Scarselli Elementary receives $5,000 Dolan Class Project prizes.

Dolan Auto Group awarded Scarselli Elementary School $5,000 on Dec. 1 for an outdoor classroom .

The Dolan Class Project contest is an annual contest offered to classrooms in Northern Nevada by the Dolan Auto Group in Reno. Ryan Dolan and Ashton Hutton presented the award.
This project began in fall 2018 with the fourth- and fifth-grade members of Scarselli’s leadership group the Cheetah Club.

Club members explored the school grounds to locate the ideal spot for an outdoor classroom, brainstormed the items that would be needed to create an ideal outdoor learning environment, and categorized their questions about the project to identify the big needs of the project: materials, money, and help, according to teachers.

They settled on a final design for an outdoor classroom, wrote a script to advertise the projects and their needs, and filmed a video to share with the Scarselli community.
“Right as we were preparing to invite community members to help with the project, schools closed for distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” teachers Alyssa Park and Donna Harker said. “Unfortunately, the project has been put on hold for a year and a half. The Dolan Class Project was the perfect opportunity to restart the project.”

Park and Harker thanked the group and residents of Carson Valley who voted for the project online.

“On behalf of past and present students of Scarselli Elementary School, we would like to thank the Dolan Auto Group for their generous donation,” the teachers said. “We are extremely thankful to all Carson Valley community members who voted for our project.
Harker and Park invited the school’s community to help with the outdoor classroom project.

“This project is a learning experience for all students to help improve their school and to create a place for all students to enjoy,” they said. “Students who have moved on from Scarselli, especially our past Cheetah Club members, are encouraged to come back to complete this project.”