<a href="http://cosmicvariance.com">Cosmic Variance</a> is supporting projects which help bring science and math into the classroom.<BR><BR>
Supportive blogs:<BR>
<a href="http://blog.professorastronomy.com/2009/10/help-astronomers-support-public.html">Professor Astronomy</a><BR>
<a href="http://blogs.scienceforums.net/swansont/archives/3799">Swans on Tea</a><BR>
I am tremendously excited and thankful for your donations to my project. Whereas LAST year when we covered robotics, we drew a robot and learned an awful lot of vocabulary, THIS year, we will build circuits and then, thanks to your generosity, we will build robots and program them to scoot through a maze. I have told the students already, and they are crazy-excited. Some of them said, "We can do that?!" It was one of the happiest moments of my career so far to say, "Yes."
I am also very thrilled that the robots will give us a chance to incorporate math and science skills into the technology curriculum. That students will need to practice solving proportions, for instance, in order to navigate their robots through the maze successfully is an exciting motivation for mastering the math. Furthermore, it demonstrates to the students that their math mastery has immediate, real world applications. And finally, the robots will get our students excited about some big careers of the future - in technology, helping to propel them towards math and science majors in college.
We will also use the robots in Technology Students' Association, offering rich academic enrichment to our students who otherwise have few after-school enrichment opportunities.
In short, I am inexpressibly grateful for your donations. I cannot wait to introduce these resources to the students.”
Holy Hot Dots! Your generous donation was incredibly helpful to my students and will be for years to come! In an era where standardized testing is a huge focus, it is really important to give students the practice they need to be successful. These interactive tools gave my students a fun way to practice their reading and math skills. I can tell you that these tools really made a huge difference in my class--at the beginning of the year less than 40% of my students were meeting state standards, we are ending the school year with 72% of students meeting and even exceeding standards. Your gift helped us achieve these great gains!”
On behalf of my Earth Science students I would like to thank-you for your gracious gift! My students have put together the seismograph and by doing so now have a better understanding of how they work. In addition, they have had the experience of thinking like a real seismologist in determining the best location and use for the instrument. Students are working on developing a program for future students to use the instrument as a tool to monitor world-wide earthquakes and learn about how seismic waves travel through the Earth.
In addition to the seismograph, we were able to purchase another tool in which the students can observe how movement of rock and materials by tectonic forces can deform.
These tools have been a great addition to providing my students with not only hands-on, but real-world observations. Both instruments will be used by man, many students to come.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Berekian
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 10 other donors.
Thank you so much for donating all of the wonderful math manipulatives and games to my classroom. These materials have made a lasting impact on my students and they have enjoyed being able to experience wonderful learning opportunities with them in my classroom.
Any way that my students can get a hands on learning experience is a new opportunity for them to retain the knowledge they are learning. They truly understand what they are learning when they get the chance to touch and move the objects rather than just writing it down on paper. I truly appreciate your contribution to my classroom.”
Thank you very much for your generous donation to my students this year. The project you supplied us with has been an extremely engaging way for students to learn about living, dynamic, ecosystems in a way that would not have been possible without your support. Students designed projects to test the effects of various disturbances to ecosystems. Some changed the pH in the bottles, others added "Natural" and synthetic cleaners, and another added oil to simulate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The students and I truly loved this project! ”
Thank you so much for your generous donation! My students have a lot of energy and learn best by "hands-on projects." Unfortunately, my school's budget makes meaningful projects, such as dissections, difficult. Your donation provided such a wonderful opportunity for them!
It was amazing to see some of my most challenging students come alive and get excited about science and learning! They performed the dissection with such curiosity and a level of maturity I have not seen all year. The cow eyes were the talk of the school for a good month!
Thank you so much for making this possible for my students. My classroom thanks you from the bottom of our hearts!”
Our school has been a member of the Young Astronauts Club for over twenty years. It is an honor to be chosen by you to receive funding for our rocket projects. This Club has been a key to school success for many students; it has kept them engaged in the learning process. Some of our students have gone on to study Science in college.
The students attend a monthly meeting where they learn about and participate in hands-on projects related to physical science - force and motion, rockets, missiles, and space ships. Older students take on leadership roles by teaching rocket safety and assisting younger students in reading the instructions and assembling their rockets. There is nothing like the sound a rocket as it soars off into space; although the kids also like the recovery chase as the rockets come back to earth.
Thank you for your love of science and supporting our students education. We launched our first flights in honor of you. Keep looking up! ”
I can't thank you enough for the science materials. My students were so excited when the science materials began to arrive. They thought Santa was sending them until I told them who it actually was. Then they wanted to call you and I told them that they would be able to make thank you cards and that I would send pictures.
The exploration tubes with different substances in them have been a big hit . They love to lay in the floor and just turn them round and round and observe. I have collected bugs from my home since I live in the country and have placed them in the magnified specimen jars. They have never seen some of these bugs before.
Our caterpillars are going to be butterflies soon and the kids come each morning to see what happened the night before. I can't thank you enough. You have made it possible for my students to have some experiences they might never have. Thank YOU!! ”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Welsh
This classroom project was brought to life by Hille Foundation and 6 other donors.
Apologies first for the tardiness of this impact letter; as the year has drawn on I have in no way intended to leave you out of the loop on the progress that has occurred as a result of your generous donations. In the face of budget freezes and the plethora of circumstances that our students square off against every day, they were assured the resources they needed for tests, worksheets, and daily activities. As a result, they have learned and thrived, including students aspiring to go to college today who, only eight months ago, never felt that it was an option.
We are still plugging away in April and the paper has lasted into the home stretch of Chemistry. It has served as a daily reminder of how much you believe in the students we teach, and though you will also see it in their forthcoming thank you letters, I don't hesitate to mention that it really means the world to us. Your gift has made a better education possible, a gift impossible to quantify specifically because of its quintessential importance. On behalf of all of us, thank you for all that you have done here; it is truly making a difference. ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Karp
This classroom project was brought to life by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and 6 other donors.
Thank you for helping us purchase a class set of "An Inconvenient Truth." My students really enjoyed learning more about global warming and hearing the many different perspectives on the issue.
It was exciting to see my students become increasingly excited about the issue and have a desire to take some responsibility for the health of our planet. It has also been inspiring to see some of my students research related issues that they are interested in.
Reading this book as a class has increased the discourse in my classroom and helped us raise the level of debate about current issues. Thanks again for your help and generosity. ”
With gratitude,
Mr. Thatcher
This classroom project was brought to life by Disney's Planet Challenge and 5 other donors.
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