The Oak Park authors will soon enjoy another moment in the spotlight.
In May, Joyce Nickels' kindergarten class at Oak Park Elementary School – which included 19 youngsters in all – found out that it had been selected as the grand prize winner in the “Going Green” category of the Scholastic Book Fairs' Kids Are Authors program. The kids had written a book – “Our Class Is Going Green” – with the help of Nickels and Oak Park art teacher Erinn Rakes, and it had been selected as a grand prize winner in a national competition.
Thus, the book will be published and will be featured at Scholastic Book Fairs at more than 100,000 schools across the country this fall.
That achievement will be recognized in a special event on Sept. 4 in the Fine Arts Center on the Bartlesville High School campus. Everyone is invited to take part in the free festivities, which will commence at 7 p.m. and include medal presentations from popular children's authors Bill and Carol Wallace as well as the performance of an original song by the youngsters. The students will even conduct a book signing as copies of “Our Class Is Going Green” will be made available for purchase.
Like the other entries in the “Going Green” category of the contest, “Our Class Is Going Green” focuses on how people can work together to keep Mother Earth happy and healthy. The song which the students plan to perform during the Sept. 4 event – with the assistance of Oak Park United Methodist Church pastor David Stewart – will have a “green” theme as well.
“We're hoping to make this a beautiful event,” says Dr. Bobbi Sexson, the Oak Park Elementary School principal who is coordinating the festivities. “We hope to make it very memorable for the students and their parents.”
The Wallaces are both noted children's authors. Bill has written several books including “A Dog Called Kitty,” “Danger in Quicksand Swamp ” and “Snot Stew.” Carol has penned “Turkeys Together” and “The Secret Santa,” among others. The executive director of elementary education operations for the Bartlesville Public School District , Dianne Martinez is scheduled to speak at the event.
It's unlikely that anything will keep any of the young authors – who are now first graders at Oak Park – from the festivities.
“Having our book published,” says “Going Green” co-author Myla Rogers, “makes me feel like a star.”
“I am so excited,” says fellow Oak Park author Ariel Jimison. “I feel famous.”
“Our Class Is Going Green” was created by utilizing recycled products, including newspapers, various paper scraps and watercolor paintings. Scholastic Book Fairs contest officials received thousands of entries from throughout the country and just two were chosen as grand prize winners, including the Oak Park selection.
Oak Park received several prizes as a result of its grand prize winning status including 100 free copies of the book, a $5,000 voucher for products from the Scholastic Instructional Resource Catalog, a gold medal and a framed certificate of merit. While copies of “Our Class Is Going Green” will be on sale to the public during the Sept. 4 event, they will be made available during Oak Park 's upcoming book fair, which is set from Nov. 14-18 on the school campus.
The 19 students who helped to create “Our Class Is Going Green” include Reed Adams, Michael Blower, Phoenix Bunker, JoHanna Caruthers, Keagan Clemons, Makaila Cox, Desaray Crawford, Ethan Gilkey, Trey Glover, Dominic Hadley, Jaden Liston, A.J. Marler, Yadira Mares, Chaz Ostermeier, Keaton Tidwell, Brody Tucker, Trey Williams, Rogers and Jimison.
While the young Oak Park authors are going green, Nickels is turning a few shades of the color herself as she anxiously awaits the festivities on Sept. 4.
“I'm really excited,” she says. “I just think it's going to be something the students will remember for the rest of their lives.”.jpg)
The 19 students from Oak Park Elementary School who authored “Our Class Is Going Green” – along with kindergarten teacher Joyce Nickels (back row, left) and art instructor Erinn Rakes (back row, right) – will be honored during a special ceremony on Sept. 4 at the Fine Arts Center on the Bartlesville High School campus.