My students are motivated and full of energy. I want them to be able to channel that energy into thoughtful projects, unique ideas and the development of teamwork skills.
One of the things I love about working with my students is witnessing their desires to be in charge of projects, to create, to make discoveries, and to make a difference.
They want to do their part to make the world a better place. My school represents a diverse population with many languages spoken by our families. It's an exciting place to be. We are a Title I School, so there is always a need to bring in resources and provide our students with a variety of experiences. My students are always excited to learn, especially when we are doing hands-on activities that allow them the freedom to create and problem solve and experiment.
My Project
For the past two years, I have been working with students to develop a schoolyard habitat that classes will be able to use as an outdoor classroom. This year our main focus is developing a trail system. The trails will provide protection for native wildlife and plants. They will also allow students to observe and research nature in their own schoolyard.
Furthermore, it is important that students feel ownership for the schoolyard habitat.
We will do this by promoting our school’s “Commit to Kindness” message. Students who are caught being kind and who have worked on maintaining the habitat will be invited to decorate rocks with messages of kindness. These rocks will be used along the trail to mark its borders, remind visitors of the importance of kindness, and provide habitat.
In order to make this happen, we need art supplies. We have already been collecting rocks for the project, but we need patio paints, paint brushes, special markers, and paint palettes. With these supplies, more students will have an opportunity to be personally involved in the development of the schoolyard habitat and they will be able to share messages of kindness for years to come.
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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 Ms. Murtaugh and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
