Bockman's Follicly Challenged Upper Lip

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Some great additions have been made to my classroom this school year thanks to your contributions to my project proposed on DonorsChoose.org:

a. Four new microscopes to view objects up close and to supplement curricular topics

b. More students engaged in their learning by gaining hands-on experiences

c. More students uttering the words "wow, this is cool!" because they have viewed something under the microscopes

d. Deeper understandings of concepts covered in class by seeing the real thing under a microscope.

e. Increased frequency of students using the exploration station in my classroom at the beginning of period just so they can put nature items (or sometimes just simply their pencil or fingers) under the microscope that is out and available to them.

It has been wonderful to implement the microscope use in my classroom (and with the other 7th grade teacher as well). During a time when school budgets are tight but teaching standards are higher than ever, your contributions through the DonorsChoose.org program are much appreciated and are assisting me to be a successful teacher.

Thank you!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Resek

Your generosity in helping us receive iPods in our classroom is greatly appreciated and has greatly enhanced the instructional climate of the class. Students are excited to use the devices across all content areas and are generally just more excited about learning. They are really hoping we can get some more of the devices in the classroom in the future so that we can do more whole group activities with them.

From Science apps, to using the cameras to capture pictures of Math related vocabulary, the possibilities are endless with mobile learning technology and I thank all of you once again for understanding what education entails in a 21st century learning environment.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Strine

Words cannot express how grateful we are for your generous donation to our classroom. When the drums arrived, my students could hardly contain themselves! Not only did we double the number of instruments in our room, we now have enough drums for every student to participate in our drumming circles during their music classes.

My students love playing in drumming circles! It is so gratifying to work as one to create soothing rhythms. Through the use of drumming circles, I have been able to more affectively teach rhythm, dynamics and tempo. Students have learned to listen to each other and work together to produce a cohesive rhythmic melody.

Thank you for your commitment to music education. Arts education is not only a necessary component of every child's education, it has proven to enhance and raise the quality of every other academic subject. I appreciate all that you have done to provide my students with these beautiful instruments, which will be used for years to come.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Joyce

I wanted to thank you again for all of your help and dedication to helping the students and myself learn more about Peters Creek. You are all an asset to the community. As the students wrote letters to the incoming seventh graders, they all raved about the Peters Creek field trip and the memories they made. Many students asked if they could bring in a flash drive and copy the pictures they took. They wanted to have copies for themselves. Not only did they learn about environmental science, they learned about technology.

It is only with the help of sites like donorschoose.org and those persons such as yourself that have made a direct impact in the classroom. No monies were spent on administrative functions. The students were deeply affected. I'm always impressing upon them the need to give back when they can whether it be with their time, talents, or money. Hopefully they will remember what someone did for them and pay it forward!

Thank you again for your generosity.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Cramer

The students and I would like to say thank you for the materials that you purchased for our classroom. The live animals allowed the students to be able to observe on a personal level the various stages of the animal life cycles and document each part of their development. The writing process was enhanced because students had an individual investment in the material they were writing about and were able to share their passion with others.

The students were able to foster working relationships with their peers as they analyzed the animal habitats. They held mini-conferences with each other and participated in round-table discussions which introduced them to peers they would normally not speak to. They were able to collaborate effectively and ended up hosting students from other classrooms explaining the process of life cycles and habitats. This translated into positive self-esteem and encouraged students in their learning process of speaking and listening skills.

This donation enabled my classroom to build achievement on many levels and to let them know that positive things are possible when they build a goal and stay with it. They were partners with me in this learning journey, and I know it would not have occurred without the kindness and generosity of your company. Thank you again for your donation, it truly blessed many individuals!”

With gratitude,

Teacher

This letter is a small token of my appreciation for your donation of camera cases, memory cards, and a photo printer to my first grade classroom. My students have used the cameras on numerous occasions already, and the cases and memory cards make it possible for them to use them both inside our classroom as well as in their homes and around the community.

They used them to take pictures of themselves and to talk about what makes them special. They are an especially important part of our field trips to our children's museum, where we have some of our social studies lessons. The printer allows us to print the pictures out when we get back to the classroom, enabling us to make more connections between what we do at school and what we are doing in our community. The students are currently using these materials to do a culminating first grade project that focuses on what they have learned in the past school year and how they have changed. One unexpected benefit of being able to print the pictures out for the students is how much more engaged they are in anything involving the pictures they have taken. They focus so much more when it comes time to write about these pictures! I love seeing the pride and joy that they take in sharing these mementos of their families, friends, and community with one another. I also love knowing how special it makes them feel... something that comes from the donations of people like you and from the lessons of Fred Rogers that they are learning each day in social studies.

Without donors like you, my students never would have had this opportunity. Thank you so much for making it possible.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Cain

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and assistance in acquiring Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture. While my students were reading this memoir, they began to feel a deep connection to some of Randy's advice. Many of my students have expressed to me how much this book has made them think about their future. I have noticed students who were not inspired to read anything all year begin to carry this book with them everywhere. They embraced this book in such a way that I was touched.Several of my students even asked for their own personal copy of the book because they wanted to reread it. Of course, I gave them one of the copies of the book as a graduation gift because they were so touched by Randy's words.

My students have now finished reading the memoir. One of the activities that I asked my students to do after reading this memoir was to write their own last lecture to give to the juniors. Many of my students embraced this idea and bestowed wonderful words of wisdom upon the junior class.

As a unifying theme for the senior class at my school district, the students chose The Last Lecture as their graduation theme. They plan on incorporating some of Randy's bits of wisdom into their graduation speeches.

So I just want to say thank you for inspiring my students. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Dahmen

I can't fully express my thanks to all of you for your donations to my project. The cameras, cases. and batteries that you have funded will enable the yearbook staff of our middle school to create a yearbook that will not only be something that they can be proud of, but that others will treasure. You have made the yearbook staff a place that all kids in our school can be active parts of, even if they can not afford a camera on their own. I can not stress what a difference you have made for these kids.

Thank you so much for your help,

Ms. N”

With gratitude,

Ms. Nardina

First of all, I just want to express my gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. It isn't everyday that students get to see a package arrive with technology just for them to use.

As I opened the box, I was amazed at how many of my third graders had not seen a flash drive before. As common as we may think it is, it is a new found technology for these students when they have one to use as their own. They weren't sure what they were or how a flash drive works. We have been exploring and will continue to as our year comes to a close.

Also, I am grateful that you are willing to share in my new adventure with these students and how they may utilize these flash drives to create and use their imaginations to make paper reports into something more special, explore movies and pictures through Photo Story (as we did for Open House), and share personal experiences with slide shows.

Lastly, thank you again for being so generous and allowing my students a new experience. I am so happy and blessed that you saw our need and filled it. I am also excited to seek out the potential for using this gift from the beginning of the year next year and years to come.

Thank you so much.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Stillman

I cannot begin to thank you for your generous donations and support of music in the classrooms. Far too often people forget how important music can be in a child's educational experience. Thanks to your generosity, my students have the opportunity to explore their talents and express their creativity through music.

It has been such a blessing in my classroom. The students look forward to music practice each week and we have used it as a positive renforcment for the students to earn extra practice time on their instruments. They are learning about rhythm, reading music, and learning pieces of music on their recorders such as Ode to Joy and Hot Cross Buns. On the guitar the they are learning strumming patters, finger placements, and cord progressions.

Once again thank you for your support in enriching the lives of students who really need it. Who knows...maybe one of these students will go on to become a great musician. ”

With gratitude,

Mr. McCoy