Elementary students in grades 3-5 recently competed in the first Kid’s Culinary Competition in School District 20, and food columnist Teresa Farney was on hand to report on their unique creations. Out of 42 recipes sent in, 10 were chosen as finalists and three amateur chefs took home great prizes for their concoctions.

Check out the award-winning recipes below to add some new treats to your family’s meal repertoire. After all, recipes created by and taste-tested by kids should go over well with the kids at your house, too, right?

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Grand-prize winner:

Jennifer Mount, a fourth-grader at Academy International Elementary, took home a bright red Pacific bike and helmet for her Healthy Banana Split.

HEALTHY BANANA SPLIT
Yield: 1 serving

1 banana
3 scoops vanilla frozen yogurt
4 strawberries, sliced
1 cup sliced cantaloupe
1 cup sliced honeydew
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup granola

Cook’s note: This healthy banana split is great for breakfast, anytime of the day, or even for dessert. Feel free to use your favorite flavor of yogurt or even to mix flavors. Any of your favorite fruits can be used in different combinations so this healthy meal never gets old and it tastes great.

Procedure:

1.Slice banana in half lengthwise and place both halves along sides of long banana split bowl.
2.Place scoops of frozen yogurt between banana halves. Top with sliced fruit and sprinkle granola over everything.

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Second-place winner

Katherine Elder, a third-grader at Woodmen Roberts Elementary, was awarded a red Razor scooter, a helmet, some Nerf toys and an MP3 player for her Colorado Rolls.

COLORADO ROLLS
Yield: 6 servings

6 large spinach leaves
1 small container whipped cream cheese (I use chive and onion)
1/2 pound shaved deli turkey
1 each red, yellow and orange bell peppers, thinly sliced
Tooth picks and scissors

Procedure:
1. Wash and dry spinach. Cut tstem off each spinach leaf.
2. Spread cream cheese on spinach leaf. Add turkey in a layer on top of cream cheese. Add pepper strips (one of each color) at the end where the stem was. Roll up from the end tightly. Trim uneven ends. Slice into rolls like sushi. Poke tooth pick through rolls to hold together.
3. Dip in Sunshine Ranch Dip and enjoy
Source: Katherine Elder, third-grader

SUNSHINE RANCH DIP:
2 tbsp. ranch dip + 1 heaping teaspoon mustard

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Third-prize winner:

Joshua Lahman, a fifth-grader at High Plains Elementary, took home a red Razor scooter, a helmet and some Nerf toys for his Snack-ellites. (They look like satellites when properly assembled. How cool!)

SNACK-ELLITES
Yield: About 4

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup salsa or picante sauce
4 flour tortillas
1/2 head lettuce, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/2 pound ham, thinly sliced
1/2 pound turkey, thinly sliced
1/2 pound Swiss or provolone
cheese slices
20 seedless grapes
20 raisins
Toothpicks

Procedure:
1. Mix softened cream cheese and salsa together in small bowl. Spread a thin layer over the flour tortillas.
2. Layer lettuce, carrots, ham and turkey. Roll up tortillas as tightly as possible. Place in covered container or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 1/2 hour or more.
3. Remove rolls from refrigerator and slice into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Discard ends. Place slices on their side. Insert toothpicks at the 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions. Then place a grape and raisin on the end of 2 of the opposite toothpicks and 2 rectangular slices of cheese on the end of the other 2 toothpicks to create the appearance of a space satellite with “grape “antennas” and “cheese “solar panels.”

Once upon a time, several pigs with houses of made of various buildings materials were terrorized by the huffing and puffing of a large, not-so-nice wolf. Because authorities were afraid to approach the alleged perpetrator, a Mr. Big Bad Wolf, the prime suspect went free for years… until now!

On May 2, 2008, I was invited to witness justice in action as Mr. Peterson’s class of fifth-grade students from Scott Elementary School put Mr. Wolf on trial for the alleged destruction of two pigs’ houses and their murders. (That’s Mr. Peterson in the sharp-fanged, hairy suit, by the way.) With the footage I shot that day, I created a video montage in tribute to these smart students that you can view over at PikesPeakParent.com.

While of course amusing and humorous in nature, the kids’ mock trial was an educational adventure, an exercise in law and criminal justice that Mr. Peterson repeats every school year. The kids even got a behind-the-scenes tour of the El Paso County Courthouse, where the trial was staged, to see how criminals are processed, where they are housed and how much they DON’T EVER want to be in that position.

