{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"PS 261 Zipporiah Mills","outOfStateSupporters":26.9,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10093436,"letterContent":"Thank you for your extremely generous donation. Thanks to you, my students are able to build numbers using place value rods and cubes. These hands-on materials have helped students understand the tens and ones place. The 10-sided dice have been a huge hit! They have helped replace decks of cards for math games. This gives students more room to play the game and it makes cleaning up easier. Thank you for supporting my students. You have helped strengthen their mathematical skills. Donors like you are our heroes!","fullyFundedDate":1771331477790,"projectUrl":"project/first-graders-need-math-materials/10093436/","projectTitle":"First Graders Need Math Materials!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10191217,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for extremely generous donation. The majority of the bird pamphlets arrived today. My students were beyond obsessed! One student remarked that the goldfinch in the Italy guide didn't look like the goldfinch in our guide and I was able to tell him that the bird we learned about is actually called the American goldfinch. Many kids were amazed at tropical birds with incredibly long tails! The guides now are in a bin next to our New York State bird guides. They will be used during our center time and during when kids have a few minutes when they are finished with snack. Your donation will continue to bring us so much joy! Donors like you are our heroes!","fullyFundedDate":1776123792028,"projectUrl":"project/bird-nerds-need-more-bird-pamphlets/10191217/","projectTitle":"Bird Nerds Need More Bird Pamphlets!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10178692,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous donation. My students often drop their crayons on the floor and then we don't know who the crayons belong to and they often lose crayons. I realized that my students needed new crayons for the remainder of the year. We had enough classic color crayons in my closet, but we didn't have enough skin color crayons. Thank you for donating boxes of Crayola Colors of the World crayons. Thanks to you, my students were able to draw themselves using crayons that were the closest match to their skin color. Thank you for supporting my students!","fullyFundedDate":1775347471751,"projectUrl":"project/first-graders-need-multicultural-crayons/10178692/","projectTitle":"First Graders Need Multicultural Crayons","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":2961481,"projectId":9524089,"letterContent":"I am writing with heartfelt gratitude to thank you for your generous support of our Science Class Reward System project. Because of your kindness and willingness to invest in our classroom, my students now have an exciting and meaningful way to stay motivated, engaged, and proud of their accomplishments.\r\n\r\nYour contributions have made it possible to create a positive learning environment where students are recognized and rewarded for their hard work, curiosity, and perseverance in science. This system not only encourages academic effort, but also helps build confidence, responsibility, and a genuine love for learning.\r\n\r\nAlready, I am seeing increased enthusiasm and participation in our lessons. Students are more eager to ask questions, complete their work, and support one another—all thanks to the opportunities your donation has provided.\r\n\r\nOn behalf of my students and our entire classroom community, thank you for believing in us and for making a direct impact on our daily learning experiences. Your generosity is truly appreciated and will have lasting effects on my students' growth and success.","fullyFundedDate":1760886697350,"projectUrl":"project/science-class-reward-system/9524089/","projectTitle":"Science Class Reward System","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Algamoos","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/khadija"},{"teacherId":2961481,"projectId":9515643,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support in providing cleaning supplies for our classroom. Your kindness helps us maintain a safe, healthy, and welcoming environment where students can focus on learning and growing.\r\n\r\nBecause of you, we are better equipped to keep our space clean and organized, which makes a meaningful difference every single day. Your support truly means the world to us, and we are incredibly grateful for your investment in our students' well-being and success.\r\nWith heartfelt thanks,","fullyFundedDate":1760377330161,"projectUrl":"project/cleaning-supplies-science-mess-scien/9515643/","projectTitle":"Cleaning Supplies - Science Mess = Science Fun!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Algamoos","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/khadija"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10084422,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your extremely generous donation. My students have adored making bird bookmarks. Some students opt to draw birds, but most students have decided to add cool background designs using the bird stickers that you donated. We pay attention to the color of the birds and use complimentary colors for the bookmarks. We are going to sell the bookmarks for $1 each. My students are excited to raise money for the Wild Bird Fund. My students are also going to love the bird sticker books! Thank you for helping my students see that they can raise money for causes that they care about. We appreciate all your support.","fullyFundedDate":1773835168631,"projectUrl":"project/first-graders-want-to-help-birds/10084422/","projectTitle":"First Graders Want to Help Birds!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":10164160,"projectId":9848124,"letterContent":"Our new dollhouse furniture, pose-and-play families, and doll clothes have already made such a meaningful impact in our classroom! The children were immediately excited when they first saw the new materials. As soon as I introduced them, they gathered around with big smiles, eager to explore, touch, and begin playing. Many of them excitedly pointed out the family members, the tiny furniture, and the different doll outfits, and they couldn't wait to start creating their own stories.\r\n\r\nWe have mostly used these materials in our dollhouse and Dramatic Play area, where children can act out real-life experiences and develop their social-emotional skills through play. They use the families and dollhouse furniture to create home routines like cooking dinner, putting babies to sleep, getting ready for school, and caring for one another. The doll clothes have added even more excitement, because the children love dressing and undressing the dolls while talking about clothing choices, family roles, and daily routines. These hands-on experiences have been especially helpful during our classroom discussions and play connected to families, homes, and clothing.\r\n\r\nOne special moment was seeing a small group of children work together to set up the dollhouse as a family home. They carefully arranged the furniture, chose which family members would live there, and created conversations between the dolls. It was wonderful to hear them using kind language, problem-solving together, and making connections to their own lives. These materials have encouraged so much imagination, cooperation, and meaningful conversation.