Hurricane Michael Recovery Fund

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I am so incredibly grateful for your donations to our class. These books arrived during a very difficult time for most, adjusting to life in a pandemic and the changes in school. They were a blessing to my students, and brought such joy and excitement!

My students have absolutely loved reading these new books! They are so excited to have book series that they can read where they don't have to go search for a book or be disappointed when they go to the library and it is already checked out. Thank you again for all of your support and generosity!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Glass

It has been over two years since Hurricane Michael ravaged our small beach city, and we are only now starting to feel somewhat "normal." Along with the rest of the world, we were upended by the global pandemic of Covid-19 last spring, but were able to complete a full school year with virtual options and carefully masked brick and mortar learning. Students throughout the school want to come in the newly decorated room that your donation funded. It is a place of safety, a calm in the storm so to speak, a comfortable place to learn and make mistakes.

Students will congregate on the futon sofas, stretching out on pillows and placing their drinks on the coffee tables. They talk about how they feel like "college students" and do collaborative learning in an atmosphere more like a sidewalk cafe than a traditional elementary classroom.

Currently, students are taking statewide assessments. This room transformation enables a cozy environment in which to take these high stakes exams. Thank you so much for your generosity and faith in our students.”

With gratitude,

Ms. F.

Apologies for the delay in expressing our sincere thanks in funding this incredibly engaging project! These photos were taken the DAY BEFORE we went into quarantine in the state of Florida, which went from one week to the rest of the school year. I am SO glad we were able to enjoy our Wizarding World of Harry Potter Classroom Transformation before many of our 5th grade English language learner students went on to middle school. I am sure this will be one of the highlights of their last year at our elementary school.

We transformed our classroom into Hogwarts, with pit stops at Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Students dressed as Hogwarts students and participated in fun and engaging activities all day, all related to the Harry Potter book series. They used the sorting hat to divide into small groups, or houses, and honed leadership skills that we had been working on all year. They could not believe their eyes when they walked in our classroom for the first time, because it no longer looked like our classroom! We had owls, floating candles, broomsticks for the Quidditch field, and overall, a transfixing environment for learning. Thank you so much for making our students feel special.”

With gratitude,

Ms. F.

My students have greatly enjoyed the flexibility of movement these desks have provided. The students were excited to try out the new desks with the ability to sit, stand, or move the pedal back and forth. It kept students on task and motivated to learn. It decreased off task behaviors and helped improve their grades. The behavior specialist for our school even noticed the improved behavior and came to the classroom to see the students utilizing these desks. He liked what he saw so much that he asked the administration to come see. He has expressed his desire to order some for other classrooms. Thank you so much for your generosity and love towards my students.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. W.

I apologize it has taken so long for me to send out the thank you! Having my project fully funded has helped to make my students educational experience an even better one. We have used our iPad for projects, reading fluency checks, a timer for speeches, as well as a center during small group time. For example, I downloaded a spelling app that correlates with the Wonders curriculum we use at my school. The students are able to practice their weekly spelling on the iPad versus just memorizing it on pencil and paper. My students really appreciate the opportunity to have this tool as a part of their learning as well as I do.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Baggett

I can't thank you enough for helping me provide the I-pad and Osmo system for my class. Of course, being new they all wanted to try it out, so when I brought them out into the class I had to immediately make a schedule for when each student could use them. Once time passed, things settled down, but the students were still just as excited about having it as a center activity. They couldn't wait for their turn to come. It has made practicing spelling and math concepts fun.

Having the fraction hot dots and fraction games has made learning that skill a lot easier. It has given the students a fun way to practice a difficult skill.

I really appreciate your generosity and support in making this purchase possible. My students and I thank you very much!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Creamer

Using the technology of a listening center opens a whole new world of books to my students. My students have the opportunity of choosing what books they would like to explore in the listening station.

One of the most exciting things for my students is following along with a book listening to the words, looking at the illustrations and realizing how books can come to life!

Being part of a Title One school a majority of my students are not exposed to quality literature. Using the listening station each student learns the value of being able to pick up a book and read!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Richey

Thank you so much for your support of our classroom by funding this set of steel drums. The students love the sound these instruments make and are motivated to read and work on reading notes as well as rhythms when they get to play these instruments.

My students were so excited when they saw these new instruments that they couldn't keep their hands off them, and they are especially excited now that we are using them in our activities.

We can't begin to thank you enough for helping this classroom to be a place where students can enjoy a variety of instruments and music-making opportunities!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Eadie

These children had the time of their lives at our carnival! The classroom was completely transformed, and they were so excited to get to review all of the skills they have learned so far!

Each game included review "task cards", so the students had to correctly answer their task card to get to play the game. We had so many prizes to offer them! They reviewed vocabulary, grammar, math, and science concepts. We had adult volunteers to help with each game. Luckily, all the games and decorations were in such good shape when we were finished that we can do another carnival next year! All we'll need are more prizes! Thanks again for believing in our students!”

With gratitude,

Ms. F.

Thank you so much for enriching our classroom environment. It truly means so much to have the support of others. My students adore these additions to our classroom. The Movement Mats are great for indoor recess days when we have too much energy. The phonics listening bundle is great for developing both phonics and listening skills. The bean bags and ball chairs help me to teach students responsibility to keep them nice and use them appropriately and how to share and cooperate. They are also great for getting down on the kids level when reading aloud.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Hazzard