{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"W.B. Travis Vanguard & Academy","outOfStateSupporters":6.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9951101,"letterContent":"We are grateful for your generosity. These SNAP Circuits kits are a hit! Students are introduced to some basics of architecture, including schematic diagrams and detailed instructions. They work to build a structure with functioning electrical circuits, which also introduces the idea of a closed circuit with a power source.\r\n\r\nCollaborating in a group is another success criteria for this activity. Building the house and circuits provides students the opportunity to cooperate and create something. No one person can do it alone. Students must collaborate effectively to follow the directions in the guidebook and build their house.\r\n\r\nNow that we have done this activity, students are clamoring to do it again! We are taking very good care of the kits to make sure they can be used again and again!","fullyFundedDate":1778011774472,"projectUrl":"project/circuits-meet-architecture/9951101/","projectTitle":"Circuits Meet Architecture","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9951026,"letterContent":"This sandpaper took our forces and motion labs to the next level. We investigated the patterns of forces and explained their effects in contact or at a distance on an object. Students used the sandpaper to create friction between the magnets. They were impressed how close they could get the magnets when compared with the wax paper surface. The sandpaper is a great contrast and provides lots of friction.\r\n\r\nWe also used the sandpaper to create friction with a wood block. Students were able to measure the amount of newtons it took to move the wood block across various surfaces, including the wax paper. This sandpaper really created a contrasting surface with lots of friction. We could not have successfully done these hands-on activities without the sandpaper.","fullyFundedDate":1778011638297,"projectUrl":"project/sandpaper-for-force-and-motion-investiga/9951026/","projectTitle":"Sandpaper for Force and Motion Investigations","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":10129622,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for funding these books for our classroom. We started the year reading 'Becoming a Good Creature' by Sy Montgomery. This was a wonderful text to start the year and set the tone for our classroom. Students reflected on the book, and we used these reflections to create our classroom \"Treatment Agreement\" for the year. By beginning the year with a read aloud, we set the tone that we are readers and writers in science class.\r\n\r\nI have scanned the other texts and am looking forward to using them throughout the year. The Sunlight Series by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm has great discussions of energy. Our students are avid readers, so having more books and texts to use in class really helps. We alternate our hands-on activities with reading to make sure there are multiple entry points.\r\n\r\nReading really benefits our students who need help building their vocabularies. They see the words in context and have an opportunity to make connections with the activities we have done. There are also great illustrations in 'Becoming a Good Creature' and many of the other books that give students a way to visualize what we are talking about. The visuals in the Sunlight Series are stunning.\r\n\r\nThank you!","fullyFundedDate":1775620343117,"projectUrl":"project/science-library-and-resources/10129622/","projectTitle":"Science Library and Resources","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9945752,"letterContent":"Our bess beetle tractor activity was a huge success! We could not have done it without the bess beetles. This activity was a great hands-on opportunity for students to synthesize many different concepts we have learned throughout the year.\r\n\r\nStudents measured the mass of the bess beetle and the mass of what the bess beetle was able to pull. This goes back to the physical properties of matter that we learned in the first weeks of school. Students also identified structures of the bess beetle and discussed their function. We observed the legs and saw how they were able to move the bess beetle from one position to another. This goes back to forces and motion. We discussed friction and the forces acting on the beetle. We looked at what kind of surface works best for the beetle to pull the paper clips.\r\n\r\nStudents were excited and engaged throughout the whole activity. It was a great review and allowed them to work together and carefully handle the beetle. I shared photos with families, so they could see what we are doing and continue the conversation at home. Big success! We really appreciate it.","fullyFundedDate":1765205050521,"projectUrl":"project/bess-beetle-tractors-force-motion-st/9945752/","projectTitle":"Bess Beetle Tractors - Force, Motion, Structure, Function","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9951831,"letterContent":"These digital balances are awesome! Our students appreciate the accuracy and ease of using these digital balances to measure the mass of things we are studying. We began the year without these balances, so when we studied mass and the law of conservation of matter, we relied on pan balances. While useful, our pan balances were not very accurate. They are also somewhat clumsy to use. The new digital balances provide students another, more accurate way to measure mass and get results.\r\n\r\nWe used these digital balances to show the law of conservation of matter with our closed system. Using a small water bottle, balloon, water, and fizzing tables, students were able to see that the reaction did not lead to a change of mass. The bottle sitting on the digital balance the whole time did not measure a different mass. This is important for students to see, and more difficult to show with a pan balance.\r\n\r\nWe look forward to using these digital balances for years to come! We even used them for our bess beetle tractors to measure the mass of all the paper clips our bess beetles dragged. These are great scientific tools that enhance our learning!","fullyFundedDate":1770615008657,"projectUrl":"project/digital-balances-for-science-investigati/9951831/","projectTitle":"Digital Balances for Science Investigations","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9951902,"letterContent":"These materials for our circuits and electromagnet labs really made a difference. Students were able to explore electrical energy and magnetism firsthand, exploring the connection between the electrical current of a closed circuit and the magnetic force needed to pick up some paper clips. Students created their own electromagnets using these materials.\r\n\r\nLearning by doing creates lasting memorable experiences. My students were thrilled to learn that they were actually going to create and experiment with their own electromagnets. We had read about electricity and magnetism in the textbook and several other resources, but it's a much different and more meaningful experience to actually make an electromagnet and see paper clips dangling from the end of the iron nail.\r\n\r\nWith some of the other circuit materials, we were able to investigate conductors and insulators. Students constructed conductivity testers to see what lit up the LED light bulb. I had seen this activity and was glad my students were finally able to do it using the materials provided in this project. Hands-on learning is the best! We appreciate everyone's generosity in providing our classroom with these materials.","fullyFundedDate":1770574530847,"projectUrl":"project/circuits-and-electromagnets-restock/9951902/","projectTitle":"Circuits and Electromagnets Restock","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"},{"teacherId":10374953,"projectId":9950551,"letterContent":"Our students really enjoy working with our new stream tables. We have already completed one lab on erosion with water. Students were able to see firsthand how canyons are formed when water carries away sediments. Next we will investigate deposition and witness the formation of deltas. Students really enjoy working with the earth materials in the stream table.\r\n\r\nAll told we will complete four hands-on investigations with the stream tables. Students will have the opportunity to ask their own questions about slow changes to Earth's surface and use our stream table model to answer their questions. Our Stream Table DIY lab is popular with students because it gives them the opportunity to work as real scientists do, using models to ask and answer questions about real-world phenomena.\r\n\r\nWe appreciate your generosity in funding new stream tables for our science classroom.","fullyFundedDate":1770615008671,"projectUrl":"project/stream-tables-for-geology/9950551/","projectTitle":"Stream Tables for Geology","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Hambleton","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp10374953_orig.png?crop=616,616,x0,y14&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1764875606994","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/hambletonscience"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_10677","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":536,"numTeachers":20,"percentFrplEligible":92,"percentAsian":9,"percentBlack":4,"percentWhite":52,"percentIndigenous":1,"percentLatinx":23,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":8,"gradesServed":"4 - 8","studentTeacherRatio":"26.8:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":true,"titleOne":false,"metroType":"URBAN","ncesMetroType":"CITY_LARGE"},"inStateSupporters":93.2,"schoolId":10677,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about W.B. Travis Vanguard & Academy on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"W.B. Travis Vanguard & Academy","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/texas/dallas-independent-school-district/w-b-travis-vanguard-academy/10677"}