{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Peaks Island Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":18.9,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10064577,"projectId":10395982,"letterContent":"What happens when you give first graders the freedom to explore, the materials to create, and the opportunity to work together? Wonderful things happen!\r\n\r\nThank you for your generous gift of new STEAM resources for our classroom. From the beginning, my goal has been to fill our classroom with open-ended materials that invite curiosity, encourage creativity, and inspire hands-on learning. Your generosity has helped bring that vision to life!\r\n\r\nSeveral times each week, our students dive into Exploration time. They build, experiment, imagine, and test their ideas. Often, one student's discovery inspires a group challenge, and before long, students are collaborating, sharing ideas, troubleshooting, and finding creative solutions. A favorite classroom activity is a hands-on building challenge, and these new materials have given our young learners even more ways to turn their ideas into reality.\r\n\r\nOf course, not every design works the first time, and not every teammate agrees on the best approach. That is part of the magic! As students work through challenges together, they learn to listen, communicate, compromise, persevere, and try again. They begin to understand that mistakes are opportunities to learn and that different perspectives can lead to even better ideas.\r\n\r\nThrough these playful, purposeful experiences, our students are developing the skills of scientists, engineers, artists, and mathematicians. They are also becoming more confident problem-solvers, thoughtful collaborators, and curious lifelong learners.\r\n\r\nYour gift is about so much more than classroom materials. It is about giving children the freedom to wonder, the confidence to experiment, and the joy of discovering what they can accomplish. We are so grateful that you have helped make these experiences possible for our first graders.","fullyFundedDate":1785016875286,"projectUrl":"project/steam-materials-to-promote-first-grade-c/10395982/","projectTitle":"STEAM Materials to Promote First Grade Collaborative Problem-solving","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Thompson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10064577"},{"teacherId":5903350,"projectId":10192365,"letterContent":"What a wonderful time we had using these nature tools to learn and explore the outside world! We planted and grew the following with our supplies: acorns into oak sprouts, zinneas into bouquets, sunflowers into climbing giants!\r\nThe books that were provided served 2 purposes. We used them as a read aloud to provide background knowledge for our activity. The books were also used as a reference to answer any questions that arose for our discovery time. \r\nThank you so much for your generous donation that brought learning to life, making it a hands-on adventure.","fullyFundedDate":1777683529758,"projectUrl":"project/rooted-in-nature/10192365/","projectTitle":"Rooted in Nature","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Mezz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5903350_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1714919400216","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-mezzapelle"},{"teacherId":5903350,"projectId":9613551,"letterContent":"We have been busy creating colorful projects to brighten up our classroom!! Our favorite medium has been the tempera-paint pens. They glide across the paper providing a unique kind of feedback to little, learning hands. As they create the bold and vivid colors come together to make our walls come alive!\r\n\r\nWe have also been fascinated by our new painting tools. These stamps, rollers, and brushes create beautiful patterns and textures that the students love to explore. When their exploration is done, they are left with a masterpiece!\r\n\r\nThank you for making these engaging opportunities come to life through your donations! You are appreciated!","fullyFundedDate":1763664865559,"projectUrl":"project/bright-beginnings/9613551/","projectTitle":"Bright Beginnings","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Mezz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5903350_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1714919400216","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-mezzapelle"},{"teacherId":2483148,"projectId":9645579,"letterContent":"Our library space is so cozy and inclusive now! Our new lights and posters have brought color and diversity to our space and students are weekly updating our LED signs with great quotes and are highlighting special monthly celebrations. \r\n\r\nOur \"sliding surprise\" table has been very popular and helps students have some quiet collaboration time together, whether they are working on a puzzle, using legos, or other special supplies they find inside! \r\n\r\nThe biggest shock is how much the students have loved sorting books into our additional, genre bins and sharpening pencils with our auto-sharpener. They are definitely developing into library stewards taking care of our materials and the space! Thank you for helping make all these positive changes possible in our library!","fullyFundedDate":1756219924166,"projectUrl":"project/pies-library-polishing/9645579/","projectTitle":"PIES Library Polishing","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Joyce","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2483148_orig.jpg?crop=480,480,x50,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1722003012060","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/2483148"},{"teacherId":5903350,"projectId":9603382,"letterContent":"Since the completion of this magnificent project, my students have been getting the best sleep at rest time! Last year I noticed that our resting mats were not the most cozy. That was the motivation to me creating this project. \r\nThe soft sheets create a comfortable place to sleep. This environment is much more conducive to quality sleep and rest.\r\nBetter sleep makes for a better afternoon. Students are happy and ready to conquer the remainder of the school day. I have been able to do activities that are highly engaging and challenging and because they just rested, they have the band with to navigate these situations.\r\nThank you for all your generous donations that bought this project to life!!","fullyFundedDate":1756058124222,"projectUrl":"project/calm-and-cozy/9603382/","projectTitle":"Calm and Cozy","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Mezz","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5903350_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1714919400216","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrs-mezzapelle"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_65278","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":45,"numTeachers":4,"percentFrplEligible":24,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":4,"percentWhite":87,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":0,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":7,"gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"11.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"RURAL","ncesMetroType":"RURAL_FRINGE"},"inStateSupporters":81.1,"schoolId":65278,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Peaks Island Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Peaks Island Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/maine/portland-public-schools/peaks-island-elementary-school/65278"}