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Kids at Ellen Myers Primary School in Harrogate can count themselves proud among just 30 schools across the state to win a prestigious award from Delta Dental of Tennessee. The company just announced its short list of winning schools to make the grade in the ‘Water’s Cool @ School’ grant program. As one of the winners, Ellen Myers School will be receiving a replacement for an existing water fountain that will bump the school well into the 21st Century. The Elkay bottle filling station program, now in its third year, is on a mission to teach kids about the importance of drinking more water, making it easier for students to stay properly hydrated during the school day. Currently, more than 100 schools across Tennessee have received grants for the new bottle filling station via this program.

“Drinking more water is one of the best and easiest things you can do for your health at any age, and the creative video and art project submissions we received from schools across Tennessee clearly show that drinking more water can in fact also be the ‘cool’ thing to do,’” said Dr. Phil Wenk, CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee. “Thank you to all of the schools that applied this year, and congratulations to the grant recipients.”

As part of the program, all 30 schools will receive the new filling station along with toothbrushes for all staff, faculty and students. A select group of schools were recognized for their creative applications and will also receive water bottles for every student and staff member. Ellen Myers was one of those six select schools.

The other five were:

• Mary Hughes School (Piney Flats)
• White House Heritage Elementary School (White House)
• Genesis Academy (Nashville)
• Rutherford Academy (Murfreesboro)
• Drummonds Elementary School (Drummonds)

To view the full list of winners, go to: www.deltadentaltn.com/wcs.

Part of the grant involved participating schools being encouraged to submit creative projects with their applications highlighting just how good water is for your health, what makes a healthy smile or why the school needs a water bottle filling station.

Oral health educational materials via the Water’s Cool @ School program can be seen by logging onto: www.deltadentaltn.com/wcs/educational-materials.

The materials include activity sheets, games, posters and demonstrations that are organized by grade levels K-2, 3-5 and 6-12.

To learn more about Delta Dental’s philanthropic work across the state, go to: www.deltadentaltn.com/smile180.