{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Makawao Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":66.4,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9264419,"projectId":10658874,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible support of our classroom project, \"Calm, Cool and Organized\"! When the packages first arrived, my students' eyes lit up with excitement as we unpacked everything together. The new heavy-duty fans have completely transformed our learning environment, keeping our room cool and comfortable so everyone can stay focused on their work rather than the heat. Having a steady supply of printer ink and batteries for our TV remote has also made a world of difference in keeping our daily lessons, interactive activities, and visual presentations running smoothly without any sudden interruptions.\r\n\r\nOne of the highlights has been watching our students dive into the new cursive workbooks. They were so eager to trace their first letters and practice connecting words! In an age where so much learning happens on screens, seeing them take pride in developing their handwriting and mastering a new skill has been truly rewarding. We are currently using these practice books during our morning focus time, and the progress they've already made in such a short period is incredible to watch.\r\n\r\nYour generosity has brought both practical comfort and invaluable learning resources directly into our classroom. You have given my students the tools they need to stay cool, organized, and excited about learning every single day. Thank you for opening your hearts to our classroom and making a lasting impact on our school year!","fullyFundedDate":1789855375167,"projectUrl":"project/calm-cool-and-organized/10658874/","projectTitle":"Calm, Cool and Organized","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Holtvedt","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9264419"},{"teacherId":8538788,"projectId":10658900,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible generosity and support of our classroom! When the boxes arrived, my students were filled with excitement and curiosity. Unboxing these brand-new materials felt like opening holiday gifts, and their faces lit up seeing all the tools provided specifically to help them grow and learn. Your investment in our classroom has made an immediate, meaningful impact on our daily routines and learning outcomes.\r\n\r\nThe non-fiction comprehension readers have completely transformed our reading block. My students are naturally curious about the world, and these engaging readers have sparked a whole new level of excitement. They are eagerly raising their hands, asking thoughtful questions, and actively participating during class discussions. To keep their momentum going, the snack incentives have been a powerful motivator for hard work. The magnets have also allowed me to display their token boards up so that they can see their behavioral/academic achievements and how close they are to receiving a reward. Being able to celebrate their reading stamina with a quick reward gives them something tangible to strive for. Plus, having a durable storage container ensures that these snacks stay fresh and organized, making our positive reinforcement system seamless and sustainable for the entire school year.\r\n\r\nIn writing, your gift solved a major instructional hurdle we faced daily. Previously, due to limited board space, I frequently had to break up sentences midway and write across multiple short lines. My students, who are still developing foundational print awareness, would copy those artificial line breaks verbatim onto their own papers. This created confusion about proper sentence structure and line navigation. Thanks to the new, wide dry-erase board, I can now model complete, fluid sentences across a single line. This simple yet vital upgrade has eliminated that confusion almost overnight! My students now clearly understand sentence boundaries and line wrapping, resulting in dramatically improved writing mechanics.\r\n\r\nAdditionally, transitioning from loose, easily misplaced pieces of paper to dedicated, high-quality notebooks has given my students a deep sense of pride and ownership over their work. They take great care of their notebooks, eager to open them up each day to record their thoughts, practice their writing, and reflect on what they have learned. Seeing their growth collected in one organized place builds their confidence as growing authors.\r\n\r\nBecause of your kindness, my students enter our classroom each day feeling valued, supported, and equipped with the tools they need to succeed. You have not only provided us with essential learning supplies, but you have also shown my students that there is a caring community outside our school walls rooting for their success. Thank you for making such a profound difference in our daily learning journey!","fullyFundedDate":1789820979293,"projectUrl":"project/helping-children-grow/10658900/","projectTitle":"Helping Children Grow","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Kinores","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp8538788_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1658392017495","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/8538788"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10170295,"letterContent":"Thank you for these incredible materials for our art and social studies unit. The students were thrilled to see all of the beautiful metal foils for creating their project and they enjoyed seeing the options for their symbol creating. \r\nYour generosity has given students the opportunity to make social studies come alive! By creating a beautiful piece of art related to what we are learning about, students can integrate the American symbols in a more personal level. \r\nThank you for supporting this project!","fullyFundedDate":1784995594371,"projectUrl":"project/metal-embossing/10170295/","projectTitle":"Metal Embossing","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10353061,"letterContent":"Thank you for your incredible generosity in supporting this project!