42 JUNE 2021 By Rachael Bouley Students at Echo Canyon Elementary took their love of reading to new heights with this year’s successful Read-A-Thon fundraiser. During the two-week Read-A-Thon, 255 students read for 50,283 minutes, with 8,000 of those minutes read in the first three days. They raised over $5,770 with support from 145 sponsors. The annual event served as an important fundraiser for the Echo Canyon PTO and its student and community initiatives, such as the Classroom Supply Fund and Teacher Appreciation Week. The Read-A-Thon website tracked the number of readers and minutes read and allowed families and friends to donate. The website also displayed the school’s fundraising efforts. Principal Kat Hughes would read off the daily leaders over morning announcements and gave special shout-outs to classes who racked up reading minutes. PTO Board Member Jacque Davis said the students loved hearing their class celebrated during the announcements and they were also excited about the possibility of winning a unique prize. The class who read the most minutes was promised a water balloon fight with their principal, a fun event that has turned into an Echo Canyon tradition. “This has been the prize in the past, and the students love it,” Davis said. Ms. Hayhurst’s kindergarten/first grade class raised the largest amount of donations – over $1,200 – which made her class the water-balloon-throwers at the event in May. “It is a cool event. I love reading, so I enjoyed that part the most. I read 730 minutes,” first-grader Aria said. “Since my class raised the most money, we got to throw water balloons at Principal Hughes!” The school plans to continue the Read- A-Thon and other fundraising activities in the future. “Our family enjoys the Read-A-Thon; it gets our daughters excited about reading while raising money for their school. It’s an event we look forward to each year,” mom Jessica Scordo said. “Our students get the chance to discover new worlds, learn about new cultures, discuss relevant social challenges and strengthen their imaginations through books,” Paige Rogers, PTO member and parent, said. “Having the entire family get involved in reading together is a healthy, healing, and knowledge-building activity.” The funds from this year’s Read-a-Thon will go to classrooms and supplies for the staff at Echo Canyon. Read-A-Thon ends with water balloon fun Principal Kat Hughes with previous Read-A-Thon winners. PHOTO COURTESY OF JACQUE DAVIS By Melissa Hirschl Eighth-grader Aidan McClure has no shortage of brilliant ideas in the realm of science and space. That imagination earned Aidan a spot as a semifinalist in the Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest, a collaborative effort between NASA and the Future Engineers program. This organization hosts online innovative experiments for K-12 students and Aidan was the sole winner in the 5th-8th grade category in Arizona. The essay contest challenges students to create a hypothetical one-week expedition to the moon’s south pole. The competition was inspired by the Artemis Space Project, an endeavor by NASA to return astronauts to the moon by 2024. Artemis will allow humans to explore more of the moon’s surface and includes building a lunar orbit space station which will eventually be a habitable base for exploration to Mars. Participants must write about the challenges and opportunities of exploring the moon and the usefulness of the proposed science or technology left there. Essays were judged on their originality and innovation of the ideas presented. The prize for semifinalist winners was an invitation to represent their state in a series of Artemis Explorer virtual sessions with NASA experts. “I was very excited about winning,” Aidan said. “I had a lot of fun brainstorming, and I thought the idea of setting up a base sounded exciting. If we explore other planets, it’s important to have a base on the moon.” Aidan’s essay explained the significance of Earth’s teams leaving a transmitter to send signals. “I’d want a pilot who perfor med well under pressure and was good with com mu n icat ion ,” he said. “In addition, our team would need a science officer and a deputy to monitor supplies and drive the rover. Plus, we’d need a module pilot who stays in lunar orbit.” Aidan received local recognition for his essay as well. His school celebrated his accomplishment by recognizing him at a Scottsdale School Board meeting in April. He also received a Challenge Coin, which is given to students who exhibit extraordinary achievements in the district. “Aidan pushed himself beyond his expectations,” Ingleside Interim Principal Erin Kadera said. “We are all super proud of him.” Aidan is in the comprehensive gifted program in science and is always excited and eager to learn new things, according to science teacher D’anne McDaniel. “He used a variety of critical thinking skills, plus past accumulated knowledge when he created his essay,” she said. “He’s quiet, creative and thinks outside the box. He also travels a lot, which helps him apply knowledge to new situations. I could see him being a scientist in the future.” Aidan said he is open to all possibilities. “I think it would be cool to work for NASA, but I’m not sure at this point,” he said. Ingleside student shoots for the moon in essay competition Principal Erin Kadera, D’anne McDaniel, Aidan McClure and Kimberly McClure. PHOTO BY VICTOR BOBBETT, SUSD Aidan McClure I’d want a pilot who performed well under pressure and was good with communication.

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