Past projects 122
Mac-nificent Teaching
Funded Jun 16, 2020Wow!! I cannot thank you enough for all of your contributions! This new iMac has made such a positive impact during distance learning. When I received it during the summer I quickly set it up and began working. I had to complete lots of professional development sessions and with this updated computer it didn't take as long to load as my old laptop. After being hired to be a school librarian, I began researching a lot looking for lesson ideas and working on a virtual library for all of my students.
In the pictures, you can see some of my classes that range from Pre-K through 5th grade. In the first couple of weeks of school I had library orientation with my students and of course, read books to them. We have celebrated Grandparent's Day and International Dot day most recently. I also like to do directed drawings with my students after reading a story. During my lesson on digital citizenship, I read the story Unplugged by Steve Antony and after we drew Blip the robot. My students love to draw! This computer had made it possible for all of my lessons to run smoothly.
My students have been able to receive consistent synchronous library class with the use of this iMac. What a difference it has made, and I cannot thank you enough! Donors like you make it possible for me to do my job efficiently. This would not have been possible without your support! Thank you for making my birthday a very special one and one to never forget. Most importantly, thank you for putting smiles on 560 students and their teacher! Sending you hugs from Texas! Please stay safe and take care!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
Distance Learning Resources
Funded May 9, 2020Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity! I have been able to purchase lots of resources from Teachers Pay Teachers that have helped keep my students engaged online and in person. During the first weeks of school, I had a library orientation with all of my classes. I purchased several online activities to teach students the importance of book care at home and in the library. I was able to find resources that are tailored to each grade level since I see students from Pre-K through 5th grade. My students were very engaged and having fun!
I also purchased a set of directed drawings to use with students after reading a book. My school doesn't have an art teacher and students have been loving drawing after I read to them. During my lesson on digital citizenship, I read the book Unplugged by Steve Antony and after that, we drew the main character Blip the robot. During another lesson, I read The Three Little Pigs to my Pre-K and Kinder class, and then we drew a pig. You can see one of my students that is face to face in the pictures with his pig drawing. My district is open for students who do not have technology or internet at home so I have a few students visit me in the library during the week. Every week they ask if we are going to draw!
I also purchased some bookmarks that students can color while they wait for me to begin the lesson or clean in between classes. All of these resources will be useful year after year. I cannot thank you enough for your contribution. It is such a blessing to have your support. Stay safe and take care! Sending hugs from Texas!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and 6 other donors.Girls and Boys Can Code With Sphero Mini!
Funded Mar 17, 2020I want to thank all of my donors for giving me the opportunity to provide my students with these materials. This project for two Sphero Mini coding robots and a Tech Tub was funded during our Spring Break vacation from school. Little did I know we would not be returning to school because of the pandemic. I apologize for not having the usual pictures of children smiling and giving thanks for these items, but I promise I will share pictures on Twitter when all goes back to normal. (@_vanes_f)
As a first year school librarian this 2020-2021 year, I want to incorporate STREAM (science, technology, reading, engineering, arts, math) into the library. It is a very important part of 21st century learning and it is difficult to fulfill the technology part when you don't have enough technology to use. It is because of your kindness and generosity that I will be able to provide our entire learning community (all 600 students) with this hands on experience! What they learn will help my future leaders in the real world. The Sphero Mini's will teach students the basics of coding and how to be innovative. The Tech Tub will be used to keep six devices in the library charged and safely stored.
I love being able to provide my students with new experiences, so I am proud to advocate for them. Donors like you make it possible for me to do my job efficiently. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support! May you be blessed with more! Stay safe and take care.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by Endless and 15 other donors.I Like to Move It Move It!
Funded Feb 23, 2020I am forever grateful for your continued support Donna! You are one of our number one supporters and I appreciate you so much for that! I didn't get to end the year with my students the way I hoped we would, so I apologize for not having three more pictures of my cute students enjoying our new portable speaker. Rest assured this portable speaker will be put to good use once we return to school.
