Vote for Hamden Middle School in SCOTTIES National Trees Rock Video Contest

Scotties, a leader in the tissue industry is pleased to announce the top 10 finalists in their Trees Rock® video contest. The 8th grade students from Hamden Middle School in Hamden have emerged as one of the top 10 finalists in the 6th - 8th grade section of this national video contest.

The Grand Prize Winner in this division will receive $10,000 for the school to use towards a sustainable project, such as tree plantings, outdoor classrooms, playgrounds, athletic fields, gardens and greenhouses. All kids who entered the contest were required to create a video up to 3 minutes long on the importance of trees -- to themselves, their school, and their community.

Led by their teacher, former United States Marine and Gulf War Era Veteran, Ms. Kaye Colello the students jumped on board creating a video. Students were encouraged to be as creative as possible in their entries – for example, by creating a poem, a play, a speech, a song, or a dance.

After rigorous scrutiny by a panel of judges, entries from around the country were narrowed down to the 10 best in 3rd – 5th grade and the 10 best in 6th-8th grade the categories of most compelling relative to theme, clarity of message, and creativity.

“When the contest became available to eighth graders my students were on board to enter, and jumped at the opportunity to be a part of something potentially life-changing for the world as a whole,” says Colello. “The reduction of their own ‘footprints’ if you will, matter most to them, and Hamden, being the urban community it is, does not always provide the space for some of my students to work with the soil and plant. This contest provided my students’ with the ability to commune with nature, reflect on what they had participated in, give something of themselves to the earth, and become nurturers of their own future.” In their entry video, one student gives her response on why trees are important.

Winners will be chosen by voters across America who can watch the top videos and vote for their favorite from January 12th through February 6th on www.scottiestreesrock.com. The winners in both categories will be announced on Feb 15th and winner events will be celebrated in spring 2015.

Scotties is passionate about sustainability with their 3-to-1 promise. In which for every one tree

they use, they plant three in its place. Over the last 50 years, Irving Consumer Products Limited,
Scotties’ parent company has planted 900 million trees in North America.