{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Sequoia Middle School","outOfStateSupporters":63.6,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9970383,"letterContent":"Books, books, books! Students are always picking up books from my classroom counters, strategically placed by pencil sharpeners, tissues, doors, aquariums, and magnetic blocks, so wherever kids might stop for a moment something in print may catch their eyes. We have a lot of science-related books for younger readers because their tantalizing photos draw in 8th graders. This latest project of books you brought to our classroom consists mostly of novels, which is not a typical sight in a science classroom.\r\n\r\nSpring break is this week, and the new books arrived just in time. Guess what? Almost all of the new novels have been taken home for reading over vacation, plus the older ones I added! Dystopian literature is topping the list, as usual, with the entire Hunger Games series (in three languages) including the latest novel that lots of kids want to read before the movie comes out, and Life As We Knew It being snapped up. We recently watched the movie Hidden Figures which brought up great conversations around math, astronomy, computers, women in science, and a surprising lack of awareness of the history of segregation in our nation. Students checked out all copies of both the standard and young reader editions I now have! With our recent discussions about the Artemis II mission and the movie Project Hail Mary, those books were scooped up, along with a dozen copies of The Martian, which I think none of the students are familiar with. Before Covid changed our curriculum, The Martian (classroom edition) was our 8th grade-wide science novel. I wish we could bring back that novel study. The science department was pleased to hear that we already have secured next year's subscriptions to Science World magazine. We are rocking the schoolwide initiative to increase student literacy and nonfiction text skills thanks to this awesome publication!\r\n\r\nIn addition to the reading material, some of the general supplies have already been put to use. The small pencils were used by many students on last week's field trip to the Exploratorium, an outstanding hands-on science museum in San Francisco, where I have spent a lot of time learning great methods from scientists and colleagues as well as mentoring new and early-career teachers through its awesome Teacher Institute. (As an aside, I was also detained once by public transit police when they were alerted by a fellow train rider to the suspicious electrical device I was transporting, which was a cool laser machine I made in the museum workshop - haha!) With those new little pencils and a work packet, students stayed busy, focused, and having fun investigating the museum exhibits while going around independently with friends. They also used some of the sticky notes rolled up in class to build some models while reading an article about nanotechnology in the Science World magazines.\r\n\r\nThank you for providing these books, magazines, and supplies to my students! I am eager to hear what they have to say about the books they planned to read over spring break. It is great to know that they will be read by students year after year!","fullyFundedDate":1773851170577,"projectUrl":"project/reading-in-science-class/9970383/","projectTitle":"Reading in Science Class!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":10070730,"projectId":9917393,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity and support of our classroom. Because of your kindness, my students now have access to dry erase markers, calculators, snacks, birthday bracelets, and other essential supplies that make a meaningful difference in our daily learning. We use the dry erase markers and boards regularly during math lessons so every student can actively participate and share their thinking, while the calculators help them build confidence as they check their work and explore new concepts. The snacks have been especially impactful—I use them as a reward for students who work hard and engage actively, which keeps them motivated, focused, and excited to learn.\r\nWhen my students first saw the new materials, they were thrilled and incredibly grateful. The excitement in the room was immediate, and they felt proud knowing these resources were just for them. The birthday bracelets have made celebrations extra special and helped build a strong sense of community in our classroom. As we move forward, students will continue using these tools in collaborative group work and problem-solving activities, especially in our current math unit where they are explaining their thinking and working through multi-step problems together. Your support is helping create a positive, engaging environment where all students feel encouraged to do their best.","fullyFundedDate":1764625103001,"projectUrl":"project/engaged-organized-and-motivated/9917393/","projectTitle":"Engaged, Organized, and Motivated!