Philip Bajorat AKA "Stache Ketchum"

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I wanted to take some time to thank you all for your generous donations towards my classroom project. Recite, RECORD, Rewind and Write has been a huge success within my special education classroom. My students have been able to record their thoughts, feelings and amazing ideas in a recorder that you donated money for, so that not a single word is missed when they begin writing.

With the current budget crisis in our area, your donation allowed my students to receive resources which they never dreamed of using. They are truly engaged with the writing process and no longer think of it as a dreadful task. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity! ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Pierz

I can not fully express my gratitude and my excitement towards this project and what you have done to make it a reality.

The items that I received were put to use on the very first day! I have noticed dramatic positive changes in three of my students behaviors with the use of new sensory materials. I have also noticed an increase in time my students are able to participate in structured activities when first provided with sensory integration techniques. Not only have the supplies been so successful within my own room, other teachers have borrowed my classrooms materials or purchased their own in hopes to have the same results in their own programs. Once again, thank you again so much for your generosity!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Shimkos

We love our puzzles! The puzzle center has been very active during playtime since they arrived. The children have enjoyed working on puzzles by themselves as well as working cooperatively with their peers to solve them. It is amazing to watch a few of the children work cooperatively to solve the large floor puzzles. I love hearing, "Ms. L, come see what we did!" I am thrilled when I walk over and see that they worked cooperatively on their problem solving skills to solve the large floor puzzles. Especially when you look at the pictures and see that some of the children are about the same size as the floor puzzles!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for providing my students with puzzles that are challenging for the multiple abilities in my classroom! ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Liss

I can't thank you enough for funding my project, " A Journey Through Time and Space".  My students are so engaged in the learning process.  I can just see the difference as they are learning so many different ways of thinking creatively and problem solving.

We began the projects by dividing into groups.  The groups wrote a story, made a story board, movie poster and backdrops.  After this writing and 2-D work was finished, the students created puppets, clay figures, and props.  When the 3-D work was done, I handed them the video cameras, and that is when they could see all of their efforts coming together.  We are in the process of filming their movies, entering the data on our computers and doing some preliminary editing in iMovie. 

Without your support this activity could never have been realized.  My students have been able to experience tools that are relevant to a multi-media art making experience.  This has been a challenging and rewarding project for all of us.  I am particularly pleased that they have had to learn to work productively as a team to accomplish their movies.  Another extremely positive outcome is that they are learning art making skills in the service of their creative ideas.  They must gain mastery over their materials, in order to see their art realized. 

Using the video cameras, with the excellent camera bags and memory cards, created a very high level of motivation and  means for my students to synthesize their ideas. 

Thank you so much for your kind and generous support. 

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With gratitude,

Ms. Schwartz

Thank you so much for your generous donation to my class. The atlases, maps and globes that you donated have helped my students travel the world. We have spent the past several weeks studying the continent of Africa. My students have used the atlases to label and color a map of Africa, identify landforms and plot distances.

They have used the maps to give them a clearer picture of where our school is located in relationship to Africa and the rest of the world. All the materials have been used on almost a daily basis the past several months as we have also visited Europe and now Africa.

My school is facing a budget shortfall, so without your help my students would never have had access to these materials. It is important for them to expand their knowledge of the world.

Without your assistance this would not have been possible. Thanks again. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Gilreath-Golub

I am so grateful for the donation you provided for my classroom! My students are currently using the hands-on materials you provided in my Science Center! They look with amazement through our telescope, use our magnetic weather board to match the weather outside, learn about healthy foods as they set up pretend food in plates, observe details of real insect specimen, explore planets as they solve a flour puzzle, and learn about the life cycle of a frog as they complete the puzzle! These materials will be used every year in my classroom! My children with special needs feel very successful as they explore with the materials you provided! Thank you so much again!! :-)”

With gratitude,

Ms. Patel

I would like to thank you for your very generous donation of books on CD for my students with learning disabilities. I cannot tell you how excited my students were when the books arrived!! My younger students love reading and listening to the Arthur, Bisquit, Fairy Tales and Classic book collections. My third and fourth graders love reading and listening to The Diary of a Wimpy Kid because that is the series that their peers are reading. Your donations have made my students so excited about books and reading!! We have used the books to work on reading fluency, comprehension skills, and also to complete book reports. My students love reading along as they listen to the books on CD!!

Thank you so much for your generosity and for your dedication to improving the education of students with learning disabilities! You have enriched my classroom with beautiful and interesting books on CD and have made a huge difference in the lives and education of my students!! We are truly blessed to have such caring and generous donors to provide such wonderful books and materials for our students!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. G

I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude for allowing my students to receive these great works of literature and the magazine for my classroom. Thank you so much for all of your donations. These books and magazines will be used to improve my students reading and understanding of literature. Huckleberry Finn will be used this next quarter since my students will be reading and understanding American Literature. The novel "Three Cups of Tea," will be used during the last quarter where the theme for freshman are world affairs. These novels will used in a special education classroom but will allow them to read and understand the themes of literature being read in the regular education classroom. The magazine will be used for various short story, articles and activities to fill in where needed.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generosity. Happy Holidays!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Gonzales