In the days following the recent severe storms, residents united to help neighbors in need. We would like to thank you for your patience while we worked to restore power. We would also like to recognize and thank the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County, Valley-wide first responders and the American Red Cross for partnering in the storm relief efforts. When it rains, Arizona shines. aps.com Page 52 October 2015 seat safety checks and preschools. She also posted a video tutorial on YouTube, which demonstrates how to correctly install the furniture safety brackets. Fessler hopes to not only increase community awareness, but also increase the number of companies that carry furniture safety kits. “Nobody is going to think about it unless they see the kits in the furniture section,” said Fessler. Fessler has helped the community through Girl Scouts before, when she completed her Bronze and Silver Award projects with her troop. “Girl Scouting is less about the badges and more about the leadership experience,” said Fessler. To learn more about Fessler’s campaign, you can visit maddiesmessage.com or Fessler’s Facebook page titled Strap Your Furniture for Safety . By Lindsey Greenwood A Xavier Preparatory student is increasing awareness about the potential deadly effects of not properly securing furniture. She is spreading the word about toppling furniture through her Girl Scout Gold Award project. “Few people know about the dangers of furniture toppling over,” said high school senior and longtime Girl Scout, Ellie Fessler. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, falling furniture in the U.S. sends a child to the emergency room every 24 minutes, and kills a child every two weeks on average. Fessler has been personally affected by such an incident. Her 2-year-old cousin from back East was tragically killed when an unsecured dresser fell on top of her. This devastating event sparked the campaign called Maddie’s Message, an organization named after her cousin that educates the public about the deadly effect unsecured furniture can have on children. Fessler decided to pair up with Maddie’s Message and dedicate her Girl Scout Gold Award project to educating the community of the dangers of not securing furniture. According to the Girl Scouts of America website, the Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve and is earned by identifying a problem, coming up with a plan and educating people on the issue. This is exactly what Fessler set out to accomplish. “I thought there was definitely something that needed to be done about it,” said Fessler. Furniture and television topples are easily preventable. Fessler has been promoting furniture safety through a furniture strap kit. Each kit contains brackets, some screws and industrial zip ties to anchor furniture to the wall. Fessler said that it takes less than 15 minutes to install the kit. She distributed 500 furniture strap kits along with safety information at local car Girl Scout Gold Award project promotes child safety Girl Scouting is less about the badges and more about the leadership experience.” ‘‘ High School senior and longtime Girl Scout, Ellie Fessler.

KACHINA Quality Dry Cleaning 602-955-5540 3926 E. Indian School Road Arcadia Family Owned & Operated Since 1959 Home & Office Pickup & Delivery Available Open House Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm 8th Grade Day Friday, Oct. 30, 2015 9:30 am - 1:00 pm 4710 N. 5th St. | Phoenix, AZ 85012 | www.xcp.org | 602-277-3772 Photo by chadwickfowler.com Discover your talents. Discover your future. Discover you. Dates to remember: 8th Grade D a y a y a 30 2015 emember : Page 53 October 2015 ject By Rachael Bouley Teresa Marquez has transitioned into a new role as director of the Little Flower Early Childhood Center at St. Theresa Catholic School. This is her second year at the school, as she taught kindergarten last year, and it is her 17th year teaching in a Catholic school. Marquez feels it’s an ideal position for her, considering that she is passionate about teaching and working with children. She credits her third-grade teacher with inspiring her to pursue a career in education. “I loved being in her class because she had such a love for teaching and reading. She was [motivated to make] all of us good readers and she loved all of her students,” said Marquez. Marquez grew up in Arizona and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from Arizona State University. She’s working toward her second master’s in educational leadership to fulfill her dream of being a principal, and recently decided to earn her doctorate degree. “One of my lifelong goals has been to get my doctorate in education, so I’m starting that next fall,” she said. In her new position at St. Theresa, she is responsible for overseeing staffing, curriculum and budgeting for preschool, prekindergarten and kindergarten. Her days are long and busy, as she arrives at school early to make rounds to check on teachers and see if they need anything. Throughout the day, she talks to parents, meets with the principal and ensures that the curriculum keeps up with state guidelines. “I want to work closely with the teachers, making sure that I listen to what they need and their concerns,” Marquez said. “My hope is to give the students and their parents the best academic, social and faith-filled program.” In addition to her director duties, she also teaches music and art classes a few times per week. She captures the children’s attention by teaching fun and simple songs and ties in the Catholic faith by incorporating songs about Jesus. She is also working hard to make positive changes, such as implementing a new Monday morning prayer tradition where parents can stay and participate in prayer time with the kids before leaving for the day. While she is busy with her job and her higher education, she tries to fit in time to travel with her husband. “My goal is to travel to each one of the 50 states.” In her free time, she enjoys walking, reading, listening to music and watching movies. However, her busy schedule is just fine by her, because it means she gets to spend time with children and make a difference. She said the best part of her job is “seeing the joy and smiles on their faces when they are enjoying learning. It’s just the biggest reward.” Teresa Marquez takes on new role as St. Theresa preschool director In addition to serving as the preschool director, Teresa Marquez also teaches art class a few times a week.