Addeliar Guy 5th-grade class wins Champion Classroom Award

Students of Kelley Ward’s fifth-grade class at Addeliar Guy III Elementary School in North Las Vegas enjoyed a wild Golden Knights preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday night for winning the 4th Annual Adam Kutner Cares Community Champion Classroom Award. The Vegas Golden Knights gifted 10 tickets of the 100 provided to students, parents and Guy ES staff, all of which were used. 

Dandelion Public Relations president and owner Chandra Stepanovich reviewed over 500 nomination letters and explained her process in narrowing down the nominees to a few recommendations made to Kutner and Clark County School District (CCSD) team engagement coordinator Ryan DeVries. 

“I try to find the people who maybe have never been to a Knights’ game…so we’re always trying to find unique stories,” Stepanovich said, adding that she never checks class size until after reading the nomination letters. Ms. Ward’s letter particularly pulled at Stepanovich’s heartstrings.

“[W]e recently had a new student become very frustrated with an assignment and begin yelling because he was struggling. Without being asked, several students got up, helped him calm down, and then supported him through the assignment,” Ward wrote. “Moments like this show me how compassionate and empathetic my students are toward one another.”

Ward went on to explain how every student having a classroom job helps develop leadership skills, complete with a weekly classroom paycheck for completing their responsibilities. “These responsibilities have helped my students build confidence, independence, and a sense of ownership in our classroom community,” she wrote.

DeVries has the tough job of determining who most deserves the Champion Classroom Award, taking into account the support provided to the 308 schools in the district.

“We have a whole database where everything we do at the schools in terms of support we provide them, we track that…we just try to be as equitable as possible to schools across the district,” he informed.

Stepanovich said the teamwork and accountability present in Ms. Ward’s fifth-grade class was a big factor in its selection because it mirrors the skills the Golden Knights exhibit on the ice. That was evident on Thursday, as the Knights bounced back from a two-goal deficit in the third period to tie it up on a goal by captain Mark Stone. The Mammoth then took the lead with 91 seconds remaining, but the Knights didn’t quit, tying the game with 28 seconds left to force overtime. Jack Eichel punched in the game-winner 39 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime, and the teams gave Ms. Ward’s students and their families a shootout to watch anyway. 

It was a late night out for the students, who didn’t seem to mind, showing a lot of energy deep into the game, especially during the second intermission, when their teacher waved to them from her ride on the Zamboni. Some of them have been in her class the last three years. Ward advertises her fandom throughout her classroom, which principal Lisa Meo called “warm and inviting.” 

“It’s been great to see her grow as a teacher and a leader, and at the beginning of the year it was really difficult because I had so many kids who wanted to be in her classroom…I had so many parents calling me and saying we really want to be in Ms. Ward’s class,” Meo said.

“We are in North Las Vegas. Our kids don’t get these opportunities, and oftentimes they don’t even know that the Knights play in Las Vegas,” informed Meo. “So being able to go there and see the arena and have a piece of that is great for our families, and I’m just excited to be a part of that.”