Mike Mack's Mustache 2010

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Well, we've had quite a rollercoaster of emotions and events as we prepared for our big day at Six Flags Great America. We were truly touched to watch the outpouring of generosity from all of you who worked to make the trip possible. Meanwhile, our students were diligently learning about motion and forces, eager to see all these concepts come to life the day of the trip. It was truly rewarding to see their excited faces as they discovered the physics behind amusement parks' thrills, and to overhear their conversations at lunch (egg., "Hey check out the potential energy changing to kinetic energy!" as an orange drops to the floor. Ah, well, physics is not always neat!).

Things were going great, until the rug was pulled out from under us at the eleventh hour. We were informed that our district's law department would not approve the trip due to liability issues. Despite numerous appeals and phone calls by parents, teachers, and administrators, we had to cancel the trip. The news was, of course, devastating. We were heartbroken for the students, and distraught that all of your donations could not go towards their intended purpose.

In an effort to ensure that the students' hard work and your generous donations would not be squandered, we took several steps. First, we organized a Physics Day at our school consisting of numerous stations, including an egg drop contest, balloon rockets, and, of course, a marble rollercoaster design center. Perhaps my happiest moment was when two of our students, after constructing their rollercoaster and watching it in action, came to tell me they are now considering jobs as engineers. Although it couldn't match a trip to an amusement park, it was a fun and educational day filled with laughter and learning.

Second, although the buses were non-refundable, we were able to put them toward our students' upcoming 8th grade trip, which is a lunch cruise on Lake Michigan. This enabled us to fund several students who would otherwise not have had the money to go.

Finally, we are giving our students the (also non-refundable) tickets, which they can use on any day this season. It is our hope that, even though they may not have quite the same experience as they would have if we were able to go together, they will still think about the concepts we learned during the physics unit. Some students will now have the opportunity to go to Six Flags for the first time, and I have no doubt they will see physics in motion!

I would like to personally apologize that we were not able to use your donation in the way you originally intended. I hope you can take some pleasure in knowing that our students still developed an appreciation and deeper understanding of physics as a result of this unit, and that the resources you helped purchase will still be put to good use. Please enjoy the pictures, which were taken at our school Physics Day, and, again, thank you for your generous donation.

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With gratitude,

Mrs. Gerhardt

I am so pleased to inform you that the items you've donated to my classroom have had an amazing impact on my students' learning. As the school year comes to an end, I am convinced that each of my students is well prepared for fourth grade. My students and I have worked tirelessly this year and this hard work has definitely paid off. However, I also have to give credit to each of you who have so graciously given to us the gift of a math center. The impact of the center is undeniable.

My students absolutely love the activities and were so excited when they saw them. They enjoy using them and I am better able to work with small groups of students now that I have a good variety of activities for independent practice.

At the beginning of the school year, my students had a weak mathematics foundation and had a very difficult time relating math concepts to real world situations. The Real World Problem Solving Kit has helped to combat this problem. Many of them liked the Allowance game the best and I loved that it gave them much needed practice with counting money. I can honestly say that each activity was put to good use and I am astounded by how effective they were.

I administered the city wide fourth quarter benchmark math assessment last week and was thrilled by the results. All of my students passed the test and over half of them scored at the advanced level! This is truly amazing and I am very grateful for your kindness. Thank you for supporting teachers, education, and more specifically my classroom. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. McSterling

Thank you so much for donating to my classroom-- the impact that your contribution, small or large, has had on the students in my class has been tremendous! Undoubtedly, without your generosity, our classroom would not have received our new projector.

We have used the projector for many new activities-- we watch our calendar video, do our morning meeting via PowerPoint, use the interactive math games from our curriculum, and watch videos about science and reading things that we would not otherwise have access to. I have seen absolutely incredible growth in my students in both reading and math since we received our projector.

Without generosity like yours my students would be without a valuable resource, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

With gratitude,

Ms. H.

I am so humbled by your generosity.

Your donations towards a document camera for my classroom have been key to successful teaching and learning in my classroom.

I have 27 second graders, and 20 of them are English Language Learners who are developing in their proficiency of the English Language. Often they do not know what I mean unless there is a visual representation to go along with it. With this document camera I am able to place virtually anything under the document camera and it becomes projected for all to see- large and clear! It is really easy to put up photographs, math manipulatives, magazines, newspaper articles, books, poems, math worksheets, student writing... the possibilities are endless.

Student engagement has increased as all students can truly see and understand what we are learning. I know my students' achievement will also raise when we take our next unit tests- I can't wait to see those results!

Your kindness is SO appreciated by my students and I. We ALL think this new addition to our classroom is really cool!

Thank you SO so so much!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Nelson