Jeff Deffenbaugh's Mustache

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Dear Donors,

I would like to sincerely thank you for your generosity donating materials to my kindergarten class. My students and I have been very fortunate to have gotten a pocket chart and a portable easel. I use this materials on a daily bases for my lessons and my students love interactive lessons with the pocket charts where they can categorize, sort, and organize different things.

The small decodable books have been very fun to use. My students really enjoy doing partner/buddy reading.

My class and I feel very fortunate to have receive all these materials. And all we can say is THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Valencia

On behalf of all of the users of my library in grades 9 to 12, I would like to thank you so much for donating to our project to buy more up-to-date biographies for all students.

The benefits of biographies are that students may learn how people have overcome obstacles to accomplish great things in there lives. It is my hope and belief that students may see themselves in the lives of the people about whom they are reading, which may help them find a way to deal with their own struggles.

The students really have shown an interest in these new biographies and began checking them out the moment they were put on display!

Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity! ”

With gratitude,

Mr. Carstensen

Thank you so much for your overwhelming generosity in helping us obtain a new trumpet for our music program. Music is an integral part of our lives and our society and this new instrument will help our students learn more about themselves and how to positively express themselves in our society.

It may seem that a single instrument will only impact the one person that plays it, but this is not true. Having a solidly working instrument in the ensemble makes the musical experience so much better and it inspires all those that hear it.

Because of you, one more student each year at our school will learn skills needed to "lead us into the future"! And many more will get to enjoy the music created by your trumpet.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Pool

Thank you so much for your generous support in our efforts to reduce bullying at our school. My students are really enjoying the curriculum and have looked forward to our weekly lessons and Reader's Theater.

Due to this curriculum my students are showing a growing knowledge of what bullying is and how they can change their behavior and stand up for what is right. They now know that watching others being bullied is creating a culture that allows it to occur. The students have problem solved and role played and are working on creating a culture that does not stand by and allow bullying behavior to occur.

We are developing role playing and reader's theaters to share with other classes about how to react when they see bullying happening. Our next step is to start sharing our knowledge with others.

Again, thank you for helping develop the character of our students. Your kindness and caring is spreading out to a new generation of Americans.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Weinland

Thank you so much for your generous donation to my classroom. My students absolutely love all the new learning tools in the room.

The items with the most impact have included an in-room paper trimmer/cutting board and the new student dividers. Every day my students come to school ready to work and I try to have lots of positive rewards available to earn. Having a tangible (concrete) reward is very important to children with developmental delays and being able to quickly cut awards and rescale papers has increased my students willingness to work for these non-food reinforcements.

In addition, everyday my students are expected to complete an independent handwriting packet at their desk space without talking to others. Attempting to do this can be a challenge when sitting at large tables and for many years I used two folders taped together and laminated as student dividers. The new cardboard dividers from Lakeshore have been a terrific replacement. The extra height has created a more intimate space for students to work in their learning "office." As you can see from the photos, they really use them!

We have also enjoyed the rubbing plates and making our own calendars. Unfortunately, the rubbing plates do not work as well as I had hoped so we haven't been able to integrate them into the daily readiness practice in the way I had anticipated. However, they were an excellent tool for teaching art and the concept of texture and line.

I feel so blessed that you decided to support my endeavors as a public school teacher in California. It has been a very difficult year and your donation has been a true bright spot in an otherwise frustrating year.”

With gratitude,

Ms. King

Thank you so much for your generous donations. The kids had a blast working with the clay. Without your support, they would not have been able to pursue this project. It's amazing what the kids come up with when given just a few guidelines. Many created entire clay families. Once the sculpting was done, students then built their portable stages/backdrops for their characters using cardboard boxes and construction paper. I have been able to use their creations to demonstrate the use of animation software. This gives the kids a chance to see how simple it is to create their own animations, moving their characters a little at at time, lighting them, and then photographing them into the program. I think many will go on to further develop their animation skills. I plan to offer more classes to our students that incorporate art and technology.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Anderson

I was overwhelmed with the support that my project received. It was such a thrill to put this project on there and have it fulfilled. Friends and family, as well as complete strangers, contributed and helped us get an amazing computer. When the computer arrived, one of the donors was working here at my school and she was able to see her gift to us in action. I am hoping that you will all continue to help other teachers and I know that when I have another project on this website, I can count on people like you to help my class. As you all know education is getting less and less funding, so there will not be a shortage of project requests for a long time. My class is definitely ready to explore the world and we can do it now that we have all the technology that we need. We can even Skype with this computer, which would allow us to meet and talk with people far away or at a school nearby.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Phillips

Thank you so much for your generous donations! My students were thrilled with their new books! Our class centers are so much more fun with books on CD. The students love to follow along with the CD and track the words in their beautiful books. Through your donation, students are able to improve their comprehension, read along with stories that are at their edge...not too hard, not too easy. The books really help encourage a love for reading, and that is truly more than I could have asked for.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Breault

This is just a small token of gratitude for your generous donation to our classroom. The leveled books, book bins and storage shelves have transformed our room into a readers paradise. Each student in the class has multiple books to choose from at their own reading level and they enjoy every opportunity they have to read them. Students are taking such pride and ownership in their reading area and are eager to get to the next level in books.

Our school is currently facing a budget shortfall, so without your help, my students would never have had these vital resources. Reading is such a vital part of academics and life. Thank you for changing lives.

Without donors like you, students in classrooms all over would do without. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of students and teachers.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Shook