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Saboor","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10070730_orig.png?crop=202,202,x0,y32&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1751669453715","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10070730"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":10055025,"letterContent":"Students eagerly acclimated the baggies of various crabs and other marine invertebrates that arrived and placed them into our five saltwater tank systems! The filter feeding tube worm soon put out its fan to feed on various plankton in the water. Unfortunately, its first placement in our 120 gallon reef tank was shortlived because our large brittle starfish would not leave it alone even in the middle of the day and we feared for its survival. In its new home in a 30 gallon anemone tank, a 22-year-old female clownfish who is more of a bellicose queen bee, was not pleased with the new inhabitant's placement and somehow moved that thing all around the tank. It seems okay on a small patch of sand sheltered by some reef rock and sends out its featherlike fan to feed often.\r\n\r\nThe tiny pompom crab lives with a pair of small clownfish and brandishes the tiny anemones in its claws at the curious cleaner shrimp who longs to examine it for detritus. The decorator crab has disguised itself so well with a dark sponge that students and I spend most of the time looking for it, to finally notice it is front and center, hiding in plain sight. I do not think that mean clownfish even realizes it is right there most of the time. Unfortunately, the super cool filter feeding porcelain crabs placed in two tanks placed themselves upside down in good areas to filter-feed, but way in the back behind rock structures where we cannot see them. Sly crabs.\r\n\r\nThe small but mighty stars of this project are the dozens of snails of various species, each with jobs to help keep our reef tanks clean and corals growing without excess algae and pest problems. Some skim-clean the glass walls and rockwork of slimy algae, some prefer eating green hair algae, some sift the sand and eat detritus, while others scavenge bits of uneaten fish food and prevent excess nutrients from building up. Some are very small but mighty, able to crawl among tiny polyps of the corals we are growing out to share with other reefkeepers to increase the chances of survival of the original specimens. For variety, we added a few of their limpet cousins as well as a super cool chiton. The chiton looks like a flat armadillo who scootches along eating carpets of hair algae. Interestingly, he arrived attached to a clam shell, which he returns to every day or two. He also used to be camouflaged with algae growing on his back; however, other snails continuously mow it down, so he is not too difficult to spot, haha. \r\n\r\nAs stony corals grow, they need more skeleton-building minerals in the tank water, as well as stable pH conducive for growth. The dosing pumps will make this easier and more stable, since they can slowly add solutions during nights, weekends, and school breaks. I was surprised to learn years ago when I set up our big tank that our pH was low during the day - opposite of what reefkeepers always deal with at home. My students' breathing caused low pH all day, so it was higher overnight! These dosing pumps will help our corals grow faster and stronger, so students can share their aquacultured corals among the coral biobank of the SF Bay Area reefkeeping community and beyond.","fullyFundedDate":1770304719490,"projectUrl":"project/students-contributing-to-community-coral/10055025/","projectTitle":"Students Contributing to Community Coral Biobank","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9768338,"letterContent":"Thanks to The Allstate Foundation, our middle school students are gaining hands-on experience with both raising plants, working in the soil, and beautifying our school areas suitable for gardens!\r\n\r\nThe area we had intended to focus on proved to have more issues than we were prepared to tackle this year, so that will be a goal for the future. Instead, attention was turned to getting students involved in caring for and upgrading garden areas which were at least partially established. Using the hydroponic system replacement supplies, improved LED lighting for our indoor seed starting setup, and gardening hand tools, students got their hands in the dirt, nurtured, and made improvements to garden areas that had been neglected since some teachers retired.\r\n\r\nStudents started some seeds indoors in our little hydroponics setups, as well as our traditional soil growing station with the upgraded lighting. Flowering plants were added to outdoor garden spaces among classrooms, and some students will be taking home the vegetable and herb plants they started. Some students are particularly excited because in the next month, 8th graders will be raising butterflies from larvae, then releasing them in the gardens the students improved!","fullyFundedDate":1759854292108,"projectUrl":"project/growing-community-through-gardening/9768338/","projectTitle":"Growing Community Through Gardening","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":1118559,"projectId":7450839,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your donations to our classroom. Having tissues for our classroom is a must, especially during cold and flu season but also in the spring when allergies run high and impact a lot of our students. \r\n\r\nBeyond that, the dry erase markers are essential to the thinking work that we do at the whiteboards in our classroom. At least several times a week, students let me know that their markers has run dry and they need to grab a new one. The good news is that our PE department has a project that they need old markers and pens for, so the markers are getting a new