\r\nIt is so important to make science and our environment relevant to young learners today.\r\nThese native Hawaiian legends often offer valuable insight into how we should care for the land, or the importance and significance of certain plants and animals in the Hawaiian culture. \r\nThe students will take the information they learned from these stories to create beautiful embossed etchings of native plants and animals found in their environment. Students must first love something to protect it, and art and storytelling are wonderful mediums in while to fall in love with the endemic flora and fauna of our island.","fullyFundedDate":1787075901354,"projectUrl":"project/metal-embossing-and-storytelling-native/10353061/","projectTitle":"Metal Embossing and Storytelling: Native Hawaiian Plants","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10365668,"letterContent":"Thank you very much for your donation to this storytelling and art project!\r\nWe have begun using the stories to familiarize students in class with various shapes and to make them more relatable and memorable. \r\nIn a couple of months will will begin our math units that focus on shapes and geometry. As we being to lean the math curriculum, students will be able to refer back to our stories to reinforce new ideas. \r\nOur math and storytelling project will culminate with the construction of the kaleidoscopes in class! Students will be able to see their shapes come to life in a beautiful product that they can then take home and share with their families while discussing the attributes of shapes!","fullyFundedDate":1785329588931,"projectUrl":"project/learning-about-shapes-through-storytelli/10365668/","projectTitle":"Learning about Shapes Through Storytelling and Art","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"},{"teacherId":9264419,"projectId":10487870,"letterContent":"When the boxes for our \"Art All Around\" project arrived, the excitement in our classroom was contagious! My students could barely contain their enthusiasm as we unpacked vibrant vibrant colored pencils, thick watercolor paper, Shrinky Dinks sheets, and even a ladder to help us display our work. For many of my students, seeing these high-quality, dedicated art materials made them feel valued and inspired to dive right into creating.\r\n\r\nWe immediately put these resources to work on a cross-curricular novel study project. Students used the colored pencils and Shrinky Dinks sheets to bring characters from our class novel to life, carefully designing and shrinking their artistic interpretations of key figures. They also explored watercolor techniques on the heavy watercolor paper to design rich setting backdrops. Using the ladder to safely reach high spots across our classroom walls, we were able to hang up their artwork, transforming our learning space into an immersive gallery that celebrates both reading comprehension and visual art.\r\n\r\nSeeing how engaged and focused my students were throughout this project has been incredible. Having these materials allowed them to connect deeply with the literature while expressing their unique creativity. As we move forward into our next units, we plan to continue utilizing these tools for future literacy and social studies visual projects. Thank you so much for your generosity and for bringing so much creativity into our classroom!","fullyFundedDate":1789717426389,"projectUrl":"project/art-all-around/10487870/","projectTitle":"Art All Around","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Holtvedt","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9264419"},{"teacherId":9264419,"projectId":10622080,"letterContent":"When the boxes containing our new classroom snacks and resources first arrived, my students were absolutely thrilled! Their eyes lit up, and they immediately wanted to know how we got them. Being able to explain that caring community members and supporters came together to provide these snacks for them made them feel incredibly valued, seen, and supported.\r\n\r\nHaving these nutritional resources accessible directly in our classroom has made an immediate, noticeable difference. Instead of struggling to focus through late-morning hunger pangs or worrying about having enough energy for our end-of-day activities, my students now have the fuel they need to stay engaged and eager to learn. A well-nourished child is a child who is ready to absorb new concepts, collaborate with peers, and participate fully in every lesson.\r\n\r\nLooking ahead, these resources will continue to support us as we dive into our upcoming unit projects and daily learning goals. Knowing that our basic needs are cared for allows us to direct all our energy toward reading, problem-solving, and growing together. Thank you so much for your generosity and for investing in our classroom family!","fullyFundedDate":1789253605710,"projectUrl":"project/hungry-kiddos/10622080/","projectTitle":"Hungry Kiddos!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Holtvedt","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9264419"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10314560,"letterContent":"Oh my goodness! We just read Have You Filled a Bucket Today in class and the students were totally transfixed! They all wanted to share stories about how they had filled someoneʻs bucket and how other people fill their bucket. It is such a lovely story and really has a simple and easy to understand message about kindness. \r\nImagine how thrilled the students were when they realized that they all get to take home their own copy of the book! Sharing this story with their families will continue to spread the message of kindness throughout our community\r\nThis week we are going to dive into our art project related to the book and bucket filling. Students will decorate their own bucket and write ways they will demonstrate bucket filling in their day. They will use the fabulous art materials from this project to embellish their buckets!