{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":false,"callToActionDisplayName":"Shannock Valley Elementary School","outOfStateSupporters":34.1,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":9818048,"projectId":9234256,"letterContent":"Thank you for your generous support in providing books and read-aloud opportunities for our class. Your donation helps build strong vocabularies by exposing children to rich language and new words they might not hear in everyday conversation. Through engaging stories that are meaningful to our CKLA Knowledge curriculum units, students deepen their understanding and confidence in using new vocabulary that surrounds the content being taught. Your contribution is making a lasting impact on their development and building a love for reading! LOVE for Reading = Lifelong READER","fullyFundedDate":1753962384088,"projectUrl":"project/the-more-you-read-the-more-you-know/9234256/","projectTitle":"The More you Read, the More you Know!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stefancik","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818048_orig.jpg?crop=3718,3718,x0,y421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1730387237887","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818048"},{"teacherId":7359784,"projectId":9503763,"letterContent":"Yay! Hooray! It's Music Day! Wow! Thank you so much! Today was the first day using our new bells and it was such a fun and engaging experience for my Autistic Support class. They loved using the bells and having two options ( hand and desk) made sure everyone had an accessible option. My general education students have also walked in and asked, \"What are those? Do we get to use them?\" Their faces light us when I say yes. I cannot thank you enough for helping my new classroom start to feel like a fun and exciting plane to learn and make music. I really couldn't do it without you.","fullyFundedDate":1757033681962,"projectUrl":"project/i-can-hear-the-bells/9503763/","projectTitle":"I Can Hear the Bells","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Riddle","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7359784_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1596221932504","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/mrsriddlesmusic"},{"teacherId":9818048,"projectId":9136428,"letterContent":"While our year has just begun we are certain that the floor cushions will be used regularly. Our class participates in group work and team activities and the cushions will allow us to utilize all nooks and corners of our room while still being comfortable on a tiled floor! So far we've used them for an afternoon story time and the kids thought it was the coolest thing to each have their own cushioned space! It will also teach responsibility and the importance of taking care of classroom supplies and appropriate clean-up. We cannot thank you enough for contributing to this classroom for many years to come!\r\nMrs. Stefancik's Kindergarten","fullyFundedDate":1746740010406,"projectUrl":"project/cushions-for-comfort/9136428/","projectTitle":"Cushions for Comfort","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stefancik","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818048_orig.jpg?crop=3718,3718,x0,y421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1730387237887","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818048"},{"teacherId":7141009,"projectId":9041030,"letterContent":"My 1st graders absolutely loved participating in this STEM activity! Since it took over a week of Science class time to complete, they came to school many mornings eagerly asking if we would be working on it that day!\r\n Students used an app on their school chromebooks called Epic to watch short videos about their animal. Epic has books and videos that are safe for kids. They had to use this information to draw the animal's habitat and food since those were key in creating their habitat shoeboxes.\r\n Collaborating as a team was a big part of the project. A few groups needed my help to navigate differences in opinion about how their habitat should be designed. It was good practice for them in communicating ideas to a group and explaining their ideas to others.\r\n Even though all the students began by drawing their ideas, once they got started with the materials some groups ended up changing their initial designs. This helped them learn that part of the design process involved flexibility if the initial plan needed to be tweaked. \r\n Students loved every aspect of this project! From initially using their chromebooks to do research, to using the 3D pen to create a prosthetic for their clay animal, excitement abounded during each Science class! Additionally, something as simple as using a shoebox and construction paper to create their animal's habitat thrilled them! \r\n Finally after over a week of working on this project, student groups presented their projects to the class. They explained the animal's injury, how their prosthetic would help it, as well as showed the food and environment of the habitat they created. One of the best parts was that classmates were then encouraged to complement some aspect of each group's project. Their little faces shown with pride at hearing all the nice things classmates said. \r\n From start to finish this activity was a huge success and met the goals I initially aimed for. It also covered many of the new Pennsylvania STEELS standards. I couldn't have done it without your generous contribution. Now that I have the 3D pen and filament I plan to continue this project for years to come. Many, many thanks! \r\nStacy Caves","fullyFundedDate":1742580118878,"projectUrl":"project/engineering-ways-for-injured-animals-to/9041030/","projectTitle":"Engineering Ways for Injured Animals to Survive","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Caves","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7141009_orig.jpg?crop=378,378,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1731762351025","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7141009"},{"teacherId":5976699,"projectId":7295534,"letterContent":"Our district adopted a new reading curriculum with content that is more \"rigorous\" and contains plenty of nonfiction texts and passages. With this change in my 2nd grade classroom, it meant that my classroom library needed a reboot.