Ryan Luat's super-stache

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Thank-you so much for your donations. My students will be so thrilled with the congas. I will be able to teach them authentic Latin music from their cultures. My students love using the buckets, but they are always jealous by the few students who get to use real drums.

In the past few months my students and I have really enjoyed using the Congas, we have used them to help keep the beat, to play rhythmic ositinatos with folk songs, and too explore the sounds the instruments can make.

I look forward to sending you the student's thank-you notes, and please continue supporting this wonderful charity that helps educate our children.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Jazo

Thank you so much for the orchestra method books. The school's budget has been super tight this year, so this was a blessing! Each student was able to have his or her own book instead of sharing. The students recently had their first assembly where they got to perform for their classmates and parents. Everyone was very impressed with how nice they sounded. We played three songs from the books you sent us. It wouldn't have been possible without you. Thank you so much for your support of our music program. We really do appreciate it.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Sechowski

Thank you so much for your generosity! The Elmo Machine you donated will come in very handy! Everyday my students will be able to reap many benefits from this teaching tool. Learning will happen in more ways that I imagined!

Currently my class is unable to use the Elmo machine because I also need an LCD projector. I showed my class the awesome gift. They are so excited to use it! They ask each day when we will be able to use it!

Donors like you, help teachers make learning even more possible!! ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. BeVier

Words just can not express my gratitude to you for your thoughtful gift. It has reminded me that there are people who care about the success of our youth. Beyond this, it has changed the learning culture in my classroom. I know this little piece of paper could never be enough, but I just want you to know the difference you have made in just a few words.

In preparing for the standardized state test, the posters served as resources for the students. They are very helpful in giving them reminders of all the concepts that we learned and reviewed in our test training. I felt so relieved when I would see them looking at posters during the test. I could see the "light bulbs" going off in their head. The post-its also were very helpful in helping students to organize their thoughts during reading and writing. It gave them the confidence they need to answer multiple-choice questions and writing prompts with convictions. Knowing that they had tools that they could use uplifted our entire class. Your gift aided in that, and for that I will be forever grateful.

I feel humbled to be the recipient of your generosity. My class room thanks you for helping make learning easy and fun for us. We will continue to use all of the supplies gave. Each time, we will think of you. Thank you for your continued support of education. Know that you are making a difference.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Thomas

I want to thank you for your generous donation to my classroom. The projector that you donated has helped my students every single day. We have used it to learn music to improve student's English acquisition. We have also used it for our language arts period to improve reading comprehension and to enhance vocabulary. I have created several power point presentations for reading and math. In these power points I include pictures, definitions and several examples of the item being studied to support my English language learners. I use various websites to provide background knowledge and enhance my students understanding in the field of science. All of this is possible due to your generosity. ”

With gratitude,

Teacher RAMIREZ

I sincerely thank you for the gift of books for my classroom library. It was an exciting day when the books started arriving. The students were begging to open the packages, but I wanted to wait for all the invoices in order to do an inventory. When I finally started doing the inventory, the students would hover around trying to look at the books and asking if they could read this one or that one. I chased them away until I had accounted for the numerous books.

The day I allowed them to choose a book for our silent reading, there was complete silence in this middle school classroom. One student, Michael, after reading the first few pages called me over and said, "You know how I hate reading, Ms. Allebach? Well, this book is really good and I'm sure that this time I'm going to finish it!" He has a habit of starting books but not finishing them. Another student who struggles with reading and receives special services hasn't stopped reading since we've received the books. There have been numerous times I have 'caught' her reading a book during a lesson. It's been very hard to tell her to stop reading when that's what I want her to be doing!

I have overheard the students recommending books to each other and I have seen them swapping books. These are the kinds of positive outcomes I celebrate as a teacher. Additionally, my student teacher and I are going to create a thematic unit based on the book, "To Kill a Mockingbird". We look forward to exploring another time period and the theme of justice.

As you can see, you have made my life more rewarding as a teacher as I see the students excited and engaged in the books. The students have encountered the horrific world of the Holocaust but have also seen how hope endures. They have read stories about other teenagers and have connected with the issues that are addressed, such as identity and self-esteem. The world of reading has come alive to them in new ways. Again, a heartfelt thank you to each of you for making this a reality.”

With gratitude,

Ms. A.

I cannot begin to tell you how thankful we are for your generosity. Our class can finally have an art time with real art supplies! We had so much fun with our dot paints on Friday that the kids keep asking to do it again. We used the people color crayons to draw how we see ourselves. The kids had a blast matching the crayons to their own skin color. I thought it was such a beautiful moment. They cannot wait to get into the tempera paints, clay, and watercolor paints. I am so happy that there are such amazing people such as yourselves. Thank you again for enriching the lives of our children.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Vnoucek