{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Expo for Excellence for Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":27.4,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":9776142,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation of math games and activities to our kindergarten classroom. The children are already excited and fully engaged with the new materials. These hands-on resources make learning meaningful, fun, and interactive, and they are helping our students build strong foundational math skills in a joyful way.\r\n\r\nMath centers are truly one of their favorite times of day. Students are excited to see which math buckets they are assigned to and are always curious when new materials are added to the buckets. I noticed the importance of learning through exploration at this age. Math centers have turned abstract ideas into concrete, playful experiences that help concepts \"stick.\" The students see themselves as playing, but they truly are learning new concept every day through this model. \r\n\r\nYour kindness and support truly make a difference. Because of you, our young learners have even more opportunities to explore, discover, and grow each day. We are so grateful for your contribution to our classroom community.","fullyFundedDate":1763577476645,"projectUrl":"project/building-hands-on-math-buckets/9776142/","projectTitle":"Building Hands-On Math Buckets","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":9514357,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation of social and emotional learning materials to our kindergarten classroom. Your support is truly appreciated and will have a meaningful impact on our students' growth.\r\n\r\nThese resources will help our young learners explore important skills such as understanding emotions, building friendships, communicating kindly, and solving problems in positive ways. At this age, SEL tools are especially powerful—they help children feel safe, supported, and ready to learn.\r\n\r\nMy students' absolute favorite tool was the Gel-Bead Emotion Friends. We started the school year by reading each of the Little SPOT of Emotion books, and students were able to hold the gel-bead emotion as we read the story. Fast-forward to December, and we are still using our gel-bead emotion friends when reading SEL books. The texture is calming for students and helps them practice the emotion we are focusing on.\r\n\r\nBecause of your kindness, our classroom is now even better equipped to foster empathy, confidence, and a strong sense of community. The students are already excited to use the new materials, and it is wonderful to see how they will benefit from your generosity.\r\n\r\nThank you again for investing in our children's well-being and helping create a nurturing environment where every child can thrive.","fullyFundedDate":1758820756599,"projectUrl":"project/social-emotional-learning-in-kindergarte/9514357/","projectTitle":"Social Emotional Learning in Kindergarten!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":9214909,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation of reading materials to our kindergarten classroom. Your kindness has truly made a meaningful impact on our young learners.\r\n\r\nBecause of your contribution, our students now have access to a richer variety of books and center activities that spark curiosity, imagination, and a love for reading. The children are already excitedly exploring the new stories and illustrations, and it's wonderful to see their faces light up as they discover new characters and ideas.\r\n\r\nRecently our class had the opportunity to pair up with fourth grade reading buddies. One afternoon, students in our kindergarten class \"taught\" their fourth grade buddy how to play some of the reading and card games they have been using during center time. The one-on-one attention made our young students feel valued and supported, and strengthened their motivation to read. It was also a beautiful moment to see the older students interact with kindergarteners, which noticeably helped increase their patience, empathy, and understanding.\r\n\r\nYour support helps create a classroom environment where every child can grow, learn, and feel inspired. We are deeply grateful for your thoughtfulness and commitment to our students' education.\r\n\r\nThank you again for making a difference!","fullyFundedDate":1755805166432,"projectUrl":"project/building-reading-centers-in-kindergarten/9214909/","projectTitle":"Building Reading Centers in Kindergarten","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":9474111,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donations, which continue to help us with the basic school supplies we need. Having a class supply of materials helps me stay organized and allows for seamless transitions when creating art projects, completing hands-on activities or daily centers. I am grateful that every student has their own glue stick, EXPO marker, whiteboard eraser, etc., as this allows students the independence of gathering their own materials and a sense of responsibility to keep track of their items. \r\n\r\nAnother noticing was the amount of laminating sheets and sheet protectors used in a kindergarten classroom. It has made a world of difference for me. I've used them for letter tracing, name tracing, center activities, math activities, holiday projects, reading buddies, and kindergarten portfolio work. Having these materials before school started allowed me to take time to create materials that can be used in the future. \r\n\r\nThank you again for your generosity. Starting a new school year in a new grade was a bit stressful, but having these materials and school supplies helped me plan and set up my classroom before the year began.","fullyFundedDate":1753927799379,"projectUrl":"project/new-year-new-classroom-new-supplies/9474111/","projectTitle":"New Year, New Classroom, New Supplies","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":10226585,"projectId":9655065,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous donations. My schedule for Pre-K includes 45–60 minutes of Active Learning each day, during which students work around the classroom with different materials that support their learning. I try to be intentional with the materials I provide so they align with the Area of Study we are focusing on at that time of year.