Check out the video by clicking the below icon, and enjoy the students’ quest for law and order — fairytale style!

Have an event you think might be of interest to Pikes Peak Parent readers? E-mail us over at  parent at gazette.com to see if we can film your event, edit the footage and post it on the Web for our community to share.

… that it was sunny and almost 80 degrees, even though those were the weather conditions only yesterday afternoon. Gazette photographer Carol Lawrence snapped the below shot of some local kids taking advantage of the sunshine in Monument Valley Park. Four-year-old Gabriel Fresquez is pictured getting a helping hand from his sister Stephanie, 11, and friends Carlos Montoya, 10, left, and Orion Bargas, 10.

Carol was in the park with me and our creative director for a photo shoot for June’s Pikes Peak Parent, and the light was great for pictures for the “Summer Fun” issue. Stay tuned for behind the scenes photos as we process the pictures.

And today, well, bring an umbrella and put the sunscreen back on the shelf for another day. Sigh.

We received a press release this week for Mother’s Day that is exactly NOT what moms need:

In the spirit of Mother’s Day, we would like to recommend that mothers and mothers-to-be treat themselves to the Ultimate Gift — your “Body Before Baby.”

We would like to offer Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. John A. Grossman to recommend ideal procedures for mothers - the “Body Before Baby” formula. Dr. Grossman can also provide tips on how to properly treat your body after having surgery, including advising mothers not to lift anything over 10 pounds and advice on how to speak to children about plastic surgery.

Dr. Grossman routinely performs “Mommy Surgeries” and would love to talk to you about what mothers and mothers-to-be can do to get their ideal body. Please let me know if you might be interested in this feature, I look forward to hearing from you and working with you soon! Thank you.

All I can say (without using offensive language) is UGH! No, we are not interested in your feature, because we are not interested in giving mother’s guilt and body-images issues for Mother’s Day. I think we have enough of those every other day of the year, thank you very much.

Contrary to what this press release assumes, some women think of the post-pregnancy changes in their body as badges of honor rather than stigma. Some women believe that it’s the beauty on the inside that counts. If a woman wants to have plastic surgery to boost her self esteem and confidence, that’s great for her. But when did it become ok to tell a woman she “needs some work done” or is aesthetically deficient simply because she’s given birth?

This week’s Pikes Peak Parent’s BEST BET:

Beauty and the Beast

Click on our entertainment’s editor’s picture above to see his report about the opening of Beauty and the Beast at the Fine Arts Center. Opening night is tonight, but the Academy Award-winning Broadway musical runs Thursdays through Saturdays until June 1. Tickets are $30-$32 for the public or $28-$30 for FAC members. But plan ahead for special pricing of $23-$25 adults for the public and $18-$20 kids available during family matinees on May 17, 24, 31. For more information, call 634-5583 or visit www.csfineartscenter.org.

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Saturday

15th Annual Hummingbird Festival
Starsmore Discovery Center
Celebrate the return of the hummingbirds with educational programs, crafts, face paint, hikes, food, music a climbing wall and more at this free event. A free parking shuttle runs from Cheyenne Mountain High School. Call 385-6086 for details.

8th Annual Alex Hoag Run for Sunshine
Security Service Field
This 5k run/walk is a BolderBoulder qualifier, benefits the Proteus Syndrome Foundation, and offers a Kids Fun Run with Sox the Fox and a $5 pancake breakfast.For more information, call Kim at 660-1346 or visit www.alexhoagrun.org.

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Sunday

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day Brunch
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Sample traditional and exotic brunch items at the Lodge at Moose Lake, part of the new Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit. Brunch is $19.95 for adults, $8.95 for kids 3-11, and free for kids younger than 3. No reservations are required. Call 633-9925 or visit www.cmzoo.org for details.

Mother’s Day often means breakfast in bed, macaroni necklaces and homemade cards. All of which are wonderful things, don’t get me wrong. But how about something feminine, something grown-up or something cool? On top of all that, how about something FREE? There you are! I know I have your attention now.

