34 APRIL 2023 By Mallory Gleich Tavan Elementary is stepping into spring on the right foot by hosting its first-ever, school- wide shoe drive to benefit not only the school community but folks across the world. The drive was a group PTO effort. Secretary Carrie Diekmann said they were looking for a “no calorie” fundraiser – one with little to no cost to organizers or the school – and this was the best fit. “A shoe drive goes beyond raising money,” Diekmann said. “After the shoes are picked up, they’re sent to developing countries to create job opportunities.” Diekmann continued, saying it’s estimated that 300 million people worldwide don’t own shoes. “Shoe drive fundraisers help provide inventory to over 4,000 micro-entrepreneurs who sell the shoes to support their families. In turn, they help themselves out of poverty,” she explained. Tavan partnered with Funds2Orgs, a nationwide business that focuses on hosting shoe drives. They work with micro-enterprise partners (businesses with fewer than five full- time employees) in developing countries to recycle all types of shoes. “How it works is this: Funds2Orgs ships the shoes collected to 26 developing countries worldwide. The footwear then gets sold to small business owners – mostly women – who buy the shoes at a fraction of the cost,” Diekmann said. “This helps to ensure commerce and not destroy their commercial economy by dumping ‘free’ items.” Diekmann said many countries and local governments have laws and regulations against “free” merchandise and donations to protect economies. The partners of Funds2Orgs take the shoes and sell them in their communities. “More than 4,000 micro-entrepreneurs and their families partner with Funds2Orgs and have created thriving businesses selling shoes. In turn, they have helped themselves with a hand-up through the shoe drive,” Diekmann said. She said 2,500 pairs of shoes – the goal at Tavan – will yield about $1,000. “We encourage our students to be good stewards of our community. We teach them that kindness and helping others makes us all better,” Principal Julie Ballard said. “Our shoe drive is teaching students to help those in need. It gives us a platform to teach them about entrepreneurship and fosters a sense of community that if we work together, we can do incredible things!” Both the PTO and staff hope this will be a fun and exciting fundraiser for the Tavan community, and they plan on sharing the success stories after the fund is completed on April 21. “The micro-enterprise industry represents one of the most effective ways to lift many families out of poverty in devastated economies. Seventy percent of the global population uses repurposed shoes and clothing – over five billion people. The shoes we will collect serve as a philanthropic bridge to give people a hand-up rather than just a hand-out,” Diekmann said. So far, they’ve collected 350 pairs of shoes. With the money raised, Tavan will throw an end-of-the-year teacher appreciation party. Kindness means putting your best foot forward Tavan’s inaugural shoe drive aims to collect 2,500 pairs of shoes to send to developing countries worldwide. PHOTO COURTESY OF TAVAN ELEMENTARY 341 E MONTE VISTA RD. | PHOENIX $8,500,000 | 6 BEDS | 10 BATHS | 8,225 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270 43 BILTMORE ESTS. | PHOENIX $17,500,000 | 5 BEDS | 10 BATHS | 13,740 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270  5800 N MONTE VISTA DR. | PARADISE VALLEY $9,225,000 | 5 BEDS | 7 BATHS | 7,439 SQ. FT. THOMAS SCOTT | 480-482-9260 KELLY JONES | 480-399-9322 6115 N 38TH PL. | PARADISE VALLEY $6,250,000 | 5 BEDS | 7 BATHS | 7,448 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270 5427 E ROYAL PALM RD 36 | PARADISE VALLEY $2,250,000 | 46,266 SQ. FT. HILLSIDE LOT KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270               

35 APRIL 2023 By Mallory Gleich If there’s one thing Tatiana, Kateri and Jude Tawney have in common, it’s that they all love to read – and they all love to write. Tatiana, a 2021 graduate of Great Hearts Veritas Prep, joined forces with senior Kateri and junior Jude to publish The Wanderers Trilogy , a series of books created through their adventures. “Since I was young, I have always wanted to write a book or series. This was inspired by all the great books I read as a kid, from The Chronicles of Narnia to The Wingfeather Saga , and incredible children’s authors like Roald Dahl and Edward Eager,” Jude said. His sisters agree, with Kateri aspiring to be a writer of Tolkien fame and older sister Tatiana writing short stories as a kid, inspired by the novels she read. Tatiana explained that the inspiration for the Wanderers trilogy came from a summer day while the siblings were swimming and playing “some sort of strange game with Wanderers and boats.” “We got out of the pool, looked at each other, and said, ‘this would make a great book. Let’s write it,’” Tatiana said. “I don’t think any of us believed we would finish it, let alone publish it, but once we started, we fell into love with the process, the story and the characters.” The series takes place in a fantasy world with a group of people called Wanderers, who explore and search for adventure. “The series follows a Wanderer in disguise named Estouj, who has been handed a Quest. It is the story of a reluctant hero and his companions, who explore the world, attempting to defeat the great Evil that has arisen,” Tatiana said. Once they decided on the themes of each book, the group would have “book talks,” where Jude, Kateri and Tatiana would gather to discuss the plot. Kateri explained that once the basic plot was created and each sibling had written their portion, they had to go through various edits before being satisfied with the turnout. “There were many times I would think up some random idea at school and rush home to write it. Sometimes I struggled to come up with ideas, like when a deadline needed to be met, but I just pushed through and got the job done,” Jude said of the struggles of writing. “There are places that the Wanderers travel to in the second book, and we struggled to think of different magical islands and events that could happen on each one,” Tatiana said. “A lot of times we had to rewrite certain events because on paper they didn’t work out how they would in our heads, which meant that we would have to think of alternate plot points or ideas.” Tatiana, Kateri and Jude wrote outlines and divided the chapters