Jonathan Mosca's Mustache

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I can't thank you enough for your donations towards the digital scales for our science lab classroom. For many of the labs and science concepts my students are working on this year, they must be able to measure mass, and because of your kindness, now they can!Students often say that labs are the most interesting things they get to do at school and that they learn a lot more from them than from the textbook. The digital scales are truly helping students stay engaged and active in their learning, and again, I thank you much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Demirjian

I am so humbled and grateful for your generous donations to this printing press for my art classroom. My students were very excited and amazed to learn that people from all over the country had donated money for a project on their behalf.

We got the printing press toward the end of the year, and it has really made printmaking come to life for them! Students got to learn about the historical significance of printing presses as well as why some artists (like Andy Warhol) would choose the medium for mass production. Best of all, they got to try it out for themselves. I had seniors creating prints for their portfolios and also teaching the freshmen class about the process of printmaking. It really was a hit!

Our school is currently facing a budget shortfall, so without your help, my students would never have had these vital hands-on resources. My students and I were so heartened to see that other people cared enough about them to donate.

The arts can speak where mere words fail, so again I thank you for contributing to arts education at our school.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Kelvas

My students were thrilled when these materials arrived in class. My students greatly enjoyed "The Cask of Amontillado" in October and asked me for more stories to read from Edgar Allan Poe. When the books arrived, several students immediately signed the books out and returned the following Monday and wanted to discuss "The Pit and the Pendulum." My freshman, who often argue with me before sitting down to read that they don't want to read boring stories, approached me to do a story discussion. Those moments make me so proud to be a teacher. Additionally, since the Poe books were Kaplan SAT Vocabulary books, my students were exposed to SAT vocabulary and were actively using these words in class to show off in front of their classmates.

As for the Washington Irving books, they were used in my EOP- English 3 class. This is a program for students 17+ who have dropped out or are looking for an alternate education path. Many of the students had heard of Sleepy Hollow- but only the recent film, not the actual story. They were amazed at how different the story was from the movie. Many enjoyed Irving's writing style, and some found it interesting to break down his wordy sentences and put it in modern language. Without these books, my students would not have had the opportunity to read Irving's famous "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Thank you so much for these books. I know that my current students and future students will benefit from these materials.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Hession

Beyond my wildest expectations.

That's the headline. I proposed this project, which your generosity enabled, based on a distant memory, a sense of my students' potential after teaching here for a year and a half, and a hunch.

I thought, at worst, they might learn a bit of geometry or, at best, they'd produce some nice portfolio work. However the degree to which so many of the students took ownership, pride - a sense of mission - has left me profoundly humbled.

Yes, the students have learned elements of descriptive geometry and some architectural history. Yes, they have produced some absolutely beautiful work. (The school principal can't decide which panel to take and hang in her office. Other faculty are angling for a panel for their room. Others still are asking if they might be auctioned off...no, they're priceless.)

The real gain is the deep sense of pride and satisfaction these students earned. And they did earn it. The more they worked, the harder they worked. The better the panels emerged, the harder they worked toward excellence.

The degree to which these high school juniors demanded a sense of craft and accuracy in their work has exceeded everything I'd seen beforehand. They matured over the duration of this project. And that is a gift few can lay claim to offering. You can. You did.

Thank you so much for helping my students prove to themselves what they can do. They won't forget and I won't let them. The completed panels will soon be prominently displayed throughout the school for all to savor.

I wish I could send you the pictures of each completed panel. For now, please know the pictures offered on the site are but a fraction of the record of something special which really happened.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Phillips

Thank you!  The batteries that you donated arrived in time for the big state test.  My students were now on the same playing field as other students taking the state test.

But it is what we have been able to do on a daily basis.  The students have been able to learn some very complicated algebra and statistics using the calculators.  It has been a joy watching the students work with the calculators and to see the look of self-satisfaction when they have been able to complete a task.

If it was not for your generosity none of this would have been possible.  Needing batteries seems like a simple thing, but it had a major impact on my students.  Thank you so much.

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With gratitude,

Mrs. Laster

The supplies that were received had to be slightly altered as there was a price increase in the original solar race cars. I switched the funds to balsa wood bridges and it amazed me to how fast the students took to building their own bridges. We made observations about what makes a bridge strong beforehand and then played some interactive games online to further these beliefs.

After that, the students drew out their plans for their bridges and started construction! After about a week and a half they were ready for the big test. I am pleased to say that the best bridge was able to hold 16 math textbooks! Many of the bridges held close to this amount while a few students' bridges only held 1 or 2. These students wrote very good reflection papers though about what they could do for their next bridge in the future. The students worked so hard in a group and really would have made you all proud. I hope that you enjoy the pictures and once again we can not thank you enough!”

With gratitude,

Teacher

My students absolutely love our new divider. It allows my classroom to be separated from outside distractions while providing a creative place for my students to discover storytelling. My students love listening to stories and acting them out with colorful, interactive materials on our storytelling room divider.

With these visuals, my students are able to better understand sequencing, characters, and character actions. Stories come to life on our room divider, which provides the stage. The room divider also acts as a separation in the room that gives my students a quiet place to reflect when they need time to themselves. It has made a huge difference in my classroom!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Borden

Thank you so much for this exciting contribution to my classroom! The look on my students' faces when they saw their new reading nook for the first time was priceless! They have been begging to read in there- we have even had to create a system so they can take turns each day. Giving them a comfortable, inviting space was a great way to get them interested in reading.

My students love to select books from the shelves in what has become the "library." Once they finish their book from that day, they are allowed to choose any book they want to read. This gives them the opportunity to take ownership over their reading.

I cannot wait until the second half of this project arrives. Knowing that our materials are safe and stored away nicely in a cabinet will make my classroom a much better place.

Thank you again for your generosity. It has made a huge difference in my students' learning experience.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Borden

I cannot thank you enough for the projector - I have been using a borrowed projector in the mean time and it has made all the difference. Having one for my own use for my students will mean the world to them and their education and they can look forward to using this technology in the classroom EVERY day!

They will now be able to learn note-taking skills critical to their success in any higher education career and be able to visualize the science all around them (especially since we're learning about environmental science). Having a projector will help them watch great science movies that will only enhance their understanding of difficult and interesting environmental concepts.

Thank you again so much for your help,”

With gratitude,

Teacher