{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Cass Lake - Bena Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":44.9,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9052708,"projectId":10063023,"letterContent":"Because of your generosity, our classroom has been able to start each day with the tools and nourishment students need to truly focus on learning. The supplies you helped provide have allowed us to replenish materials that we use constantly—things like Post-it notes for math thinking, markers for anchor charts, and laminated materials that support our daily lessons. These simple tools make a huge difference in helping students stay engaged and confident in their work.\r\n\r\nOne of the most meaningful impacts has been the snacks and grab-and-go breakfast items. Many of my students come to school hungry, and having a stocked snack cupboard means they can quietly grab something when they need it without feeling embarrassed. Just last week during our math block, one student who had come in late and clearly hadn't eaten grabbed a snack from the cupboard. After a few minutes, he joined his group and confidently explained his strategy for solving a problem. Moments like that remind me that when students' basic needs are met, they can truly shine.\r\n\r\nWhen the boxes first arrived, the excitement in the room was immediate. My students were amazed that people they had never met cared enough about them to support their classroom. We talked about generosity, kindness, and the idea that communities can come together to help one another succeed. It was a powerful moment for all of us.\r\n\r\nBecause of your support, we are able to continue focusing on meaningful learning experiences. Right now, my students are diving deeper into reading comprehension and problem-solving in math, using the materials you helped provide to collaborate, share ideas, and think critically. Knowing they have the supplies they need—and a snack if their stomach starts to growl—helps them stay focused on the important work of growing as readers, writers, and mathematicians.\r\n\r\nFrom the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in our classroom and for helping fuel both the minds and the spirits of these incredible students.","fullyFundedDate":1771031950981,"projectUrl":"project/fuel-for-growing-minds-supplies-snacks/10063023/","projectTitle":"Fuel for Growing Minds: Supplies, Snacks, and So Much Love!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Garrison","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9052708_orig.jpg?crop=2316,2316,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1760669236738","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9052708"},{"teacherId":9751232,"projectId":10069369,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generosity, my students are experiencing science in a hands-on, meaningful way. The books and posters provided by Science That Moves Us help students build science vocabulary, strengthen reading skills, and see important concepts such as gravity, friction, and speed come to life. The visual supports give students consistent references, helping them connect ideas and feel confident using scientific language.\r\n\r\nThe roller coaster STEM kit is especially exciting, allowing students to design, test, and improve their own models while exploring the forces at work. By combining reading, visuals, and engineering challenges, students can investigate, ask questions, and learn through doing. This approach makes science engaging, accessible, and relevant for every learner.\r\n\r\nYour support is helping my students discover the joy of science while building critical thinking, teamwork, and confidence. Because of you, they can explore, experiment, and truly understand the forces that shape the world around them.","fullyFundedDate":1771010975147,"projectUrl":"project/science-that-moves-us-discovering-force/10069369/","projectTitle":"Science That Moves Us: Discovering Force and Motion","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Zuehlke","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9751232_orig.png?crop=137,137,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1773234967787","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9751232"},{"teacherId":5468394,"projectId":9368234,"letterContent":"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous donation toward our light table. Because of you, our kindergarten classroom is glowing... literally and figuratively!\r\n\r\nThe light table has already sparked so much curiosity and excitement. Our students are exploring colors, shapes, letters, and numbers in hands-on, meaningful ways. The sensory materials are helping little hands build fine motor skills while also supporting creativity, focus, and problem-solving. Most importantly, these tools create opportunities for joyful learning experiences that meet the needs of every child in our room.\r\n\r\nPlease know how deeply grateful I am for your support. You are making a real and lasting difference in the lives of our students.","fullyFundedDate":1757551317749,"projectUrl":"project/light-table-for-brighter-minds/9368234/","projectTitle":"Light Table for Brighter Minds!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Basar","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5468394_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1718504743751","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/basar"},{"teacherId":7625036,"projectId":9479833,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for helping feed my students a healthy snack option. Your generous donation helped us make it through many busy learning days. It was the perfect supplement to our student provided snacks and no one went hungry.