between them. Then, they set a deadline. They transcribed all the chapters to a shared, single document and started the rewriting process, which consisted of discussing the book as a whole and deciding what needed fixing. The process was repeated a few times. Before completing the first two books, the group ran into a few issues: with Tatiana, it was troubleshooting the plot holes. For Kateri, it was having everyone agree on what would happen in the books. “There have been many long debates about plot twists, character traits, name changes and other topics we disagreed on,” she said. Jude said the toughest part was forming his thoughts into coherent sentences. “I usually had an idea of what I wanted to say, be it a description of a place or an action scene, but translating that thought onto paper was often a struggle for me,” he said. “Because of the rewriting process, it is sometimes hard to tell exactly who wrote what part in each book since each chapter has been gone over and rewritten by all three of us,” Tatiana said. Kateri designed the covers for both books, and after the cover and manuscript were both fully finished and formatted, they uploaded them to Kindle Direct Publishing, and Amazon took care of the rest. “I marketed the book through social media platforms and word of mouth,” Tatiana said. Now that the books are available, Kateri hopes readers will fall in love with the fantasy world the Tawney siblings have created. “I hope they see the beauty and glimpse the deep truths woven throughout the story. At the very least, I hope they will be encouraged to read more books and be inspired to write their own,” she said. “I hope readers have fun reading our books,” Jude echoed. “They are easy to understand and contain a lot of witty humor. They are tailored for the young adult, but anyone with an open mind can read these books and get some enjoyment from them.” After the final book is published, the trio plans to write a short story collection called Tales from Wanderer’s Cove , which is set in the same fantasy world. “I have plans to write an individually penned novel as well. I have started drafting it and hope to begin querying it for traditional publishing in the next few years,” Tatiana said. “I intend to continue writing for the rest of my life. My life goal is to write a book that becomes as great a classic as Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities , and Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot ,” Kateri said. “As for me, I would like to write my own book or novel someday, but I have yet to think of an idea worth writing about,” Jude said. Tatiana is currently studying English at Benedictine College. Her siblings plan on following in her footsteps when they graduate, with Kateri geared toward an English major and Jude hoping to study engineering. The Wanderers Trilogy can be found on Amazon. Trio of local siblings publishes trilogy Kateri, Jude and Tatiana Tawney. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TAWNEY FAMILY between them. Then, they set a deadline. They transcribed all the chapters to a shared, single document and By Melissa Hirschl Three cheers for Biltmore Preparatory Academy! The Creighton District school was one of 36 nationwide that received the coveted A+ School of Excellence award for 2022- 2023, the highest state-level award given to public schools. The distinction recognized the school’s innovative curriculum and focus on high achievement. The Arizona Educational Foundation, an organization that recognizes and celebrates excellence in public schools, sponsors the prestigious award, a title the school will have for four years. According to the Foundation, the designation is a powerful energizer for increased public confidence in recognized schools, often resulting in greater community involvement. A hallmark of Biltmore Prep is its Spanish immersion program, which facilitates biliteracy by teaching content equally in both English and Spanish. Students benefit from listening, speaking, reading and writing in both languages and receive a leg up in high school by providing language credit. “Our goals are for high academic and proficiency levels in English and Spanish,” Principal Stephanie Del Mar said. “Parents around the Valley choose our school because they want their children to be bilingual.” Schools must complete a comprehensive application to reach the high bar the foundation sets. Biltmore Prep’s submission shared data about instructional leadership, curriculum instruction and assessment, school organization and culture, active teaching, student support and caregiver and community involvement. The school was under the microscope for a day and a half as five judges observed classrooms, recess, lunch periods, drop-offs and pick-ups. Judges also had a staff meeting with different stakeholders to provide an inclusive and in-depth assessment, including teachers, support staff, parents and community members, students, and administrators. “Their feedback provides our school the opportunity for reflection on our strengths and helps us identify areas for growth,” De Mar said. To fuel motivation and behavior, Biltmore teachers have a variety of strategies. For instance, students who display safe, responsible and respectful behavior receive “self-manager badges” to wear for the year. “Tiger Bucks” have proven to be successful motivators as well. Selected students can spend their “bucks” in the classroom for treats. Classrooms even have a “wheel of fortune” that students spin to win rewards like candy/snacks or extra recess. An exciting opportunity for fourth graders is to travel abroad to Hermosillo, Mexico, where they stay for five days and absorb the rich, colorful culture and language. Enrichment opportunities include chess, STEM classes, and “Odyssey of the Mind,” a problem- solving club. Sponsored by the National Odyssey of the Mind Association, students use their innate creativity to solve problems with original solutions. Examples are creating skits and building structures. “I was elated to have won this distinction,” De Mar said. “I know how hard our community works and how much we invest in our students. Receiving the A+ distinction was a way to showcase our efforts to create a successful school with a great place for students to learn. I truly believe we deserve it because of our curriculum and amazing teachers who reflect a positive and supportive atmosphere.” Biltmore Prep earns an A+