{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"Manzano Mesa Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":34.7,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":2338196,"projectId":9376205,"letterContent":"For the past 6 weeks, the STEAM lab has been a bustling scene with teams of engineers workshopping their way to functional mini solar-powered cardboard cars. 32 fifth grade teams designed and built cardboard chassis from scratch on blank sheets of cardboard. Their creativity is boundless! There are food trucks, ice cream trucks, Ferraris, regular trucks, sedans, and more! As the 5th graders finish up their cars the 4th graders have been planning for their turn with the kits - we now have a Shrek and Fiona onion car, a dinosaur car, boat car, taxis, and more! 5th grade teams began with a rectangle chassis. Then, sketched a side profile of their vehicle, using triangle rulers and regular rulers to measure the heights, lengths, and shapes to mirror the side profile on both sides of the chassis. I was so impressed how precise their measurements were, using both cm and mm as decimal values. Way to go! \r\n\r\nWe received a donation of cardboard sheets - thank goodness because the recycled cardboard was of various qualities and thicknesses. I received the \"Extra Yard for Teachers\" grant from the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and we used it to buy a Chomp Saw for cutting cardboard. A line wraps around the STEAM lab every day as teams wait to cut their chassis and other car parts with the tool! Even though scissors are readily available at every table, they use the Chomp Saw for even the smallest of cutting jobs! It has been a lot of fun! \r\n\r\nThe solar car kits are amazing to work with! Fifth graders think the most challenging part is aligning the gear on the motor with the gear on the axle. New problems are being discovered and solved every day. One team's axle-gear wasn't catching on the motor-gear and we discovered that the gear's teeth have to be angled the right direction to catch on one another. Simple fix - just remove it and flip it around! Other teams are discovering that the motor has to be fixed in place or it will move around and cause misalignment. So far, no teams have given up! They are problem-solving and persevering! Thank you again for providing this opportunity for our students to engineer and have real experiences building, testing, and improving. It is also a great learning experience for working in teams, turning failures into opportunities for growth, and becoming resilient young people.","fullyFundedDate":1757557464171,"projectUrl":"project/solar-car-engineering/9376205/","projectTitle":"Solar Car Engineering","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Nair","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2338196_orig.jpg?crop=2539,2539,x399,y296&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1758672735535","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/nairscience"},{"teacherId":6615968,"projectId":9925986,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our classroom and helping us receive a new laptop. Your generosity has made a meaningful difference for my wonderful group of second graders! \r\n\r\nMy students learn best through hands-on activities, visuals, and opportunities to actively interact with their learning. Technology plays an important role in helping them access these experiences. With our new laptop, we can fully use our Smartboard to engage in meaningful lessons in math, reading, writing, science, and social-emotional learning.\r\n\r\nThis laptop has been an important part of our classroom learning environment because it allows students to interact with lessons, see their ideas displayed and valued, and build skills together as a community of learners. Your kindness has helped bring back the engaging instruction that supports my students every day.\r\n\r\nThank you so much for helping my students continue to grow as capable mathematicians, readers, and thinkers.","fullyFundedDate":1764709831350,"projectUrl":"project/bringing-our-smartboard-back-to-life/9925986/","projectTitle":"Bringing Our Smartboard Back to Life!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Sanchez","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6615968"},{"teacherId":2338196,"projectId":9608545,"letterContent":"About 100 fifth graders working in 32 teams have their cardboard solar car projects underway! They are learning to collaborate, address conflict, and find resolutions. We are in the early stages of discussing which team members will take home the car, using fair decision-making systems. So far students have pitched the rock-paper-scissors method, drawing numbers from a basket, or putting them up on display instead. The cardboard sheets are working out perfectly! The fifth graders are persevering through each step, determined to make a successful mini solar powered car. We began by drawing a foldable chassis from scratch on a cardboard sheet, then added wheels and axles. Each team decided on their own car design; food trucks, cyber trucks, vans, Ferraris, monster trucks, and sedans. Now teams are aligning the motor and gears and installing the mini solar panels. They will work for another 2 hours to test and improve the gear alignment before enjoying a friendly mini-solar-car competition. \r\n\r\nAll 10 of our K-2 classes have completed the lettuce growing project. Students were so excited to take home their lettuce seedlings, each with their own name tag. They used the mini watering cans when they first planted their seeds and when they checked on them over the following weeks. Students loved using the tiny watering cans! They had wide cheeky grins and giggled as they spilled water everywhere, so much fun! \r\n\r\nFourth graders are the first grade to engineer with KEVA planks and they are having a great time testing and improving their creations! Students that don't typically exhibit perseverence are working nonstop to make their reaction contraptions successful. These kits are really an engaging tool for engineering in practice. \r\n\r\nMultiple classes are using the lab supplies. We have used the cylinders and test tubes for color-mixing experiments, pH observations, measuring practice, and elephant toothpaste. I cannot thank you enough for these amazing resources! Thank you for supporting STEM at our school.","fullyFundedDate":1758755634938,"projectUrl":"project/steam-lab-projects-k-5/9608545/","projectTitle":"Steam Lab Projects K-5!