\r\nIt also provided a quick option if students missed school breakfast. I was able to share with them and they got to start their day off right.\r\nThese snacks bring my students so much joy and they love getting to choose what they would like to eat. They are appreciative and grateful and so am I. Your donation makes a difference.","fullyFundedDate":1753235844773,"projectUrl":"project/fuel-our-bodies/9479833/","projectTitle":"Fuel Our Bodies","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Abram","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7625036"},{"teacherId":5275330,"projectId":9841966,"letterContent":"The boxes of healthy snacks that were donated were received with many smiles from my fifth grade students! They were able to feel safe knowing that they would have a snack each day to help fuel their busy brains and bodies! They felt special knowing that others had cared enough to donate these healthy snacks to help them through their long days of active learning and fun! It made my heart happy to be able to provide them with that sense of safety and well-being each day! We don't eat lunch until 1:15 in the afternoon, so it was an absolute necessity and I cannot express how much it has made a difference for my amazing students! Shout out to the Donors Choose Student Hunger Fund for this opportunity!","fullyFundedDate":1763498165001,"projectUrl":"project/snacks-to-fuel-fifth-grade-busy-brains-a/9841966/","projectTitle":"Snacks to Fuel Fifth Grade busy brains and bodies!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Powers","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5275330_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1762634998136","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5275330"},{"teacherId":6171900,"projectId":9968850,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for helping build my STEM room inventory.\r\n\r\nLego Base Plates are going to be used for so many engineering challenges this year and in years to come. My Kindergarten and 1st grade students have been using their new base plates at a Lego Snowman challenge station, during a science of Snowflakes lesson. In a couple of weeks we will be using the base plates to make Lego marble mazes.\r\n\r\nIn the spring I will be teaching a city planning lesson where we will be using our magnetic blocks. I opened our new blocks after school with a student and we had fun giving them a try. My kindergarten helper was so excited telling me about all the things that could be made with them and she let me know, \"Everyone is going to love these Mrs. Raddatz!\"\r\n\r\nThank you again for gifting me these simple and useful tools for my STEM students and my STEM classroom!","fullyFundedDate":1768253369011,"projectUrl":"project/blocks-and-base-plates-building-in-style/9968850/","projectTitle":"Blocks and Base Plates-Building in Style","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Raddatz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6171900_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1595049588152","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6171900"},{"teacherId":6171900,"projectId":9968851,"letterContent":"Children are naturally fascinated by fish, and learning about various animal groups deepens their understanding of the world. Fish are also a traditional food source in our area, still enjoyed by many. My future lesson about fish will be highly engaging to my students. I will be blending science, technology, art, history, and culture. This printmaking kit will allow my students to make something to keep that will help them remember the lesson. Thank you for partnering with me to offer relevant, interesting, and a hands-on lesson for my students. This lesson will be enjoyed by hundreds of students this year and in years to come.","fullyFundedDate":1766796029916,"projectUrl":"project/fish-facts-fun-and-culture/9968851/","projectTitle":"Fish, Facts, Fun, and Culture","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Raddatz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6171900_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1595049588152","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6171900"},{"teacherId":7129187,"projectId":9962621,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for funding our Donor's Choose Project for our new table caddies! The 2nd graders were so excited to receive a special package in the mail and took pride in filling them up with our best supplies!\r\n We are grateful to have nice organizational tools to assist in teaching foundational life skills. I have experienced students demonstrating high expectations and care for their materials when taught how to use them appropriately. We hope to have these table supply caddies for just as long, if not longer than our last ones! Thank you again for supporting our classroom that we love.","fullyFundedDate":1768507567269,"projectUrl":"project/table-caddies-ours-have-seen-better-day/9962621/","projectTitle":"Table Caddies; Ours Have Seen Better Days!