{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"The Soulard School","outOfStateSupporters":25.0,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10263180,"projectId":9716882,"letterContent":"Thank you SO MUCH for your generosity. Your donations allowed us to purchase supplies to create our class-wide auction projects to raise money for our school. Our projects converged art, history, SEL, and social justice under the theme Artists as Protestors and Peacemakers. Each class created a collaborative art piece inspired by books we were able to access because of your donations! Supplies you gave us access to, like canvases, paint markers, fabric, fabric markers, and wooden slabs made the pieces possible! Here's a brief description of the classes' finished pieces.\r\n\r\nPeaceful Hands, Kind Words\r\n\r\nJunior Pre-K artists read along to the story The Peace Book by Todd Parr and worked together to come up with words that remind them of peace. Some words that emerged included, kind, happy, and joy. Artists used their handprints to represent peaceful actions and their class community, and stamped kind words (with teacher help!) onto their banner. The result is a beautiful wall hanging that captures their little hands and big ideas.\r\n\r\nPeace Blooms Here\r\n\r\nSenior Pre-K artists read along to the story The Peace Book by Todd Parr and connected it to our study of nature art with the books The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Nature is an Artist by Jennifer Lavallee. As a class we discussed beautiful and peaceful things we see in nature to include in our collaged garden. Artists then got to work collaging tissue paper, mosaic pieces, and other materials onto a canvas using brushes and mod podge. What emerged is a textured, colorful multimedia piece that represents the class's current love of butterflies and nature.\r\n\r\nWings of Change\r\n\r\nKindergarten artists read along to the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and talked about how caterpillars transform into butterflies. We connected this idea to how peaceful and kind actions can transform feelings, days, and lives! Artists used multimedia collage supplies along with mod podge and brushes to cover a papier-mâché butterfly form. After several class periods adding more layers and colors, the shining butterfly was complete, able to stand freely or be mounted on a wall, as a reminder of peace and change. \r\n\r\nPeace Flags from the Heart \r\n\r\nFirst Grade artists read the books The Peace Book by Todd Parr and Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds, and thought about messages they would speak from the heart to 'Say Something!' We then looked at videos of Tibetan Buddhist Peace Flags, believed to spread blessings and prayers of compassion and peace as the wind blows them. Artists then used felt and fabric markers to design their own peace flags for things they care about and wish for the world. We then collected the flags and strung them together in unified, colorful strands to be hung up and carry the class's messages of peace. \r\n\r\nEyes to Justice\r\n\r\nSecond Grade artists read the books Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds and Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson and discussed what justice and equality look and feel like. Artists then used pencil on small canvases to design their own eye and background to represent looking towards a more just and peaceful future. After artists finished initial sketches, they used acrylic paint markers to add color and detail to their eye paintings. We then assembled all the paintings onto three larger canvases that can be hung up to display the class's collective work for justice, love, peace, and fairness.\r\n\r\nPeace Gallery\r\n\r\nThird Grade artists read the books Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson and Say Something by Peter H. Reynolds and discussed what peace looks and feels like. We then watched a video on protest art and how influential artists have used their work to spread a message for something they care about. Artists then used their STEAM skills to design multimedia keepsakes and creations around the theme of peace to put in their painted shadowbox. Art pieces ranged from pipecleaner hearts and peace signs to fabric books and flags with peaceful imagery and 'no war' slogans. After the shadowbox was fully painted we assembled the pieces together as a class gallery that can be displayed free standing or hung on a wall.\r\n\r\nWords of Change\r\n\r\nFourth Grade artists read the book Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson and looked at videos on protest art and how influential artists have used their work to spread a message for something they care about. We also looked at contemporary artists in war-torn and politically strife countries like Ukraine, Palestine, and even the U.S. with current ICE detentions. Artists discussed what it means to be an artist using words and images to make a meaningful message, and how protest art can be a powerful change maker. Artists then got to work using magazines and books to find letters, words, phrases, and pictures that captured our theme and collaborated to collage everything onto a large canvas. The result is a dense, layered piece that represents causes and subjects students care about and find important with repeated images and words like butterflies, nature, transformation, and peace. \r\n\r\nThe Protest Wall\r\n\r\nFifth Grade artists read the book Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson and looked at videos on protest art and how influential artists have used their work to spread a message for something they care about. We also looked at contemporary artists in war-torn and politically strife countries like Ukraine, Palestine, and even the U.S. with current ICE detentions. Artists discussed what it means to be an artist using words and images to make a meaningful message, and how protest art can be a powerful change maker. Artists then got to work designing their own protest signs on issues they care about, with themes ranging from LGBTQ+ rights, to Black Lives Matter, to Self-Love. We then arranged the signs together to create a 'protest wall' of student messages for positive change.