life after they've served their purpose for us. \r\n\r\nThank you again for your generosity!","fullyFundedDate":1688663672482,"projectUrl":"project/building-healthy-math-thinkers-who-perse/7450839/","projectTitle":"Building Healthy Math Thinkers Who Persevere","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Randall","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp1118559_orig.jpg?crop=2316,2316,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1687197005606","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/1118559"},{"teacherId":1118559,"projectId":9923555,"letterContent":"My students are using the dry erase markers daily. By this time of the year, they know exactly where to go to grab a new marker, which helps keep the work at their whiteboards running smoothly and keeps the flow of our work on track. \r\n\r\nMy students were excited by the generosity of donors who sent multiple boxes of markers to our classroom. From the moment they head to their whiteboards, listening for the \"this or that\" prompt that helps them to get to know each other and engage with one another on a safe task before they start working on the math at their boards, to calling me over to check their work, the dry erase markers serve as vital tools in our thinking classroom. We deeply appreciate our donors' generosity!","fullyFundedDate":1764625101950,"projectUrl":"project/sustaining-a-thinking-classroom/9923555/","projectTitle":"Sustaining a Thinking Classroom","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Randall","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp1118559_orig.jpg?crop=2316,2316,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1687197005606","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/1118559"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9568932,"letterContent":"My students had a great time learning about and celebrating Lunar New Year in aquatic studies class! The various coloring pictures and Year of the Horse book activities were enjoyed by some students, while others focused on playing a traditional dice game. The red and gold scratch art activity was a huge hit, as was the rice candy in dissolving rice paper. \r\n\r\nStudents have been learning about marine traditions and conservation activities in nations that celebrate Lunar New Year. They are excited by various fish and the roles they play in a healthy reef aquarium ecosystem. They saw pictures and videos of fish currently in quarantine at our selected fish vendor not too far away in Oakland. This shop quarantines fish so we do not have to go through that complicated process or add non-quarantined fish to our systems, which would endanger all creatures in the tanks. Student groups have been practicing the different jobs required to keep healthy reef tanks. Students hope some of our new arrivals will love to dine upon algae and help them keep it from growing on corals and rocks so much.\r\n\r\nI appreciate your help in bringing these cultural and peer bonding opportunities to my students. It was wonderful to see them relaxing, having fun, and having comfortable and enjoyable interactions while learning about cultures that celebrate the lunar new year. While engaged in activities, some students shared their cultures' traditions involving the Lunar New Year, which was wonderful to observe. It is exciting to be a part of school and conservation groups guiding the next generation to learn about Lunar New Year, our ocean, and come together in celebrations of this rich holiday. Thank you for helping my students gallop into the Year of the Horse!","fullyFundedDate":1766353610385,"projectUrl":"project/the-year-of-the-horse-rides-in/9568932/","projectTitle":"The Year of the Horse Rides In!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9969779,"letterContent":"How on Earth can the thin fibrous floor mats you provided absorb so much water? I am baffled, and grateful to have these mats to prevent students (and me) from slipping when the smallest amount of water makes our floor super slippery. They hold so much water, keep the floor beneath perfectly dry, and also dry quickly! They are machine washable, which will be good when they get very salty or someone spills stinky liquid microalgae coral food. Adding to convenience and safety, the new 20-gallon Brute garbage can on a sturdy wheeled base is proving to be perfect for doing water changes on our aquariums, then rolling it over to the door to pump water onto nearby vegetation or into a sewer access point. We also have a storm drain nearby, but that flows directly into our creek, so we rarely use it. \r\n\r\nThis can is perfect because it is durable, easy to store, and can be repurposed when we want to try a new venture. Being rated \"food safe,\" it is safe for the fresh and salt water used with our sea creatures, as well as holding creatures temporarily. The manageable size means students can roll it around where it is needed and also reach in to retrieve any small snails or crabs inadvertently siphoned out through tubing during water changes. Adding to its versatility, its rolling base fits our trio of 32-gallon Brute cans students use constantly with fresh and salt water for water changes, and also replacing evaporated water, which alone averages over 30 gallons per week.