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Nair","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2338196_orig.jpg?crop=2539,2539,x399,y296&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1758672735535","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/nairscience"},{"teacherId":4149328,"projectId":9430433,"letterContent":"I apologize for being so late with my thank you letter! Time gets away from this busy teacher and before I know it....I'm super late! But that does not mean I am not so, so grateful for your support! I know my year started off with everything I needed to ensure my students were organized and ready to learn because of you! And your gift continues to this day (and will continue next year as well as I have many items to carry me into next school year as well!). I am so blessed to have so much love and support given to me! I appreciate you all so much! Thank you for supporting Donors Choose and public schools like mine! We could not do what we do without help from supporters like you!","fullyFundedDate":1752261339287,"projectUrl":"project/a-worry-free-start/9430433/","projectTitle":"A Worry-Free Start","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Maynes","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4149328_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1481693813403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4149328"},{"teacherId":4149328,"projectId":9831392,"letterContent":"The holidays have come and gone, but the impact of your donation is still going strong! This project provided resources for our entire first grade team. Because of this donation, we were able to provide a fun, rich experience for our Holiday's Around the World rotations and.....additionally we have had enough materials to keep us going for other activities we are doing as well! Glitter, paper, cups, tape, string....we are using every bit of it up in our quest to make learning fun and exciting. Thank you so much for helping our team and all the first graders we work with!","fullyFundedDate":1764686503856,"projectUrl":"project/holidays-around-the-world-cultural-exper/9831392/","projectTitle":"Holidays Around the World Cultural Experience","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Maynes","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4149328_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1481693813403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4149328"},{"teacherId":4149328,"projectId":9831397,"letterContent":"Words can not describe the reactions of the kids when they saw the amazing items purchased with this project! We have only just begun to use them, but already with what we have done, the excitement to learn with the materials is huge! This class thrives with hands-on learning and these items provided some opportunities for this! It has also given the students opportunities to go further and explore or research on their own time. \r\n\r\nWe appreciate your help and support more than words can express! These \"extras\" make learning so much more fun than just on paper or on a screen! Thank you!!","fullyFundedDate":1761706351041,"projectUrl":"project/stem-learning-centers-and-activities/9831397/","projectTitle":"STEM Learning Centers and Activities","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Maynes","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4149328_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1481693813403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4149328"},{"teacherId":331964,"projectId":9922466,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for donating to this project. We were in desperate need of this computer and it has really helped our daily instruction. This computer shows the students their daily rotations, shares videos for science and social studies, look at maps, go through math lessons, and learn how to figure out what parts are important in articles and stories. \r\n\r\nEach day, I can start the day with making sure all of our lessons are ready on this board - every curriculum has an online component now! Once I've set it, the computer is ready for the whole day. Thank you again for helping with this project.","fullyFundedDate":1764687244907,"projectUrl":"project/a-laptop-for-our-smartboard/9922466/","projectTitle":"A Laptop For Our Smartboard","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Bitner","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp331964_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1479684668776","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/sarah-bitner"},{"teacherId":2338196,"projectId":9759164,"letterContent":"We're on a roll! Over 20 classes in grades K-5 are loving these new engineering materials and classroom supplies. The 5th graders are engineering solar-powered cardboard cars. The Chompsaw helped 32 teams cut out their chassis designs with ease! Traditional scissors rip, bend, and tear the cardboard, so this has made a tremendous difference in the building process. They used cardboard scraps to practice on the Chompsaw before cutting their final car designs. When their projects are finished, other grades will have a chance to use the Chompsaw for some creative engineering. \r\n\r\nEverybody loves the sand timers! The 4th grade classes are using them to take turns testing their programs on the Mars Obstacle course for LEGO robotics rovers. They help K-2 students self-manage 5-minute turns at learning stations. Some students love to flip them over for motivation to stay on task. We use the giant beaker for everything in the STEAM lab - dunking pumpkins to find their volume - watering jugs for plant-growing projects - and even as bee hive baskets for a pollination game. We use the colored pencils every week! So far K-2 classes have used them to make models of plant life cycles and pollinator paper-bag puppets to model the process of pollination. Some students even took home their puppets and brought them back throughout the week to play outside with friends at recess. These supplies are super handy and have enriched learning activities significantly. \r\n\r\nA 5th grade class will