Education

Indian Bend Elementary Collects 32,000+ Bottles of Water to Benefit a Local Nonprofit

With the temperatures rising, many community organizations need support and donations to provide water to those in need. For several years, Sarah Tokosh, a paraeducator at Indian Bend Elementary School, has spearheaded a bottled water drive to give to a local charity.

“Water is an important necessity in Arizona,” Tokosh says. “With summer temperatures expected above 110 degrees, water is needed for survival on the streets.”

Before school closed for the summer, staff and students at Indian Bend Elementary School collected 32,338 bottles of water that were donated to Never Alone, inc., a local nonprofit that provides outreach to the homeless.

Giovanni Contreras, a fifth-grade student, collected an impressive 1,240 bottles. The United Parent Council, Realty ONE, and EPIQ Lending donated 12,000 bottles and 100 umbrellas for those in need as well.

“In a year where not a lot of student events are happening, it is nice to see our students roll up their sleeves and get excited to get behind such a great cause,” says Principal Jan Stevens. “I am truly proud of the way our school came together to provide such a great service to our community. Go Thunderbirds!”

Mercury Mine Elementary Wins $20,000 Box Top Extra Credit Sweepstakes

Natalie Taylor, a Montessori preschool teacher and parent at Mercury Mine Elementary School, won $20,000 for the school in the Box Tops Extra Credit Sweepstakes.

“At first, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a gimmick,” she shares. “After the money showed up in our student council balance, and I had principal Donna Alley confirm it, I was absolutely shocked and excited.”

Taylor had collected under $10 of box tops at the time of entering the sweepstakes. She had to submit the Box Tops digital receipts between a segment of dates using the Box Tops for Education app.

Mercury Mine Elementary School will use the funds on STEM resources for the school such as robotics, engineering materials, and more. These items will be available for students when they come back after summer break.

“STEM supplies are exciting and will be used by all of the students,” says Principal Alley about how the funds are being spent.

Taylor’s advice for other schools to use in the future: “Keep collecting and submitting [Box Top] entries because you never know what will happen.”

Box Top for Education Program provides extra money for schools nationwide to use on supplies, technology, and other items.

Principal Alley shares that, since the switch to digital Box Top collecting has been hard for parents and students to transition to, maybe the sweepstakes is a way to incentivize the move to digital. “Mercury Mine is very grateful and will work harder to educate parents about the new digital process [for Box Tops],” she adds.

Education

PVSchools’ Class of 2021 Earns $64.7M in Scholarships

PVSchools’ graduating Class of 2021 was offered an impressive $64,698,026 million in scholarships from colleges and universities across the country and around the world. The academic and merit scholarships received were from vocational schools, community colleges, in-state, and out-of-state colleges and universities, as well as Ivy League institutions.

One Paradise Valley High School graduate will travel to Austrailia to attend the Academy of Music and Performing Arts!

SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNTS BY SCHOOL

• Horizon High School: $12,339,628 • North Canyon High School: $8,733,600 • Paradise Valley High School: $12,125,744 • Pinnacle High School: $27,002,329

• Shadow Mountain High School:

$4,484,725 • PVOnline: $12,000

Congratulations to the Class of 2021, and the best of luck on your continued journey of excellence!

Tails and Tales: Maricopa County Reads Continues the Summer Reading Program

Maricopa County Reads’ Summer Reading Program is a beloved tradition for many local families. Through August 1, children, teens and adults can read for enjoyment, earn prizes and avoid summer learning loss. Simply go to maricopacountyreads.org and click on the Summer Reading Game icon to register.

Maricopa County Reads is the award-winning summer reading program provided by the Maricopa County Library District to all public, tribal and military base libraries within Maricopa County. The primary goal of the program is to interrupt the summer slide, the common term given to the learning loss experienced by children while transitioning between school years. The secondary aim of the program is to promote early literacy among pre-readers and their families during the summer months.

How does it work? There’s something for everyone in the summer reading program—you can earn points, unlock badges, and win prizes. Get one point for every minute you add to your reading log. Kids up to age 11 can earn a free personal pan pizza from Peter Piper Pizza, a free kids meal from Rubio’s and all participants will earn a free lemonade from Raising Cane’s when they reach 500 points (while supplies last). At 1,000 points, participants earn a free book of their choosing. Challenge yourself to log 20 minutes of reading every day for a chance to win awesome weekly drawing prizes.

The Maricopa County Reads online summer reading program began in the summer of 2013. It has continued to grow, and now hosts 65 public, tribal and military base libraries within Maricopa County. More than 80,000 children, teens, and adults participate in the program annually.