Nic's TutStache for Tikes

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On behalf of my 450 students this year, thank you so much for your timely generosity. This project has helped many students to be able to practice reading and writing music - and even begin dictation! The skills that they started developing this year will be carried into next year, when I hope to push them even further.

My hope for my students is that they will be able to read and write their own melodies, and eventually their own songs. Thank you for making the process more efficient, and more enjoyable, for each of the students. Not only are you touching the lives of the students this year, but next year, and for hopefully many years to come!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Wolcott

On behalf of my 100+ third grade students, and many more to come, thank you so much for your generosity. The recorders have been sorted, distributed, assigned, and PLAYED! I wish that I could send you hundreds of pictures of the joy that explodes from the faces of these precious students when they first hold "their own" recorders. It is better than giving them candy or money; this is something tangible that has their own name on it, and no one else will be using it.

Some of the songs that they have already learned in the short time we have had the recorders are: Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and "Da Pachem" which means "Bring Us Peace." Each class has sung and played through these pieces, and it even brought tears to the eyes of their homeroom teachers.

Thank you so much - you are touching hundreds of lives for many years to come!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Wolcott

We can't thank you enough for the generous gift that you all have made to our class. Running a video production class with almost NO equipment has been a very big challenge. Your donations, which got us two Flip Cameras has helped tremendously.

The students love being able to take a camera with them to document their life and film the outside world. Some of the seniors have gotten to use the cameras themselves for individual projects where they document their own lives. Taking the cameras home to film what happens in their daily routines really has opened their eyes to the documentary film making process. This would not have been possible if it wasn't for your donations.

Next year I plan on using these cameras for students to interview people and film various things outside of the school to be put into our morning news show.

While we haven't gotten to produce and full videos, due to the lack of computers, hopefully next year with the addition of more equipment we can actually make some great projects in this school.

Again, thank you so much.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Aloisi

My students and I are so grateful to you for contributing to our physics classroom! When the lab equipment came to the school, the call came from the main office that I should send a few students to pick up the packages. The students unpacked the equipment and carefully read the assembly instructions and the instructions on how to use the equipment correctly. They were excited and could not believe that the sophisticated laboratory equipment was really meant for them. With these new tools, made possible only through DonorsChoose and your generous donations, I was able to adjust my curriculum for hands-on learning. The students are so appreciative and they are using the equipment two t times a week. They experienced firsthand how magnetics are vector in nature and depend on angle as well as magnitude. They are engaged and focused when using the force and motion lab equipment as it offers them a whole new way to learn and relate to the material. The are taking leadership rolls in their experiment groups and offering new ideas as the work together. I have am teaching them how to design their own controlled scientific investigations using this equipment. They are now designing and executing controlled experiments themselves. I am so proud of them! Not only are they grasping the physics of the lessons, they are now also demonstrating that they fully understand the meaning of conducting a controlled experiment. This is one of the most important concepts in the discipline of any science and one that is difficult to teach.”

With gratitude,

Ms. O'Toole

Thank you so much for your kind generosity in donating to this project. Your donations have provided some essential materials for my band students, without which they would not be able to even practice their instruments. The Standard of Excellence method books have helped the trumpet and trombone students to find and match pitch when practicing along with the CD, and the saxophone, clarinet, and flute students are all thriving in a more clearly structured method. The new reeds have also increased the confidence of the clarinet and saxophone students playing, and they are more eager to practice and play. We performed our first concert for the elementary students, who were enthralled by the performance.

Thank you for showing the teachers, administration, and other students how important music is to our school. I cannot tell you how much these seemingly small donations mean to my students and the community around them.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Wolcott

Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts!! Your generosity in spirit has been felt not only by myself but my students who value the gifts you have given us. Our bookshelf shelves many new books that we have had donated, and are excited for how much it will overflow as we gain new libraries. We are also so thrilled to have our own rug in our humble room. Students often use the rug as a "chill zone" where many students with special needs have an extra change in scenery to gain focus, the rug is a magical and transformational location in our room. The small easel board has been a magnificent addition where I may jot down important instructions for students to follow. The hanging folders have become a Do Now Center. The hanging folder and the roll around organizer has helped me in organizing a room that is limited in space. The roll around organizer is a fantastic addition, as many of the student's assessments and data are located in it and I can maneuver it around the room, to save some space.

Your generosity is without a doubt, a step towards closing the achievement gap. You are all models of what concerned citizens should focus on as we continue to build our future. We thank you again from the bottom of our hearts!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Balaouras

    Where do I begin to thank you all for such generosity and willingness to help us in our classroom.  SInce the arrival of our Macbook, we have been able to create a music video for our PEACE program at school, the students have taken turns creating podcasts as study tools, and we have been able to have interactive classes with the lessons and PowerPoint's projected onto the screen.  For me, it has completely changed the way I teach.  I can now better prepare my students for the world which is awaiting them.  That world is full of technology and now, because of you, these students will be confident and prepared to take their futures by the reigns and change the world in ways it has never known.      So, on behalf of an extremely grateful class, thank you for makes our futures that much brighter”

With gratitude,

Mr. Lemay

Thank you so much for funding this project. The preschool children have been thrilled with the new instruments! The Classroom Song Bank has helped children with and without special needs choose a song for the class to sing based on a picture. The picture assists these non-readers in recalling and choosing their favorite songs over and over. The song bank and the accompanying CD helps the children as well as younger staff to learn the songs by hearing each song performed before the staff "teach" it to the children. So many of the songs used in preschool are "piggyback" songs which means that new words have been written to a common childhood tune. The CD also assists the staff to learn the tunes that are combined with new words to introduce children to so many concepts.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And, on behalf of Virginia, who asked so many years ago...Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Stevens

My sincerest thanks for your generous donations to our project, "Let Our Dramatic Voices Be Heard." At our show last year, several of the parents who came up to me after the performance had but one critique: "I couldn't hear my child singing." Now, thanks to your donation of a powered mixer and cable snake, this problem is in the past.

This year, our students' voices will be heard loud and clear. Their months of hard work, dedication, and countless hours spent learning songs and memorizing lines will be projected for all the world to hear! Thank you again, from the bottoms of the hearts of the 33 students who will take the stage in a few short weeks.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Ramsey

I can't fully express my gratitude, excitement, and thanks for your donation to my project. Because of you, my students will be able to to come up and demonstrate the work they have already completed, instead of calling out or copying answers over. They will demonstrate their knowledge in an efficient and clear way. With an Elmo, I will be able to create a more exciting and engaging classroom environment. You have truly helped my students reach their full potential in mathematics!”

With gratitude,

Teacher