Plocki's Mustache - Stache for Cash!

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I would like to thank you for the tremendous contribution you have made to my current and future students. You enable us to engage in a daily routine where groups of students rotate to the listening center, then respond to the literature after listening / reading the book at the center. All of my students look forward to this routine, and inquire about it every morning to ensure they will get their listening center time. They have remained engaged in this routine through the year, and have gained exposure to a wide variety of literature.

I am extremely thankful for your kindness, and your support for inner-city public school classrooms like mine.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Arafin

Thank you all so very much for your support. As we speak I am currently at a statewide educational conference and expo, and many of the presenters are using the Flip cameras you all helped my class to secure. These will allow my students to truly create their own learning experiences and gain higher order thinking skills that are too often missing in classrooms today. The reality of society is that technology now surrounds us and I appreciate you helping me embrace the philosophy so wisely spoken by Benjamin Franklin, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Thanks again for your generosity and I only hope you see the benefits of projects like mine positively impact the future of tomorrow.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Strine

I want to thank you all for your donations to my project. It is wonderful to see that you all care so much about the education of our children. In Kindergarten, learning to read is the most important step in setting the foundation for life-long learning.

The materials you have provided to my class are a valuable resource for my students not only this year but for many years to come. With these materials my students get to listen to and read stories that they would not have had the chance to experience otherwise. It has also expand their reading levels, vocabulary, and fluency.

Thank you again for your donations. We are excited about all the learning we are doing with our new materials!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Gottlick

I hope you are all well! I wanted to extend a personal and heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who helped to make this project happen.

We have spent the last month reading the first of the two novels, Somewhere in the Darkness, and the students really did love the book. So many of them do not have books at home, or a quiet place that they can sit to read, so my classroom is the one place where they can really enjoy the experience of "getting lost in a book".

For many of the students, the story of a teenage boy who has not seen his father due to him being in prison was a familiar one. It was a great opportunity for the students to feel safe to share some of their own thoughts, through the safety-net of the novel.

The students are already asking when we can start reading "Hoops" and I'm hoping to find a way to read quickly and fit it in before the end of the year.

Thanks again to you all!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Carlson

Thank you all so much for your help and support. I can't even begin to tell you the changes I have seen in my classroom in such a short time. My children are now arguing over which literacy center they want to go in, when before I had to push them to choose any of them. Not only are they arguing over the centers, they even ask to use them during their free time in the afternoons.

The leveled readers we received are working wonders for my students who were improving yet where at a stand still because I didn't have enough of the proper books to take them further. Some of my students are now reading on a second grade level in kindergarten!

All the other materials we have gotten such as our classroom news, and sight word charts and cards have become a part of our daily routine in which the children and myself enjoy greatly!

Thanks again!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Hlat

Thanks with all of our hearts for your generous donations. The digital projector you presented our students has already made an enormous impact. Although for the last month we have been bogged down with state standardized tests, the children have already had the chance to experience the projector in a variety of enlightening ways.

In addition to viewing (and quizzing themselves using) vocabulary-enhancing PowerPoint presentations, the children have seen educational videos aimed not only to help them improve their reading and English, but to add to their characters as well (they watched of an elephant that can paint a self-portrait. I told them if an elephant can paint, they could become great English speakers, writers and readers). I have also been able to model key writing points in real time.

The children love using the projector for PowerPoint versions of Jeopardy, grammar quizzes and Reader's Theater - and you can see their skills improving.

They are also aware of the generosity you have shown in giving them the projector - sometimes they mention how lucky they are to have one now. And it has made it so much easier for me to make certain points regarding English, especially when teaching reading and writing. My fellow ESOL partners are also using the projector, which means your gift has touched over 100 students this year along. All of us are so grateful.

I do want to apologize for the lateness of this note. I wrote shortly after receiving the projector, but apparently that message did not "stick." Please know that our appreciation - especially mine - is endless.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Roberts

Thank you again for your generosity! It is such an amazing thing to see how many people truly care about the children of America. You in fact care so much that you choose to invest in their future. It is my hope and desire that your gift, of the storytelling kits, will not just be a fun center for my kids. But that it will inspire them to embrace reading and make it a lifelong habit.

My students come to me with a one to two year deficit in language. The more they hear, read, and retell stories, the more their vocabulary will increase and the closer they will get to their peers in education. These storytelling kit books are at levels that most of my students are able to read independently. But even if they are unable to read it they can listen to some of them.

These books will enrich their vocabulary, heighten their interest in literature, and open up a whole new world to them. I hope that over time that we can close the educational gap that divides the children here in the USA. Your gift will take us one step closer to that goal. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. B.