Atlantic City's Uptown Complex School 5th Graders Rap Their Way Into The Top 10 in SCOTTIES National Trees Rock(R) Video Contest

Scotties, a leader in the tissue industry is pleased to announce the top 10 entries in their Trees Rock® video contest. Named among the finalists in the 3rd- 5th grade section are the 5th grade boys from Uptown Complex School in Atlantic City, NJ. 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.

The school got the idea to create the video following their last year’s field day which although fun, was extremely hot. Teacher, Brian Corcoran jumped into action! He had his own scare with skin cancer previously and knew that the school needed some shade! His students jumped right in to help on the project, creating their own rap song in support of trees. One of the student’s beat-boxed the background track while three others performed the vocals. When class time ran out, the students even volunteered to work during their lunch breaks to finish the project.

Corcoran talks about how Atlantic City has been down on its luck lately. This town known for gambling, has had to close 4 casinos in the past 2 years – and that financial pinch has affected the whole community.

“Many of the students parents have lost jobs from the casinos closing and in the school severe budget cuts have been announced,” says Corcoran “Atlantic City and the Uptown Complex school are in need of some help, some optimism, and some improvement. Winning this contest would not only improve the look of our school and community, but also show our students that we are capable of anything, we are capable of change, and we can start this change by beautifying our school/community.”

To view the full video visit http://youtu.be/rOrgX5pCu6Q

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.

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.