\r\n\r\nThe children's reactions have been full of joy and curiosity. They were so proud and excited to have new classroom materials that felt real and familiar to them. Several students immediately started sharing stories about their own families, who lives in their home, and how they help take care of younger siblings. The materials made our classroom feel even more welcoming and engaging for them.\r\n\r\nOur next steps are to continue using these resources to support current classroom studies and expand children's pretend play, language development, and social skills. We will keep encouraging the children to tell stories, act out family experiences, and explore routines through play. We also plan to use the materials to support conversations about community, relationships, caring for others, and the different ways families live and spend time together. These resources are helping create rich learning experiences that feel meaningful and personal for our Pre-K students.","fullyFundedDate":1764731059806,"projectUrl":"project/multicultural-families/9848124/","projectTitle":"Multicultural Families","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Sam","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10164160_orig.jpg?crop=1295,1295,x133,y428&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1754778117758","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10164160"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10125966,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your extremely generous donation! My students absolutely adore the book, The Buffalo Fluffalo! We had our author visit today. We learned about how the author created the book, what inspired the book, how she came up with the words, and the process of working with an illustrator. My students were overjoyed when I told them that they were receiving their very own copy of the book! Thank you for helping my student to build their home libraries. We appreciate your support. Thank you again!","fullyFundedDate":1772426524860,"projectUrl":"project/first-graders-need-a-funny-picture-book/10125966/","projectTitle":"First Graders Need A Funny Picture Book!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":3225854,"projectId":9774388,"letterContent":"We are so thankful to our donors for providing our new classroom carpet. It has truly transformed our learning space. We use the carpet every single day for morning meetings, read-alouds, small group lessons, and class discussions. One special moment that stands out was during a recent read-aloud. As we gathered together on the carpet, students were fully engaged—leaning in, turning and talking to partners, and sharing thoughtful predictions about the story. Having a comfortable, welcoming space where everyone can sit together has made our discussions more meaningful and helped build a stronger sense of classroom community.\r\n\r\nWhen the students first saw the new rug, their faces lit up with excitement. They immediately noticed the colorful buttons and immediately related the carpet to one of our favorite Pete the Cat stories-they couldn't wait to sit on it. One student even said, \"It feels like our classroom is brand new!\" They understood right away that this was something special just for them, and they were so proud of their updated learning space.\r\n\r\nThanks to our generous donors, the carpet is now the heart of our classroom. As we move forward with our current lessons, we'll continue using it for collaborative projects, partner work, and class meetings. Our next steps include working on our light and clothing unit where we will collaborate for read alouds and interactive writing lessons on our new learning space! This space allows them to feel connected, comfortable, and ready to learn. We are incredibly grateful for your support—it has made a lasting difference in our classroom community.","fullyFundedDate":1760362547361,"projectUrl":"project/pre-k-students-need-a-cozy-colorful-rug/9774388/","projectTitle":"Pre-K Students Need a Cozy Colorful Rug!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Lopez","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/lopezm"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":9359461,"letterContent":"Thank you for your extremely generous donation. We had our first virtual bird lesson last week. We learned all about pigeons. My students were captivated! We are now able to differentiate between blue-bar and checkered pigeons! We now know that both male and female pigeons make crop milk to feed their babies. We learned that pigeons make their nests on top of buildings. We learned not to chase pigeons. We are going to have more lessons about migration patterns and nests. Thank you for helping my students learn more about birds. We appreciate your generosity!","fullyFundedDate":1748466933736,"projectUrl":"project/help-first-graders-soar-with-virtual-bi/9359461/","projectTitle":"Help First Graders Soar With Virtual Bird Lessons!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"},{"teacherId":10356596,"projectId":9908706,"letterContent":"It's been three months with all of our new supplies and things have never been better in our classroom! Being able to print in the classroom has significantly cut down on my prep time, which has allowed me to spend my prep communicating with families and adapting the curriculum to meet my kids where they are. \r\n\r\nOur classroom is now filled with visuals that reflect the identities and needs of my students. I have been able to create incentive charts that reflect the special interests of the students, visuals that really clearly help them understand the flow of their day (which really reduces anxiety in our classroom), and lots of social stories (books that help the kids learn safe behaviors and social skills) that feature real photos of the students. \r\n\r\nThank you again for your support!","fullyFundedDate":1764295597246,"projectUrl":"project/adapt-our-classroom-for-the-kids-in-it/9908706/","projectTitle":"Adapt Our Classroom for the Kids in It!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Nina","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10356596"},{"teacherId":119729,"projectId":10059180,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous donation. The pigeon stickers were a huge hit last week when we had a virtual lesson all about pigeons! Students were really excited to see which students had the same sticker. I put stickers on completed homework packets each week. Parents have commented that the sticker is motivating for their child. Thank you for helping me \"jazz\" up the packets with stickers! I know that my students are really going to like the other bird stickers since we love birds in our class! Thank you again for all your support!","fullyFundedDate":1770232888733,"projectUrl":"project/first-graders-need-stickers-and-supplies/10059180/","projectTitle":"First Graders Need Stickers and Supplies!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Melissa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp119729_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1688956535285","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/melissafarran"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_593","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":563,"numTeachers":57,"percentFrplEligible":31,"percentAsian":5,"percentBlack":15,"percentWhite":48,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":19,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"9.9:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":73.1,"schoolId":593,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about PS 261 Zipporiah Mills on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"PS 261 Zipporiah Mills","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/new-york/new-york-city-dept-of-ed/ps-261-philip-livingston/593"}