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Alger","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7129187_orig.jpg?crop=2308,2308,x0,y177&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1758421643876","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7129187"},{"teacherId":5716208,"projectId":9712118,"letterContent":"I want to thank you for your very generous donation. Your dedication to education and the students i work with melts my heart. My students love hands on learning and projects. It is so hard to get them the materials and supplies they need. Your donation gets these students the materials they need to soar. The budget cuts have made it incredibly difficult to get the students what they need. It is so fun to watch the students eyes light up when packages arrive. They cant wait to see what is inside. \r\n\r\nThank you!","fullyFundedDate":1759625906191,"projectUrl":"project/show-me-the-project/9712118/","projectTitle":"Show Me the Project!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Hanson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5716208"},{"teacherId":3691373,"projectId":9665207,"letterContent":"Thank you for helping to fulfill this project for my class. We have been needing more play doh and magnets to use for creating as well as displaying projects. My class is beyond creative in what they do with the supplies we have in class. The magnets have been put to great use in showing off all they have done creatively in academics and free choice. They have also loved getting the birthday supplies so we can celebrate them on their special day. Without your help, they would've been without. Also, the dry erase markers for our classroom whiteboard have held up very well and are vibrant in color. These donations have made our classroom a success this year and I am forever grateful!","fullyFundedDate":1756940758936,"projectUrl":"project/classroom-needs/9665207/","projectTitle":"Classroom Needs","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stalboerger","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3691373_orig.jpg?crop=2432,2432,x0,y689&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666331207098","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/bridget"},{"teacherId":3691373,"projectId":9742781,"letterContent":"Thank you for supporting my classroom project in getting posters for my 5th grade classroom. Because of the varying subjects, they have been a huge help. The ones the students reference the most are in social studies for our map displays and the reading for the comprehension posters. As we study different regions of the world, the students can go over and look at where the region is and have a better idea of where we are learning. It has helped them to relate to literature and people around the world. \r\nIn reading, we have varying topics we learn throughout the school year relating to fiction and nonfiction texts so it makes it a challenge to display all of the topics as reference. Because of the posters, I am easily able to show the students some graphics to better understand the literacy vocabulary. Thank you for helping my class to gain access to all of these materials!","fullyFundedDate":1758807382258,"projectUrl":"project/posters-rulers-and-markers/9742781/","projectTitle":"Posters, Rulers, and Markers!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stalboerger","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3691373_orig.jpg?crop=2432,2432,x0,y689&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666331207098","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/bridget"},{"teacherId":5586276,"projectId":9722725,"letterContent":"The students were very surprised when the STEM boxes rolled into the classroom. They were ready to fuel curiosity and power innovation when the STEM boxes were opened. Students couldn't wait to build and experiment with different shapes, rods, pipes, and magnets.\r\nIn the classroom, we use centers that engage in building. What makes a bridge strong? How do vehicles roll, tow, and carry things? Our engaging building centers will teach kids to look closer at real-life designs—and make original structures that use the same important elements! We would use magnetic rods and balls as geometric shape builders to see how strong a building or vehicle can be through play. The students giggled as they built, and things didn't go as planned, but they tried new ways to make it better and big smiles to show staff their building centers with friends in the classroom. The class says a BIG THANK YOU to all!\"","fullyFundedDate":1763561283430,"projectUrl":"project/building-bright-minds-powering-innovat/9722725/","projectTitle":"Building Bright Minds, Powering Innovation","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Bergeron","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp5586276_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1532886823693","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5586276"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_74404","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":450,"numTeachers":44,"percentFrplEligible":95,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":1,"percentIndigenous":98,"percentLatinx":0,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 4","studentTeacherRatio":"10.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"RURAL","ncesMetroType":"RURAL_REMOTE"},"inStateSupporters":55.1,"schoolId":74404,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Cass Lake - Bena Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Cass Lake - Bena Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/minnesota/cass-lake-bena-public-schools/cass-lake-bena-elementary-school/74404"}