\r\nThankfully, donors like you, who know the importance of literacy and wanted to be sure that my students were equipped with books that supported our new curriculum, graciously donated and made my request come to life. \r\nThe kids are reading the new books and are being exposed to many new topics and we are very thankful for your generosity. Your donation is greatly appreciated and will be remembered for years to come.","fullyFundedDate":1689211030950,"projectUrl":"project/tall-tales-fairy-tales-and-asian-tales/7295534/","projectTitle":"Tall Tales, Fairy Tales, and Asian Tales","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Buffone","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5976699_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1561164815403","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5976699"},{"teacherId":9818048,"projectId":9139971,"letterContent":"My kindergarteners and I have been patiently waiting to explore our fairy tale problem solving STEM kits! Last year we adopted the CKLA reading curriculum and the units are designed to have a culminating activity of your choice, which is so much fun! These STEM kits served as a station rotation where each kit pertained to one of the fairy tales in our unit. \r\nBelow is the summary of how my class utilized some of the kits.\r\n1. Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Students were tasked with building a chair that can withstand the weight of the story characters (since Goldilocks broke Baby Bear's chair in the story).\r\n2. Three Billy Goats Gruff: Who can construct the strongest bridge from wooden velcro blocks to help the billy goats escape the troll?\r\n3. Three Little Pigs: Which little pig can build a house that will protect them from the huffs and puffs of the Big Bad Wolf?\r\nI think I had as much fun as the students while trying out these STEM challenges! What a great addition to our fairy tales and stories unit!","fullyFundedDate":1742003232814,"projectUrl":"project/stem-kits-to-enhance-our-reading-units/9139971/","projectTitle":"STEM Kits to Enhance our Reading Units","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stefancik","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818048_orig.jpg?crop=3718,3718,x0,y421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1730387237887","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818048"},{"teacherId":9818048,"projectId":8929631,"letterContent":"TODAY is the day... the day my kindergarteners, and with equal excitement, myself, have been waiting for! We got to explore our STEM units as the culminating activity for our plants and farms unit. Last year we adopted the CKLA reading curriculum and the units are designed to have a culminating activity of your choice, which is so much fun! These STEM kits served as a station rotation to apply the various topics that were taught throughout the unit. I will also attach pictures of their work at each station. \r\nBelow is the summary of how my class utilized some of the kits.\r\n1. Flower Garden Building Kit: The students were tasked with creating a garden where the plants had to have each of their parts: stem, leaves, flower, stamen, and even a butterfly to serve as the pollinator. \r\n2. Smart Farmer: This is a puzzle solving game where students set up the farm board as shown in the book. They then have to use the given fence pieces to help keep like animals fenced in with one another. They did a nice job taking turns trying out different fence cominations!\r\n3. Picasso Tiles Hedgehog Building Blocks Farm Set: Students were tasked with building a farm, complete with a barn and fencing for the animals. We all had a blast today!","fullyFundedDate":1740752986132,"projectUrl":"project/using-stem-kits-to-supplement-reading-co/8929631/","projectTitle":"Using Stem Kits to Supplement Reading Content","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stefancik","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818048_orig.jpg?crop=3718,3718,x0,y421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1730387237887","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818048"},{"teacherId":9818048,"projectId":9136839,"letterContent":"I have always been a huge advocate of children's literature. I use children's books to supplement much of our required content, from numbers and counting books in math to rhyming books for skills. Since we just adopted our CKLA knowledge curriculum last year I've had minimal books available to supplement the new content. This Donors Choose project has helped to build our classroom library for many of our themed units. \r\n\r\nThe set of books ordered features multiple books by author Kay Barnham. We've recently finished our weather and seasons unit so the book, A Stroll Through the Seasons, arrived just in time to serve as a unit summary read-aloud! Our current unit is on plants and the book, The Amazing Life Cycle of Plants, touches on just about every lesson in the unit from different types of seeds, what plants need to grow, and the imortance of pollinators. These books lend themselves as perfect topics for class discussion. We can't wait to read more of the books that arrived!","fullyFundedDate":1742246577490,"projectUrl":"project/so-many-books-so-little-time/9136839/","projectTitle":"So Many Books, So Little Time!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stefancik","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818048_orig.jpg?crop=3718,3718,x0,y421&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1730387237887","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818048"},{"teacherId":7141009,"projectId":8945928,"letterContent":"My 1st graders absolutely loved participating in this STEM activity! Since it took about a week and a half of Science class time to complete, they came to school many mornings eagerly asking if we would be working on it that day!\r\n Collaborating as a team was a big part of the design and construction project. A few groups needed my help to navigate differences in opinion about how their organizer should be built. It was good practice for them in communicating ideas to a group and explaining their ideas to others.\r\n Even though all the students started by drawing their ideas, once they got started with the materials they all ended up changing their initial designs. This helped them learn that part of the design process involved flexibility if the initial plan needed to be tweaked. \r\n Having a living ant farm to observe each day added a deeper level of ongoing engagement. I was able to point out certain aspects of the tunnels and their particular uses. Similarly, the books your donation supplied helped students see that bees build small compartments to maximize organized space. These natural building techniques reinforced the design idea of incorporating compartments for supplies.