Education Notebook: School news and events for June 11-17, 2015

MY BROTHER’S KEEPER LAUNCHES SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM

The city of Las Vegas’ My Brother’s Keeper Summer Learning Program was set to begin June 8. The program is a partnership with the Clark County School District and Nevada Partners Inc.

Students attending the five Las Vegas My Brother’s Keeper schools — Fitzgerald, Kelly, Booker and Williams elementary schools and West Preparatory Academy — can participate in the program free. The program’s goal is to provide intensive instruction for four weeks this summer, a time when the greatest loss of knowledge occurs, with an emphasis on reading proficiency.

Program stakeholders and partners include Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Clark County Black Caucus, the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services, the Clark County Education Association, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and Workforce Connections. The Las Vegas My Brother’s Keeper Action Plan is available at lasvegasnevada.gov.

There are 125 spots available in the summer program. To enroll, call 702-799-4720, ext. 0.

For more information or to get involved, call 702-229-5450 or email mbk@lasvegasnevada.gov.

SPARK! POETRY WRITING & RECITATION COMPETITION TAKING ENTRIES

Clark County high school students are invited to submit original poems for the Vegas Valley Book Festival’s Spark! Poetry Writing & Recitation Competition. Modeled after the national Poetry Out Loud competition and the Scholastic Writing competition, the contest will have students reciting their poetry during the book festival that is scheduled for Oct. 17.

The first-place prize is $300, second place is $200 and third place is $100. Students are asked to present three original poems to be judged by a panel consisting of poets, authors, educators and other community members. Panelists will use scoring guidelines to assign numerical values to the evaluation criteria.

Three presentation rounds are planned. Students who register through Sept. 30 will be eligible to present one poem in the first round. The top six will present in the second round, and the top three in the third round will determine first, second and third place. Scores will be cumulative. Students must present the poems they submitted on their registration form.

For guidelines and a registration form, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org. For more information, contact Maryjane Dorofachuk, Nevada Arts Council arts learning coordinator, at 702-486-3738 or mdorofachuk@nevadaculture.org.

MCDONALD’S SPONSORS HISPANIC BACCALAUREATE AT UNLV

McDonald’s was the sole sponsor for Hispanic baccalaureate June 3 at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. The large-scale graduation event for Hispanic students across Southern Nevada was expected to have more than 12,000 attendees, with a presentation planned to honor the approximately 40 local Hispanic students who received scholarships from the Ronald McDonald House Charities program.

McDonald’s plans to award more than $300,000 in scholarship funds to Southern Nevada students this year. For more information, visit rmhc.org/rmhc-us-scholarships.

STUDENTS UNVEIL VIDEO PROJECTS AT GOLDEN NUGGET

More than 100 After-School All-Stars Las Vegas students from six at-risk elementary and middle schools participated with their families in the annual Media All-Stars Banquet at the Golden Nugget May 28. The banquet celebrated student achievements, recognized community supporters and showcased student-produced “After-School All-Stars: 20 Years of Empowering Youth” videos.

The videos, created by student members of the Media All-Stars program, always have a central theme, and this year’s focus was on “20 Years of Empowering Youth” in recognition of ASAS’ 20th anniversary.

Media All-Stars is one of many specialized programs offered by ASAS for underprivileged students that facilitates contact with positive role models. The program focuses on the media industry, including broadcast journalism, print media, advertising, film, editing, radio, television and digital media. Students create public service announcements, short films and broadcasts and tour a local newspaper facility, local news stations and advertising agencies.

For more information, visit asaslv.org or call 702-770-7601.

UNLV STUDENTS COMPETE IN ROBOT COMPETITION

UNLV was set to compete in Pomona, Calif., June 5 and 6 in an international competition designed to show how robots could assist first-responders in disaster relief. UNLV’s Metal Rebel — a 5-foot-5-inch, 175-pound humanoid robot — was scheduled to compete against 24 robots from institutions such as MIT, NASA and Lockheed Martin in simulated disaster courses.

Team UNLV included engineering students and researchers led by UNLV professor Paul Oh, a renowned expert in robots and autonomous systems.

For more information, visit drc-hubo.com.

