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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Fernandes from San Jose, CA is requesting other through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

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Help My APES Save the Earth!

My students need a rock tumbler, to study the various rocks on our planet, and to beautify our campus sustainably, using tumbled glass and rocks.

  • $288 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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Help Mrs. Fernandes

My Students

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. ~Franklin D Roosevelt. My "APES" AP Environmental Science students are learning about our earth, while keeping it 'green,' by beautifying our campus with tumbled bottle glass, as their way of recycling.

Ours is a Title One school, where many students are on the 'free or reduced lunch program.' The condition and aesthetics of our school campus leave a lot to be desired.

Yet our district, like the rest of California is perpetually strapped for cash, forcing teachers to be extremely resourceful. Some of us are collaborating with parents to enhance student learning opportunities, while providing them with better surroundings. We do this, not only because they deserve it, but also because we believe that a visually pleasant environment has a positive effect on their psyche and on how they do in school. In this project, students will use a rock tumbler to produce recycled glass aggregate, that is smooth on all surfaces, and safe to be used on paths as mulch. Apart from being a green product, it is beautiful to look at. This project serves double duty as the students participating in it are from my AP Environmental Science class, and this will give them a hands-on lesson in "up-cycling

My Project

Among the many lessons I learned from my mother was 'Waste not, want not'. We grew up on a shoestring budget and learned to manage with whatever we had. I want my students to learn to do the same. Sadly, there appears to be a lot of wastage in the name of efficiency. Custodians will sweep up and throw away pens, pencils and erasers, rather than pick them up! Most recyclers want only aluminum cans and pay very little for glass bottles because it is cheaper to make fresh glass than it is to recycle it... Consequently, many people would sooner place glass bottles in the thrash than attempt to recycle them! Enter recycled glass mulch. If life gives you bottles, don't complain about our muddy campus, make a recycled glass pathway! Making one’s own recycled glass mulch is cheaper (after an initial investment in a rock tumble) and so much more fun than buying it! And along with lessons in how the weathering of rocks takes place, students learn the important concept of 'upcycling' - which is even kinder to the environment than recycling is!

In addition to geology, the most important lessons that I intend for my students to get from this project are: First - Be resourceful; learn to use whatever you have available.

Second - There is no away; nothing that is thrown 'away' magically disappears into thin air! It goes to feed our ever-growing 'population' of land-fills! We have to preferentially learn to Reduce; what we cannot reduce, we have to figure out how to Reuse; and only what we can neither reduce nor reuse, we absolutely must Recycle!

Mrs. Fernandes Silver Creek High School Grades 9-12

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Mrs. Fernandes

San Jose, CA View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

29 students impacted 7donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Rock Tumbler • Sargent-Welch $193.50 1 $193.50

Materials cost

$193.50

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $17.71

3rd party payment processing fee

$2.90

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$244.11

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$43.08

Total project goal

$287.19

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $287.19

5 Donors

-$194.49

Donations toward project cost

-$165.32

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$29.17

Matching donations from our partners

-$92.69

Match offers toward project cost

-$78.79

Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$13.90

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Fernandes and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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