We were able to use the speaker on a couple of occasions which you can see in the pictures. My students and I love music and dance so much that we learned the dance routine for National School Choice Week to dance at the school talent show. Unfortunately, we didn't get to have a talent show at school, but we did it virtually through Flipgrid! The other picture shows some of my students who got selected to perform for parents during an event at our districts main office. The speaker was used while they showed the entire class their performance prior to leaving. The month of March was supposed to be dedicated to Book Madness, a tournament of picture books. The Sweet 16 would compete in each bracket until we had a winner. Our theme song was from the movie Space Jam, which was played everyday prior to me reading the two picture books competing. One day we took our speaker outside to listen to the theme song and my students enjoyed that we were able to do this! All of this was possible thanks to your kind donation!
Thank you for making a personal connection with my students. You have put smiles on 20 little humans once again! I will continue to advocate for my students throughout the year. I don't know what the 2020-2021 school year will look like yet, but I will post updates on Twitter. Sending virtual hugs! Much love and respect from Brownsville, Texas!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by Stahl Family Fund and 3 other donors.Thinking of You From a Distance
Funded May 5, 2020I am forever grateful for your continued support Chuck! You are one of our number one supporters and I appreciate you so much for that. I didn't get to end the year with my students the way I hoped we would, so I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to provide my kiddos with these gifts! Parents and students had the opportunity to stop by the school to pick up their items via curbside. It was bittersweet. I was able to see a few of my students and tell them goodbye during this time. It's unfortunate that things had to end this way, which is why I really wanted to give them something to smile about.
I was excited that some parents shared pictures with me of my kiddos enjoying their gifts. Parents and students were very grateful and couldn't stop thanking me. Some stated they immediately began playing the mini connect four game because of how bored they have been staying at home. The tote bag was filled with lots of goodies for them to enjoy during the summer time. You can see their excitement in the pictures! They look so cute and most importantly, happy! This was all possible thanks to your support.
Thank you for making a personal connection with my students. You have put smiles on 20 little humans once again! I will continue to advocate for my students throughout the school year. I don't know what the 2020-2021 school year will look like yet, but I will post updates on Twitter. Much love and respect!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.Thinking of You From a Distance Part 2
Funded May 5, 2020Jeanette and Lisa, I am extremely grateful for your continued support! Thanks to your kind donations, along with Kleenex, I was able to provide my students with an end of the year gift. Parents and students had the opportunity to stop by the school to pick up their items via curbside. It was bittersweet. I was able to see a few of my students and tell them goodbye during this time. It's unfortunate that things had to end this way, which is why I really wanted to give them something to smile about.
I was excited that some parents shared pictures with me of my kiddos enjoying their gifts! They told me the personalized cup was a huge hit! One parent mentioned her daughter said that I knew her style because she loved the color of the cup and font of her name. Some even stated that they immediately filled it with a beverage and began drinking from it. You can see their excitement in the pictures! They look so cute and most importantly, happy!
This would not have been possible without your support. Thank you again for making a personal connection with my students. You have put smiles on 20 little humans once again! I will continue to advocate for my students throughout the school year. I don't know what the 2020-2021 school year will look like yet, but I will post updates on Twitter. Much love and respect!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 3 other donors.An iPad to Enhance Learning! Part 2
Funded Feb 14, 2020My students were beyond thrilled when I told them we had gotten fully funded for a second iPad in the classroom! This new piece of technology gives my students the opportunity to become innovators and helps facilitate lessons. My students enjoy using the iPad to record themselves on Flipgrid or Chatterpix as part of their exit tickets the most. They are really good about sharing it and I let them borrow mine as well so that things can move a bit quicker. My students love the fact that we can download apps to use in the classroom. We use other apps such as Storyline Online, Epic, Storybird, Kahoot, Quizizz, Prodigy, and the list goes on. My goal is to have one iPad per group (at least) so that they can be shared between four students. Technology is an extraordinary asset in our classroom, but we have limited resources.
I wish I had more pictures to share of my students using the new iPad, but unfortunately my students and I did not return to school after our Spring Break. I promise that the iPad will be put to good use by my students the following school year. The pictures I took were taken the week before we left on Spring Break. I gave my students a STEAM day and they decided to put some of our coding robots to use. My students worked collaboratively to build some sort of tower and then coded either Dash the robot or Sphero to crash into it. They also used Dash with the xylophone attachment to create their own songs. They had a blast!