soon be using the Makedo Invent construction system for a math project where students create cube-animals with cardboard boxes and calculate their volume. Only a few classes have tried out the drill and design kits so far. They are a HUGE hit! Students are learning how to use an important construction tool safely while creating beautiful patterns, shapes, words, and art. These materials and supplies have made our STEAM lab into a very engaging place! Thank you again for supporting these young scientists and engineers!","fullyFundedDate":1759712781756,"projectUrl":"project/stem-engineering-creativity/9759164/","projectTitle":"STEM Engineering Creativity","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Nair","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp2338196_orig.jpg?crop=2539,2539,x399,y296&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1758672735535","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/nairscience"},{"teacherId":10171913,"projectId":9581022,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generosity, my elementary Adapted Physical Education students are now able to participate more fully and confidently in movement activities that meet their individual needs. We are using the new equipment daily to practice fundamental motor skills like throwing, catching, striking, and cooperative play in ways that are accessible, safe, and fun for every student.\r\n\r\nWhen the students first saw the new equipment, their reactions were immediate and joyful—lots of wide eyes, smiles, and eager questions. Many were surprised by how colorful and inviting the materials were, and several students who are typically hesitant to try new activities jumped right in. The equipment sparked curiosity and motivation, helping students feel excited and capable from the very start.\r\n\r\nNext, we are using these resources to build structured skill-based games and small group activities that support balance, coordination, teamwork, and confidence. As students continue progressing, we'll expand into more cooperative games and individualized challenges that encourage independence, social interaction, and a lifelong love of movement. Your support has truly opened the door to more inclusive, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences for my students—thank you for being part of our classroom community.","fullyFundedDate":1760715096951,"projectUrl":"project/adapted-pe-for-all/9581022/","projectTitle":"Adapted P.E. for All","teacherDisplayName":"Coach Hicks","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-7_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10171913"},{"teacherId":10081924,"projectId":9469980,"letterContent":"Students were very excited when they walked into the classroom and saw the new carpet. Their excitement was genuine—the rug made the classroom feel new and welcoming. The carpet created a warm, inviting space that has made class discussions feel more like a community conversation than a lesson. \r\nOur classroom carpet has become the heart of our learning space. Students use it every day during quiet reading time, where students settle into their own cozy spots and dive into their books.\r\nThe carpet will continue to serve as our gathering place for morning circle time, mini-lessons, and read-aloud time. It will also continue to support our learning routines that contribute to student focus, collaboration, and love for learning.","fullyFundedDate":1756954062755,"projectUrl":"project/safe-stage/9469980/","projectTitle":"Safe Stage","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Alanis","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10081924"},{"teacherId":4149328,"projectId":9412717,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your generous donation to my \"Old Dog, New Way to Organize\" project. Now that the year is in full swing, I can tell you without a doubt that this project has changed my classroom for the better! Student materials and clutter are drastically reduced. It has even inspired some other teachers at my school to do the same thing in their classroom! \r\nMaintaining school supplies, books, and other materials for 20 6 to 7 year olds is a giant task. This new way to organize has made it so much simpler. Again, thank you so much for your help and support!","fullyFundedDate":1750774690031,"projectUrl":"project/old-dog-new-way-to-organize/9412717/","projectTitle":"Old Dog, New Way to Organize","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Maynes","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4149328_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1481693813403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4149328"},{"teacherId":4149328,"projectId":9386645,"letterContent":"Our new Olivia Reading Corner is up and running. Our bench did not come in until a few weeks ago, so I had to wait to get it all set up. It has become a really magical place for students to sit and read. It is one of the favorite places to be! Olivia, the sweet girl it honors, would be smiling if she saw it! The kids say it feels like they are in a reading forest everytime they go and sit and read it in. I am so appreciative of the help and support to get this project done! Your generosity is a blessing!","fullyFundedDate":1750183976679,"projectUrl":"project/updated-olivias-reading-corner/9386645/","projectTitle":"Updated Olivia's Reading Corner!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Maynes","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4149328_272x272.jpg?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1481693813403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/4149328"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_75360","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":531,"numTeachers":45,"percentFrplEligible":52,"percentAsian":12,"percentBlack":2,"percentWhite":24,"percentIndigenous":4,"percentLatinx":51,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"Pre-K - 5","studentTeacherRatio":"11.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":65.3,"schoolId":75360,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Manzano Mesa Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Manzano Mesa Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/new-mexico/albuquerque-public-schools/manzano-mesa-elementary-school/75360"}