Past projects 23
Transforming Teaching through Technology
Funded Jan 7, 2014I am happy to announce that thanks to all of you, our project has been fully funded. I am very thankful to each of you for the support you have shown for this important work that we are engaged in. We are trying to provide the best possible education for all students, regardless of social economic status. Your gift to us tells our students you believe in them and encourages me to continue striving to provide them with the tools they will need to be successful in the 21st century.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
A World in a Tiny Drop of Water
Funded Jan 30, 2013I am thrilled to report, that after some minor set backs, we have received all of our materials and the microscope is in our science lab ready to look at insects, plants, rocks, and just about any object that students might find interesting to magnify. With out a doubt this is the best piece of science equipment in our school so far. It has an extra optical tube for a camera which will come in handy for documenting life in the large urban park near our high school.
It is because of each of you that this up close view of micro-life is possible for my students, especially those that respond best to hands-on science. You helped spark the natural curiosity of my students and helped them get excited about science.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
The Humble Worm and an Indoor Grow Lab
Funded Feb 14, 2013Full grown high school students come into class saying, " I need to look at my plants!", or asking to water them. Certain plants thrive and others do not. But now one of the biggest problems is solved. Thanks to your generosity, quality indoor lighting will allow the students a greater chance of successfully growing food, and in general of feeling successful in bringing our project to the most important end, having fun while learning science.
We hope that you feel good, that each day, your light will be shining brightly in our classroom while our young women and men tend to their crops.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
Youth Voices Across Curriculum III
Funded Feb 6, 2010The Wacom Intuos 4 pen tablet the perfect addition to our Youth Voices class. We have students making films on site and around the school and at home with professional grade cameras, flip cameras and digital still cameras all purchased through generous donors choose grants. This grant compliments the work the students are doing with video and still images, by allowing them to touch-up images, add animations and artwork. These pen tablets help make the documentaries and other media projects look more professional and give the students an amazing opportunity to be creative by using images of the people and places that are important to telling their stories, and expressing their voices. The students just had their first film festival at the main library theater and their short films were very well received by more than 300 people in the audience.
We could not have presented many of the images used in the films without the editing capabilities you brought to our classroom with your generous donation. You may have helped launch the career of the next great independent film maker!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 7 other donors.Youth Voices Across Curriculum
Funded Dec 20, 2009We have just received our new Wacom Intuos 4 Pen Tablet for our computer lab. We received this on the same day that our district superintendent wrote telling us that Governor Schwarzenegger will cut our school district budget by $113 million next year. This makes your donation to our project of vital importance. You are saying with your support that under-funding public schools is not the answer to our financial crisis. We who work with the young people in our country that show such promise, know that abandoning our school children will only worsen our economy. This digital pen tablet is the first of 12 that we hope to fund one at a time through DonorsChoose. We believe that the digital pen is a mighty answer to the problems we face, our youngsters will use this technology to add their voice to the conversation. Thanks to you our aspiring photographers, designers and artists will achieve improved control and improved productivity as they navigate their way into college. ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 5 other donors.Youth Voices Across Curriculum: Documentary Film Makers
Funded Jan 26, 2010This camera equipment with broadcast quality cameras and microphones make possible our Youth Voices class. We have students making films on site and around the school with these professional grade cameras, Students were given the assignment of making a short 5 minute film, with the challenge, "if you had 5 minutes to tell the world what is most important for you to express with your voice, what would your message be?" Students made short films that reflect their biggest concerns and the people and places they most care about. Some of the titles include "Probation", "Live Your Life", "D-Easy, Basketball Player", and music video entitled "I'm All you Need", Domo's Tooth" and "The Life of a Smoker" The students just had their first film festival at the main library theater and their short films were very well received by more than 300 people in the audience.
We could not have captured many of the images used in the films without these high quality video cameras and microphones. You may have helped launch the career of the next great independent film maker!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 39 other donors.Youth Voices: Flipping Out
Funded Feb 26, 2010The Flip cameras are the perfect addition to our Youth Voices class. We have students making films on site and around the school with professional grade cameras, but we were unable to send these home, so that the students would be able to document life in their neighborhoods. These cameras are as small as a cell phones and extremely portable, while providing students with high definition video images of the people and places that are important to telling their stories, and expressing their voices. The students just had their first film festival at the main library theater and their short films were very well received by more than 300 people in the audience.
We could not have captured many of the images used in the films without these small, unobtrusive, yet high quality video cameras. You may have helped launch the career of the next great independent film maker!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.The Mighty Worm to the Rescue!
Funded May 4, 2009My students thank you, the worms thank you, the earth thanks you, and I thank you! Who would of thought that a worm can get you on the road to college? Most of us don't spend much time thinking about worms, even though with out them, there would be no fertile soil, no life on earth, and therefore no higher education. These worms are going to be the backbone of our garden project which brings life to our ugly concrete jungle of a school yard.You will see in the pictures that I post, the ugly concrete yard that we are building raised planter beds on. By next Spring these beds will be brimming with life, hope, and hopefully some yummy fruits and vegetables. All thanks to you and the mighty worm!”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 2 other donors.Capture Learning with a Digital Camera
Funded Jun 2, 2009Thank you very much for providing my class with this important tool for documenting the fieldwork that we are engaged in. This Nikon Coolpix camera takes such vivid photos and has a great feature which allows students to take incredible close-ups of insects, birds, flowers and plants. We are creating a field guide to Northern California urban wildlife. We are particularly interested in the adaptations of plants and animals in urban centers, city parks and the surrounding state and national parks. Today we were on a field trip documenting plant life in a nearby National Recreationa Area and documented a ton of invasive species of plants on our coastline, including Ice Plant, Cape Ivy, and Veldt Grass. We got caught in a down pour and had to hike for about an hour in the rain. The fog and the rain only made the trip more memorable, and students said that they felt like they were in another world (even though we were only a 1/2 hour drive from our school).
These students are getting access to unforgettable experiences that are the type of adventures that make learning fun and memorable, and thanks to you they will have some great pictures to work with in the computer lab, and they sure look like college students when they do this work.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.Fieldwork Camera Binoculars
Funded May 9, 2009Thank you very much for providing my class with this important tool for documenting the fieldwork that we are engaged in. This Nikon Coolpix camera takes such vivid photos and has a great feature which allows students to take incredible close-ups of insects, birds, flowers and plants. We are creating a field guide to Northern California urban wildlife. We are particularly interested in the adaptations of plants and animals in urban centers, city parks and the surrounding state and national parks. Today we were on a field trip documenting plant life in a nearby National Recreationa Area and documented a ton of invasive species of plants on our coastline, including Ice Plant, Cape Ivy, and Veldt Grass. We got caught in a down pour and had to hike for about an hour in the rain. The fog and the rain only made the trip more memorable, and students said that they felt like they were in another world (even though we were only a 1/2 hour drive from our school).
These students are getting access to unforgettable experiences that are the type of adventures that make learning fun and memorable, and thanks to you they will have some great pictures to work with in the computer lab, and they sure look like college students when they do this work.”
With gratitude,
Mr. Enguidanos
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 4 other donors.