{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Highlands Intermediate School","outOfStateSupporters":17.6,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9551425,"projectId":9773066,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for providing the funds to purchase flexible seating for our students. The students were so excited once we unpacked the boxes. They were even more excited when it was explained what the items were for. \r\n Whenever students do independent work on the laptops, students can find a comfortable space to use the flexible seating options to do their work. Productivity has certainly gone up for the students who do not care for sitting at a traditional pallet desk. \r\n We look forward to allowing our students to do group activities together using the flex seating options in the future. \r\n Thank you again for supporting the education of our students. Your support means a lot to all of us!","fullyFundedDate":1759241809453,"projectUrl":"project/flexible-classroom/9773066/","projectTitle":"Flexible Classroom","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gebs","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9551425"},{"teacherId":8359470,"projectId":9772788,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity in encouraging our students to be positive contributors, productive scholars, and responsible students. Your donation allows our growing teens to visit our redemption center and redeem their points for their favorite prizes such as Takis, Oreo Minis, popcorn, and chips! \r\n\r\nThe snacks at our redemption center are so popular that what we had initially bought only lasted us one month! We were worried how we would be able to purchase more snacks to last us until at least December. We are forever grateful for your donation. Middle school students are always hungry, and 95% of the time they choose food over a toy/gadget/school supplies!","fullyFundedDate":1759194538232,"projectUrl":"project/teenagers-practicing-positive-behaviors/9772788/","projectTitle":"Teenagers Practicing Positive Behaviors","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Higa","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-6_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8359470"},{"teacherId":9806735,"projectId":9773725,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous contribution, our students transformed our annual community night into an unforgettable, student-led showcase of creativity and collaboration. The new resources you provided were immediately put to use supporting our student groups. The funds helped us acquire materials necessary for ambitious creative elements into a tangible, high-quality event. When the students first saw the final materials arrive, their excitement was solid. It was a visible validation of their hard work, transforming planning into reality. The overwhelming success and positive feedback validated their project management and teamwork skills, instilling immense pride and ownership in every student leader involved.\r\n\r\nThe impact of this project goes far beyond a single evening. Our students are currently focused on the next steps of analyzing the event's success. The skills gained are directly applicable to their ongoing academic and personal growth, reinforcing the value of leadership and their commitment to enhancing the school climate for everyone. This single night has increased our family engagement and proven to our students that their capacity for leadership is truly limitless. Thank you Hawai'i State Dept. of Ed and Marc & Lynne Benioff for giving us this opportunity!","fullyFundedDate":1759427737352,"projectUrl":"project/pride-and-belonging-through-a-fun-event/9773725/","projectTitle":"Pride and Belonging Through a Fun Event","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Morihara-Dahilig","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9806735"},{"teacherId":9357509,"projectId":9774389,"letterContent":"Your decision to invest in our students by providing essential learning materials has had an immediate and measurable impact on our daily operations and the overall atmosphere of learning. This wasn't just a donation of items; it was a powerful gift of opportunity and equity.\r\nYou provided headphones, a laminator, colored paper, snacks, fidget toys, an electronic plug-in port and many more very useful materials. I want to take a moment to detail how each of these seemingly simple tools has profoundly improved our classroom.\r\nThe headphones and fidget toys have been instrumental in improving student self-regulation and focus. The fidget toys have provided a vital outlet for our highest-energy students. These quiet tools allow restless minds and bodies to remain engaged in the lesson while channeling nervous or excess energy constructively. The laminator and the electronic plug-in port have been indispensable. As any teacher knows, the laminator is a classroom lifeline. We have already used it to protect frequently handled materials, like literacy center activities, and classroom labels, ensuring these valuable resources last for years instead of weeks. The electronic plug-in port has eliminated the tangled mess of cords and provided a central, safe location for students to charge their one-to-one devices. The colorful colored paper has been fantastic for visual learners and classroom organization. The snacks removes the barrier of hunger, preventing irritability and lack of concentration. \r\n\r\nThank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for seeing our needs and for your generosity.","fullyFundedDate":1759429496806,"projectUrl":"project/classroom-essentials/9774389/","projectTitle":"Classroom Essentials","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Ashlyn","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9357509"},{"teacherId":9469229,"projectId":9592410,"letterContent":"Your generous contributions are instrumental in launching the Chess Club for the 2025–2026 school year. Thanks to your support, we can now procure the incentive rewards and crucial equipment, like the laminator, needed to create durable, engaging chess sets.