{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Battle Creek Middle School","outOfStateSupporters":36.3,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":10171170,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for the cooperative games you donated to my classroom. It is very difficult to get students interacting with each other. They are constantly on their electronic devices and spend little time getting to know their classmates. That's why having games to play during some of our down times is so vital. It gets students talking to each other and learning to cooperate with others. I have loved the eagerness students come to the game cupboard to choose a game to play with their classmates. I teach one class called foundations, which is a social / emotional learning class. We use the games every Friday and students love them. I appreciate you seeing beyond just the traditional academic learning with the contribution of these games. \r\n\r\nIn addition to getting to know each other, students are also learning responsibility by taking care of all the game pieces for future students. They learn to regulate their emotions when the game is not going their way. I have seen growth in this area as the year has gone on. We appreciate your contribution so much.","fullyFundedDate":1779370484138,"projectUrl":"project/class-games-for-building-community-and-t/10171170/","projectTitle":"Class Games for Building Community and Thinking Skills","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":10166948,"letterContent":"The Savannah card game and Coral Reef card game were wonderful additions to our curriculum this year. After studying the Savannah ecosystem, we then used the card game. We did sort activities before playing the game, such as dividing them into herbivores and carnivores. This was great for vocabulary development. Then we went through how the game is scored and compared it to real life information we learned about the Savannah. For example, student learned during out unit how vital the water hole is for many types of animals, especially during the dry season. In the game, you get two points for each unique animals adjacent to the water hole. It was great that this game included scavengers such as the vulture and hyena. These were animals we had studies. Most of all I loved how much the game made students THINK as they built their grid. They really had to think through how the parts of the ecosystem were related and how to best score points. Engagement was incredibly high for this activity and I felt all students had to stretch their thinking. \r\n\r\nThe Coral Reef game was just as beneficial. We actually had to learn what many of the cards in the coral reef game were because students have never learned about the world coral reefs. So after doing a unit on the coral reef ecosystem, we ended by playing the game. This time they already knew the general idea from playing the Savannah game so they were ready to dive in. Once again they had to really put their thinking skills to use to play. Engagement was through the roof as students try to figure out the best ways in their ecosystem to score points. Both games made a great way to end a unit!","fullyFundedDate":1774546656961,"projectUrl":"project/engaging-educational-games-for-environme/10166948/","projectTitle":"Engaging Educational Games for Environmental Science!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":10385290,"projectId":9960682,"letterContent":"It has been an incredibly difficult year for our students and community, and the art supplies we received through your generous donation with Donors Choose has really allowed us to do some great social emotional processing through projects.\r\n\r\nWe were able to look at the concepts of self-esteem and identity through a growth mindset and we used the paint markers that were donated to help us express these with rock painting.\r\n\r\nWe also used the diamond art sun catcher project after talking about healthy relationships and examining some of our most important relationships. Many of the students chose to make their sun catcher as a gift for their mothers or mother-figures for Mother's Day. \r\n\r\nIn the next week or so, as we wrap up our groups for the school year, we will use the t-shirts donated to do a final tye-dye project where each student can make their own shirt to remember Battle Creek Middle School (if they are 8th graders) and celebrate the bonds and trust they have built with their group members this school year. \r\n\r\nWithout access to many of these art supplies, our students would still be taught the basic skills in group. However, they would not have the opportunity of creative expression that these art supplies bring. Art therapy is truly an important way to diving deeper into the impact and processing of ourselves, how our past has impacted who we are, and how we perceive where we are going and the goals we can imagine. Thank you.","fullyFundedDate":1770907295648,"projectUrl":"project/teaching-healthy-self-expression-suppli/9960682/","projectTitle":"Teaching Healthy Self-expression: Supplies for Social-emotional Middle School Groups","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorham","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10385290"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":10121412,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for the donation of owl pellets to my Environmental Science class. The study of an ecosystem can be difficult to bring alive in the classroom with hands on activities. We studied food chains, food webs, and trophic pyramids and then we finished the unit off with the owl pellets! The students LOVED the activity. Digging through their pellets with tools, discovering new things hidden under every chunk of fur, and working to identify the parts they were finding both motivated them and fascinated them. All my students were so engaged. Typically during an assignment the class can be talkative, but students were just so focused on what they were doing, the room was nearly silent. Each student saw first hand the predator / prey relationship. We also studied the barn owl for a day before the lab so they could really appreciate what they were seeing. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity. I hope to do it more times in future years! This is the type of lesson that students don't forget!","fullyFundedDate":1772553895256,"projectUrl":"project/awakening-awareness-through-owl-pellets/10121412/","projectTitle":"Awakening Awareness Through Owl Pellets!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":6154426,"projectId":10027691,"letterContent":"In a day and age when books compete with screen time, it is a challenge to convince scholars to read and to read with physical books. Through your support, these new books are intriguing our scholars and becoming more popular as they recommend books to each other or they hear about these books in other ways. Scholars are always excited to hear about new books. \r\n\r\nWith your donation, we are able to add newer or really popular books to our collection at a variety of reading levels to encourage and entice all our readers! I have seen many of the books get checked out quickly. Now that we are in quarter 4, our 6th grade scholars are studying fantasy. I have been highlighting our new fantasy books in the lesson when they come to the library. The Spirit Animal books and the Wings of Fire books have been regularly checked out by our scholars. Not only have I been highlighting books that fit with our curriculum, but regularly highlighting books by talking about them to classes.","fullyFundedDate":1772551012030,"projectUrl":"project/books-to-fly-off-the-shelves/10027691/","projectTitle":"Books to Fly off the Shelves","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Heidi","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6154426_orig.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1760022463531","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6154426"},{"teacherId":9415978,"projectId":10100114,"letterContent":"When my students realized I had pencil pouches, there was a buzz of whispers filling the room. As I helped a student set up their binder with a pencil pouch for the first time, the 8th graders who noticed nudged, elbowed, and \"psssd\" at their classmates. Then, I heard it...\r\n\r\n\"Jarmick, can I have a pencil pouch too?\"\r\n\r\nAnd then another...\r\n\r\n\"Oh, me too, please?\"\r\n\r\nSomething as small as a pencil pouch makes a huge difference to the students who want to stay organized and be successful. Especially by the time they're in 8th grade, they realize pencils do not grow on trees. More than this, they realize the importance of becoming more mature, independent, and responsible. Students who want to take care of their own needs also need help to get there.\r\n\r\nThank you for helping them get there.","fullyFundedDate":1772551017768,"projectUrl":"project/tools-for-success/10100114/","projectTitle":"Tools for Success","teacherDisplayName":"Mx. Jarmick","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9415978_orig.jpg?crop=648,648,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1781896090912","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9415978"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":10090320,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for purchasing notebooks for all my students. We use this resource every single day and it helps all students to be successful. Everyday we write in a science journal which they keep in their notebook. From experience I know that without the notebooks, students just lose their papers. But with the notebooks all my students turn in a science journal weekly. \r\n\r\nWe also keep a wide variety of notes, data, and projects in our notebook. This helps students learn the material and most importantly, they stay organized so they can refer to it later. Notebooks and passed out and collected each day so that every student has a notebook everyday. Volunteers take pride in passing them out and helping the class run smoothly. While it seems like a small thing to have a nice notebook in class, it really help students learn successfully! Thank you so much!","fullyFundedDate":1771109655378,"projectUrl":"project/science-notebooks-for-success/10090320/","projectTitle":"Science Notebooks for Success!