\r\n After students completed their organizers they had to test them out for 3 school days. During that time 2 of the organizers sagged and fell apart. Upon discussion of why that happened the students realized that attaching the organizer so it hung off the front of their desks made it susceptible to passersby bumping into it often. Discussion ensued about how the animals we studied, particularly bees and ants, build their homes in trees or underground away from other animals as a way to ensure their colony is less likely to be disturbed.\r\n From start to finish this activity met the goals I initially aimed for and covered many of the new PA STEELS standards. This was my first Donors Choose project and it was a huge success! I couldn't have done it without your generous contribution. Now that I have the books and the ant farm I plan to continue this project for years to come. Many, many thanks!","fullyFundedDate":1733407725736,"projectUrl":"project/students-create-nature-inspired-organize/8945928/","projectTitle":"Students Create Nature-Inspired Organizers Using Principles of STEM!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Caves","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7141009_orig.jpg?crop=378,378,x0,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1731762351025","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7141009"},{"teacherId":9818045,"projectId":8906779,"letterContent":"Dear [Donor's Name],\r\n\r\nWe can hardly contain our excitement as we write this letter! Thanks to your incredibly generous donation of a mailbox to our first grade classroom, the entire learning experience has been transformed into something magical. We wanted to share with you the impact it's had on both the students and me as their teacher.\r\n\r\nFrom the moment the shiny, bright mailbox was placed in the corner of our classroom, it became a hub of activity. The students' eyes lit up with wonder and curiosity—\"What is this?\" they asked, as they imagined all the possibilities. And since then, it has become the heart of our classroom routine.\r\n\r\nFor the kids, it's so much more than just a mailbox. It's now a place of connection, communication, and creativity. Every morning, students eagerly check to see if there are \"letters\" waiting for them—whether it's a note from a classmate, a special compliment from me, or even a little treat of encouragement. The mailbox has become a vehicle for building confidence and fostering friendships. Students eagerly send letters to one another, practice their handwriting, and experience the joy of receiving thoughtful messages. The excitement of opening a letter has made them love writing and reading in ways I never imagined!\r\n\r\nBut the magic doesn't stop there. The mailbox has helped make our classroom feel even more like a community. We've started a \"pen pal\" program with other classrooms, where students write to each other and share their experiences. The mailbox has become a symbol of their growing curiosity about the world outside the classroom and has sparked meaningful conversations about communication, kindness, and sharing ideas.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFor me, as their teacher, this mailbox has been a game-changer. It's created a fun, interactive way to motivate my students to engage with their work, practice literacy skills, and communicate with each other in positive ways. It has also made it easier to track their individual progress, as I can leave quick notes of encouragement, feedback, or questions for each student in the mailbox. It's a personal touch that has made a huge difference in their confidence and excitement for learning.\r\n\r\nWe can't thank you enough for giving us this amazing gift. The mailbox has brought a whole new level of joy, creativity, and engagement to our classroom. It's more than just a place to collect letters; it's a symbol of connection, kindness, and the power of communication. We feel so lucky and grateful for your support!\r\n\r\nWith heartfelt thanks and excitement for many more \"letters\" to come,\r\n\r\nMrs. Parisi and the First Grade Superstars!","fullyFundedDate":1733407725846,"projectUrl":"project/a-mailbox-for-organization/8906779/","projectTitle":"A Mailbox for Organization","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Parisi","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9818045_orig.jpg?crop=2066,2066,x383,y826&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1732133690526","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9818045"},{"teacherId":7785568,"projectId":8820619,"letterContent":"My students LOVE their new flexible seating chairs! I love giving them time in the day to work in small groups to respond to questions or plan debates! These chairs are the perfect addition to our classroom. The kids get excited to use them, and they have been sharing them as well. Sometimes, it is the small things in a day that count. Something as trivial as a \"different\" seat can brighten a day! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time and money to donate to our classroom. I have never had a group of more appreciative students in my career. They want me to tell you \"Thank You\" and \"These chairs are AWESOME!\" I hope you have a wonderful 2025, and thanks again for making our classroom just a little more FUN!!!","fullyFundedDate":1729901125678,"projectUrl":"project/pull-up-a-seat/8820619/","projectTitle":"Pull Up a Seat","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Young","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp7785568_orig.jpg?crop=1160,1160,x0,y69&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1615764942147","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7785568"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_88797","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":310,"numTeachers":28,"percentFrplEligible":80,"percentAsian":0,"percentBlack":0,"percentWhite":99,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":0,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","gradesServed":"K - 6","studentTeacherRatio":"11.1:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"RURAL","ncesMetroType":"RURAL_DISTANT"},"inStateSupporters":65.9,"schoolId":88797,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about Shannock Valley Elementary School on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"Shannock Valley Elementary School","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/pennsylvania/armstrong-school-district/shannock-valley-elementary-school/88797"}