Terra Sig's Post-Sandy Science Drive

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I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you so much for your donation to my classroom project with donorschoose.org. Each and every one of you are one of many donors making a difference in today's classrooms in order to make education more relevant for students. The various Genetics based labs you helped to donate to my classroom have been a great asset since they all were delivered. My students have been able to use their knowledge of concepts covered in my class throughout the school year in order to perform the laboratory procedures. The "Practicing Pipetting Kits" allowed my students to practice loading gels for an electrophoresis test without using the actual lab DNA samples, thus preventing loss of the DNA. We had a bunch of fun extracting DNA from different fruits and vegetables through the "DNA Extraction of Fruits and Vegetables" kits as well as figuring out "Whose DNA was Left Behind" from the lab kit that allowed us to test and complete a DNA analysis. My students' favorite was the "E. coli Transformation Lab" by Evotek because they performed multiple genetic transformation steps in order to take ordinary E. coli cells that did not glow and adding a gene where the cells appeared fluorescent green under a black light. I love being able to watch my students enhance their learning through all the various Genetic labs donated to my classroom here at Brimm Medical Arts High School!

With the budgets for schools in my state being cut dramatically this year, you have stepped in and made supplies that would never be purchased possible for the classroom! Your donation helped to bring Human Genetics to life from meaningful lab experiments.

Thank you for taking the time to help a teacher who is trying to impact the lives of today's students in many ways, everyday!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Mullin

Our students are profoundly grateful for your support and honored to have the chance to study plants and grow indoor gardens. As you know, our students live in high-poverty neighborhoods and for most, this is their only access to hands-on science experiments and gardening projects. Their enthusiasm for our classroom garden has reminded me how important inspiration and excitement is in the learning process. It means everything!

The supplies that you funded went towards creating 6 different ecological terrarium habitats - from desert to tropical (and all level in between). The students designed, assembled, and now are maintaining the terrariums with passion and enthusiasm. They are also currently growing seedlings for our outdoor flower and vegetable to be planted outside our cafeteria this spring and we plan to incorporate their home-grown cool season crops into their lunch menu. Lastly, they grew their own strawberries in class and examined DNA strands that they extracted from the cells.

A large part of their excitement is because they took ownership of their creations - from start to finish; they are invested in the data they collect and energized to compare results and analyze outcomes because they hold "stake" in the process. They're not just growing plants, they're growing critical thinking skills and scientifically rigorous analytical skills, as well as pride in their work.

It is great to see you that you share my vision for reaching children by helping them to achieve great things. My children may live in a low-income area, but they have potential that greatly exceeds their limited resources. Together, we dream big!

Thank you so much.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Hannemann

Thank you all for being a part of the educational process for our students. With your help, we were able to conduct a variety of biotech experiments that involved extracting DNA from our cheek cells and analyzing it using gel electrophoresis. We could not have done this without your very generous donations.

Once the experimentation was completed, our students then presented their results to teachers as part of the portfolio assessment process. They had to do further investigation on genetics and bio-engineering and present their findings as a research paper.

Again, thank you for your support of our students and public education in New York City.”

With gratitude,

Mr. Oszust

Thank you so much to your donation! Your donation has helped purchase calculators that are necessary for my students to conduct basic calculations in their Chemistry class and lab.

Prior to your donation, I only had a limited amount of calculators, definitely not enough to meet the needs of all my students. But with your donation, I am now able to receive enough calculators to individually help each and everyone of my students, during labs, quizzes, tests and in-class activities.

Thank you so much for your donation, and for supporting education!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Pavletich