Melissa over at the Buzz Off (also of Suburban Bliss fame) has rounded up a great selection of Mother’s Day giveaways, which I’d love to share with you here:

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• The Buzz Off’s offering to moms is a Jeep Baby package with a stroller, a carrier and a diaper bag, which you can register for here.
• Through Friday, Design Mom is giving away fabulous and luxurious gifts for mom, ranging from dresses and jewelry to bath and body goodies and paper goods. (Contest introduction here.) Simply comment on an active giveaway item to be entered.
• If you have a blog of your own, place a button for Cool Mom Picks in your sidebar for a chance to win $400 in great gift certificates.
• Win $300 by filling out a survey over at All Recipes.
• 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away lots of prizes you can register to win by commenting on specific posts. Plus, they’re holding a Mother’s Day photo contest. Post on your blog or email a photo that depicts what motherhood means to you. Visitors (tell your friends and family!) vote for a winner, who will receive $1,000. Yes, a whole $1,000!

Then we found some additional contest links of our own for Mother’s Day, like:

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• You could win a Pauric Sweeney tote worth $1,295 and 1-carat diamond earrings worth $2,000 at the Bag Snob if you enter by May 11.
• Enter by Friday over at GoodyBlog for the chance to win a Intel laptop (in pink!).
• Moms can win a back-to-school package of goodies from The Heart of the Matter. The only catch: Moms have to be nominated by a child, spouse, friend or family member. For details, click here.
• Comment on various prize posts over at My Mom Shops to win a variety of prizes, such as jewelry, stationary and purses.
• Email me over at parent AT gazette DOT com (subject line: giveaways for mom) if you have any other contest ideas, and I’ll update our list.

Good luck, Moms!

If any of our readers win, they will share with me. Right? Right?

Just in case the random rain showers, blooming trees and allergy attacks haven’t clued you in, it’s springtime in the Rockies. And in Colorado Springs, that means Sky Sox baseball. Always a fun yet inexpensive outing, your family could attend any number of games, which run most weekends through September.

BRYAN OLLER, THE GAZETTE — Morning rain didn’t stop hundreds of schoolchildren from filling Security Service Field on Wednesday to watch the Colorado Springs Sky Sox beat the Round Rock Express 10-1. Students from Prairie Wind Elementary School of Pueblo West sang the national anthem before the start of the game.

Today and Friday, the Sky Sox continue their series with the Round Rock Express, with Air Force Appreciation Day and fireworks on Friday. Then the Sox take on the Albuquerque Isotopes Saturday through Tuesday, and special promotions are as follows: Saturday features a performance by the One-Man Village People Act and is Fort Carson Appreciation Day, Sunday offers 50 cent hot dogs, and Tuesday is always $2 Tuesday, where tickets, parking and beer are only $2 each.

Except for Tuesdays, tickets are $6-$11, and can be purchased by calling 591-7699 or visiting www.skysox.com.

And don’t worry, more sun in the forecast means you might not need ponchos like the Anthem singers in the above picture. But as always in Colorado, bring both the sunscreen and the rain gear, just in case.

After suffering from chronic lameness and arthritis for some time, Maggie, beloved matriarch of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo hippopotamuses, passed away on Tuesday night. “She was a tough old girl and was definitely grandma-in-charge,” said Roxanna Breitigan, animal care manager, in a press release. “The Zoo’s vet and animal staffs did all that was possible to treat Maggie and keep her comfortable during her illness. Everyone loved Maggie, she will be missed so much.”

Born at the CM zoo in 1974, Maggie gave birth to 10 calves and had recently been joined by her grand babies, Zambezi and Kasai, in the popular hippo habitat. (Click here for more information about the hippos at the CM zoo, or click here for The Gazette’s coverage of her passing.) The public is urged to celebrate Maggie’s life by sharing personal memories online at www.cmzoo.org or dropping off sentiments personally with the Aquatics’ building staff, who are naturally taking the loss quite hard.

My memory: The massive swallowing power of her mouth, yawning open to reveal her rounded, hippo teeth. As a little girl, I could see myself being swallowed whole by the gigantic animal and wondered if she would let me get close enough to brush her teeth for her. (Hippos aren’t known for their minty fresh breath!) My mother still has the picture of that big yawn buried deep in a box somewhere, although it’s still fresh in my mind.

Rest in peace, Maggie!

UPDATE: Sean over at the CM zoo knew EXACTLY what yawn I was talking about. In fact, he snapped a picture of Maggie yawning one day when the keepers introduced a new ball into her habitat for play and development.

