Greentech Media

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About a year ago, I heard of this website called donorschoose.org and I had an idea that I would try it out. I didn't spend much time writing the request for a donation, but I had an idea that would help our class. With all of the budget cuts going on in schools, the climate hasn't been that great for asking people for money for our school. So when I submitted the donation request, I had a the attitude that it couldn't hurt to try. I didn't really expect anyone to respond. After a few weeks, I saw that a company had interest in matching donation, but nobody else donated. Then about a month went by and I had pretty much given up on it. One day I had a happy message in my yahoo email inbox. A Ms. Friedman had donated the entire amount of the project. That day, I went around to everyone I knew and told them of your gift.

Then next happy day was the day the shipment of materials came in. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I opened all of the packages and tried everything out. The next time I used the solar cells was with my physics students. They were so thankful. I kind of think they learned as much about being a good citizen from you as i was trying to teach them about electricity.

Thanks so much for your gift. We will use it for many years in my Physics classes.”

With gratitude,

Mr. McCotter

Thank you very much for donating to the Enivronmental Justice Media Project. By doing so Jedediah, Delvonta, Raya and Gloria created a movie on gardening that will play at a Youth Green Film Festival. Working on this project has enhanced their language arts skills by writing the movie. They all had acting roles in the film which helped with their public speaking abilities.

These students now know how to use a flip camera. They can make a film, upload it and edit it on a computer.

Jedediah, Delvonta, Raya and Gloria had a lot of fun and learned a lot too!

We really appreciate your donations. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Mitz

Thank you so much for providing my students with high quality poetry books about the environment. It was so fun to read from these books and then have the students use them for models to write their own poetry. I was amazed at the poems that my students were able to write! The models made all the difference and we all enjoyed the fantastic illustrations. We are now preparing for an end of the year poetry exhibit where students will be displaying their nature inspired poetry. Parents and fellow classmates are invited to come and meet the authors in our library and enjoy cookies with lemonade. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Dye

I just wanted to thank you personally for your generous donations toward our school's recycling program. I can see the difference it has made already and wish you could too. Students are actually sorting items when before, they just threw it all away in the same place. I even had a few students talk to another the other day because he was just going to throw his soda bottle in the trash rather than the recycling bin. It is so nice seeing teenagers taking responsible for their environment.

In addition, we have been able to recycle at least ten bins of bottles and cans and 10 more of paper in my classroom alone. With bins in each of the classrooms, that's an awful lot of recycling going on in our school. I feel proud to be a part of a school that recycles and the students are too. Thank you for helping to make that happen.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Starkey

Thank you so much for making a large contribution to our project " All out of Gas" Building Solar Energy Models. April is our starting point to begin investigating solar energy. The weather is more conducive to completing and experimenting with the models my students will create. They will get instant feedback on the success of their model by going outside and completing several experiments to determine the effectiveness of their model.

About 30 students in class and afterschool students are working on different models that represent different levels of solar energy interaction. This is the first time many of my students have seen solar packs and solar operating equipment. They are so excited. Many of them are looking up additional information about solar energy on their own time and bringing in articles. Before going on Easter Break, students used the building kits to explore different ways to construct moving vehicles. Students wrote down what methods worked and what adjustments needed to be made to advance the construction of their models. This step is so important. Students design and test the workablilty of their designs. When they begin to work with the solar units they will have more experience with trial and error in structural design. Pictures will be forthcoming in the month of May.”

With gratitude,

Teacher

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for funding my "Sharks in the Sun" project. I can't not begin to explain the impact that this project had on my students. They got so much more out of it than I had even planned. They were able to learn about the value of natural energy source but also learned about each other and the hidden talents of some of their classmates.

This was a refreshing activity as we begin to prepare for end of the year testing. The students enjoyed this break from routine and I was amazed at how well they worked through their struggles with the cooperation of each other. The instructions for the kits left much to the imagination but every group in every class worked diligently on completing their cars.

I wasn't sure what to expect when we took them outside for a "test drive" but it was so much fun. I only wish that other classes could have participated as well as I believe they would have enjoyed this activity as well.

I was especially proud of my inclusion students who definitely shined when it came time to put these cars together. Several students who struggle with routine classroom activities like reading and writing were able to step into the limelight and show their regular education counterparts a thing or two. These children especially loved watching the cars race, spin and crash into one another.

Thank you again for your generosity.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Arellano

Thank you for your support!

The program you supported, Idea Lab, is a partner of the math and sciences here, but is an elective for all students. As electives get their funding last, it has been a challenge to build a fully interactive Idea Lab for students here. Your donation helped us plant the seed of our solar project. The students loved working with the boats – many of them had never worked with solar panels before.

We are getting ready to launch a solar-school initiative. The materials you've helped us bring to our classroom will hopefully grow in the years ahead into a school run completely by alternative energy.

In this class, some of our most challenged students learn concepts core to math and science without knowing it. Along the way, they find out that they are good at inventing! The learning and the excitement is real, thanks to your support!

My regards,

Michael

”

With gratitude,

Mr. Flood

Thank you all very much for your generous donation to our project. The easel is used everyday and by everyone. We use it for Morning Meeting, Math, Group Writing, Learning Stations, and all other academic subjects. The students and I use it for whole group instruction as well as small group or one on one instruction.

Not only is the easel a big hit, but so are all of the colored markers! The students love to use all of the different colored markers when they write! It is great that we can color code and highlight certain words when we are writing. It makes for a fun lesson!

This easel has made my job a lot easier- Thank you! I no longer need to waste large writing paper everyday. It is great for when we make some mistakes and can be easily corrected instead of crossing out or using more paper! This easel will not only be used everyday with my current class but with all my classes in the future!

Once again I want to thank you all very much! It was so thoughtful and kind of you to choose our project. Your generosity has gone a long way!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Di Iorio