\r\nMoreover, this project will not only enhance the students' learning experience but also deeply promote the core values of Colts Pride: Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Discipline, and Excellence. We are sincerely grateful for your commitment to fostering a vibrant and challenging environment where every student can develop strategic thinking and a valuable \"win and learn\" attitude. With your help, we are confident this club will become a lasting success, shaping the thoughtful leaders of tomorrow.","fullyFundedDate":1757751978256,"projectUrl":"project/winning-moves-lasting-values-colts-che/9592410/","projectTitle":"Winning Moves, Lasting Values: Colts Chess Club","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Medrano","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9469229_orig.jpg?crop=1164,1164,x358,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1759219893525","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9469229"},{"teacherId":9469060,"projectId":9162665,"letterContent":"The new classroom lighting was a bright addition to our classroom. We immediately began using them to create a peaceful and welcoming classroom environment. Students gravitate towards our calming corner at all times of the day. Typically, right off the bus students are feeling a bit anxious during the transition, so we will start the day off by slowly warming up the minds with brain games on the carpet. At the end of the day, when it is time to go home, another restful period is useful to bring the energy back down. The digital clock helps to let students know when it is time to bring it back!\r\n\r\nWhen the students saw that the room is not the typical classroom with bright fluorescent lights, their faces lit up with excitement. They felt like the room was \"more like home\" and relaxing. The next steps for us are to continue incorporating this environment into our daily lessons. For example, the lighting can be used for different activities such as calm reading or group discussions. These resources have already made such a positive difference in the atmosphere of our classroom, and I'm excited to see how they continue to support both learning and emotional well-being.","fullyFundedDate":1746786142231,"projectUrl":"project/shining-a-light-on-learning-enhancing-c/9162665/","projectTitle":"Shining a Light on Learning: Enhancing Classroom Spaces for ASD","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Cariaga","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9469060"},{"teacherId":8927713,"projectId":9265888,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generosity in encouraging our students to be positive contributors, productive scholars, and responsible students last school year. Your donation allowed our growing teens to visit our redemption center and redeem their points for their favorite prize... SNACKS (and other cool prizes)! The positive choices they were encouraged to make helped them improve their social & emotional health. We hope you will consider supporting this cause as we kick off our new school year! Please be on the lookout for updates!\r\n\r\nWith gratitude,\r\nMrs. Shirafuji","fullyFundedDate":1745687918268,"projectUrl":"project/teenagers-practicing-positive-behaviors/9265888/","projectTitle":"Teenagers Practicing Positive Behaviors","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Shirafuji","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8927713_orig.png?crop=301,301,x193,y42&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1759479501860","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8927713"},{"teacherId":9812848,"projectId":9158619,"letterContent":"My students used the various craft supplies for create many different set pieces and props for our most recent production of Little Mermaid. Our students performed a total of 7 times with shows provided for our Highlands school, Highlands friends and family, as well as an inagural performance for one of our feeder elementary schools. We could not have been able to put on such a show without your kind contribution.\r\n\r\nThe stitch gun, fabric, and fabric scissors were used by our drama program to create several costumes and props. Paint was used for one of our many backdrops. Backdrops take a surprising amount as we've gone through gallons of it but its been gallons well used. Our students create different scenese from the Little Mermaid including scenes underwater, on the beach, and in the palace.","fullyFundedDate":1741999905452,"projectUrl":"project/soo-dramatic/9158619/","projectTitle":"Soo Dramatic","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Esteban","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9812848"},{"teacherId":9789978,"projectId":9102984,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous support of my DonorsChoose project! Your donations made such a meaningful impact on my classroom and brought so much joy to my students. They were incredibly excited to use the items that were purchased, and your contributions truly helped create lasting memories and support their learning.\r\n\r\nTwo of the items that were especially loved were the wire key rings and the Polaroid film. The key rings were the perfect addition to the plush keychains I had previously gotten through another project, and the students were thrilled to hang them on their backpacks or use them to securely attach their name tags to their lanyards. On the last day of school, we used the Polaroid film to take fun, candid photos. The students loved capturing these special moments with their friends and taking the pictures home as keepsakes to remember their 7th grade year.