Jumpstart #GivingTuesday By Donating To Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Schools
BY CHRISTINE BUSH AND HEATHER CHIN
We’re one week away from #GivingTuesday, a global day following Black Friday and Cyber Monday that focuses on giving back to the community. We can’t think of a better way to give back than helping our neighborhood schools.
Donors Choose goes right to the source. Teachers create projects for things that they need to help their students succeed – everything from basic school supplies to computers. The website approves the fundraiser, the public donates, and once their goal is achieved, the items are sent directly to the teacher.
It’s a win-win. You feel great because your donation helps kids in the neighborhood, and teachers are not forced to buy these materials with their own money.
We’ve pulled together seven projects from around the borough – but don’t stop there! A quick zip code search reveals teachers in every neighborhood that could use a helping hand. Whether it’s your child’s classroom, or just a school around the corner, every student deserves the tools they need to succeed.
Here’s how you can make this #GivingTuesday one to remember, Brooklyn:
Portable Air Conditioner
School: PS 20 (225 Adelphi Street)
Project: We need a portable air conditioner to provide them comfort while learning because the two DOE air conditioners in the Tech Lab are beyond repair and unmovable objects. My students will be able to maintain a consistent level of positivity from the beginning of class to the end. There are actually students who may be affected by the extreme heat. These students learning potential may be minimized due to room temperature. These students may be more eager to participate and learn in a cooler environment. Your donations will express a consensus that room temperature plays an important role in room environment. Students will have a better chance of being successful.
Goal: $282.32 out of $541.14
Food For Students
School: Khalil Gibran International Academy (362 Schermerhorn Street)
Project: My students need food for their homes. When I walk to my school each morning I see bunches of kids at school an hour early. One might think that these kids are just very excited about school, but in reality these kids are waiting for the cafeteria doors to open so they can have what they call “free free” — our school’s free breakfast. Many students only meals of the day are what they are served at school and they come to school hungry. While I am so genuinely happy that our school is able to provide this service to my students, it makes me genuinely concerned about what they are able to eat or not eat when we have weekends and longer breaks. The food that has been requested will be used to supplement what their families are able to provide. Students health, well-being and ability to learn will be greatly impacted daily.
Food to be purchased will include macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, cereal and granola bars, canned and microwaveable soup, and pasta.
Goal: $179 of $578 total
Bean Bags For Reading Nook
School: PS 56 (170 Gates Avenue)
Project: My students need bean bags for our reading nook to promote literacy during D.E.A.R.Time. (Drop Everything and Read). I want to promote literacy by providing a corner of the room where they can sit on bean bags, choose a book and read comfortably on their own. My students are identified and Gifted and Talented by the Department of Education. My students are highly proficient readers in a high poverty school. This advantage affords them the good fortune of reading for their own literacy enrichment as well as reading to other students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Our school has a library that our students have unlimited access to borrow books. As a teacher, I would be very pleased to offer my students a fully designated bean bag equipped reading nook.
Goal: $430.55 out of $510.55 total
A Projector To Ignite Young Writers!
School: Urban Assembly Academy of Arts and Letters (225 Adelphi Street)
Project: Student writers will use the projector to share their work in meaningful ways. Our shares include exchanging feedback through simultaneous gallery walks, group performances, and more intimate partner shares. The projector will be used as a tool to highlight and showcase the work of students to real audiences.
Goal: $795.48 out of $805.48 total
Photography Supplies For Art Project
School: PS 56 (170 Gates Avenue)
Project: The Artsy Lens Project will not only inspire learning but spur creativity. Narratives are a potent medium to unlock the canvas of Brooklyn’s cultural framework. It will provide the stories of the community as it changes and the students as the holders of transference of the culture, will utilize their cameras to capture the essence of their neighborhood. In the classroom students will be introduced to the basic features of a camera and elements of photography, photo journalism and digital storytelling.
With the aide of hands-on activities, visits from photographers, games, picture cards, magazines, creative word and picture task , students of all modalities will be empowered create their artistic masterpieces. Students will work collaboratively and travel through the neighborhood in search of project ideas. They will research, explore and use digital media to create and chronicle their neighborhood photo experiences in preparation for photo exhibits, showcases and presentation. My students need cameras, a printer, and photography supplies.
Project: $810.60 out of $2,338.76 total
Little Bits DIY Electronic Kits For Minority STEM Students
School: PS 56 (170 Gates Avenue)
Project: My students would become a part of the Global Community is Little Bits were a resource in my classroom. Little Bits is a 21st-century learning tool at the intersection of STEM/STEAM and the Maker Movement. Little Bits is very user friendly and will support exploration, experimentation and creativity. In my classroom, we will be building and designing circuits using a hands-on-approach and real world application with Snap Circuits SC-300 Electronics Discovery Kits.
Project: $1,526.11 out of $1,629.11
IB Psychology Textbooks
School: Khalili Gibran International Academy (362 Schermerhorn Street)
Project: Students will be provided with an IB Psychology textbook to supplement their learning. They will complete daily readings and weekly assignments through the textbook. They will engage in the various learner profile prompts included in the textbook both in class and at home. My students are taking a college level Psychology course for the first time. While the relevant research articles are dense in nature, by having the support of a textbook, they will be able to read summaries and analyze the information in a manner that addresses the IB learner profiles. This will also show them the importance of gathering information from different sources.
Goal: $1,078.95
OTHER PROJECTS
- K/1 Reading Superstars at PS 56 — $1,941.22 out of $2,021. 22
- iPads and Recorders for Literacy Project at PS 56 — $854.62 out of $1,601.86
- Headphones and iPads for Language Learning at Khalil Gibran International Academy — $879.36 out of $905.36 total
Have a Donors Choose project that you’d like to share? Post the details in the comments below!for