Welcome to Spring and Test Taking Time, Teachers!

Bear Essential News and its popular Summer Camp Guide recently were delivered to Phoenix and Tucson-area schools and libraries. The standards-based worksheets that go with this issue just posted to our website. If you’d like newspapers for your school or organization, please call toll free: 1-866-NEWS KID (639-7543).

Thank you for utilizing the newspaper and the worksheets with your students, and please encourage them to join our FREE Young Reporters Program (details below)!

This edition highlights Earth Day and includes the main feature, “Arizona Recycles!” These April Worksheets will get students thinking about plastic waste and what steps they can take to help the situation.

This is the final month of the statewide AZ SciTech Festival, and Bear Essential is proud to be one of its sponsors. Go to www.azscitech.org for a list events that will spark your students’ interests in STEM!

Bear Essential News also is thrilled to partner with Phoenix Fan Fusion! We have a superhero/fave character poster contest for kids 14 and under (see page 3 of the Phoenix Edition; page 11 of Tucson Edition). Winners get a Family 4-pack of Passes for the big event! Go online to BearEssentialNews.com for a printable PDF. Readers can enjoy the Adventures of Sunset & Meteor on pages 8 & 9. Fan Fusion happens May 24 thru 26, so check out fanfusion.com.

Please encourage your students in grades 2–8 to join our free and literacy award-winning Young Reporters Program. We are holding monthly Zoom meetings with fascinating guests who Young Reporters can interview! Click here for the printable Sign-Up Form.

Young Reporters can choose the stories they cover or you can help make suggestions. Or kids can specialize in covering STEM-based stories as Science Reporters as we partner with the SciTech Festival.

The list of free classroom presentations is under the Teachers Tab. Call 1-866-NEWS KID if your school or organization would like free presentations by me on writing or different aspects of reporting!

Best of luck on testing this month,

Stephen B Gin, editor