\r\n\r\nAs we head into the new school year, these resources will continue to support my students' learning and help them start 8th grade on the right foot. Thank you again for helping to make these experiences possible—it truly means the world to both me and my students!","fullyFundedDate":1740087541465,"projectUrl":"project/nurturing-our-students-one-step-at-a-ti/9102984/","projectTitle":"Nurturing Our Students, One Step at a Time","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Y","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9789978_orig.jpg?crop=1080,1080,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1728360700247","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9789978"},{"teacherId":8825363,"projectId":9154736,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your extremely generous donation! My students have been able to explore their creativity through photography. The supplies you donated has allowed my students to not only take photos, but also upload, save, and edit them. My students have been extremely excited to go outside of the class room and showcase their learning by taking pictures. It has been a joy as a teacher to see my students eager to apply their learning and use the equipment. They have sparked an interest and excitement in my future students as well.","fullyFundedDate":1741712333183,"projectUrl":"project/picture-perfect/9154736/","projectTitle":"Picture Perfect","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Torres","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8825363"},{"teacherId":9967404,"projectId":9160034,"letterContent":"Thank you very much for your generous donation to my media class at Highlands Intermediate. I have the great pleasure of teaching an elective class where students get to learn, have fun, and tell their stories through video production. We just wrapped up another great school year, and I get so many thank you letters from my students telling me how much they enjoyed my class. \r\n\r\nMedia Production is an elective that is highly dependent on the use of technology such as computers, cameras, microphones, and other video recording equipment and devices. These things can be very costly, and having enough equipment to approximately 80 students can be tricky. As public school teachers, we always find a way to make it work by coming up with creative solutions. \r\n\r\nGenerous donors such as the Hawaii State Department of Education and Marc & Lynne Benioff have come to our rescue! The additional equipment that I was able to acquire through your donation means that more of the students have access to record and edit their videos. You would be amazed to see what these middle school students can produce! Each week, twice a week, we put on a show called Colts TV for the entire school to watch in the mornings. We send out the morning announcements, weather forecast, and create informative as well as personal stories that affect the students and staff at Highlands Intermediate. \r\n\r\nDid you know that my students recently won the Junior Expert Division at the Olelo Youth Xchange Awards? We also have won awards with the National PTSA, Hawaii International Film Festival Future Filmmakers, PBS Hawaii HIKI NO, and the Student Television Network, all THIS year alone. I try to provide as many opportunities for the students to shine and reach their potential. The donations from the Hawaii State Department of Education and Marc & Lynne Benioff have helped to make these opportunities possible. Know that your donation has helped to inspire future filmmakers, and journalists. You can see from the photos the difference that you are helping to create. Mahalo for all that you do!","fullyFundedDate":1741985066010,"projectUrl":"project/our-stories-change-the-world/9160034/","projectTitle":"Our Stories Change the World!","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Tamaye","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9967404"},{"teacherId":3641210,"projectId":9156764,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donations. With your help, you have fully funded my need of having headphones for every student in my classroom. These headphones are currently being used to mainly for students to listen to audio readings of our texts. In addition, students also use them to view educational videos that supplement our learning and understanding of our texts.\r\n\r\nWith your donation, I am one step closer to achieving my goal of having a multimodal and multimedia classroom. All students learn differently, and it is important for me to students to access our texts in different ways (print, digital, and audio). In this way, students can develop their reading skills as well as their critical thinking skills.","fullyFundedDate":1741833219242,"projectUrl":"project/reading-in-different-ways/9156764/","projectTitle":"Reading in Different Ways","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Yco","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp3641210_orig.jpg?crop=387,387,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1700248105543","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3641210"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_50792","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":824,"numTeachers":58,"percentFrplEligible":31,"percentAsian":37,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":3,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":18,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"7 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"14.2:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":82.4,"schoolId":50792,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Highlands Intermediate School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Highlands Intermediate School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/hawaii/leeward-oahu-school-district/highlands-intermediate-school/50792"}