\r\n\r\nMy students were thrilled to see the new materials available during Active Learning time. I was equally excited to see their creativity. They built a train that they could move around the room. Many students loved it so much that they added more \"cars\" to make it longer. They also discovered that they could only move if everyone moved together—and that if someone went too fast, the train would break apart. It was a wonderful learning experience in teamwork, problem-solving, and cooperation.","fullyFundedDate":1759069575344,"projectUrl":"project/building-learners-in-pre-k/9655065/","projectTitle":"Building Learners in Pre-K!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Sweet","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10226585"},{"teacherId":7876229,"projectId":9303871,"letterContent":"Thank you kindly for the generous donations of STEM activities to start our day! We have implemented Soft Start Fridays, which is a classroom routine where students start their day in low pressure, student-directed activities for the first 20 minutes of the school day. Soft starts are a nice, gentle way to ease into our academic day. Students have their choice of activity and work on problem solving, teamwork, creativity, and community building. \r\n\r\nSome of the most popular activities have been the magnatiles and other building materials, the logic and thinking puzzles, and the play-doh. Students love the hashtag blocks and the flower petal connectors, as well as all of the magnetic materials! Soft starts have helped create a positive, calm atmosphere, and we have enjoyed watching new friendships grow.","fullyFundedDate":1746703543533,"projectUrl":"project/start-your-day-in-a-soft-magical-stem/9303871/","projectTitle":"Start Your Day in a Soft, Magical, STEM Way!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Gorder","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7876229_orig.jpg?crop=1196,1196,x211,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1625584398318","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7876229"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":9507883,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for donating read aloud books to our kindergarten classroom library. We are truly grateful for your generosity. The children are already excited about the new stories, looking at the pictures, and discovering new favorites. \r\n\r\nOne of my favorite books we read this year was A Bug and A Wish. During the first week of school, our class discussed what \"bugs\" us and how we can find bravery in telling our peers what we \"wish\" they could do differently. I loved seeing the students interact with their new classmates while role playing different scenarios during the A Bug and A Wish activity. \r\n\r\nAnother favorite of mine was Gingerbread Man on the Loose, which was our final gingerbread read aloud before the hunt for the Gingerbread Man in our school. The kindergarten classes searched to find the Gingerbread Man but were actually exploring the building (cafeteria, nurse's office, principal's office, etc.) to become familiar with their new school.\r\n\r\nI love watching my students engage in read aloud experiences that help them associate books with joy, comfort, curiosity, and fun. We have many more to read this year and am excited to introduce my class to the various titles that were donated. Thank you for supporting our young learners and helping make our classroom a special place.","fullyFundedDate":1754322957201,"projectUrl":"project/sparking-imagination-through-read-alouds/9507883/","projectTitle":"Sparking Imagination Through Read Alouds","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":5717932,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous donation towards improving our phonemic awareness instruction. The Heggerty curriculum has made all the difference in student learning by providing daily opportunities to develop phonological and phonemic awareness. \r\n\r\nWe have built a routine around the language play activities giving students the confidence to participate every day and feel success towards reading. I have been able to adjust the curriculum during my small group instruction as needed. Some groups may need additional support with blending and segmentation while other groups may need opportunities to make phoneme-grapheme connections. Thank you for your donations! Together we are working towards closing the achievement gap!","fullyFundedDate":1632501882894,"projectUrl":"project/helping-students-with-heggerty/5717932/","projectTitle":"Helping Students With Heggerty!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"},{"teacherId":3758100,"projectId":8991666,"letterContent":"Thank you for helping make the shift to flexible seating in our space. Many of the students have already had the opportunity to try our new seating arrangements. They are eager for independent reading time and have taken full advantage of the noise cancelling headphones. \r\n\r\nThe noise cancelling headphones have been a blessing as many of our students whisper read, which often distracts their neighbors. We have built flexible seating into our daily routine and students are more engaged in group - thanks to your donation! We appreciate your generosity and kindness! Thank you so much for your support!","fullyFundedDate":1738952129892,"projectUrl":"project/flexible-seating-for-independent-reading/8991666/","projectTitle":"Flexible Seating for Independent Reading","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Uher","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp3758100_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1471310139843","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/3758100"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_55462","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":393,"numTeachers":34,"percentFrplEligible":92,"percentAsian":4,"percentBlack":27,"percentWhite":47,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":10,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"11.6:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":72.6,"schoolId":55462,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Expo for Excellence for Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Expo for Excellence for Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/minnesota/saint-paul-public-schools/expo-for-excellence-magnet-school/55462"}