First Graders Reach Out! Hurricane Katrina Care Package
The cost of a variety of school supplies, including construction paper, rulers, markers, and pencils is $547, including shipping and <a target="new" href="http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm" onclick="g_openWindow('http://www.donorschoose.org/html/fulfillment.htm', 300, 800, 'fulfillwindow');return false;">fulfillment</a>.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
I am a NYC Teaching Fellow, beginning my fourth year as a teacher. I am moving up with my kindergartners to first grade, with a request from my principal to "continue the great work I've been doing and to keep those kids on fire!"
I teach in one of the lowest performing schools in District 17, (PS 316). We are a Title 1 school, where almost 100% of the children are eligible for free lunch.
Many of my children have family and friends who have been displaced by the hurricane. I am sure the children in my class are feeling scared and hopeless about the nature of the disaster. Discussing the needs of the displaced school children their age, and sending a care package to the children in need will go a long way to alleviating my own students' fear and feelings of powerlessness.
First grade is the time when we study community. The effects of the hurricane are a terrific opportunity to discuss what happens when different parts of the community fabric is unravelled, to examine how people and services in the community depend on each other.
Reading newspaper articles, looking at maps and sending the care package will lay a foundation of social responsibility and community activism which I plan to foster this year with regard to both our school and our own neighborhood.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Ms. Bernstein and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
