News from Gilbert, Queen Creek schools

Sell back candy, help out troops

Dr. Tyler Robison and his Gilbert and Mesa orthodontic practices are giving students the opportunity to sell up to four pounds of their Halloween candy for $2 per pound, with a limit of eight pounds per family.

Candy bought back will be sent to troops overseas, and money given to students will have a matching amount given to their school.

Families can bring in candy from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at the Gilbert office, 1355 S. Higley Road, Suite 105, and the Mesa office, 1635 N. Greenfield Road, Suite 103.

Information: www.robisonortho.com.

FFA students donate to animal control

Highland High School's FFA students will present a food donation to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control on Monday at their Gilbert school.

Through the project, students have learned how to research needs in the community, how to request donations, and have taken an active role in learning the responsibility and commitment required to care for a pet.

Last year, the students collected 3,600 pounds of food for the unwanted pets.

Maricopa County Animal Care and Control has an animal shelter in Mesa at 2630 W. Eighth St.

Information: (602) 506-7387 or www.maricopa.gov/pets.

Q.C. district board to meet Tuesday

The Queen Creek Unified School District governing board will meet 6 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 20740 S. Ellsworth Road, Queen Creek. There will not be a work study session.

Board members will give student of the month presentations, and principals will give their reports.

Information: (480) 987-5935 or www.qcusd.org.

Get the facts on drugs, gangs

The Gilbert Unified School District is joining with NotMYKid and the Gilbert Police Department to present "Know Drugs - Know Gangs: Helping Our Kids Be Too Smart to Start." Learn the signs and symptoms of risky behaviors and receive tips on how to talk to your children about drugs and gangs.

The presentation for parents, guardians and concerned adults will be 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Mesquite Junior High School auditorium, 130 W. Mesquite St., Gilbert.

Guest speakers include Ric Borom, a former school resource officer in the district, and Terry Burchett, a detective and gang expert with the Gilbert Police Department.

Extra credit is available to Gilbert district junior high and high school students when their parents attend the presentation and discuss the information with their child. This incentive will be determined by individual school campuses. Proof of attendance slips will be given to parents the evening of the presentation.

Information: (480) 545-2181.

Workshop offers college info

Higley Unified School District juniors and seniors and their parents are invited to a College Strategies Workshop to learn more about applying for financial aid, scholarships and grants, playing sports at a college level and visiting colleges.

The workshop will be 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Williams Field High School auditorium, 2076 S. Higley Road, Gilbert.

Information: (480) 279-8000.

Desert Ridge to perform original play

Students of the Desert Ridge Junior High School advanced drama class wrote a play about the effects of the current financial crisis facing the nation. They looked at events through the eyes of family members of six different families.

The play will be performed 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Desert Ridge Junior High School cafeteria, 10211 E. Madero Ave., Mesa. The school is in the Gilbert Unified School District.

Admission is $3, or $2 with a donation of a nonperishable food item. All money collected will be donated to the United Food Bank in conjunction with the school's annual canned food drive.

Information: (480) 635-2025.

Concert bands to play at fair

Desert Ridge Junior High School's seventh and eighth grade concert bands will perform 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday on the community stage at the Arizona State Fair, 1826 W. McDowell Road, Phoenix.

The students will perform an "In Memory of Wars Past" concert, which will include a tribute to the armed forces, patriotic selections, and music representative of the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War and World War I.

Information: www.azstatefair.com.

Boulder celebrates with barbecue

Boulder Creek Elementary School is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a barbecue from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday in the school's multipurpose room, 8045 E. Portobello Ave, Mesa. The school is in the Gilbert Unified School District.

Bulldogs and their families are invited, and there will also be performances by the school's chorus, band and strings.

Information: (480) 507-1404.

Neely wins Blue Ribbon School award

Neely Traditional Academy is one of two Arizona elementary schools honored this year with the national Blue Ribbon School award. To celebrate this award and the school's 10th anniversary, there will be a schoolwide assembly at 2:30 p.m. Friday on the basketball courts, 321 W. Juniper Ave., Gilbert. Principal Caroline Chilton will receive the award from Blue Ribbon School officials.

The school is also hosting the Fall Festival at 5 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the school.

Information: (480) 892-2805.

Mesquite fundraiser for Carnegie trip

The Mesquite High School Symphonic Strings has been honored with an invitation to perform in Carnegie Hall this spring. To raise money for the trip, the musicians are hosting a Fiddles and Flapjacks fundraiser from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Mesquite High School, 500 S. McQueen Road, Gilbert.

A breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, juice and coffee, catered by Marie Callender's, will be available for $8.

Attendees will be treated to serenading strings throughout the morning. Twenty-six crafters and vendors will also be on hand to give holiday shopping an early boost.

For tickets, call Diana Wilson at (480) 632-4750, ext. 1106, or e-mail diana_wilson@gilbert.k12.az.us.

Information: www.mesquitehighorchestra.com.

Q.C. Elementary plans Fall Fling

Queen Creek Elementary School's Parent Teacher Organization will host a Fall Fling from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the school, 23636 S. 204th St., Queen Creek. The fling will feature teacher-run booths, bouncies, slides, silent auction items and food.

Small-business vendors and donations for silent auction items are still needed for the event.

Advertising space is also available in the school's PTO newsletter for $5 a month. The newsletter is given to more than 600 students and staff members.

Local businesses interested in hosting a booth or donating can call Amy Anderson at (480) 987-4106 or e-mail amynanderson@msn.com.

Festival offers all things apple

The Apple Dumpling Café in Queen Creek will host the fifth annual San Tan Apple Festival, Apple Barn Bazaar and A-Peeling Apple Cooking Contest from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Higley High School, 4068 E. Pecos Road, Gilbert.

There will be an "Appley Ever After" all-expense-paid wedding ceremony contest and wedding showcase, an Apple Flapjack Pancake Breakfast and a Red Apple Art Show. Families can peruse the Apple A Day Health Fair, listen to the live entertainment during the Apple Jam or take the kids to the Johnny Appleseed Kids Activity Corner.

Families can eat at the Apple Harvest Luncheon, participate in the Scarecrow Contest or walk through the Apple of Your Eye Antique and Classic Car Cruise-In. There will also be a Cider Barrel Silent Auction.

The Higley Educational Foundation, the Wellness Community Arizona - Southeast Valley Project and Pan de Vida Foundation of Queen Creek will benefit from this year's charity event.

Information: (480) 279-3879 or www.appledumplingcafe.com.

2 Gilbert schools recognized

Gilbert Junior High School and Harris Elementary School were among 39 Valley schools to receive awards for academic improvement Oct. 28 at a ceremony hosted by the Phoenix-based Beat the Odds Institute.

Both schools, in the Gilbert Unified School District, received the silver award for 2008-09 performance. This is the highest possible award in what was the second year of a multiyear program.

Schools receiving the bronze award put in place research-based leadership principles schoolwide and received at least a "performing" label, based on Arizona standards. Lincoln and Lowell elementary schools, both in the Mesa Unified School District, received bronze awards.

Information: www.beattheoddsinstitute.org.

Education briefs run on Sunday. To submit an item for Gilbert and Queen Creek schools, send information to Hayley Ringle at hringle@evtrib.com.