Thank you to all my wonderful donors for making a difference in my classroom! It is such a blessing to have your support and to know that you are cheering on my future leaders! Donors like you make it possible for me to do my job efficiently. Thank you for putting smiles on 20 little humans who love learning. Sending virtual hugs from Texas! Stay healthy and safe!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
Student Chosen Books!
Funded Mar 6, 2020Hooray for books!! Thank you for putting smiles on 20 little humans with these brand new books! This was a special project because my students got to choose which books they wanted on the list. I am very thankful for the 2X match and for your donations. With your help, I can continue to build a love of reading. Every day I give my students at least 20 minutes of independent reading time. They get to choose what they want to read and they quickly got to reading their new selections! The pictures were taken throughout the week in our library area. They are comfortable and love to read!
The books will also be used with our reading curriculum. I read a book to them and ask them questions to build their comprehension. We also discuss the characters in the book and pick a theme for each book. They enjoy our discussions while they sit in our classroom library carpet area. Book are such a treasure in our class and it makes my heart happy when I hear my students say they love to read. I've had some students say they didn't really like reading until they got to my class, so I am beyond grateful for your support!
Thank you for your contribution and for making a difference in their lives! My students said, "Wow! Thank you for all the new books!" We send many hugs from Texas! I hope you will continue to be a part of our journey. My hope is to create an inviting space where my kiddos can learn while having fun. Much love and respect!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by A group of anonymous donors and 5 other donors.Why Fit in When You Were Born to Stand Out?
Funded Jan 16, 2020Yay!! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and generosity! These fun supplies got my students so excited and motivated to learn! During Read Across America week I gave my students a gift every day of the week. They were jumping for joy and screaming for each gift. These basic supplies are needed in our classroom on a daily basis and making them fun and cute for them does keep them engaged. They have been using their pencils and rainbow writer to complete assignments. The colorful pens are being used every time they grade their homework. They love all the different colors the pen has! My students told me they appreciate each and every gift and said it felt like Christmas morning!
When the boxes arrived, I had to hide them because they were surprises for Read Across America week which took place the first week of March. After each gift was presented to them, the excitement was through the roof! Throughout the week they tried to match all their Dr. Seuss goodies with the same theme of their favorite book. We read books all week long and they used their new bookmark too! Without your support this would not have been possible.
These fun supplies will continue to motivate my students for the rest of the school year! We are extremely grateful for your support. They send lots of hugs and thank yous. They said, "We love our new gifts and thank you so much!" It feels wonderful knowing that people care about them and that you are cheering them on! Thank you again for supporting our classroom and for putting smiles on 20 little humans!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores
This classroom project was brought to life by Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation and 5 other donors.We Need to Take Care of Our Books
Funded Jan 20, 2020Today was an amazing day for my kiddos! March is National Reading Month and we began by celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday for Read Across America Week! My students were in for a huge surprise thanks to your kindness and generosity. With their new book bags, they are learning to build responsibility while fostering a love of reading. They were previously using a gallon sized Zip Lock bag to protect their books. Not only are the book bags larger but they are personalized with their own name!
My students were jumping for joy when they saw the book bags! They said, "Wow they are so much larger than our Zip Lock bag!" Some of my students even asked what to do with their old Zip Lock bag after emptying it out. They are extremely grateful for this gift you have given them and send many thank yous and hugs! Once I told them they would be personalized with their name they could not even believe it! I cut their names out at home and had them help to place their names on the bag. They were so excited and kept saying how "satisfying" it was to use the mini heat press on their book bag! They are so cute! We all loved the way they came out and they quickly threw away their old Zip Lock bag and replaced it with the new one!
Books are such a treasure and my students are loving their new book bags! I cried happy tears after seeing my reluctant readers excitedly grab some books to read and take home. Thank you for making this possible! They will also help keep our books in great condition and prevent books from getting lost. We appreciate you more than you know! Thank you for putting smiles on 20 little humans! My students are in need and your contribution shows them that some very special people care about them! May you be blessed with more!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. V. Flores