26 DECEMBER 2024 By Mark Hays At Hopi Elementary School, Library Resource Specialist Traci Fish discovered a way to bridge the gap between her elementary students and the middle school they’ll soon attend through a creative art project. Fish challenged Hopi students to design tissue boxes based on characters from their favorite books. It gave them a chance to work on their art skills and create an item that could be helpful for other students. “I saw the idea on a librarian’s social media page and thought it would be fun to try,” Fish said. “The librarian had been doing it for years, and almost every student in her school participated. It had become a tradition within the school.” This year’s contest at Hopi saw an enthusiastic response, with students submitting 55 decorated tissue boxes. The themes they chose reflected a wide array of characters and themes. Some of the featured characters were Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Rainbow Fish, Harry Potter, Cat in the Hat, Piggie and Elephant, The Wild Robot, a giraffe, a llama, a unicorn, and even Batman made an appearance. “The students were extremely creative in their designs and stuck to using simple materials for the decorations,” Fish said. In addition to the artistic aspect, Fish said the project was aimed at building partnerships with Ingleside Middle School, which received the tissue boxes after the contest was complete. “The inspiration was honestly trying to find ways to connect our elementary students more with the middle school that most of them will be attending,” Fish said. “Our middle schools are notoriously short on tissue donations, so this was a fun way to help them and bring extra joy to their classrooms.” As part of the contest, Fish invited two special judges, Ingleside’s Assistant Principal Patricia Mastropolo and school psychologist Emily Higgins, to help select the winning designs. Together, they reviewed the entries and chose the winning designs from each grade level. Beyond the friendly competition, the contest became a valuable community- building exercise. By encouraging students to work on a project tied to creativity and philanthropy, Fish and the school helped foster a sense of continuity and connection for students as they transition to middle school. The event’s success has prompted the librarian and her team to consider making the tissue box contest an annual tradition. This inaugural contest set a promising foundation for future collaborations between Hopi Elementary and Ingleside. By giving students a chance to express their love for their favorite book characters and help stock classrooms with much-needed tissues, the contest has already proven to be more than just a fun activity. Hopi contest provides a creative way to bring books to life 1. The kindergarten winner was Keira for her project Chicka Chicka Boom Boom . 2. First graders Taylor and Dylan won for their The Very Hungry Caterpillar box. 3. The second grade winner was Ada. She created a My Weird School -themed box. 4. The third grade winner was Scarlett for her project Cutiecorns - Heart of Gold The third grade winner was Scarlett for her project Cutiecorns - Heart of Gold The third grade winner was Scarlett for her project . 5. The fourth grade winner was Makena for her project Harry Potter and the houses. 6. The fifth grade winner was Milana for her Cat in the Hat -themed tissue box. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRACI FISH      

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