Past projects 58
Empowering Students Through Art
Funded Dec 21, 2015Thank you so much for all of the awesome art materials! When the class saw the boxes, they were ecstatic! When they saw the materials within, they immediately started planning new projects. The children have been having a blast creating art projects - from self portraits made with the mirrors, to books and art pieces made with the white drawing paper given, to scarves, woven by hand, crochet or with knitting needles!
They are so grateful for these materials that many of them only choose art as their project area now! Many of them have been writing books with the softcover books (they've come in handy for their informative reports).
Next, we are planning a study on natural disasters and cannot wait to use the Nature Prints Craft Paper to create dioramas in which they could represent a natural disaster!
Thank you so much,”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
STEAM
Funded Dec 21, 2015Our science periods have been transformed by the materials we received from this project! Instead of just talking about a subject, or taking the children away from school to experience a topic, we are now able to set up materials and let them experiment!
They loved all of the kits we received, but as we are focusing on water this year, they are obsessed with the Water Play STEM Early Learning Kit! They love following the cards that came in the kit and seeing just what the limit is with things floating in the water. It has been such a great experience seeing their eyes widen when they learn something new.
We also put out the Snap Circuits(r) Jr. Select kit for those that have mentioned electricity and WHOA! What a response! There was already one "expert" in the group who had dealt with Snap Circuits before but even he was surprised when the music came on through the little speaker! All of a sudden, children who had never gravitated towards the science center were there every day for weeks!
Thank you so much for sparking such an interest in science in our classroom!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
Charts Needed!
Funded Dec 31, 2014"Cool!" "Wow, it sticks!" "This is awesome!" - these are some of my students' reactions to the post-it chart paper and magnetic notebook chart given to our class via the Donorschoose.com website.
The post-it paper came just in time! We had quite a few team projects coming up and it was so helpful to have the students come up with their own notes and graphs on the post-it paper and be able to put it up right where they were working was great. It made the whole process much more streamlined - no more looking for tape, putting up the charts, watching them fall, getting more tape...etc...
The students love being able to see their work up around the room and having more information in their line of sight such as notes we've taken about the topic we are studying or steps to take in order to properly divide! It has been so great! The lined magnetic sheet has helped those students who have spacial issues to see what I mean by "write in between the margins".
Thank you so much for your kind donations!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
We Need Books!
Funded Oct 17, 2014"Cool!" "Awesome!" "Thank You!" ---these were some of the things my students said once they received the new books that were added to our classroom library. I must express MY appreciation for these materials as well. Due to their various disabilities, sometimes students enter my classroom reading on a first (or even Kindergarten) grade level in the 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. This year, I found that I just did not have a great variety of books on the lowest levels necessary to engage these students in reading.
Without numerous, interesting books, the students will quickly say that reading is "boring". Your donations have helped tremendously. Now my classroom library is well stocked with lower-level books (A - E). They will voluntarily go to the book bins to pick out books to read during line-up or during quiet classroom reading time. As a result, almost every student has increased their reading level by at least 2 levels since September.
Your gift has impacted their interest in reading - they no longer see it as a chore, they enjoy learning new things using the books your generosity has provided.
Thank you so much!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
This classroom project was brought to life by Wells Fargo and 6 other donors.Magazines Needed!
Funded Aug 24, 2014Your generosity has impacted my classroom is so many ways. Children who are usually not interested in reading ask me when I am getting a new scholastic issue. I use the magazines during my literacy blocks and usually introduce the subject matter with the video on the scholastic website. The children absolutely love it.
I have had children begin the school year on first grade reading levels and recently moved up 3 or 4 reading levels. I believe that the interest in reading has contributed to their newfound reading abilities. They read these magazines because the articles are shorter than the texts we expose them to using our regular curriculum but the magazines are great because they receiving exposure to new grade-level vocabulary, current events and critical thinking skills while having "fun" reading.
Thank you so much for inspiring the readers in my class!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
This classroom project was brought to life by Gates Foundation Back To School and 5 other donors.Supplies Needed to Help Our Kids!
Funded Dec 3, 2013Dear Donors,
Thank you so much for your generous donations, our class has really benefited from having the radio and chart paper given to us. The children have been excited to get on their listening center and listen to the stories being read to them. Some of them have gone up as many as 5 reading levels this year alone!
The chart paper has been an immeasurable resource in my room. Whenever something is taught, it is quickly charted and posted so that the students have an immediate reference they can look to whenever they need a reminder of a previous lesson taught. What I can not capture in pictures is the change in my students from September until now and your gifts have had an enormous impact on their interest in learning.
Words cannot express the appreciation felt by myself, the students and their parents.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
Learning through Magazines!
Funded Sep 28, 2012Thank you very much for your generosity. My students have been receiving the magazines from the proposal for a little over a month now. They have learned all about the election process, Hurricane Sandy, Native American skyscraper builders and insects as the new "meat" of the future.
Throughout all of these issues, the students have displayed remarkable enthusiasm for these periodicals and are always excited when they see a new pack of magazines in my hands. It's so great to see children who have not been fond of reading, all of a sudden perk up and volunteer to read because they think this magazine is "cool". Thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
Copies Needed! Please Help!
Funded Nov 20, 2011Thank you so much for all of your help with this project. This printer has helped our class in so many ways! It is really great to be able to print out whatever resource is necessary or make copies of something that's useful.
The children love being able to get instant access to information instead of having to wait weeks for the copies to be printed out by the school aide in charge of photocopies.
The printer especially helped one special young man who needed to be alternatively assessed. This means he takes a special exam in lieu of the state exam in ELA, Math and Science. Being able to print out clear, crisp pictures in color really helped this young man understand exactly what was being taught (and assessed).
The students really appreciate the gift that you have given us. Thank you so much for your generosity! ”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
Encyclo...Wha? Research..Huh?
Funded Dec 9, 2010This project has opened new worlds for the students in my classroom. Thank you so much! When we first received the Encyclopedia Britannica DVDs, the students said "cool! computer games!" Little did they know that these DVDs contained a wealth of information that they would be using to watch President Obama being inaugurated or Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech". They did not realize that they would be sitting in class playing science games related to their curriculum on our classroom's SmartBoard or that they would be sitting in pairs researching information that they would need in order to create reports for Social Studies or Science, or looking up words they did not know for math in the dictionary mode.
As you can see, the Encyclopedia Britannica DVDs have really been put to use in every subject and it's only been a week and a half since we have received them! The children are really excited to have this new resource in their classroom and they love seeing all of the information that comes up whenever they type up a term in the search bar. They have typed in almost every term they could think of, trying to find something that ISN'T in the encyclopedia.
Donors, as a teacher, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your students gain an interest in learning something new. Thank you for this gift.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
This classroom project was brought to life by Barclays Capital and 6 other donors.Can We Read With Tag?
Funded Nov 1, 2010Thank you so much for the Leap Frog Tag readers and the books! The students LOVE these books. As soon as we unpacked the boxes with the books, they were "OOHing" and "AHHing" at every book that was unpacked. "OOH! Disney Princess!", "AAH! Diego!", "I watch Spongebob on TV!". It was exactly the reaction I had been hoping for.
The children ask to use the books and the Tag Reader as often as they can. Moreover, what is really impressive, is that some of the students who have read the books a few times, have asked to use it even without the Tag! This is great.
Thank you VERY much for the beautiful gift you have given the children in my class. They are really happy with the books and the readers and are excited to have these great materials in their classroom! I even had one child who had gotten a Tag for Christmas, bring it in and use it with the books we received.
Thanks again!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Shailyn Rivas
This classroom project was brought to life by LeapFrog and 15 other donors.