Learning is fun and rewarding at St. Pius X

Third-grade student, Mandalyn Puebla, from St. Pius X, won a national writing competition.
 
Second and third-grade teachers, Alyssa Thomas and Melanie VanMaren, encouraged students to enter the 2019 Education.com Limitless Learners Contest as part of a writing assignment in October.
 
The submission guidelines were to write a short story, journal entry, or comic strip about a time you were having so much fun, you didn't realize you were learning something new. This contest was open to students all across the United States!
 
Mandalyn wrote about her participation in a STREAM lesson taught by Mike Sepulveda, entitled “Sink or Float.” The objective was to see how many pennies your self-built boat could hold without sinking. She realized at the end of the lesson that she was learning while she was having fun.
 
Mandalyn won a $500 scholarship towards college, the school will receive $1,000, and one teacher will receive a lifetime membership to Education.com. “We are so proud of our Mandalyn,” said St. Pius X assistant principal, Beth Hinojosa. “She is a blessing to our school.”
 
“I enjoy having Mandalyn in my class,” third-grade teacher VanMaren said, adding “she is a very kind and loving student.”