\r\n\r\nThe calculators are working perfectly! They have been used in both 8th grade science classrooms constantly during our semester of motion and forces. They are simple, durable, even with the fidgety kids whose hands cannot help fiddling with anything within their reach. While they do not do high level math, students just finished a culminating project about energy designing a roller coaster, and I had forgotten when selecting these calculators that calculating kinetic energy requires the square root function. Yes! These small but mighty units do indeed have that button! We will be obtaining more of this model of calculator for sure!\r\n\r\nI really appreciate DAILY your support of these science and aquatic studies students. A program of hands-on activities is definitely the way to build analytical thinking, practical skills, collaborative discussion, and confidence in middle school students! Your direct contribution to this is apparent every time former students stop by or contact me. After high school, college, grad school, internships, and jobs from typical STEM fields to construction to law to animal care to teaching, they vividly recount activities they did back in our middle school classroom and how they are grateful they had those experiences. You made these experiences happen!","fullyFundedDate":1766601283702,"projectUrl":"project/supplies-for-stem-experiential-learning/9969779/","projectTitle":"Supplies for Stem Experiential Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":10070730,"projectId":9766687,"letterContent":"Thank you so much to DonorsChoose for providing a MacBook to support my professional learning. This device has greatly improved my ability to participate in online workshops, plan lessons, and continue learning from home.\r\nBuilding Thinking Classrooms has been a major focus of my professional growth, and having reliable access to the BTC online workshop through this MacBook has made a huge difference. I am able to easily watch videos, revisit strategies, reflect on my practice, and thoughtfully plan lessons that center student thinking and engagement.\r\nIn addition, this MacBook allows me to efficiently upload and organize instructional resources, including photos and examples of student work from our vertical whiteboards. Sharing and reflecting on this work helps me better analyze student thinking, adjust instruction, and create richer learning opportunities.\r\nBecause of this increased access to high-quality professional learning and classroom resources, I am better equipped to design meaningful math experiences for my students that promote problem-solving, collaboration, and confidence. Thank you for investing in the tools that allow me to grow as an educator and, ultimately, better support my students' learning.","fullyFundedDate":1759186918514,"projectUrl":"project/teacher-learning-student-learning/9766687/","projectTitle":"Teacher Learning = Student Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Saboor","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10070730_orig.png?crop=202,202,x0,y32&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1751669453715","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10070730"},{"teacherId":10070730,"projectId":9729864,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for funding my year-long access to the Building Thinking Classrooms online workshop through DonorsChoose. Your generosity has had a direct and lasting impact on my students and my teaching practice as a math teacher.\r\nThe Building Thinking Classrooms workshop has become an essential resource that I consistently return to when planning lessons, reflecting on student learning, and refining my instruction. The ongoing access to videos, examples, and strategies allows me to thoughtfully design math experiences that encourage students to think deeply, collaborate, and engage meaningfully with mathematical concepts rather than simply follow procedures.\r\nBecause of this workshop, my classroom has shifted to a more student-centered environment where students feel more confident sharing their thinking, taking risks, and learning from one another. I am better equipped to anticipate student misconceptions, ask purposeful questions, and create tasks that promote problem-solving and perseverance. This has led to increased engagement, richer mathematical discussions, and a stronger sense of ownership over learning among my students.\r\nHaving a year-long resource that I can revisit at any time has made my job easier and more effective, allowing me to continuously improve my practice while keeping students at the center of every instructional decision. Thank you for investing in my professional learning and, most importantly, in my students' success in mathematics.","fullyFundedDate":1758790494701,"projectUrl":"project/building-thinking-classrooms-in-mathemat/9729864/","projectTitle":"Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Saboor","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10070730_orig.png?crop=202,202,x0,y32&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1751669453715","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10070730"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9863984,"letterContent":"Woohoo! What a great assortment of corals we were able to obtain through this project! I selected ones that would be appropriate for the conditions in each of our classroom reef tanks and are not commonly found in local reefkeepers' aquariums and at coral swaps. This will increase the biodiversity of captively maintained and bred corals in our region!