KLVX-TV announces annual Rainbow writers, illustrators

KLVX-TV, Channel 10 announced the winners of its 13th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest at an awards ceremony May 1 at the Vegas PBS studios.

The contest was open to pupils in kindergarten through third grade. For the competition, 688 children from the Clark County School District and private, charter and home schools, wrote and illustrated an original short story that was judged by professionals.

The kindergarten winners are: Simran Shah, first place, and Justin Finseth, second place, both of The Meadows School; Madelaine Lauger of St. Francis de Sales, third place; and Caitrianne Bristol of Ward Elementary School, honorable mention.

First-grade winners are: Shan Reddy of The Meadows, first place; Hannah Fardone of Henderson International School, second place; and Joshua Bengson, third place, and James Wattenbarger, honorable mention, both of St. Francis de Sales.

Second-grade winners are: Taylor Romero of Odyssey Charter: Distance Learning, first place; Alexis Silvis of St. Francis de Sales, second place; Jaidah Sukaneeyouth of Batterman Elementary School, third place; and Victoria Young of David Cox Elementary School, honorable mention.

Third-grade winners are: Morris Brown of Schorr Elementary School, first place; Keanush Tafreshi, second place, and Joseph Yousefi, third place, both of The Meadows; and Devin Holl of Parson Elementary School, honorable mention.

Contest winners received a trophy or ribbon, a backpack with an autographed book by Marc Brown, the author of the "Arthur" book series, tickets to a Las Vegas 51s game and a gift certificate. In addition, Vegas PBS partnered with the Girl Scouts Frontier Council to award Reading Rainbow badges to all the Girl Scouts who participated in the contest.

In other news:

* Riley Foley, a junior at Bishop Gorman High School, has been selected for membership by the National Society of High School Scholars. The organization was founded in 2002 to recognize high school students for their academic excellence. The society has more than 150,000 members from 15,000 high schools in nearly 20 countries.

* The Basic High School Wind Ensemble will present its fourth annual Pops Concert at 7 p.m. Friday in the school's theater, 400 N. Palo Verde Drive, Henderson. Tickets are $5-$8. For more information, call 799-8000, Ext. 4040.

* The Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada's Teen Theatre will present the musical comedy "The Boyfriend" at 2 p.m. Sunday at West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Tickets are $12-$15. For more information, call 794-0090.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Youth Spotlight, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.