EDUCATION NOTEBOOK

NEW TEACHERS OF THE YEAR NAMED

The Clark County School District named its 2007-08 New Teachers of the Year. Donald Backner from Dickens Elementary School, 5550 Milan Peak St., was named for the elementary, intermediate level.

WEST PREPARATORY ACADEMY TO HOLD WORLD ARTS CARNIVAL

West Preparatory Academy, 2050 Sapphire Stone Ave., will hold a multicultural World Arts Carnival from 2:30 to 7 p.m. on May 23 in the school quad.

The event will feature live music, a farmers market, carnival games and arts and crafts.

LOCAL STUDENT A REGIONAL FINALIST IN GOOGLE CONTEST

This is the last week to vote for Doodle 4 Google, a nationwide competition for students in grades K-12 to redesign Google.com's homepage logo for a day.

Spring Valley student Leslie Saldaña was selected as the Region 9 winner in grades 7-9. To view or vote for Leslie's logo, visit www.google.com/doodle4google/index.html and click on "vote now," then click on "grades 7-9" and select "Region 9." Voting ends Sunday.

Four national winners will be announced on May 21, with the winning doodle displayed on the Google.com homepage for 24 hours on May 22.

The National Winner will win a $10,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of their choice, a trip to the Googleplex in Irvine, Calif., a laptop computer and a T-shirt printed with the participant's doodle. The winner's school also will receive a $25,000 grant toward the establishment or improvement of a computer lab.

VEGAS PBS ANNOUNCES CONTEST WINNERS

Vegas PBS' 14th annual Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest produced winners in kindergarten through third grade, as well as honorable mentions.

The 2007 Reading Rainbow Contest winners in the southeast included second-grader Katie Burkhalter, Wolff Elementary School, with a second-place win; and kindergartner Emma Aguero, Glen Taylor Elementary School, with an honorable mention.

Each student received a certificate and ribbon or trophy highlighting their achievement, as well as a Literacy Backpack filled with additional prizes.

CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT HONORED

The American Productivity & Quality Center named the Clark County School District as a "best practice district," a distinction earned by only 63 districts from 22 states. This marks the first year that the district was recognized as a best practice partner, following extensive research by a team of national advisers.

SPREAD THE WORD NEVADA RECEIVES GRANT

Spread the Word Nevada: Kids to Kids received $25,000 from the Nevada Power Foundation Committee. The grant will allow the nonprofit group to continue to serve Clark County School District at-risk children by providing new and gently used books to local elementary schools.

GROUP SEEKS COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

The Las Vegas Branch of the American Association of University Women is seeking applicants for scholarships to be awarded for the 2008-09 academic year.

The association will award four $1,000 scholarships to women who will be full-time juniors or seniors at either UNLV or Nevada State College during the 2008-09 academic year.

Applicants need to have a 3.0 GPA, a financial need, a desire to help others in the community and to be involved in extracurricular activities.

Scholarship application packages may be requested by contacting Lynn Price by e-mail at lynngambleprice@hotmail.com or by calling 592-1671.

ROYAL TEA SOCIETY TO HOST TEACHER APPRECIATION EVENT

The Royal Tea Society will host a teacher appreciation event called Tea for Teachers from 2 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. on May 21 at Lakeside in Desert Shores.

The event is free to Clark County School District teachers. For more information or to RSVP, call 233-3795 or e-mail royalteasociety@cox.net.

GROUP ACCEPTS CONSTRUCTION SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS

The Nevada Contractors Association is accepting applications for its annual David Papadopulo Memorial Scholarship.

Students pursuing a construction-related career with a minimum 2.5 GPA are encouraged to apply. Scholarship winners will receive a $3,750 annual stipend and must be either a junior or senior level classman enrolled at UNLV.

The entry deadline for fall semester is July 15. For more information, call 222-0320.

STUDENTS CAN NOMINATE SCHOOLS FOR MILK CONTEST

The National Milk Mustache Got milk? campaign kicked off the first-ever Refuel Your School contest to reward high school athletic teams that choose milk to refuel and rehydrate after games, practices or workouts.

Twenty-five winning teams will earn the title of Body By Milk MVP and score a Refuel Rally at their schools, a $1,000 new equipment grant, Adidas gear and more.

Students can visit www.refuel.bodybymilk.com and upload a photo or video showcasing how their team chooses milk to refuel and rehydrate post-workout. Participants can also nominate their team coach for the first-ever Body by Milk Coach of the Year Award. Entries must be submitted no later than June 30.