Ginger Stache O'Toole

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appreciateactivitiesappreciateactivitiesThanks again to all of you that contributed to our camcorder project. Your contributions have made a tremendous impact for our students. We have used the camera for various sporting events and actvities. It is very nice and takes amazingly clear videos. We have been using quite regularly and we now have easy access to a camcorder at anytime. The football program has especially enjoyed having access to it as they will be using it for an endzone video camera this coming season. Thanks again for helping our school and our students, we sincerely appcreciate it! THANK YOU!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Davis

Dear Donors,

I would like to thank you for your generous donation which has helped us to receive some desperately needed technology for our classroom. Because of you my students have access to the technology that can increase their understanding of instruction and help aid long term retention. As students with special needs, as well as English language learners, my students need an extra leg up in order to perform equally with their non-disabled peers. With this projector that you have so graciously given to us they are able to excel and do their best.

Some of the ways we have used the LCD projector that we have received thanks to you are; using Google earth to take virtual field trips, Using the Khan academy math website for drill practice, and showing and editing documents on the projector for all the students to see.

The Google Earth program is an amazing interactive globe that can take students to places they may never see in real life. Initially we have used this as a supplement to a book we read in class. Using Google earth to visit Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, as well as Berlin, Germany, which were both places in the story we read, was an excellent way to make the text come alive. There is something about actually seeing the place in the story that makes it more interesting and the students pay attention and learn more. I have never seen my students get more excited about learning then when using Google earth to see the many interesting places in this world.

The Khan academy is another excellent resource we can access now with our projector. This important website was started by a man named Salman Khan, an MIT graduate, to help students who struggle with Math instruction. There is a drill practice part that we use in class. We split the class in teams to compete for the right answer,which they love. Then there are instructional videos that can reinforce and re-teach confusing concepts, which we use when students get some problems wrong, or before we start an unknown drill section. The students love it and it has been increasing their memory of basic math skills.

Another way we are using the projector is reviewing papers and editing them together. My students need to have the ability of group editing their paper. I post a paper on the projector and we highlight the right elements and correct the wrong ones together as a class. I can also create PowerPoint presentations to teach important concepts, adding important visual and auditory elements which have been proven to increase learning and retention.

All of this has been possible because of you. I hope you understand the impact you have made in these students lives. They will never forget the kind strangers that cared enough to help them learn.

”

With gratitude,

Mrs. McFarlane

Thank you again for your help in updating my science corner. The children were absolutely thrilled the day the boxes arrived and couldn't wait to see what they had received. The rug arrived after school, and I unrolled it so that it was ready for class the next day. When they saw it the next morning, the entire class flopped down on it and snuggled in the soft pile! We opened our boxes of equipment--the globe, the hand-held equipment, the balance scale, the cars--to squeals of delight!

Since receiving the supplies, the science corner has again become a vital part of our room. The globe, cars, magnifiers, and balance scale are used daily. Now that our long rainy spell has stopped, we'll be taking the magnifiers outside into our garden to look at what we might find. I now have enough of them that I can have the children work in small groups, sharing a lens, observing and discussing together. This was not possible before as the few magnifiers I had were too scratched for practical use, especially outdoors.

I have some light boxes that I made years ago as a part of a class project working with a well-known local science museum, and I have been able to use them again now that I have prisms for "bending" light beams and mixing colors of lights. We had a wonderful time making rainbows together!

The color paddles have been a particularly big hit with my special education students, who find them easy to use and "magical" in the way they change their views of the world. And the globe--what a help it's been in discussing the Japanese earthquake and looking at landforms!

I have to tell you that, although I was quite sure that playing with the cars would be a big hit, the children have made-up their own activities with them that really combine science and math with that play. My lower-level students like to sort them and "park" them in rows, thus forming arrays without even knowing they are doing math! My more advanced students have been building garages with the blocks,.working on symmetry and on how to support weight so that the cars can be safe inside. I've seen them spontaneously create patterns using the cars, and describe and discuss the mechanics of what they were doing, justifying why a car did or didn't belong in a particular place. There are enough cars for lots of children to use them at one time, and they are sturdy and safe.

School is almost out for this year, but I am so excited about having all these wonderful things to use in kindergarten now as well as for the entire 2011-2012 school year and beyond. Thank you again for making this all possible for my students, my future students, and for me. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Young

WOW! What a difference your donation has made. We are having so much fun inspiring learning with our very special group of students. Your donation came just in time for our 4 new students. Yes, now we have a perfect dozen of eager learning preschoolers. The wagon helps us transport for recess and even fire drills. It is great for vestibular development going forward and backward around the play yard. We have even made a mini "ball pit" out of it for our students with sensory needs. The bean bags, bubbles and ribbons with the fun music CD fill our mornings with joy, laughter and learning. We love to find ways to balance the bean bags and learn all our body parts. We can learn and practice our color knowledge by requesting our favorite ribbons and bean bags. The balance beam is our new transition guide when we move from one station to another. It is simple to assemble and move. It helps the visual learners understand which way to go while working on balance and concentration. The large teaching table is my dream come true. I can sit and be right at hand for the "hand over hand" assistance each one of our students requires. The student's love it too. Whenever I go sit at the table, they all come up to sit and "play the game of the day" with the teacher. Our OT is so happy to see the correct postural support of the appropriate size table and chairs. With feet firmly planted at the ground and elbows at table height, it is that much easier for our students to correctly hold and manipulate materials. Thank you all for the wonderful end to a beautiful year and the hope it inspires in these students and many more to come.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Birtola