Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

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150,000 pennies, for your thoughts

The Mill Creek Elementary PTA is taking donations for a communication board that allows students the opportunity to express their wants, needs and ideas with increased independence. The board is especially useful for students who experience expressive and receptive language-skill delays and will serve as a visual support for problem-solving when issues arise on the playground. The project is estimated to cost up to $1,500.

Essay contest

Mill Creek Elementary's PTA encourages students of all ages to take part in the statewide essay contest. The objective is to write about an influential role model who had a profound impact on their life – a real person the student has interacted with, and not a fictional character. Essays will be from the students' perspective and will serve to inspire and acknowledge the influential person in each student's life. The deadline for the essay contest is March 1. For more information, go to https://bit.ly/37l2y5j.

Compete for scholarship

High School seniors can apply by April 12 for the portfolio contest, at Schack Art Center, where students from Mill Creek, Bothell, Edmonds and Mukilteo were recently recognized for their artwork. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a nationwide program. The portfolios category is open to seniors only. The Susan J. Russell scholarship will go to the winner of the portfolio contest: a $4,750 award this year. Typically, it is far less, at around $1,500 said Raedle Alburn, Education Director at Schack.

All who enter get the chance to have their work displayed for the public, and get recognition for that expression and talent. The objective is to foster confidence of young artists and give them the opportunity to be recognized for their creative achievements. The Alliance also partners with art institutes, colleges, and universities to earmark scholarships for college-bound Scholastic Awards recipients. Directions and details for the contest are here: https://bit.ly/3u0qLaN.

Photography contest for high schoolers

The Black and White photography contest at Schack Art Center is open to high school students all over Snohomish County. Deadline to enter is March 11. Each student may submit a single photograph, or a teacher can submit 25. An additional five photos are allowed if more than one photography teacher is submitting at once. Elijah Croyle of Glacier Peak High School, then a junior, got a first place award for his photograph "The Decision." The 2020 award was for grades 11 to 12.

For more information and last year's winners, go to

https://bit.ly/2N9atfb.