\r\n\r\nThank you again so much for helping to provide these meaningful learning opportunities for these thoughtful students!","fullyFundedDate":1758207126622,"projectUrl":"project/sel-artists-as-protestors-and-peacemake/9716882/","projectTitle":"SEL: Artists as Protestors and Peacemakers","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Mary","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10263180"},{"teacherId":7212495,"projectId":9663733,"letterContent":"The class has been using the journals as a portfolio of all their learning for the year. We have been able to capture their learning across multiple subjects, such as literacy, math, science, social studies and social emotional learning in one place! The students get excited to work in these journals every time we pull them out because it signals the importance of what they are doing. When we introduced the journals, we explained how it was going to be a place to keep all of their best work to show each other and their parents. The freedom that the blank pages offer are more exciting and engaging to students than workbooks because they have the creative control to represent their learning in a way that makes sense to them.\r\n\r\nThe first page in every journal is a drawing of their self-portrait. I wanted them to feel a sense of ownership with these journals and the best way to introduce that is by having them draw a picture of how they see themselves and labeling it with their name. Some prompts we have used in our journals have been \"Tell about a time when you were a good friend\" and \"Write an opinion piece on your favorite food.\" We have also used it to capture their understanding of 2D shapes. The class sectioned a page into 4 quadrants and chose 4 shapes we have been learning about. They drew the shape, labeled it, and then drew pictures of real life objects that are those shapes. While these journals are not graded, they are great tools for seeing what each individual student is understanding because of the freedom to capture their learning in a way that makes sense to them. It naturally allows for scaffolding to meet each student's needs because some were able to label the shapes with the correct number of sides and vertices, others were able to draw multiple objects for each shape, and a few students needed cut out pictures of objects to match to each shape. The journals help meet each student where they are developmentally and offer an opportunity to apply their learning in a way that worksheets simply cannot. \r\n\r\nThey were also a great tool for parents during parent-teacher conferences. I was able to pull out each child's visual journal to show authentic work samples that reflected the students' grades. Parents found this helpful because I was able to show each family their child's strengths and how I will continue to support them in their goals. The positive feedback from the parents in my class have inspired other teachers to use this method of documentation too!\r\n\r\nI cannot thank you enough for helping me pilot these portfolios in my school and showing students, families, and other educators the importance of authentic student work that reflects their learning journeys. The students have felt so empowered this year to take control of their learning and you have gifted that to them!","fullyFundedDate":1756748889760,"projectUrl":"project/visual-journal-portfolios-for-reflective/9663733/","projectTitle":"Visual Journal Portfolios for Reflective Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Jane","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-8_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7212495"},{"teacherId":10183368,"projectId":9613643,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous donation, I was able to create a space for deregulated and/or neurodiverse students to participate in calming/regulating activities. This space has proven to be beneficial and has helped greatly with reintegrating students back into their general education environments. Teachers appreciate having a safe place available to bring the students when they are having big feelings or just need to take a break. Being a small school, it can be difficult to get the funds to create spaces like this for students. This would not have been possible without your help! Thank you again for contributing to our students' success!!","fullyFundedDate":1755451765016,"projectUrl":"project/helping-students-thrive-in-their-everyda/9613643/","projectTitle":"Helping Students Thrive in Their Everyday Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Keira","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10183368"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_125660","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":138,"numTeachers":null,"percentFrplEligible":2,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":16,"percentWhite":62,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":5,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":null,"demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":75.0,"schoolId":125660,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about The Soulard School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"The Soulard School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/missouri/missouri-department-of-education/the-soulard-school-elementary-charter/125660"}