\r\n\r\nWhen we received our shipments, my Aquatic Studies students learned how to dip them in various solutions to remove pests or treat damaged tissue. They then placed their new creatures in a small quarantine system to observe their health and possible pests before transferring them to other tanks around our room to care for them until they grow big enough to divide and share with other reefkeepers.\r\n\r\nI love hanging back and watching my students teach each other new tank jobs, observe changes in their corals, ask questions about them and their interactions, and become more interested in what they see. Of course, I am also pleased to see them developing strong practical and science process skills!\r\n\r\nMy students think it is very cool to propagate their corals using various methods and trade or \"back them up\" with other reefkeepers so that if one piece dies, the other pieces may live on, keeping the original specimen alive somewhere. Sadly, coral reefs may become rare or extinct in my students' lifetime, so I appreciate your help in giving them the opportunity to observe and value the amazing coral reef ecosystem and our ocean! Charlie Veron, \"godfather of the Great Barrier Reef\" and author of a wonderful and surprising autobiography, believes that all classrooms should contain an aquarium, and I see why! Thanks to you, over 300 students per year in my middle school Science and Aquatic Studies classes are surrounded by boxes of ocean!","fullyFundedDate":1761893478579,"projectUrl":"project/experiential-learning-in-methods-of-cora/9863984/","projectTitle":"Experiential Learning in Methods of Coral Propagation","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"},{"teacherId":470517,"projectId":9538802,"letterContent":"Well, some students came and did a great job trying their hand at \"fragging\" corals. There are different techniques for dividing different types of corals with different structures and growth habits. Students love using various tools to divide them, then mount the cuttings. The gloves are important to protect hands from chemicals exuded by soft corals in particular, sharp edges of stony corals, as well as the (excessive globs of) super glue students used to mount the fragments to keep them from blowing around the tank or falling into the sand while they are still tiny. The entire class also used the gloves in their dissection of clams and oysters in their last unit of the semester course. The two sizes of high quality dry pellet food were immediately put into our automatic feeders that keep our two sizes of clownfish pairs fed over weekends and school breaks. \r\n\r\nThe upcoming aqua class will care for the \"baby corals\" and keep tank parameters suitable for growing them out. Some students set up data tables and dated photos or sketches to compare future growth. Others used a PAR meter to measure light at various radii from light point sources and depths in our tanks and compare to published guidelines for suitable light for different coral species. I hope to have everyone get to try this next semester and also monitor and adjust our PAR levels (intensity and color) as we continue to rejuvenate our mature tanks in the new year. \r\n\r\nPropagating coral is one of my favorite activities in this elective class, as well as very interesting for many students. We are part of a regional club consisting of reef tank hobbyists as well as shop owners and keepers/advisors to public aquariums. We \"back up\" each other's coral frags in order to increase diversity in our tanks as well as keep pieces growing in different aquariums to increase the likelihood of the original coral surviving somewhere, even if it does not make it in some of the tanks. Whether one feels it is due to human impact on the ocean or natural changes, the fact is that wild coral reefs are in grave danger. It is an important time for people to work to preserve natural reefs and also enjoy small versions in tanks! Students learn a lot of practical tool skills while fragging corals, then must observe the frags over time to see if they appear healthy and growing, and if not, research and discuss with others what to do to try to help them. I hope to increase student exposure to these last skills in the coming semester.","fullyFundedDate":1759897332808,"projectUrl":"project/dividing-corals-multiplies-stem-career-a/9538802/","projectTitle":"Dividing Corals Multiplies STEM Career Awareness","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Horne","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp470517_orig.png?crop=275,275,x0,y23&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1566689341670","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/horne"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_4159","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":835,"numTeachers":36,"percentFrplEligible":50,"percentAsian":17,"percentBlack":3,"percentWhite":26,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":38,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"6 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"23.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":36.4,"schoolId":4159,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Sequoia Middle School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Sequoia Middle School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/california/mount-diablo-unified-school-district/sequoia-middle-school/4159"}