I read a very interesting article from the Washington Post in today’s Life section. Apparently, younger 20-something teachers are more likely to maintain pages on MySpace or Facebook, and some of them haven’t yet caught on to the fact that what you post on the Web is PUBLIC, meaning your students and their parents probably have access to whatever pictures, jokes or sarcastic comments you choose to share.

In states including Colorado, Florida, Tennessee and Massachusetts, teachers have been removed or suspended for MySpace postings, and some teachers unions have begun warning members about racy personal Web sites. But as Facebook, with 70 million members, and other social-networking sites continue to grow, scrutiny will no doubt spread …

Not all school officials scrutinize Facebook when conducting background checks on teachers. But some do.

“I know for a fact that when a superintendent in Missouri was interviewing potential teachers last year, he would ask, ‘Do you have a Facebook or MySpace page?’” said Todd Fuller, a spokesman for the Missouri State Teachers Association, which is warning members to clean up their pages. “If the candidate said yes, then the superintendent would say, ‘I’ve got my computer up right now. Let’s take a look.’”

Teachers caught with inappropriate Web sites could be suspended for a first-time offense, said Michael Simpson, assistant general counsel for the National Education Association, a teachers union with more than 3 million members. If they can prove that no one at school complained about the page, they might prevail in a personnel dispute “because there would be no evidence of any real or potential harm to the students or school,” he said.

The incidents the article relates are either minor or humorous in my humble opinion: a 22-year-old teacher with photo of herself posing with a bottle of tequila, a special-ed teacher who had posted a joke from a friend calling her a “retard,” a teacher who advised, “Teaching in DCPS - Lesson No. 1: Don’t smoke crack while pregnant.” My favorite example was art teacher Stephen Murmer, who was fired last year for painting canvases on YouTube — with his “buttocks.” (Wow. I’d kind of like to see that, just to witness how it’s done.)

So I came up with the bright idea to check out Colorado Springs’ local teachers on Facebook, seeing how many are online and how many have somewhat risque content on their pages. After all, the Washington Post article said: “Log in at Facebook.com. Join a geographical network. Search the Web site for your favorite school system. And then watch the public profiles of 20-something teachers unfurl like gift wrap on the screen.”

And unfurl they did. However, I had a hard time dredging up any dirt. I found teachers who say their favorite book is the Bible, who volunteer at their churches, who enjoy hiking in their spare time, who post baby pictures, who relate how much they like their students. I think the most controversial thing I stumbled across may be that teachers like to meet at local taverns for beer on Friday nights. Whoa! Stop the presses!

So what lessons have we learned, class? Well, first of all, I learned that students and the general public still have a hard time picturing the private lives of teachers, and they’re very curious about teachers to the point that they (yes, and me) will snoop online. As educators in a position of respect, they need to make sure that these private identities don’t bleed into their professional role, and that means not posting irrelevant or controversial stuff on the Web. Lesson No. 2: Blog anonymously, people! Especially if you have a burning need to dis your job, use four-letter words or, well, paint with your buttocks.

Wanna give Facebook snooping a try? I won’t deny that it’s rather fun, if a little illicit. But here’s hoping there’s no dirt to dig up on the great teachers in our community.

SJ over at All the Jones Men turned us on to Thank Them 4, a service allowing users to upload photos and create messages of gratitude for the servicemen and women who protect our country. In such a patriotic and military town, I know a lot of our readers will jump right on this opportunity to appreciate our troops, who are also our fathers, husbands, neighbors and friends.

According to a release Thank Them 4 sent me, “The users’ photos are combined with gripping images spanning from WW2 to Iraq in the 90-second tribute, which includes a dramatic soundtrack and professional voice narration.”

So far, they’ve seen a variety of user-submitted photos, such as images of family reunions, backyard barbecues or children playing, some with homemade signs expressing gratitude. The embedded photos are some examples Thank Them 4 sent me of previously submitted pictures.

The Web site has a goal of sending out 50,000 messages by Memorial Day, a deadline that’s rapidly approaching.

Help us — and our servicemen and women — out! Send your photos into Thank Them 4, or make a contribution through one of the military-support group links on their site.

If you have the time and the camera to do so, next send us in the photos or personalized messages you sent. We’ll post them here on the blog for all of our readers to see. (If we have some great submissions — who knows — maybe we can highlight a few in our print publication!) Many of our Pikes Peak parents come from military families or are current/retired military themselves, so we know they’ll appreciate every one.