Tom DelViscio's Mustache

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My students LOVE the National Geographic books that you have generously donated! They cannot put the books down. They are begging to take them home each day. The books have lower vocabulary and it is the first time I am seeing some of my students really trying to read the words! Most of the books in our classroom have too many words that my students are unable to read right now and they become overwhelmed and just look at the pictures. I see them trying to sounds out words and asking for help for words they do not know.

The photographs in these books are wonderful and engage each of my students. Last week we focused on the "Frogs!" book and it was really good to have enough books for each student to have their own copy. Some of my students are reading words, some are working on staying on the correct page, and all of them are asking and answering comprehension questions. I am so excited to have these books to plan lessons with for next school year.

Thank you for caring so much about my students education. ”

With gratitude,

Ms. Gobeyn

I cannot express my gratitude to you enough! My school is so blessed to have been the recipients of your generous donations, and we truly appreciate it.

We have used the Cricut machine, cartridges and accessories on a weekly basis and plan on using them daily next year. We are sorry to say that we were not expecting the donations to be met in time for the end of the school year and we had already planned on other projects to complete throughout the school year when we received notification that the proposal was fully funded. For that reasoning, we decided to start our online business next school year, while using the last few weeks of this year as a learning and practice time.

We were able to introduce the concept of writing thank you cards, as well as cards for other occasions and practiced appropriate verbiage for each occasion. We were able to make cards for staff and student birthdays; thank you cards for our business partners in the community who allow us to volunteer and build upon our job skills; sympathy cards for the family and friends of one of our dear friends who passed away at the senior center we volunteer at, as well as for a staff member at the school who lost a loved one; congratulations cards for our recent graduates; as well as well-wishes cards for the nurses at our local hospital to celebrate them during nurses week.

We have big plans for the use of the Cricut machine next year- and many of our staff have already begun using it to decorate bulletin boards and set up schedules; getting a head start over the summer! Our students have been excited, thinking about different ways they can use the Cricut machine, and different design ideas for making cards and accessories. Their creative juices are really flowing and it is amazing to see!

This truly has been a great gift for my students and fellow teachers at my school and we cannot thank you enough. There is no way we could have this opportunity without your donations. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Pittman

On behalf of my class, I would like to thank you for your generous gift donations. Your commitment to my students success is sincerely appreciated. My student have enjoyed great success' in the past few months due to these materials. They are able to focus and stay on task much longer. I have bragged about the wonderful materials and what great things they are doing for my class so much that now all of the other teachers in my hallway are asking to borrow the materials on a daily basis. The goal of these materials was to allow my students to continue their academic growth so that they would be best prepared for future learning. And these materials did just that. With the help of donations from supporters such as you we will continue to see improvements in our neediest schools across the nation. Thanks again for your generous support to our classroom.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Cornell

Thank you so much for providing the equipment necessary to connect our donated computers to the School District Network and the Internet. Students are so excited to use the computers to research and analyze GREEN energy alternatives. They are busy exploring why we need energy, existing energy sources, and alternatives to fossil fuels. Through their exploration and our discussions, they are realizing that finding environmentally friendly energy sources that meet our economic needs is a very complex issue. What is 'GREEN' is not such an easy issue to determine.

Students have been able to use their existing knowledge and skill level, along with their research, to understand that there is a relationship between energy use, pollution, global climate change and population growth and habitat loss. We are investigating this relationship more closely, and students are making Excel Charts to chart oil consumption, population growth and rainforest habitat loss. All information is based on exploration of Internet websites chosen for expertise in the area being investigated .We investigated the rates of loss for Rainforest using 3 Internet sites, including a consortium of scientists (including NASA) and the Nature Conservancy (both experts and non-profit groups). Population growth was studied using figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the United Nations. Oil use charts were created using data from the U.S. CIA World Factbook.

Once relationships were established, we explored global economies, especially countries showing dramatic growth such as China and India. Armed with this knowledge, Students began to ask questions such as the following:

What will happen if China and India get as many cars and bigger houses like we have?

Are people able to get the food they need if plants such as corn and soybeans are used to make energy?

Will we need more farms if we use plants for energy, and will there be more habitat loss if we create more farms?

Students have discovered that each potential energy source has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, solar panels can be expensive and quite large. We did some quick research regarding the first true digital computers, and students were amazed at how large and expensive they were! Now students understand that through research and innovation, improvements can be made.

I can't wait to see student's final "GREEN" proposal that is due at the end of the school year. They are off to a great start. Who knows, perhaps someday one of our students may be the U.S. Energy Secretary!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Musumeci