PUBLIC EDUCATION FOUNDATION AWARDS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

The Public Education Foundation recently awarded more than $900,000 in college scholarships to 425 students — the highest number to receive scholarships in a single year from the foundation — with 580 scholarships awarded, as some students received more than one.

A recognition luncheon was held May 22 at The Venetian. Over 20 years, the foundation has awarded more than 4,800 scholarships, totaling $9.5 million.

“We are grateful for the community’s continued commitment to college access for our students,” said Judi Steele, foundation president and CEO. “If it weren’t for the generosity of our donors and their dedication to help students continue their education, these scholarships wouldn’t be possible.”

The scholarships were provided by a cross-section of community leaders, businesses, organizations, individuals and families, ranging from $250 to $5,000 annually, with some renewable. Awards were based on a variety of criteria, such as academic achievement, planned area of study and/or financial need. The scholarships are awarded to students planning to continue their education at a college, university or other post-secondary institution.

For more information, visit thepef.org or call 702-799-1042.

CHANGE REACTION PROGRAM WRAPS UP YEARLONG EFFORT

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman joined Matt Smith of Matt Smith Physical Therapy, school officials and students at McWilliams Elementary School, 1315 Hiawatha Road, May 28 to celebrate the end of a yearlong give-back effort among several local Clark County School elementary schools known as the Change Reaction campaign.

Spearheaded by Matt Smith Physical Therapy, the inaugural campaign involved a “chain reaction” of schools giving gifts to other schools. The theme stems from Matt Smith’s company vision of changing lives.

“The ‘Change Reaction’ has taught students that they all have the ability to care and make others feel good by giving back, no matter what their situation might be,” said Smith, president and founder of Matt Smith Physical Therapy. “The program has taught children about the importance of a sense of community and moving positive change forward.”

Each of the selected schools this year created their own gifts for the next school in line. Gifts were given monthly, with the first school in the campaign, McWilliams, receiving the final gift to complete the full circle.

Along with McWilliams, participating elementary schools were Miller, Hayden, Sewell, Robert Taylor, Cox and Ronnow.

LIBRARY TO HOST MONEY SMART CAMP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS

The camp program Money Smart Middle Schoolers is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. June 15, 22 and 29 at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave.

Co-sponsored by Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada, the camp will teach students in sixth through eighth grades about money and budgeting.

Registration is required, but the camp is free. For more information, call 702-507-3631.

WET’N’WILD GIVING FREE ADMISSION FOR STRAIGHT-A STUDENTS, SENIORS

Wet’n’Wild Las Vegas, 7055 S. Fort Apache Road, is offering free admission for straight-A students and seniors 65 or older. Students can take advantage of the offer throughout the 2015 season, while the offer is good for seniors through June. Seniors must bring their Nevada driver’s license or government-issued ID, while students are asked to present their report card at the ticket window.

For more information, visit wetnwildlasvegas.com.

THE VENETIAN, PALAZZO OFFER SPECIAL RATES FOR EDUCATORS

The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, and the Palazzo, 3325 Las Vegas Blvd. South, are offering special rates in June to educators from Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona, starting at $99 per night, plus tax and fees.

Mention the code EVEDUOF for The Venetian and EPEDUOF for the Palazzo when booking. Guests are required to present valid teacher identification at check-in from one of the qualifying states.

For reservations, call 866-659-9643.

LEADERSHIP TRAINING SET FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

Partners in Policymaking plans to offer leadership training for people with developmental disabilities, parents and family members. The training is designed to teach the power of advocacy and change the way people with disabilities are supported, viewed, taught, live and work. The program will provide information about issues and policies related to disability and develop participant competencies to become more effective in influencing policy development at all levels.

Parents of children with developmental disabilities and adults with developmental disabilities are encouraged to apply. Classes are planned from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. once a month through August at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension’s Lifelong Learning Center, 8050 Paradise Road. Participants are expected to commit to all classes or complete makeup assignments. Remaining dates are: June 20, July 19 (in Reno) and Aug. 15. Participants will receive a stipend to help with child care and transportation costs.

For more information or to apply, visit nced.info/pip.