Ms. Tong's Classroom Edit display name

Current requests

Past projects 36

• Circuitry with Scrappy Circuits!

  Funded Dec 3, 2024

  Thank you again for helping to see this project to fruition. The Scrappy Circuits project is a unit we do every year so having materials ready to go really helps. This project drives home the point that circuitry can be done with some basic, everyday materials and the students learn a lot. By the end of this unit, students have a better understanding of what constitutes a circuit, how to look for + and - nodes on an LED light, and how what materials are conductive. After exploring with scrappy circuits, students create circuit art using copper tape and led lights. There are so many wonderful STEAM connections that start with our Scrappy Circuits unit and we thank you for your generosity with our grant!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.

• Cultural Connections: Building Robots Our Way!

  Funded Jun 6, 2024

  This robotics project is always a highlight of our students' coding experiences. They get a better understanding of how robots can use their sensors, think with the code given to them and then perform the assigned actions. This project allows them to work collaboratively to create robots of their own interest and design, using basic materials such as cardboard, fabric, paper and other scrap materials. The finished robots are always so unique and fun!

  Thank you for your generosity to our school and STEAM program! You are helping to grow creative computational thinkers one project at a time!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by General Motors and 5 other donors.

• Science Olympians Rising!

  Funded Apr 21, 2024

  What a wonderful surprise! Many, many thanks for funding our project and supporting our school community! This our first attempt at hosting a Science Olympiad and our students are very excited to participate. We would not be able to put on this event without your thoughtfulness and generosity. You rock!!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

• Create, Communicate, Innovate!

  Funded Sep 24, 2022

  Many, many thanks for supporting our STEAM classroom! Since many of our older iPads no longer support newer apps, having these devices have been a game changer. The fifth grade students were able to design and print iron-on decals using the app Cricut Design Space. They put their decals on bandanas which they brought with them to their outdoor education trip this past month.

  Lower grades have also been able to work on the iPads to create, code and innovate. First graders explored symmetry and patters using the Scratch Jr. app and mirrors, Kinders used an augmented reality app called Quivar and saw a 2D picture change into 3D one. They also used the app Chatterpix to animate a rubber ducky as a culminating project to their engineering design challenge.

  These devices have been put to great use and we thank you for supporting our STEAM program and our school community!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill Gates and 4 other donors.

• Printing for an Augmented Reality Experience in STEM

  Funded Dec 14, 2023

  This was such an INCREDIBLE project for my students! They all gained experience with working with cardboard, creating a stop-motion animation, and seeing it all come together with a printout in the Eyejack App! These projects were showcased during our STEAM Family event and the students proudly brought their families to see it.

  I also help to support our students newspaper team and they have been loving having access to a color printer to print a copy of their monthly issue for each classroom.

  Thank you so much for supporting this project, our STEAM program and our school community. You rock!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

• Inspiring STEAM Learning Through Stories

  Funded Sep 3, 2023

  Thank you, once again, for your generosity in helping to bring books into our STEAM classroom. We have really been enjoying all the STEAM stories that supplement our projects.

  Once story in particular, "The Color Monster", inspired us to create our own color monsters out of cardboard and use them in stop motion animation projects to show how we might express our feelings. Then we turned these videos into augmented reality printouts for others to enjoy!

  Another story students enjoyed creating with was "Not A Stick" by Antoinette Portis. They chose their own piggie cutout and imagined what their "not a sticks" were. So many creative ideas were displayed through this project!

  I look forward to continuing to use these resources to support STEAM lessons with future classes!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.

• Flow, Fun and Fiero! : Coding With Makecode Arcade

  Funded Aug 25, 2023

  One request our 5th grade students had at the beginning of this school year was to have some different coding experiences than what they had in their previous years, which was mainly in Scratch. This Makecode Arcade project was able to provide just that! Here are some of the reviews provided by the classes:

  Makecode Arcade was:

  *Good to have the devices to play the games on because it was fun and good quality

  * A lot easier than playing the game on the computer

  * Easier to draw in Makecode than Scratch because you can be more accurate

  * Tutorials helped to make sure code is correct, games are fun

  * Debug button really helps

  * More block options than Scratch, but can be confusing

  * Having the Javascript and Python options to code games was good

  What I appreciate most about the Makecode Arcade platform is that it provides engaging coding experiences for learners at all levels. Students who needed tutorials on the very basics were still able to code a fun arcade game and those who where more experienced coders took off on the more complex challenges.

  Thank you so much for your generosity with this project!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and one other donor.

• Doing Our Bit with a Micro:bit!

  Funded Dec 29, 2021

  Micro:bits are mini processors that can do many things! Students learned about the many inputs and outputs in micro:bit and chose projects to work on from the Makecode website that were of interest to them. Here are some reflections from students on working with Micro:bits.

  "Some of the projects I did on the Micro:Bit were Step Counter and Banana Keyboard. I learned that the Micro:Bits can do a lot of things and it is not that hard to code and customize your projects if you want. "

  "From coding using micro:bits, I learned the importance of following directions carefully and that you should always read over directions carefully."

  "For the last few weeks, we've been working with micro:bits. The funnest project I did was probably was the dot game, where you try to press the button when the light is in the center. The most challenging part was when I forgot to connect my micro:bit and couldn't see any of my projects! One thing I learned from this project is that you can code something so small in many ways! I find that I enjoyed this project because of the possibilities and challenges!"

  Thank you so much for funding such a wonderful learning experience for our students!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.

• Building and Coding in Virtual Learning Environments

  Funded Mar 27, 2021

  Micro:bits are mini processors that can do many things! Students learned about the many inputs and outputs in micro:bit and chose projects to work on from the Makecode website that were of interest to them. Here are some reflections from students on working with Micro:bits.

  "Some of the projects I did on the Micro:Bit were Step Counter and Banana Keyboard. I learned that the Micro:Bits can do a lot of things and it is not that hard to code and customize your projects if you want. "

  "From coding using micro:bits, I learned the importance of following directions carefully and that you should always read over directions carefully."

  "For the last few weeks, we've been working with microbits. The funnest project I did was probably was the dot game, where you try to press the button when the light is in the center. The most challenging part was when I forgot to connect my microbit and couldn't see any of my projects! One thing I learned from this project is that you can code something so small in many ways! I find that I enjoyed this project because of the possibilities and challenges!"

  Thank you so much for funding such a wonderful learning experience for our students!”

  With gratitude,

  Ms. Tong

  This classroom project was brought to life by Infosys Foundation USA and 24 other donors.