\r\nMahalo for your incredible support of this project!","fullyFundedDate":1783296559578,"projectUrl":"project/learning-about-kindness-through-storytel/10314560/","projectTitle":"Learning about Kindness Through Storytelling and Art","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10305085,"letterContent":"Thank you for your incredibly kind and generous donation to our classroom! These books were a wonderful way to kick off our SEL curriculum for the year. We have several students who really need a lot of emotional support this year and this book opens the discussion about our feelings and what someone might be feeling on the inside might not always match what they are showing on the outside. The students were thrilled that they all got to take their own copy home after reading it in class together. \r\nMahalo for investing in the emotional intelligence of this classroom! Your donation will have ripple effects for many years to come.","fullyFundedDate":1782221162940,"projectUrl":"project/feeling-all-the-feels/10305085/","projectTitle":"Feeling All The Feels","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"},{"teacherId":9264476,"projectId":10262672,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible generosity! Because of your support, every single student in our school now has their very own personal sketchbook to draw, plan, and create in for the entire school year. \r\nOur student artists are just getting started on their sketchbook journeys. Over the coming weeks, they will continue using their sketchbooks as visual journals By the end of the year, these sketchbooks will serve as a complete timeline of each child's creative journey and academic growth—a tangible keepsake they can take home and treasure forever. Your gift provided more than just paper; you gave our students a safe space to express themselves, build confidence, and take creative risks.","fullyFundedDate":1778010182447,"projectUrl":"project/air-plant-holders/10262672/","projectTitle":"Air Plant Holders","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Valdez","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9264476"},{"teacherId":9264469,"projectId":10225503,"letterContent":"From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting our school through DonorsChoose! Your kindness has provided our students with incredible tools—including squishy sensory toys, air-dry clay, and our beloved weighted axolotl plush.\r\n\r\nOur weighted axolotl has quickly become a student favorite. Resting its soothing weight on a lap during times of dysregulation. She helps ease anxiety, lower stress, and keep students feeling grounded and safe right in their seats.\r\n\r\nThe squishy toys have provided a quiet, effective outlet for fidgeting and nervous energy. For students who used to struggle to sit still during lessons, having something tactile to squeeze allows them to direct their energy into listening and processing new concepts. These items have also been great as rewards for positive behavior.\r\n\r\nThe air-dry clay has opened up whole new worlds of hands-on expression. Whether sculpting 3D models for projects or bringing story characters to life, students are strengthening fine motor skills while exploring their creativity in therapeutic, screen-free ways. One student even created their very own axolotl.","fullyFundedDate":1778782705765,"projectUrl":"project/safe-spaces-for-social-emotional-success/10225503/","projectTitle":"Safe Spaces for Social-Emotional Success","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. J. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9264469_orig.png?crop=400,400,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1701145159107","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9264469"},{"teacherId":6460683,"projectId":10076411,"letterContent":"Thank you for the incredible generosity you have shown by donating to this project!\r\nHaving these high quality journals that make number sense fun is a wonderful way to engage kids in learning while keeping it new and exciting. Practicing their daily dot to dot journal will help them with counting, number sense and number recognition!\r\nThe growth mindset journals are also wonderful to have in class. Having a writing activity that reinforces our social emotional learning in class is a fantastic way to combines these essential skills. \r\nThe dot journals will be a great way to help my learners that need to practice their kindergarden skills before moving on to 1st grade standards.\r\nThank you very much for believing in this project and helping my students obtain excellent learning supplies.","fullyFundedDate":1781830522843,"projectUrl":"project/journals-to-enhance-learning/10076411/","projectTitle":"Journals to Enhance Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Lee","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6460683_orig.jpg?crop=1689,1689,x350,y310&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1666168890014","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/holly-lee808"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_50985","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":484,"numTeachers":38,"percentFrplEligible":52,"percentAsian":4,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":20,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":26,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":23,"percentMultiracialImputed":24,"gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"12.7:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"TOWN","ncesMetroType":"TOWN_FRINGE"},"inStateSupporters":33.6,"schoolId":50985,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Makawao Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Makawao Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/hawaii/maui-school-district/makawao-elementary-school/50985"}