Past projects 7
MicroBit Coding in our Science Lab
Funded Nov 23, 2024With this project just days from expiring I figured it just wouldn't happen.
Imagine my surprise when I checked my email and saw in quick succession the amount of donations and a "Your project has been funded!" email.
Our students are just about to start a new unit and these micro bit kits are going to be such a cool part of our work.
Thank you so much for making this happen!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 4 other donors.Cell Phone Storage in Our Classes
Funded Nov 28, 2023Thank you for supporting the learning in our classroom with these cell phone boxes. While cell phones in school hasn't disappeared as an issue, students are now much more comfortable handing in their phones as they are in charge of the process. Students place their phones in the boxes on their own, and retrieve them on their own at the end of the class period. This has also eliminated the issue of class time that was wasted due to cell phone collection.
Thank you again for everything you do to support our students, whether you donated because you know one of our teachers personally, or whether you are a stranger.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 5 other donors.PS/IS 288 Trout Release Equipment
Funded May 23, 2023Last year at the beginning of June, my students traveled from NYC to the Croton Reservoir. The first part of our trip was a tour of the reservoir and discussions with the student about where we get our drinking water.
On the second part of the trip, we carefully released all our classroom trout in a nearby stream. The materials you donated made it possible for us to transport our trout safely from our school building to the release point. Since trout require colder water temperatures, we needed a large cooler that could transport all our fish, water, and ice. We also needed the battery powered aerators so our fish had air to breathe while in transport.
Thanks to you, all our trout made it to Trout Release day without any casualties. My students also had a great time on their trip and have already been asking about this year's trout. Our eggs are coming next week, so hopefully we have another successful year of Trout in the Classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
Trout in the Classroom: Part II
Funded Nov 16, 2022When I first created a Donors Choose for Trout in the Classroom, I did it quickly so that the project was up and running. I didn't really think I would earn any funding for it, but within a week my tank and basic supplies were fully funded!
While waiting for my materials to arrive, I began to go through the list of supplies needed a little more closely. I realized that I was missing some important materials for maintaining water quality, and that I may need some better ways to teach about our growing trout.
By funding Trout in the Classroom: Part II, you have played an important role in providing materials needed for maintenance and upkeep of our trout. Students in my classroom are responsible for water quality testing, adjusting water chemistry to reduce ammonia, and letting me know when it is time for the next water change.
Moving forward, students will continue to learn about the Brook Trout life cycle and how they are important to our NYC Watershed. And most exciting at all, once our trout have matured enough we will be driving them upstate to release them near the Hudson River. In this way, my middle schoolers will have been involved from egg spawning to release.
Thank you again for your support in making this possible and then making it successful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
This classroom project was brought to life by The Walt Disney Company and one other donor.Trout in the Classroom at Our School
Funded Sep 29, 2022We got our tank and materials in just enough time to participate in the last round of receiving Fall trout eggs. Tomorrow marks exactly a month since we got our eggs, which are kept at 50 degrees Fahrenheit to mimic river conditions. Our baby trout are developing beautifully and we can see their bodies without microscopes. If we look closely, we can see the baby fish moving around within their eggs.
The impact on my students has been tremendous. They were excited to help set up the tank. And now students are extremely curious about how the eggs are doing, and constantly want to check on them, especially after the weekend. One student has taken charge of monitoring the water quality and directing other students how to take the measurements carefully, bringing out leadership qualities in an otherwise shy student! Another student checks on the eggs and lets me know if there are any to remove.
Once the eggs hatch, students are looking forward to feeding them and keeping them healthy so we can successfully release them to the Hudson River in June. Thank you for making it possible for us to participate in this incredible program.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Classroom Supporter.Cool Air, Cool Minds
Funded Jul 15, 2018The new school year came with high temperatures outside and classroom temperatures of nearly 90 degrees for the first two weeks of school. Our Donors Choose package arrived on the third day of school, much to the relief of both the students and us teachers! We set up the portable AC unit at the front of the classroom and then plugged in the desk fans to every available outlet around the room. While the fans couldn't reach the students desks, we told them that they can move their seats next to a fan as needed. We also purchased water bottles so between the AC unit, the fans, and water to drink, we survived those first two weeks with no incident. One of our 8th graders has asthma and she pulled her chair right up to a fan for relief from the heat every day.
Thanks for helping us start off the school on the right foot!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis
Our Science Classroom Printer is Out of Ink!
Funded Jan 1, 2017Thank you for your incredible generosity towards our class. When my students heard that our project was fully funded right on New Years Eve, they were even more excited than I was. We were at a point in our classroom that I was beginning to limit student printouts. The high school students that rely on my computer, printer, and time were getting frustrated that I was limiting the number of drafts they could print. Middle school students were just getting used to being able to print out full color images for their projects and were disappointed that they would have to start printing in black and white again on other school printers.
Since receiving the ink, I have been able to once again restore my open door policy to both my current middle school students and my former students who are now in the high school. They know that once they are using my computer and printer, I will also take the time to edit their work, so they benefit from that as well.
Additionally, I have been able to print full color handouts for some of the graphs we were studying in class. Students were then able to write a proper CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) paragraph based on those graphs, and insert them into a Google doc to print and display around the room. Also, when the River Project came to do something hands on in the classroom, I was able to give my students full color printouts of some of the worksheets they needed so they could properly read some of the diagrams.
Moving forward, students will continue to be able to print their work, in both color and black and white, and will continue to receive full color handouts from me so that they can properly read graphs and diagrams that we work on together in class.
As I mentioned in my original project proposal, many of my students don't own printers or even computers, so they have no other way to print their work for school, let alone print projects and reports with color pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing the work they do for their upcoming STEM fair, and how fantastic their poster boards will look in full color!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Travis