Education notebook

MAC KING VISITS GIVENS ELEMENTARY

Magician Mac King’s Magical Literacy Tour was scheduled to kick off Nevada Reading Week at Givens Elementary School, 655 Park Vista Drive, on Feb. 27. King planned to read books to the students, perform magic and talk about the importance of reading.

Nevada Reading Week ran from Feb. 27 through March 2.

DECKER ELEMENTARY TO RECEIVE $15,000 IN NEW BOOKS AND SUPPORT

Decker Elementary School, 3850 S. Redwood St., was scheduled to receive $15,000 in new books and monetary support from City National and Barnes & Noble March 2 as part of the Holiday Book Drive program.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS OF NORWEGIAN DESCENT

The Sons of Norway’s Vegas Viking Lodge is accepting applications for scholarships for high school seniors of Norwegian descent. The number of scholarships awarded will be based on funds available from upcoming fundraisers and private donations. Four scholarships of $450 were awarded last year.

Winners will be chosen based on grades, financial need, involvement in extracurricular activities and an essay. Applications are available at vegasviking.com/scholarship. Contributions to the scholarship fund also are being accepted. For more information, contact Suzan Sibert at 645-6666.

UNLV DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY RECEIVES $25,000 GRANT

The College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, recently received a five-year grant of $25,000 from the Leon Levy Foundation for the Department of Anthropology’s Friends of World Archaeology.

The grant is a matching grant in which Friends will match $5,000 from the foundation per year for five years. The grant will bring a distinguished archaeologist each year to lecture on the topic of the Archaeology of Israel and the Ancient Near East.

The inaugural lecture is planned for 2013. For more information about Friends of World Archaeology, contact professor Barbara Roth at barbara.roth@unlv.edu.

CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT HOSTS PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

The Clark County School District is accepting submissions through April 12 for its 45th annual photography contest.

Categories include architecture and cityscapes; animals or living things in nature; people, candid or fashion; special techniques or computer manipulation; and unclassified for anything not fitting into other categories.

Prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in each category. A Canon Rebel T3 camera will be awarded to the overall best photo.

Entries may be sent through school mail, location code 012, or dropped off at the district’s communications office, 5100 W. Sahara Ave.

For more information contact Michele Nelson at 799-5304.

Entries must be original photos taken by the student. Previous years’ submissions are ineligible. Photos must be a minimum of 5 inches by 7 inches and a maximum of 11 inches by 14 inches. All submissions must be mounted on an 11-inch by 14-inch board.

Each photo must be clearly labeled on the back with the student’s name, school, grade, teacher or adviser name, photo category and title.

DARNELL ELEMENTARY ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN

Darnell Elementary School, 9480 W. Tropical Parkway, is accepting applications for its full-day, tuition-based kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year. The full-day program is set to run from 9 a.m. to 3:21 p.m. Monday through Friday and is $375 per month. Children must be 5 years old by Sept. 30.

Registration runs through April 27. For more information, call 799-6630.

EDUCATION INFORMATION FAIR SET AT DOOLITTLE COMMUNITY CENTER

Clark County School District students in grades eight through 12 and their parents or guardians are invited to a free Higher Education Information Fair and workshops planned from 9 a.m. to noon March 17 at the Doolittle Community Center, 1950 N. J St.

Representatives from regional colleges, universities, military and trade schools will be available to discuss preparing middle and high school students for the future. Participants will be able to take 45-minute workshops on the following topics: testing and admissions, financial aid, academic advising and college life. Light refreshments will be provided.

Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. March 17 at the center. For more information, call 229-6374.

ENVIRONMENTAL ESSAY CONTEST OPEN TO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is sponsoring an essay contest for all high school seniors in Clark County. The winner will receive a new laptop computer.

The essay should address how students can reduce their carbon footprint by using commission services. The essay minimum is 500 words, double-spaced. Essays must include the student’s name and age, a teacher’s name and the school.

The entry deadline is Thursday. Submissions can be emailed to Judy Myers at the School-Community Partnership Office at jem274@ interact.ccsd.net. For full entry details, visit rtcsnv.com or contact Aileen Pastor at 676-1735 or pastora@rtcsnv.com. The contest is co-sponsored by the Coca-Cola Co.

SUMMER BUSINESS INSTITUTE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS THROUGH FRIDAY

Clark County is accepting applications for the Summer Business Institute through 5 p.m. Friday. The SBI provides selected teenagers with employment opportunities in a variety of fields, including law, medicine, architecture, education and communications. The program is a partnership among Clark County, the Clark County School District and more than 80 area businesses.

Applications are available online at clarkcountynv.gov under "County Human Resources Department." For assistance in completing the application, students may contact their local high school job bank office or the Clark County Human Resources Department at 455-4565.

For more information about the program, contact SBI coordinator Kaveida Allen at 455-2426.

MEDICAL SKILLS FOR LIFE INSTITUTE GIVING DISCOUNTS ON TUITION

The Medical Skills for Life Institute is offering 10 $5,000 and $500 tuition grants to the first 20 students who enroll and are accepted through June 30 for the medical assistant or phlebotomist program.

For more information, call 645-7900 and ask for the admissions department from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit www.medicalskillsforlife. com.

TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SPONSORS STUDENT ART CONTEST

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada invites students in Clark County to submit artwork celebrating Earth Day that may be displayed on a commission bus for up to a year.

Students in sixth through 12th grades can submit artwork about Earth Day and the commission’s sustainability initiative, Quicker, Cleaner, Greener. Students are encouraged to feature images of transit, carpooling, bicycling and walking. The commission will select two winners, who are scheduled to be announced April 19.

Artwork must be unique, colorful and submitted in a horizontal format on 11-inch-by-17-inch paper. Markers, colored pencils and paint are acceptable. Black and white, photography and glitter will not be accepted.

All entries should be delivered to the commission’s administrative offices, 600 S. Grand Central Parkway, Suite 350, Las Vegas, NV 89106, attention: Aileen Pastor. The entry deadline is March 14.

For more information, call 676-1735 or email Pastor at pastora@rtcsnv.com.