Gareth Grenville's Mustache

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This year our school has started an after school program for our GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) students. Because of lack of resources and money, very few of our students are able to participate in sports, art, and other extracurricular activities that are not held at the school. While the demand was there, the funds were not. We have had zero funding from our state and district for GATE related activities for two years. Despite this, we went forward. Teachers donated their time, parents donated whatever they could, and I decided to post a request on Donors Choose, thinking the chance of it being approved was a long shot. I've never been so happy to be proved wrong!

One of our teachers, Mr. D, volunteered to teach the recorder class during the winter and spring trimesters. The class was full after applications had been out for only one day! When the students received their recorders, they treated them with such care and reverence. At the end of the first class, when they were told that their recorders were theirs to keep, they couldn't stop thanking Mr. D.

As of the writing of this letter, the students have had about 8 classes with Mr. D. They are still beginners, but the drive and the desire are there. The students practice daily and improve with each lesson. They have even decided that they want to perform for their parents at the end of the year! Thanks to your generosity, the current students and more will be able to continue recorder classes next year.

None of this would have been possible without your donations. Thank you for recognizing the importance of music in education!proved”

With gratitude,

Ms. Aulwurm

There aren't enough words to express my gratitude for your donation. It is comforting to know that there are others who share my enthusiasm and vision to make mathematics education more hands-on. The document projector you have funded will motivate students to share their hard work with their classmates while enabling greater classroom involvement. Thanks to your generous donation the document project empowers students to take pride in their work.

Now I have an overwhelming number of students wishing to participate. This dream has become a reality because of you

Thank you,”

With gratitude,

Mr. Gim

Having this technology in our art room has made a huge difference in my ability to teach. I now create power point presentations to go with my lessons. I have already created around 20 power point presentations for my students.

These power point presentations include such things has examples of artwork by professional artists, architects, illustrators, designers, and craftsmen from around the world, examples from the natural world such has photographs of animals, bugs, flowers, bee honey combs or other things not man made, student assignment examples, step by step visual and verbal instructions.

Technology has increased my ability to differentiate learning with both visual and verbal instruction including showing instructions in a step by step format before my demonstration. My students are absorbing ideas much more easily and producing much more interesting projects.

I have noticed that Technology interests my students and gets their attention immediately. And as I open power points, I am showing my students things about computers, the power point program, and how I created the power points.

I don't know how I taught before without this technology. Thank you for adding more excitement, inspiration, education, and fun to our art room.”

With gratitude,

Ms. ARThurs

This is such a valuable resource, and I cannot thank you enough for your assistance. We are currently in the process of making this project a real in-depth idea, with the students really taking on the role of active scientists working in genetics. With your assistance, you have helped students in a high need area get exposure to technology they might otherwise not be able to gain access to. Those of us here say THANK YOU for making this project a reality! The students are so excited about starting this project!”

With gratitude,

Dr. S.

Thank you so much for donating to my project! Having a color printer in the classroom has made a huge difference in my student's learning. First, I am able to print worksheets and pictures in color which greatly make the learning more accessible to my students who have auditory and visually processing disabilities. I am able to have them do engaging, colorful worksheets and notes that make it easy for them to access material. Secondly, my students can make their projects come alive with color pictures! Many of my students have to do poster boards for other classes and they are able to print pictures from the internet and personal pictures in color. I get compliments on the well-organized and colorful posters that my students create.

This is all possible thanks to your generous donations. There were over 30 amazing people who gave to the project. It humbles me to think that my students have people who want them to have access to quality technology. It humbles me even more that these people come from all over the world! In a time where the government and economy has put pressure on school districts to make drastic cuts, teachers and educators are relying more and more on the kindness of people like you. Thank you so much and I hope that you continue to support students and educators locally and globally in any way you can.

We honestly cannot thank you enough.”

With gratitude,

Ms. San Martin

Thank you so much for donating to my project. My students have been divided into groups, and they are reading the various novels. It has been exciting for me to watch my students read and discuss their books.

I know most of them have never read a book from start to finish, and many of them have not actively discussed a novel, so this is a great learning experience for them. Thank you for making that possible.

So far, I have received mixed reviews on the interest level, but for the most part, students are enjoying these particular stories. Next week, we began discussing the clues and attempting to solve the mystery through a persuasive essay. It is a joy to watch my idea become a reality. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Madsen

Due to the generous donations made by everyone who participated I have been able to plan and execute better labs for my students. The storage bottles allow me to prepare and safely store chemicals vital to the labs that we do. The 'Demo A Day' book has given me a multitude of ideas to demonstrate the material to students and get their attention and get them excited about the content they are learning. The other material will give us more flexibility in the labs that we can perform now that we have necessary equipment.

I hope that all of you will continue to help teachers through this website. It is a wonderful way to keep our schools functioning at their best during these difficult budget battles we are all going through. You are truly helping all our futures by helping these kids and the appreciate it greatly.

”

With gratitude,

Ms. Meadows

I am truly moved by the response this project received. To those giving people who donated to "Art + Science = Madcap Learning!", a sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU! My students feel very fortunate and have been made aware that if not for you, this exciting endeavor would not have come to pass. Every contribution counted towards making this project come about. These wonderful, versatile donations filled, and will continue to satisfy a serious void in my classroom and help in enhancing student learning by leaps and bounds! It has not only enriched my students' lessons, it facilitated in linking several 'favorite' subjects together- art, science and literacy :o). This particular donation demonstrated to my 400+ students that their artwork and 'voice' is respected and appreciated, and will for years to come.

Your contribution ensured that my students not only came away with beautiful pieces of art but had an experience that will stay with them for a lifetime. Again thank you so much for helping my art program shine. You have most certainly helped me convince the doubtful that art can be the catalyst to inspire!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Lee

We have only had the computer on hand for a short time and it has already shown its worth! Several students used it to complete a web quest about the invention of the cotton gin, two students used it to write entrance essay to the art-based magnet high school in D.C. and three more students are using movie maker to create a presentation about how the Civil War still effects us today.

I know there are so many more uses for this computer in our classroom and I look forward to exploring them with my students. I look forward to posting pictures of my students and the awesome work they are able to because of your generosity.

The lessons that they are learning using this computer are countless. I hope that someday when they are completing an assignment in high school, applying for colleges or working that the lack of technology in their middle school will not have effected them because they were able to spend sometime of this computer.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Millner