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":10048744,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for helping get resources for my students that helped them with online learning. Most of the current curriculum we have was not suitable for students to do online. So when students switched to this type of learning due to safety concerns, I did not have materials for them. By providing me with a gift card to Teachers pay Teachers, you allowed me to search up many different engaging activities for my students to do at home. \r\n\r\nWhile we were doing a soil lab at school, students at home had readings and pictures of earthworms to do that were purchased with this project. They then had an engaging online activity where they watched short movies about decomposers and did drag and drop activities to check for comprehension. A wide variety of materials were purchased ranging from google slides, to crossword puzzles, to an escape room activity! All were made possible with this donation.","fullyFundedDate":1769734848200,"projectUrl":"project/virtual-materials-for-students-who-dont/10048744/","projectTitle":"Virtual Materials for students who don't feel safe at school.","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":2990513,"projectId":9561335,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for so generously sharing your resources with the students in my On Track Literacy classes. It is important to have books that they are interested in to read out loud to practice their fluency. Finding stories that include sports as well as representative of the students in my class is so appreciated.\r\n\r\nReading is something that my students struggle with, so having materials they are interested in, at their reading levels, and being able to read them with their friends makes this process something they enjoy instead of fight. \r\n\r\nThank you again for your help! We'll be sitting over here with our noses in our books.","fullyFundedDate":1765031104715,"projectUrl":"project/read-like-me-diverse-classroom-library/9561335/","projectTitle":"Read Like Me - Diverse Classroom Library","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gilbertson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2990513_orig.png?crop=861,861,x14,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1632959143373","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/msg-techintegration"},{"teacherId":5560447,"projectId":9653244,"letterContent":"What a wonderful surprise to come to school and find boxes of supplies for my students. We are working on science models and started making mountain models. \r\nUsing the tape, hot glue guns and paint enabled the students to be very motivated in their models. We will continue to utilize the materials when we continue into our Tectonic Plates unit. \r\nStudents are making friendship bracelets with the different colored cords and multi colored beads. Social emotional learning is such an important topic in our classes. When students feel safe, they learn more easily and feel more confident.\r\nTeachers do not have the time or money to buy materials so Donors Choose is such a wonderful option. Thank you so much and know that all materials will be used and very much appreciated!","fullyFundedDate":1762265309232,"projectUrl":"project/materials-needed-for-hands-on-project-ba/9653244/","projectTitle":"Materials Needed for Hands On Project Based Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Grote","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp5560447_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1532364684037","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5560447"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":9393238,"letterContent":"In my classroom I have readers of all different abilities. Once a week we have a reading day where students get to choose a book from our class library that is related to science to read. By adding all the fun books to our collection this year you made reading more accessible and more fun to my students! \r\n\r\nStudents not only have different reading abilities, they have different interests too. By adding a wide variety of topics to the books we have in the classroom, students are more likely to find a topic that will inspire them to learn more about science!","fullyFundedDate":1749476091020,"projectUrl":"project/awesome-books-to-learn-and-inspire/9393238/","projectTitle":"Awesome Books to Learn and Inspire!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"},{"teacherId":9059518,"projectId":9391510,"letterContent":"My science students get to pick a fun and engaging book to read each week from our science library because of your generous donations. In this project, the books were all related to climate issues or other important environmental issue. This gave student who wanted to dive deeper a chance to learn more. \r\n\r\nIn class interests vary widely but by having books for students to choose from, students can pursue their own interests and find out more about the environment. This selection of books given gave a wide range of topics for students to delve into. Every week I see new students selecting one of these books on current environmental issues. We really appreciate this added resource to our regular class materials.","fullyFundedDate":1749506398663,"projectUrl":"project/empower-students-with-books-on-climate-c/9391510/","projectTitle":"Empower Students With Books on Climate Change!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gorman","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9059518"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_76087","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":619,"numTeachers":52,"percentFrplEligible":92,"percentAsian":46,"percentBlack":24,"percentWhite":4,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":17,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":6,"gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"11.9:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":63.7,"schoolId":76087,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Battle Creek Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Battle Creek Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/minnesota/saint-paul-public-schools/battle-creek-middle-school/76087"}