homey community and the students are thriving. They use the desks to do group work, individual work and project-based learning and, since they rise and lower, we keep rearranging them to keep things fresh!
Not having desks has changed the feeling in our room so significantly that students who have had trouble focusing in the past are now front and center during learning time. Instead of a classroom, we have a community of learning.
Again, thank you so much for your help,
Giuliana and Chelsey”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Sitting Pretty
Funded Jul 25, 2017Flexible seating is an idea that has been floating around in the education world for some time. That said, it was not on my radar in any significant way. Then Chelsey, my amazing and inspiring co-teacher came on the scene and convinced me to give it a try. We knew it would give young bodies that are not meant to stay still for six hours at a time options, but we never imagined exactly how much it would change our teaching.
The students are thriving. Changing seats throughout the day has helped them focus and attend to their learning. They are happy to work in groups because they no longer struggle to find space that allows them to work collaboratively. Every area in our room is a collaborative area!
Thank you for helping to make this dream a reality. We are convinced that you have made a significant difference in the lives of these children.
Thank you AGAIN,
Giuliana and Chelsey”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
The Year of the Teaching Revolution!
Funded Jun 18, 2017There are no words to describe the faces on the children as they walked into our room this year. There were looks of awe, disbelief, curiosity, questioning and even some outright laughter. Who are these crazy teachers? (Okay, they may not have said that last bit out loud, but we heard it nonetheless!) It took a few days for us to get into the rhythm of not having desks in our room: where do you store things (the most pressing question)? who gets which chair? do we need to have assigned spots? The kids participated in almost every aspect of these decisions, advocating for what they needed and wanted. We are now running on full steam and while I would like to say there are no glitches at all, it is all going AMAZINGLY well for such a recent revolution.
Your generosity has made this experience possible. If we are sure of nothing else, we are sure this will be a year of school that they will remember. We are trying new ways of teaching; it is not just an aesthetic change you have helped us create, but a philosophical and pedagogical one as well. Teaching has never been more fun or more exciting. We are looking forward to the rest of this year in a way we could not have anticipated.
The only thing we can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Miss Chelsey and Ms. Reitzfeld”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Print It and Read It!
Funded Sep 23, 2016Dear Donors,
Our classroom has been thriving this year and we couldn't have done it without your generous donations. Having ink on hand to customize projects and lessons makes differentiating learning easy and fun. We have started this year with the most creative projects in our room to date. These students are overflowing with creativity and energy.
Additionally, the books we purchased with your help are allowing for a new program of "partner reading" to begin. Our readers are looking forward to sharing their reading experience with their friends, while reading in pairs.
We always have the best parents and the most generous supporters and we cannot thank you enough!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
This Computer Thing Is Gonna Be Big...
Funded Sep 21, 2015Thank you so much for your donation to our project. Having computers available to each student changes almost everything in a classroom: research becomes an adventure, writing becomes a collaborative endeavor, and reading becomes endlessly possible. In our classroom we use the new computers to investigate foreign and exotic lands and create books that express all that we have learned. We learn about other lives in other times and write stories that convey our new knowledge. We write in Google docs so that teachers with thirty students have the ability to conference more frequently even if it has to be a virtual meeting and students can collaborate on projects. We use a program that allows students who struggle with reading to listen to books read aloud and has a writing program that use spell prediction and graphic organizers to help struggling writers. In more ways than I could put on paper, your gift has brought joy and accomplishment to each and every student in my class.
Thank you,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Reading is Everything
Funded Sep 17, 2015Thank you so much for your donation to our project. Brown Girl Dreaming is an amazing book that will be used to teach on many levels and across many content areas. The verse will be used to explore simile, metaphor and other elements of poetry in our word studies will use the text as a mentor for our own poems in our writing unit. We will be exploring the years leading up to the Civil Rights movement and use the book to highlight what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow in our social studies unit. The gift of a text that allows a child to explore so much rich material is one that is beyond monetary value, and one that could not have happened without your support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Quiet Please!
Funded Nov 25, 2015Shari makes everything better! Thank you for your amazing donation. We have books and chair socks and colored pencils and printer ink. How do all of those things go together? Only you, my dear friend, would understand that not only do they go together, but that together they make a classroom hummmmm. We are reading, coloring and printing our way to learning AND because of the chair socks (for my very special boy with sensory issues) we do all of this in quiet.
Thank you for helping me to teach the only way I know how...with my everything!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Odds and Ends
Funded Apr 1, 2015Thank you for contributing to our classroom. It is generous donors, like you, that make teaching easier. Teaching is my dream job. I go to work everyday excited to be there and to have in front of me the faces of those who are our future. When I don't have the supplies I need to service them in the best way possible, it breaks my heart. Thanks to you, this year I will not have to worry about getting some of the most basic, but most needed items.
I am eternally grateful and my students and I thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
Sharper Minds/Sharper Pencils
Funded May 4, 2014Thank you for your generous donation. The books were put to use immediately. We read The Long Walk to Water as a class and were able to use the book as a way to delve deeper into how to do a close reading of a story. There were many intense class discussions.
One student became so inspired by the story he developed his own webpage to help raise money and awareness of the need for clean water in the Sudan. Another student wrote and performed songs inspired by the book. The students were deeply moved by the struggles in the Sudan and learned how one person can make a difference.
You were that one person for us. Your donation helped enrich the school year for a whole group of students. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey
This classroom project was brought to life by 100 Women in Hedge Funds and 6 other donors.Poetry Cafe
Funded Aug 23, 2013The Poetry Cafe is a huge event every year and has expanded to included other "Cafe" events as well. We take pride in performing our work for audiences. Performing gives our work meaning and real world value. There is nothing like getting feedback, positive and negative, to inspire the work we do as writers.
Thanks to your generous donation, the cafe now now has the look and feel of a real performance venue. We use the microphone to amplify our voices so that not one important word goes unheard. We set up our tables with tablecloths and flowers and serve coffee and pastries to our patrons. The way this changes an ordinary publishing party to a publishing EVENT is something I cannot emphasize enough.
Thank you for trusting us as educators to know what brings meaning into our classrooms and for donating generously to help us realize our visions.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Reitzfeld and Mr. Rainey